Floral Tea Cups and Other Sterotypes

Sometimes, when I look at the slice of fashion and lifestyle blogs that are in the mainstream press, I think about how cliched it can all be. As well as DSLR and laptop, it occasionally feels mandatory to blog about, or express a love of, lots of beautifully twee things like macaroons,  vintage cameras, Pashley bikes and the drinking of tea, preferably out of a floral china teacup.

While I’m partial to the odd macaroon, obsessed by vintage cameras and desperately seeking a Pashley knock-off, I don’t drink tea. Can’t stand the stuff. Nor do I like coffee, which is a bit of a shame given how much I like pretty cups and comedy mugs. Fortunately  after a trip to the Birdcage on Baldwin Street, I now know that I’m partial to a chai latte, which sounds far more grown up than ordering a hot chocolate (with extra marshmallows, please), if a bit pretentious.

Anywho, while I may not enjoy drinking the stuff, I do own an essential blogger accessory – the chintz teacup! The set above (which simply says ‘Lord Nelson England’ on the underside of each cup) belonged to Grandma Ship-Shape and, much to Mr Ship-Shape’s distress, my nan and her sisters have a habit of passing their clothes, accessories and crockery on to me : )

My growing collection of plates, bowls and teacups are vintage, yes, but they’re also from my family, which makes them more sentimental than anything else. I’ve had the rose teacups for a few months, but after a vist home this weekend I found myself returning with more crockery, in the form of these gorgeous plates and bowls, below.

The oriental blue plates are ‘Willow’ from Barratts of Staffordshire, and the bright green and turquoise designs are a 60s design by Midwinter Pottery. I once saw an entire coffee set in this design for sale in a vintage boutique on Bristol’s Christmas Steps, but since I didn’t like hot drinks at the time, I didn’t buy it, which I still occasionally kick myself for.

As we continue to turn our house into a home, I find myself more and more drawn to homewares like these. And while the cups and saucers do sit unused on our hand-built shelves, they’re are much loved. Am I alone in my love of crockery, or are you a fan of chintz teacups and plates, too?