DISH OF THE WEEK: Juliska's Petit Singe

From the minute I saw Juliska's glassware (specifically a trio of handmade glass bud or small bouquet vases) I was intrigued. I think I was wandering through Michael C. Fina during the weeks after 9/11 and trying to lose myself in something beautiful when suddenly these detailed little vessels (parked next to pitchers, creamers, etc.) jumped out at me with their jewel-like clarity. I still keep those three vases in their natal box, complete with foam rubber that fits snugly around their forms.

And now I have found the china.

The glass pieces (40 European glass repros) were followed by Berry & Thread, perhaps Juliska's best known china pattern, and then by a lighting department. By 2006 the collection had swelled to 600 pieces. The company is spearheaded by a Brit named Dave Gooding who seems to have a zest for life and an unstoppable drive to become "the best tableware company in the world."

Gooding's family was in the European tableware import business so he comes by his passion naturally. After stints at Hobart College and a few companies (including MacKenzie-Childs where, by his own admission, he travelled the country "coddling Neiman Marcus") he founded Juliska to advance his vision, although the small group of people up in New England state that collaboration and open thinking is their aim.

And then in 2007 Jean-Phillippe arrived. JP is the monkey, real or imagined, it's hard to tell, who inspired this curious simian dinnerware, which is both classic and quirky. The little monkey appears on everything from salt and pepper shakers to fabulous pitchers to plates by the pile, looking always slightly mischievous and about to jump off the pieces. Who could resist those intertwined tails on the platters (see above)?The china, made of vitrified stoneware, can go from fridge to oven and back again, and resists chipping. And because the dishes have a paint wash over them (rather than a flat gloss) they look antique, ike they might have been used at some glorious French table in the 18th or 19th century. Bring on the carnival!

Juliska does not sell directly to the public. For more info, and infinite fun, go to http://www.juliska.com/ and browse the works -- you will not be disappointed.

DISH OF THE WEEK: ROSANNA'S FOUR CALLING BIRDS

I grew up in an old part of an old city and holiday time to me was forever sparkling green and silver, gold and red. It meant garlands wrapped around the base of street lamps and warm oak banisters, a favorite pearl-colored angel ornament, candles in windows and wreaths on doors, people bundled up against the cold in crowds hurrying home after shopping, hot chocolate, satin party dresses, singing carols. It meant Santa, waiting in the shadows to come down your chimney that one night, even if you didn't have a chimney. It was always pure magic.

Rosanna Bowles, the Seattle-based china designer, is one of the few who can bring that magic back into adulthood through her work. Borrowing from visual elements of her many travels and interests, she is able to combine the innocence of childhood with the wisdom of the seasoned artist, which I consider a high form of alchemy.

So I would like to focus on one of her new patterns as a "must have" for your holiday party: FOUR CALLING BIRDS. They are, ostensibly, the birds of "Partridge in a Pear Tree," but brought into a new century. Drawn in 24-carat gold with a splash of foliage against a white background, they look like they have been caught on the edge of a snowstorm. The dessert plates feature the birds and branches in four different positions, so you feel a flock has landed on the table. There is something about this pattern that merges the delicacy of an Old Master drawing with a modern starkness and a richness of material. The pattern also comes in small footed dishes, perfect for scattering rich tidbits around your living room. I can also see these dishes being used together for a sushi snack, the footed ones perfect for soy sauce and wasabi.

So run don't walk to http://www.rosannainc.com/ to see this and other delights that Rosanna has in store for you. One of the "perks" in buying at Rosanna is that each pattern comes in its own themed box. I use mine in closets for gloves, scarves and other small things and they look amazing on a shelf (also under a Christmas tree with a simple ribbon around them in case you aren't buying for yourself.) Enjoy -------

SETTING THE STAGE

We are all so busy these days that meals are eaten on the run and no memory of the meal remains. I am as guilty of that as any busy person, but a couple of times a week - whether I am on my own or with friends - I set my table for an everyday meal as though it were something really special. I might use plates I haven't used for a while or dust off some glassware and I almost always have a good wine.

I was looking around for good diagrams and information about setting tables and I am unashamedly cannibalizing from the Emily Post Institute which seemed to be the shortest version). This tablesetting is for daily use - later I will go into more formal tablesettings and settings that deviate from any kind of plan like this one. And the whole thing of the thumbs (read below) is really a bit much. But after all, great artists - and we all have great artists within us - must learn to draw before they can paint. So have fun and add some of your own personality to the following. If you want one, a basic diagram is pictured above.


Etiquette Everyday ~ Entertaining
Table Setting Guide: Basic Place Setting



For a basic table setting, here are two great tricks to help you – or your kids – remember the order of plates and utensils:

Picture the word “FORKS.” The order, left to right is: F for Fork, O for Plate (the shape!), K for Knives and S for Spoons. (Okay – you have to forget the r, but you get the idea!)

Holding your hands in front of you, touch the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your forefinergers to make a lower case ‘b’ with your left hand and a lower case ‘d’ with your right hand. This reminds you that ‘bread and butter’ go to the left of the place setting and ‘drinks’ go on the right. Emily Post could have used that trick – she was often confused about which bread and butter belonged to her—and sometimes she used her neighbor’s! In which case, when it was called to her attention, she would say to the dismayed lady or gentleman, “Oh, I am always mixing them up. Here, please take mine!”

Some other things to know:

Knife blades always face the plate
The napkin goes to the left of the fork, or on the plate
The bread and butter plate and knife are optional

Have fun with this -- make it a game with your family when you're setting the table for dinner, whenever you all have dinner together again, of course!!!

The Beginning of My Addiction

I am addicted to dishes. In my small New York apartment, I have several cabinets and shelves overflowing with plates, vessels, platters and flatware. On top of my kitchen cabinets my calphalon roasting pan lives happily next to part of my mother's Stangl collection, a few pieces of Red Wing Smart Set (a marvelous geometric pattern from the 50s), and a clear glass Taylor Smith and Taylor Moon and Stars cake plate. Don't even bother trying to find room in the closets - the Pyrex bowls, the Hall casseroles and several sets of Russell Wright and other dishes got there first.

What got me started was far more simple: it was a shape. To be specific, an ovoide plate. A white ovoide plate. This plate (pictured here) is the Tomorrow's Classic shape designed by renowned designer Eva Zeisel in the early 1950s for Hall China. The shape was all Zeisel's but was embellished into several patterns, some designed by her students, some by Hall artists. I have owned many of the patterns, but my favorite is the plain, white. Zeisel has said that most of her designs have to do with mother/daughter themes, and there is something about this plate that reminds you of an egg, or the shape of a pregnant woman, and that feels more relaxed and comfortable than a perfect round or square. It is, however, infinitely subtle. I have sold off most of my beloved Tomorrow's Classic patterns, from Caprice to Peach Blossom, but I have 12 of the white plates and am buildng up my collection of the salad plates to match. I love how this pattern looks on a midnight blue tablecloth with white candlesticks and silver candles - and with the white compote in the center fillwed with silver beads.

Tomorrow's Classic has become just that - in fact, Crate and Barrel has re-issued a version of it that combines with another Zeisel Hall pattern called Century. The color is different (more off-white) and the plates are not quite oval, but the compote and teapot (the teapot is pictured) are spot on and much cheaper than the originals which you can often find on ebay or through dealers. I still buy the original. This was the wedding gift of the moment in the 50s and I am always finding people who are putting their mother's bridal china on the market. I have made great friends over these beautiful pieces of porcelain. And I have gained a LOT more porcelain because of this porcelain.

Dish Lovers Unite!

When I say dish, I mean anything that can be put on a table, eaten from, served on, embellished by flatware or napkins, and made of anything from plastic to porcelain.

Starting in mid-November, I will be posting my favorite dish finds a couple of times a week, and adjunct info such as great table settings, party suggestions from informal to formal, dishes men like, what your table says about you etc.

If anyone has any "dish" they would like to send me, puh-LEASE do so!!!