Teacup Tales

Come join me as we celebrate the end of autumn with a new tea and trio. Today's featured teacup is a Shelley from the Cairo line. This trio is new to me, but it certainly isn't new by any means. It is one of my oldest teacup sets with production dates from 1910-1921. It's almost officially an antique. I purchased this trio on Ruby Lane, an online antique marketplace, for the amazing price of ten dollars. The seller did indicate it had flecks of factory dirt in the glaze. For those of you who follow me, you know that I adore Shelley teacups. The flecks of dirt didn't deter me from buying the trio. Shelley produced a variety of teacup shapes. The teacup is in the Norman style and was named after one of Percy Shelley's sons. This teacup was used for Bestware and Seconds from 1915-1924. I was surprised to see how visible the flecks of dirt are on the dish. Look closely, can you see the flecks? The Cairo line features an art deco design in green, ...

Please join me as we discover or rediscover some tea time accessories that often go unnoticed. The teapots and teacups garner all the attention, but these beautiful embellishments also deserve some attention. Last January I featured some different accessories which you can view  here. I like how this stainless steel infuser is in the shape of a teapot. My favorite accessory~ I purchased a set of these teapot-shaped napkin rings at a tearoom seven years ago. This sweet little dish can serve as a candy dish or an open sugar bowl. It was gifted to me by my Great Aunt who was a prolific antique collector. It's marked and from Vienna, Austria. My only piece from Austria. I purchased this vintage creamer and sugar set at a tea shop many years ago. I have several other sets, but I enjoy using this one the most because of its tiny flowers and gold gilding. The back marking shows "Germany, US-Zone." I assume this is West Germany. I am not fami...

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first tea festival! I enjoyed every moment of it. The San Francisco Tea Festival was located in the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero which overlooks the Bay Bridge.  The Ferry Building itself is an attraction with its huge farmers' market and wealth of gourmet restaurants, chocolate, honey and coffee shops. Last Saturday was unseasonably hot in the City-80 degrees!  There were so many people walking along the Embaradero that I couldn't get a decent photo, so here is one from the internet. After a short wait in line, we made our way into the building and were each handed our own "swag" bag complete with tea related samples and a commemorative festival teacup.   samples The hall is architecturally beautiful, but it was hot! There was no air conditioning and the tables were spaced so close to one another. Everyone was bumping into each other, but since it was a tea loving crow...