From the Heart: A “Good” Obsession—-Collecting Plates

As obsessions go, collecting plates is one of the best.

[/media-credit] These plates are from Spain.

Collecting primarily white and blue plates is even better, although occasionally a little yellow gets in there, too.

Most of my life, I have avoided blue in decorating anything.It was just a personal preference because the color blue made me feel sad.

There wasn’t any yellow around, either.

A few years ago, when we moved into our current house, I had a complete change of heart and had our kitchen painted a shade of yellow called “Morning Sunshine.”

[/media-credit] A colorful plate from Mexico. Ole!

It replaced dark green Waverly wall paper that was studded with thousands of pink flowers. Actually, the paper was quite beautiful but more appropriate for a bedroom than for a kitchen.

Dishes Needed to Match the Decor

Anyway, once the cheery yellow walls brightened up the kitchen morning, noon and night, some blue and white dishes were in order.

As major good luck would have it, while helping a sister clean her cellar, I came across a box of very pretty Johnson Brothers plates. Made in England, they had a coaching scene on them.

[/media-credit] Johnson Brothers plates, made in England. Once, they were offered in supermarkets.

“Those were your godmother’s plates,” my sister said. She got them after my aunt, who was also my godmother, died. At the time, we lived in Arizona, so my aunt’s possessions were dispersed to relatives who lived close by.

A Family Heirloom

My sister graciously asked me if I wanted the coaching scene plates which, of course, made me ecstatically happy.

I carried the box out to the car with a huge smile on my face.

That was the beginning of the blue and white plate collection. From that moment on, whatever thrift store I happened to go into, or whatever yard sale I gleaned, my eyes scanned the shelves and tables for blue and white plates, sometimes with yellow highlights.

The day I found some more English plates, with Anne Hathaway’s sweet cottage on them, it was quite thrilling. She was, of course, the wife of William Shakespeare. Seeing that cottage makes a person want to go back to a simpler time, tend the hearth and make a cup of tea!

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One time I found a lovely decorative plate from Toledo, Spain, in blue, white and yellow. A couple years later, I stumbled across a smaller version which made a perfect companion plate for the big one.

Park Square Plate

Once, my mother gifted me with a blue and white plate depicting Park Square in Pittsfield.

It now hangs on one kitchen wall, surrounded by almost a dozen other blue and white ones.

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They are from all different countries, too, including Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Mexico and so on.

At a yard sale, I found a nice black wrought iron plate rack to hang on the wall. It was only a couple of bucks and now holds four lovely decorative plates in, blue, white and yellow.

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Plate Collection Proves Useful, Too

Collections add to life’s enjoyment.  They enhance thrift store and yardsale shopping excursions, making them into treasure hunts.

When a collection is also practical, such as decorative plates on which to serve meals, it’s cause for even more celebration.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on August 22, 2013. Filed under From the Heart. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry