I’m passionate about china. I began collecting when I got married and chose Spode’s ‘Sheffield’ for our wedding list. They don’t make it anymore but, if you keep an eye out on Downton Abbey, you’ll see it. That’s how it started, and it hasn’t stopped.
My husband’s parents are from the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent and the family business was involved in making china, so when I met them, there was that common thread. They used to show me all the things that had been handed down to them. I inherited the family dinner service, Royal Albert’s ‘Symphony’, and a lobster-sauce boat also came from them. It’s part of a 1950s set by Johnson Brothers, which was part of Wedgwood. Each plate has a separate fish on it, and the colours and detailing are fabulous. There are Victorian fruit plates, hand painted with a different flower on each and gold leaf around the outside. When you go to the factories, you still see craftspeople painstakingly painting details like this – it’s a wonder.
You start off as a collector, become an admirer and, over time, pieces become dearer to you. There’s a nostalgia, because these are designs associated with family celebrations, but they’re not just sentimental and, though they’re fragile, they’ve got to be used. That’s why I keep them in a cabinet, so I can appreciate them as I’m walking through the house. I mix them with contemporary pieces by Astier de Villatte or a terracotta plate from the kitchen. It brings me joy every day.
I’ve always coveted the Royal Crown Derby ‘Antoinette’ tea set. The soft fluting of the saucers is divine. We stock it at Source and I thought, “This is the time to buy it!” I am a peppermint-tea person and there’s nothing nicer than having it out of a bone-china teacup. I have some French and South African china, but most of my collection is British – it’s where my heart lies. As an industry, we dominate the china world and I think it’s important to support that. dcch.co.uk
