Friday, March 17, 2017

The Biography Of A Brown Transferware Collection


I inherited three pieces of brown transferware from my grandmother. 
I didn't think they were "me" so I put them out in a garage sale. 
A gentleman picked them up and said that he didn't think that I should sell them. 
At the time, I was into blue and white and I thought that the brown and white was kind of ugly. 
They were put back into the house and packed away. 


I am sorry to have you click away to Pinterest but I don't usually post other people's images. 
The collection was stunning and became the catalyst for my collection of brown transferware. 
I'll be honest, brown was hard to find at a price I was willing to pay. 
To quote my Nana, "I can't decide if you are frugal or just cheap." 
I'm both! 
 Here and there a piece was added to our collection. 


It took a long time but I was able to find some pretty pieces over the years. 


The covered vegetable dish was $28.00. Everything else was less than $20.00. 
If I found a plate for less than $10.00, I'd scoop that up. 



Owning a set of dinnerware was always in the back of my mind but it seemed to be out of my reach. 
Lead is a concern with older dinnerware. Modern plates are preferred for us. 
When we saw these Delamere plates at Donna's in Sulphur Springs, Texas, I thought they were perfect. 
There are several fun brown transferware designs for Thanksgiving and fall but I was on the lookout for something that could be used in other seasons. 


When I spotted this set, I began thinking about how it could be used during the spring so that it doesn't sit packed up until the fall. 
That wouldn't fit in my with my cheapskate narrative.  
Bill gifted this to me for our anniversary and my birthday. 
They are three weeks apart with Mother's Day sandwiched in between. 
Finding gifts for all of those occasions so close together gets old. 

My first thought was a brown and robin's egg blue color scheme.


It is one of God's best color schemes in my opinion. 


I'll save that for another day. 

Green is my "couleur de jour " so the Delamere got placed next to some spring green. 
That is the direction we are going for an Easter tablescape. 


We didn't have moss green napkins and an initial search for mossy, green napkins yielded nothing, so we'll go with the darker green napkins we already had. 


I love the mini bunnies from Hobby Lobby. They add a little bit of a color contrast. 
The flower stems also came from Hobby Lobby. 


That is it for now. 
I'll be back with more details and a source list for this table setting. 


Happy Friday and Happy St. Patrick's Day. 


Bless your heart if you made it through to the end of this post.
You might just like china as much as I do.

Katie 

Linking with these fun parties. 

21 comments :

  1. All of you brown transfer-ware pieces are so beautiful....I'm glad you decided to keep your grandmother's pieces. Your spring tablescape is very pretty.....
    Have a great weekend!
    ~Des

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  2. I very much like brown transferware, but it is getting difficult to find. I have exactly two pieces...not a lovely collection like yours.

    Thank you for your visit today. You made me chuckle with the "hope it's all melted by now." Alas, it won't be all melted for weeks to come, but I like your thinking!

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  3. Your grandmother's brown transferware is nice, and it's so special to have some items that belonged to her. I smiled when I saw the cup, as it is the same design of fabric wall paper that my mother put on me and my sister's room growing up. The robin's egg setting is lovely.

    Thank you for following us today, and I'm now following you as well. It's nice to meet new friends.

    ~Sheri

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  4. Love transferware and the brown is really pretty. I love the way you've added the blue and the green. I love dishes and they are so fun to find at a good price!

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  5. Love your collection Katie ... especially the covered casserole and plate. I have a few pieces but would always welcome more. Love the dried roses too.
    Hugs,
    Audrey

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  6. Pure love for transfer ware and your pieces are gorgeous. I have a few pieces and some of my mothers brown slipware. It looks beautiful with shades of blue especially aqua in spring.
    Have a nice weekend. ☘️

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  7. What a gift for that man to give you such good advice on keeping those dishes. Brown is my favorite color of transfer ware. Woodland by Spode would be mine if it were a lot cheaper.

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  8. Hi Katie
    Thank you for the nice comment and follow on my blog! I do love china but since we made a big move west I had to minimize my collection of all things. I don't own any transferware except for a few decorative pieces. and I have to say your collection is wonderful. I love the pitchers and covered dish.

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  9. OH what precious dishes and love the settings. I've been slowly getting some brown transferware - it really appeals to me, but as you say, the prices are generally a bit much. I have red/pink transferware, also blue and green - in several different patterns - love it all.

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  10. You have a very nice collection. I especially like that pitcher! I am going to follow you on Instagram, as I can't seem to follow you on the blog.

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  11. Somehow your blog fell off my sidebar reading list. I popped in by accident and I am so happy to see a post from you. Happy St. Patrick's Day. I love your collection of brown transferware. I had a few pieces but sold them years ago because I thought they were ugly, too (back then). Now I wish I had them back. I am going to try to get your blog back on my sidebar, Katie. Have a wonderful weekend. xo Diana

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  12. That was a very nice thing the man told you about the transferware. Aren't you glad you didn't sell it. A similar thing happened to me. I was very young when my parents died and we had an estate sale. I already had a rolling pin so I had my mother's out for sale. One of my friends bought it because it was old and she liked old things. A few weeks later she brought it back to me and said she thought I should keep my mother's rolling pin. I appreciated that so much and thought how nice that was of her and how wise she was. I sold many other things I deeply regret but I was young and had limited space and didn't realize old pieces would mean so much now to me.

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  13. Katie, yes, we do love china as much as you. That's why we are here. Where to keep it all. Interesting what you said about almost selling your grandmother's brown transfer ware. Somehow when we are young, we think everything will be around forever. I was in GoodWill this week and you can always tell when grandma died and the kids 'don't want this old stuff' and donate it. It's like the cupboards were cleaned out and donated. This week there were so many dishes from the 1970's. So many dishes, so little money, but I do what I can.
    I was able to keep a lot of my mother's Herringbone and Iris glassware. Glad I did.
    Myrna

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  14. Katie, I love your collection! I'm so glad that you hung on to the pieces that were your grandmothers. I felt the same way about brown transferware. I love and collect the red. I have ran across just a few brown pieces and they really have grown on me. I use them for fall, but I love yours with the blue eggs! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  15. I am so happy you kept your Grandmother's transferware and added to the collection! Your table is absolutely lovely and you've really shown how brown and white can be used in a variety of ways. I have Johnson Bros. brown and white plates and they usually come out only in the fall. Now I'm rethinking this whole idea! Thanks! Rosie @ The Magic Hutch

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  16. What a lovely way to start a collection, beginning with something so treasured. That man at the garage sale was very wise, indeed! You have some very beautiful pieces and I love how they go with the beautiful creams, blues and greens in your pretty table settings. Love your sweet spring vignettes, too. Thank you so much for your kind condolences on the loss of our little pup. Hugs xo Karen

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  17. Katie, it was fun reading about the history of your collection. I think the set of plates was an excellent find. I would use those year round. One of my favorite colors is brown. I know that seems odd, but it has a richness that speaks to me. Our wedding china selection in 1975 has a chocolate brown rim with a gold edge rim. Our wedding crystal is brown (colored crystal was the fashion in the 70s), and we have a set of French silver flatware that is brown enamel. Add to all of this a small collection of brown transfer ware. I might add that one of my all time favorite Easter tablescapes was using the brown with touches of greens. Loved seeing your tablescape.

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  18. Katie, your collection of brown transferware is incredible. We do have a few Friendly Village that are brown with red and green. I have blue and white and red (pink) and white and a little bit of green. I have been coveting brown & white for awhile. Oh well, it will soon be garage sale season again.

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  19. Happy that you didn't sell them, your collection is beautiful!

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