As I talked about in my last blog post, just because a piece of china has imperfections does NOT mean that it can't be perfect for an upcycle project! If a piece of china is too old or damaged to be used on the table, my go-to recommendation is to make a plate wall. In this post I go more in-depth about how to make your own perfectly imperfect wall of vintage china. We added some faux plants to the mantle to give our plate wall an extra pop of color. Plate walls are an elegant and eco-friendly way to brighten up just about any space. (I should know since I have two of them - one above the mantle...
Society gives us mixed messages about imperfections. On the one hand, they are what make us unique and interesting. Our flaws and broken bits tell the story of where we've been, remind us of our strength and shape who we are. At the same time, the marketing for basically every product we've ever been sold revolves around minimizing imperfections and the things that make us different. Newness is prized; “curves and edges,” John Legend's gorgeous crooning aside, depreciate a product's value. Nowhere is this sad reality more true than the land of vintage dinnerware. If you frequent antique stores and estate sales as I do on my many sourcing expeditions, you'd know that just a silly scrape or...
Since that fateful Spring night in 2018 when I rescued a set of vintage china from the curb on trash night—aka: the story behind how The Brooklyn Teacup came to be—my china collection has grown considerably. As someone who didn't register for china before getting married—insisting that my Brooklyn apartment was too small and I didn't want to own anything I wouldn't use regularly—the irony is not lost on me that my home is now literally packed to the gills with it. FYI I was born 6 months before The Little Mermaid came out, so basically I'm the OG Ariel 😉 The truth is, I've come to love these vintage pieces from bygone times. I collect them along with...
Can you believe Mother's Day is only 1 month away?! Me neither. With vaccines more readily available (I got my first shot last week!) but still rolling out, we seem to be in this unique and awkward—albeit incredibly promising and hopeful—transition period. Since The Brooklyn Teacup was featured on NBC News 4 a few weeks ago, I have been receiving a lot of calls from potential customers asking where my store is located and if they could stop by for a visit. I admit that I'm super flattered that people think my basement home workshop is a brick-and mortar-store! While it certainly isn't, the inquiries got me thinking about how I can better accommodate local folks who would like to...
Whether you celebrate the holidays with Easter eggs or egg matzos, if you're in the NYC area and looking to make your holiday table extra special by turning your own family china into tiered serving pieces, curbside upcycling is just the thing.
Plus, details about the 3-Tier Spode Giveaway, a spring Passover/Easter holiday collaboration with Jewish motherhood blogger from Brooklyn, @Ariel.Loves, founder of @JewishFamilyMagic.
