Wednesday 7 July 2010

Blue and White


I love blue and white dishes! Actually, I love dishes just as much as I love fabric and for the same reasons. There is something soul-satisfying about the same shape repeated with all the different patterns and shades of blue. It makes my heart sing.

          
My mom loves dishes too. So whenever she come over to visit we go to the  Stoke-on-Trent 'potteries' in Staffordshire. Mom loves Wedgewood and Spode, I love Burleigh. Truly deeply wildly! There was a wonderful sale at the Burleigh factory shop and I came home with gorgeous mugs and plates and bowls and a beautiful jug. I couldn't wait to unpack all the bags and put the dishes in the cupboard and on the dresser with the others.  Again, this is just what I do with fabric purchases, half the fun is seeing how they go with what I already have.


This shop is one of my favourite places. all those gorgeous dishes in one place make me go weak in the knees. There is complimentary tea and coffee and plenty of room to put your hopeful purchases all together and make final decisions. It sound all too familiar, doesn't it!

Burleigh is the last remaining working Victorian pottery. It's been in operation since 1851.Like a quilt, much of the beauty of the pottery is due to the hand crafted layers.Unlike modern mass production, the soul-ful creation process of Burleigh pottery means that each piece is unique. I love sorting though a stack of plates where the slight variations give charm and bring home the realization that each piece is truly handcrafted.



3 comments:

Nedra said...

I have read of the beautiful pottery in England. You are so fortunate to live closeby to such a wonderful place.

Nancy said...

Thank you so much for posting that. I love blue and white too and love the looks of all that pottery. But, alas, I live in the US and not close to there.

Martha said...

Thanks Nancy and Nedra. They do ship! I've just put a link in the original post to their online shop.I saw my first Burleigh-ware when I was a teenager in Baltimore.Ill post about that later in the week - it's a good story.