Tableware hotspots! - Something old, something new...

Shopping, who doesn't like it! ;)
Here are a few places that I always enjoy going to, great for browsing and hard to leave without bringing something home with you.

Something new
Anna Servies in Leerdam sells new tableware from Wedgwood, Villeroy & Boch, Johnson brothers and many others. They have a webshop which features practically all their items but to be honest I rather go to the shop as I enjoy seeing things and putting them together. Owner Anna has extensive knowledge of tableware so if you need advice, she is the one to speak to. Ahh and important too - always well priced.
Tip: Anna also sells items of collections that are no longer in production so you might just find your missing Wedgwood cup here.

Address: Parmentierstraat 5A-7A in Leerdam (check the website for opening hours)
Website: www.annaservies.nl

Source: Anna Servies

Something old & new
Just west of Breda you will find the town Prinsenbeek which is the home of Servies (in)compleet. Servies (in)compleet is situated in a stunning farmhouse just outside of the town. Owner Patricia Kalk sells not only new tableware of amongst others Arzberg, ASA, Cutipol, LSA and Mateus but also antique/second-hand tableware. Patricia also has extensive knowledge of tableware so this too is a great place to go to if you need advice.
Tip: the farm also houses a cooking studio http://www.deculinaireruimte.nl/kookstudio/

Address: Zanddreef 6 in Prinsenbeek (open on appointment)
Website: www.serviesincompleet.nl

Source: Servies (in)compleet

 

Source: Servies (in)compleet

Something old
On June 7th 2014 there is a fair of 'Maastrichts aardewerk' in Vught, which is close to 's Hertogenbosch. Maastrichts aardewerk  is tableware that was produced between 1836-1969 by a couple of factories based in Maastricht. Multiple fairs are organised all year round on various locations in The Netherlands, for details see the website of 'vereniging maastrichts aardewerk. The admission to the fair is free. Great place for browsing and finding treasures!

Upcoming fair: June 7 2014, Van der Valk Hotel, Bosscheweg 2 in Vught
Website: www.verenigingmaastrichtsaardewerk.nl

Source: unknown

Maastrichts aardewerk Petrus Regout - Pastel with Amore rose

Source: allemaal kleurtjes blog

Like like like - new products

Designers, product developers, merchandisers and a lot of others work hard every season to come up with new and innovative product. I must say I thoroughly enjoy going through magazines, browsing the internet, shopping in real life (although not so much here in Venezuela of course) to see the results of their hard work. Here are some examples I came across recently that I did not want to withhold from you and that I would love to add to my collection :)

First row
1. Pots from Riess, available in many pastel colours.
2. Cake stand Teatime from Rader with mini teapot and cups.
3. Elegant coloured glassware from LSA international, Polka collection.

Second row
1. Embossed cups from Pols Potten
2. Bathing in your tea, literally! Pols Potten

Third row
1. Verdant canister by Anthropologie.
2. Cutipol cutlery in mat gold!
3. Vip vase by House doctor.
4. Dip-it cooking set from Present time.

It does not have to be difficult or expensive!

As some of you will know I am writing this blog from Venezuela. I live here because my significant other got offered a job here and I decided to go along on this adventurous ride to South America.
I don't think I have to tell you that Venezuela has its challenges and thus you can imagine that beautiful tableware is not widely available in this country, hence the topic of this blog ;)

Creating a nicely set table does not have to be difficult or expensive! With a little creativity you can transform your table from 'nothing much happening' to nice!

When we arrived in our furnished rental house our tableware collection existed of exactly 3 plates, 5 long drink glasses, 5 different wine glasses and no cutlery. You can imagine we had to be a bit inventive when making breakfast the next morning :). Of course the bright side of it was that I did get to pick my own tableware! The selection in the shops wasn't big but hey, we were only going to stay here for a year or 2. So now I have a little bit of a bigger tableware collection which serves just fine (although sometimes I do miss my pretty little things I have back home).

The point is that even with very little it's possible to create nicely set tables. Below are some examples to illustrate. If you get inspired and if you want to share your before and after photo's please feel free to do so via the tables on five facebook page, my aunt and I would love to see :)

Obviously the above pictures categorize as 'nothing much happening', let's add a couple of little decorative things to transform them to nice!

 

 

The 'ingredients' I used to spice things up.

 

 

 

Table 1: Paper flower love

You see a lot of paper flowers appearing now when it comes to decorating and why not! They're fun to make, cheap and look amazing. On Pinterest, and I am sure through Google as well, you can find multiple photo tutorials on how to make them. These flowers I made out of tissue paper (vloeipapier). The hearts on the plates I made out of aluminium deco wire (you can buy this is in a craft store).

 

Table 2 - Mothers day breakfast

Here I used, again, paper flowers because I like them so much :) but now I made them out of crepe paper and I opened the 'leafs' only towards the top to keep a flat back, easier to put on a plate. The little pink, white and black flowers I made out of felt (vilt).



Table 3: Natural touch

Cotton lace, jute, pebbles and a touch of green give this table a natural touch.



 

Easter is around the corner!

A couple more days and the Easter bunny will be hopping through our gardens again. Over the last couple of years I feel that Easter has become somewhat like Christmas in the sense of families getting together and having a breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner together. The other day I read in the Dutch news that supermarkets expect record sales coming week (780 million EUR!) which is actually a little bit more than that was spent around Christmas and New Years Eve, in week 51 and 52 of 2013, as that was 730 million. I guess that proves my point :-) Well all good with me as I like hosting and going to breakfast-, brunch-, lunch- and dinner parties!

When I am invited to a dinner party I always love it when the host has set a beautiful table, it immediately sets the spirit! It's almost as if the table is saying: 'Welcome! How nice that you are here'. To create that feeling for your Easter guests, here is some inspiration, hope you will enjoy it. On the Tables on Five Pinterest page you will find more inspirational table settings and product, have a look! http://www.pinterest.com/TablesonFive/

Happy Easter! Enjoy the time with your family and friends!

Source:Scout

Source: Scout

 

Source: Martha Stewart

 

Source: Sheinspires

Source: Gwyneth Paltrow for Remodelista

 Note: This table setting that Gwyneth Paltrow did for Remodelista was actually done in 2011 but I still love it! 

 

Source: Martha Stewart

Source: Impressionen.de

Source: Jenny Steffens

Source: VT Wonen

Welcome!

Welcome to the Tables on Five blog! I am happy you came around for a little visit.

On this blog I will take you with me on a journey in the world of tableware; inspiration for setting an amazing table, DYI table decoration, new wanna-have products, trends.. you name it!

 

A couple of years back I got hooked on this topic and I blame my aunt for it. She owns a beautiful house that was built in the 1930′s and, quite importantly, that offers plenty of space to house her crockery collection. One Christmas our annual family dinner was hosted there and I remember the table being stunningly set, very elegant and atmospheric. Maybe my addiction started that Christmas? You will be happy to know that she will share pictures on this blog as well.

 

I am working hard on fine tuning this blog, so hope to see you again soon! Meanwhile I wil leave you with a picture of a new collection of LSA glassware called Haze. I love colour! and this collection enables us to add lots of it to our tables! Beautiful!

 

 



Source: LSA-international