Love Your Dishes
The Art of The Table
I get it, at first glance, l’art de la table sounds pompous, stiff and frankly redundant doesn’t it ?
You imagine a dinner at the Vanderbilts, a headline in a glossy for a prohibitively expensive French boutique or a ‘hoity -toity’ 50’s magazine on best housekeeping, and non are relevant to your lifestyle. But let’s delve in a little, dismember the words, and bungee jump a mile away from that starchy first impression. Check it out - Table & Art - down to earth stuff right? The Art might even have some street-cred, and the table could be the premise for something to do with food - now we’re talking current, relevant and attainable!
I confess, I am a geek when it comes to dishes, recycling old china, picking up a plate at a thrift store and breathing life back into dusty family heirlooms. Like a magpie, I love collecting new shiny things and I love meeting a potter, or a glassblower - their creations will always tell a story. The art of the table may sound fancy, but it’s really about sprinkling your creativity, having fun, respecting the food you eat, and yes, making your loved ones feel special.
My advice is relax, its art - doing your own thing is the art! Please leave your fear of judgeship behind and unleash your creativity. Don’t fret doing what everyone else is doing when it comes to decorating your table. The art of the table is not ‘High Stakes Fashion’ where last year’s trend will leave you undesirable to those you’re trying to impress. In fact it’s quite the contrary, your individuality wins the house here, so just have fun with your dishes, glasses and decorations.
GOTTA LOVE ARTISTIC PLATES THAT TELL A STORY! A garden that had possibly once been adequate was now a lush garden of Eden littered with artistic mastery. Camp Scruffy, it was not, but now if you add the Doo and say it as a cockerel crows it was simply fitting, and somehow genius! The love and added embossed plates made this breakfast unforgettable! Thank you Ginny you are both fabulous, and an advertising paragon.
UPCYCLING IN STYLE! I simply love to rummage in thrift, consignment or antique stores. I feel like Indiana Jones on a quest for treasure. Not to mention that these days you can get single dishes that are worth a pretty penny for next to nothing! Be creative, and deliver a visual feast to your guests before they have had time to reach for their bibs!
FANCY PANSY NEED NOT COST THE EARTH! These Tiffany golden gems I found for $14 each. You can get Christofle silver for next to nothing if you buy them online one at a time. My talented friend Barry hand made the colorful pottery plate and the glasses were hand blown by a British glass blower as a gift. So there you have it, a fancy pansy table that costs less than if you had gone to your local store and bought the latest bore of very perfunctory manufactured table-wear.
VALUE YOUR TIME, YOURSELF AND YOUR LOCAL POTTER! Imagine holding your coffee in one hand and a crispy, warm buttery croissant in the other. Like a siren's call, that comforting smell triggers every sensory in your body to focus on the pleasure of simply eating it. It is that French, 'je ne sais quoi', tempting no doubt, but you know as soon as you take the first bite that it will be a precipitating mess of carbs and grease specks all over your clothes. Now imaging sitting down for five, using a beautiful plate & cup lovingly crafted by your local potter - what a difference, a choice makes. Either way you look at it it's the same calories, but doesn't the second option make you feel special, want to sit down, take time out and treat yourself! My Advice, Take Five Everyday - You Deserve It !
BE COOL & DUST OFF YOUR OLD CHINA ! There is little more sexy than individuality, it calls for attention and shines amongst the grey platitude of the Jones's. Yet there is little more sad than beautiful china gathering dust in hundreds of household cupboards. My advice is use your precious china every single day - it will thank you, and make all your daily meals a thing of beauty! Come on, get upcycling, honor your heritage and transform your everyday!