Any other China lovers here ? Table China that is !

I think my favourites are very Below Stairs. Don’t display things so no interest in my mother’s old stuff. For every day we had when I was a child Indian Bird, or maybe Indian Tree, mainly green and pink. I still do a double take whenever I see it. DH and I had Adams Old Colonial for best, and something Poole with a pattern of grapes for everyday. In this house we, or rather I, am collecting Wedgwood Napoleon Ivy which the children think old fashioned and heavy. Too bad.

BlueSapphire we bought our first dinner and tea service in Singapore. It started out as twelve place settings, but having travelled with us all our nomadic lives, I could just about squeeze eight out of it now, but it’s rarely used anyway. We too resisted Noritake (I loved Blue Hills), but I see lots of it now in auction houses and have to get a grip of myself. I have a Spode Italian tea service which I love. I picked up the teapot and milk jug at an antique fair - they are Spode Copeland - and added modern pieces to them later. Somewhere in the garage is a whole lot of blue and white china that used to be displayed in my previous kitchen, but hasn’t seen the light of day since we moved.

Alasno, your letter brought back lovely memories, i w irked in Lewis,s Liverpool on the China and glass dept.
It’s where my love of China tea sets began. Royal Albert Old country Roses, I have the full tea set but it’s for best only , I loved Denny Ware, Midwinter, Colclough,
Lewis,s would often deal / exchange pieces with Stoniers for a customer if we were short on an order,
Customers from USA. Would buy lots of English China tea sets and have it shipped home for them. The dept would arrange all the shipping and costs. All done personally face to face with the customer ,
I didn’t mind all the dusting of the glass and China , to me it was a labour of love ,

Sorry typo. I meant Denby ware.

Love it. Always have my first cup of tea of the day in a china cup and saucer. Couldn't house loads of it though, haven't the room and don't see the point

I have collected Spode over the years. I love blue and white. It was only ever used for special occasions, but I decided a couple of years ago that it should be used. DH inherited a Royal Albert tea set, but it’s not really my cup of tea. (Pardon the pun.)😀

I did have a phase of buying bits of specialist china. 50 years ago a friend caught on to this and seemed to make it her mission to find plates for me. I still have most of these but they never see the light of day. This may have prompted me to get the storage boxes out and have a clear out.

Tea from China cups are the best! In 1961 when living in PNG and on leave in Sydney we bought a beautiful Noritake China whole set. It is still going here in St Lucia. It comes out for dinner when we have guests and only one of the eight cups has perished. This China has been round the world and I keep reminding younger son it is as old as him and he is 62. As I age things from my earlier life seem more precious.

Yes, me. I used to have China ornaments all over the house, I still have the ones with the Chine flowers in a china bowl and the figurines of ladies in Crinoline dresses , but they are now on display in my china cabinet. I also still have the china cups, saucers and plates that was a wedding present in the 60's and china dishes that were my grandma's. I sometimes, in the afternoon, treat myself to a lovely cut sandwich (crusts off), have a cream cake and make a cup of tea in the china cup and saucer. Our sons take me out for afternoon tea quite a lot, and I love the three tiered cake stand and china dishes.

I like Denby and have some but it is not China, much too chunky and sturdy. The China that you have shown pictures of looks old fashioned and fussy to me. I prefer plain white pieces not necessarily matching but usually from Next or John Lewes. The fancy China I have is slowly being donated to charity shops as my kids would never use it nor friends. A lucky find for charity shop shopper who might find fine China pieces at very cheap prices.

We collect old Arabesque and use it a lot , Minton Haddon Hall and Masons Regency Iron stone China - often all seen in magazines .

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When I was still at school I worked weekends and holidays in a gift shop. The owners knew exactly what would sell and went off to trade fairs and ordered beautiful china, stoneware etc. this would be late 60s, early 70s.

We sold the whole range of Royal Worcester and I loved unpacking and pricing it. It was expensive and I said one day I would have some. 50+ years later I have a couple of their casserole dishes and love them even though they are not very fashionable now.

Another range we sold was by Toni Raymond and it was so colourful and quirky that it just flew out of the shop. Everything had a name on so it might be “apple sauce”, “celery” or “false teeth”. I have a massive collection of that.

About 20 years ago I discovered a range of tableware called Jack’s Farm by Wood & Son and liked the simple design and it’s clean look. It was quite expensive but I bought a new piece every few weeks and got lots for presents. We use it every single day and I still love it.

Just a few bits from the collections I mention.

I love china too . My very favourite was made in England by Branksome China near Lymington . Now sadly closed down . It is very fine and very strong in a range of solid colours . I look out for it in charity shops.

A few months ago I put our modern everyday Spode Italian - is it really china? don't think so - into a cupboard and took out our best china which I now use every day. It goes into the dishwasher, shouldn't really, but at least it's being used. Friends who come for meals rather love it.
It just makes me sad to see people's best china in charity shops, hardly used. All that lovely heritage ending up there.

Romola I love eating food from lovely tableware. i don’t keep anything for “best” now.

I can drink coffee out of anything, but a china mug is a must for drinking tea at home. My dinner service is Denby white porcelain, but we use the small dessert/salad plate for our main meal as we find dinner plates are just too large. I’ve also noticed that the current Denby chips much more easily than previous Denby sets I’ve used.

I’ve got the entire set of Connaught bone china which was made by Royal Doulton for Marks and Spencer. It was a lot cheaper than RD because it was branded M&S. I collected it all over a period of 2 years nearly 30 years ago. It said on the packs the items were dishwasher proof and I tended to only put the dinner plates in but for some reason the gold band on just these plates has faded a bit. They are not often used now.

For 45 years my DH has kept his parents bone china collection in a large box which has moved house with us several times. It is utterly hideous with garish pink and orange flowers all over.

I always loved old blue and white transfer ware. When I was a student I used to buy up pieces for 10p or, occasionally, up to 20p if I was feeling flush. It was great when we moved here to display it. It still gives me such pleasure to see fifty years on.

I’ve had some lovely patterned bone china gifted to me and do try to use it but my day to day is plain white which goes in the dishwasher and microwave.

I don’t now replace chipped or broken pieces but simply use best instead for everyday occasions - I’m determined not to leave unused or unloved pieces behind and definitely don’t want to buy new!

I love my china, it is Petula by Noritake, I acquired it in Saud Arabia many years ago. Used for best, but we often have people round for meals so it has good use.

I inherited my Mother's china cabinet.. rather beautiful, and believed to be Chippendale. It is stuffed with gorgeous pieces, as my darling Ma was something of a
collector.
Also, my darling husband and l used to collect at Auction sales .. we bought an unmarked Rockingham dinner service.

...oh wow! Those large serving plates and veg. Dishes...all in gold and white which l was firmly told Not to put in the dishwasher. But the plates have seen better days and some of the gold is fading. But l still use it.
Also we bought in Singapore a gold and white dinner service... cheap as chips and looks great. For a change, we invested in a Minton dinner service. Blue and gold rim,on pure white, all bone China.
These pieces have such memories for me.
My darling man died almost two years ago. Nothing has been used since. Such wonderful memories.
Maybe I'll try using some if l give a lunch party... which won't be easy. But l think my lovely man would want me to.

China can evoke such memories.

I still have my Tuscan wedding china teaset and the Royal Doulton dinner service I was given when I got married in 1966.

I got rid of my very 70s teaser, very brown and orange but have kept the dinner service I bought when a china shop was shutting down, Royal Doukton Yorktown, I thought that it was pretty timeless, and it went with other blue and white china. I also have collected Portmeirion botanic garden, I have pruned my motley collection of mugs to ones that make me happy when I open the cupboard doors, all sorts, from Portmeirion and cath kidston and Emma Bridgwater, some really nice ones from Morrisons and some ones I've had for ages from home plus ones I don't often use but are from art exhibitions, so nice memories. No glass glasses any more, some nice beakers and tumblers, and a few wine glasses in some sort of clear plastic. I bought a very pretty vintage fruit salad set of bowls, and I have various pretty cups/cups and saucers displayed as ornaments. And some enamel mugs for down the garden, and plastic ones you can put in the microwave with some soup or whatever heated up in them. So a fair mix

Aveline I love your collection. I've got hundreds of pieces that I rotate and use regularly. I have a particular liking for small B&W jugs. Don't know why jugs get me so excited, but if I see one in a charity shop or car boot I just cannot resist even though I must have about 30+. The shame is that unlike plates that get used a lot, I don't often use little jugs and fiddly to dust!