When I think of Sarah Rae's 160 plates, I have to laugh at my own meager collection – of three. But, for me, those three plates are some of the best purchases I've ever made and, slowly but surely, perhaps one at a time, they will be joined by others. Why so few? It has to do with finances, but also a lot more…
A couple of months ago, my partner and I moved from a small studio to an apartment with a real bedroom, kitchen, and dining room, and realized we needed, or wanted, more things for our home. Each time I have made a new acquisition, whether it's a kitchen scrub brush or a bookcase, I have tried to choose items that are not only nice to look at but also thoughtfully produced. I want the things we own and use to have meaning, to do as little harm as possible to the environment, and to last a lifetime.
Now that we have a proper dining room and table, we decided to replace our youthful, and chipped, mishmash of dishes from the Japanese 99-cent store with something more "grown up." (We gave the old ones to friends and Goodwill.) But each time I came close to purchasing a set of new white dishware, I stopped, wary that it was made in China, or didn't look durable, or that we might not like the way it looked in five years. Then I remembered Heath Ceramics, the designer of products that are handcrafted in the state where I live (California), in facilities that are socially and environmentally responsible. (Read about their full history and values here.) We became especially smitten with their Coupe tableware line, which was designed in 1948 but is truly timeless. Perfect, right? ... except for the price tag.
I nearly gave up on the idea, for $31.50 is a lot for us to spend on a single dinner plate. But then we decided that, for us, the cost was worth it. We could get a full set of dishes at IKEA or Target for a fraction of the price, but we'd rather pay more to support quality, sustainability, and beauty – even if it takes us months or years! So, thus far, we have bought our first three plates from Heath and will budget and buy more as we can afford them. We fully appreciate the dishes at dinnertime and are mindful when cleaning and storing them. We have heard tales of Heath plates lasting for decades, even being passed on to the next generation. We know not everyone has the luxury of doing this, but for us it's an investment we are proud to make.
Have you ever approached a purchase this way, whether it's dishware or other items for your home?
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(Images: Emily Ho, Heath Ceramics)
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I've approached it and would love to actually touch it but the visions of children also approaches such dishes quickly makes the dispensable ikea dishes much more appropriate and realistic.
This was something I was stuck on for a while. Fortunately, shortly after we moved into a new house, I found the perfect complete set of vintage dishes at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet. It was a steal at $56 and was made in the US too. Yeah, it may not be microwave or dishwasher safe but we don't have either.
I love this, Emily. Yay for you and your partner!
My parents have had Heath plates for 35 years. They were the only plates we had growing up and they were fantastic. We didn't have a dishwasher for a long time and I can't ever remember one breaking. That said, my mom says keep them out of the microwave (course she puts them in there all the time). Enjoy!
Fiestaware is made in America, durable as heck, and between Ikea and Heath in price-point. It works for me.
Exactly why we registered for Heath dishes - they're gorgeous, durable, and environmentally and socially sustainable. I wasn't a fan of most department store dish sets (and hate the concept of a pre-assembled place setting) and didn't want something made outside of the States. What a great company Heath is - very personal and friendly to work with!
My husband and I just did this - we went to the local craft fair (Portland Saturday Market) and for our wedding registered with a potter for a set of 8 dinner plates, dessert plates, and a mixing bowl. It was great because we knew the plates were local and could research and talk with the artist before making our selection. The "registering" was a little odd - we just gave the artist an order form and our name and gave our guests his phone number. They called him and sent him a check for whatever they wanted to buy us and after the wedding we went to his booth and picked up our dishes!
I agree with xsimpletunx - These dishes would be fantastic in my home 20 years from now, when there are no more children. I think it's important to raise kids with beautiful, ethically produced stuff, but I also think it's important that they contribute to the household by having jobs - like doing dishes. I can't take that away from them, and I certainly would not be able to let them touch a plate I paid $31.50 for!
I have found full sets of vintage dishware that was dishwasher and microwave safe for under $50 at junk/thrift stores. That's a good enough stand in for the next two decades.
I'm on a budget and have been getting most of my dishware from thrift stores (goodwill, savers) like jess thrift. I'd say that's a pretty eco friendly option. For some reason, my guests always love my thrift store dishes and coffee mugs the best.
it took me about 5 years but I bought my dinnerware from a local potter who was even willing to custom make pieces for me. The only thing I'm lacking is regular size bowls but all in good time. I'm lucky to live where there is a great pottery tradition (North Carolina).
I bought a beautiful full set of vintage dishes from good will for $65. I figured if so many of them have made it this long, they should last me a while, too. I don't have time to discover the whole lifecycle of every item I purchase, and I don't understand why something that already exists is less "green" than finding some ethical, local, organic, natural blah blah blah. Those are just code words to make you feel smug about having something shiny and new.
Emily--
Have you considered making a trip to the factory in Sausalito yourself? They have "seconds" for sale there, often for 40-50% off - If you don't see what you're looking for in the seconds bin, they may have something in the back...
...I don't know if they stock seconds in the LA store - but it's certainly worth checking out.
I started collecting my Heath dinnerware a few years back via eBay: A far less expensive way to gather pieces than brand-new. A plus is that you can choose discontinued colors and shapes to make your tableware collection interesting - such as the lovely, yet fairly common "Sea and Sand" glaze.
Just this past week I received a whole slew of plates plus discontinued bowls and platter in my preferred "Moonstone" glazed "Rim" style, purchased via eBay for about the price of what I've paid for just 8 new bowls - and I couldn't believe they looked as good as new!
BTW - It's called the "Coupe" line - not "Couple".
I got married earlier this year, and Heath dishes are pretty much the only thing I really cared about registering for. I know this may sound silly, but I actually enjoy doing the dishes more since we got Heath. We are also using paper plates less.
They are so classic, beautiful, and surprisingly sturdy. They are dishes that I am confident will last decades. Also, the simplicity of the style gives the dishes flexibility. They mix and match with the four settings of Fiesta dishes we already had. Because I think the style is easy to dress up, I didn't feel the need to register for good china
I love the philosophy of Heath. Even though registering for Heath felt like an indulgence (especially since I live in Chicago), it was nice knowing that I was supporting artisans and an independent socially responsible business.
If you live in California, they have often have great deals in their physicals stores on seconds and experimental batches. That may help make Heath a little more affordable.
"...I don't understand why something that already exists is less "green" than finding some ethical, local, organic, natural blah blah blah. Those are just code words to make you feel smug about having something shiny and new."
Um. In the first place: where did anyone imply that new trumped old? In the second place: resentful much?
I love the idea of registering for Heath, esp if your family (or your parents friends) have that expectation of you registering for an expensive department store china pattern. This makes a reasonable alternative when you're trying to please others.
I also don't think we need to worry some much about justifying stuff like this. I find the white/rich/fillintheblank guilt posts a little boring.
I like that some commenters chimed in that they do this through collecting second hand or used dinnerware. Whether you spend alot or not, i like the core of this piece which is... are you trying to build durability in your home goods?
I think some of the commenters gave you a valid path to follow, how do you do this... with kids?
Just a week ago, I had exactly this idea. Likely it will take my husband and I 5 years or so, but we are looking forward to slowly collecting a full set of Heath dishware. I was so excited to see someone else with the same idea!
To be honest, no!
I live in a home full of children and animals.
I refuse to live out of an Ikea or other cheap big box just because we have a young family (and it would make me cry from decor deprivation - our children range from 19 down to 2!) so I've searching out things I love at thrift shops, yard sales, and yes...dumpsters and salvage. We just got all the blackboards coming out of the school across the road that is being renovated - FREE!
What it means is pieces that need some love but I won't mind if they get sticky hand prints on them, or a child accidentally breaks a plate while scraping leftovers into the compost.
I figure in 10 years we'll get the livingroom furniture reupholstered. They've lasted in constant use for close to 100 years, I think they can wait 10 years for new covers.
My partner and I both work from home on artist wages. I think we've sort of built vintage and a little rough around the edges into our design aesthetic to accommodate kids and cats and large dogs!
My parents also built their Scandinavian dish and flatware set over the years as I was growing up. It's held up over the decades really well (very simple, modern black and white pieces) and recently I've inherited them. When my parents visit, it means so much to them to see my table, and of course I am reminded of so many special meals growing up whenever I lay them out now. I love the idea of slowly buying special dishes and then passing them on.
I would LOVE to do this all the time, but money IS a challenge. As wonderful as it would be to buy sustainable everything (and as much as that would be good for me - the eco-nerd to do), it's definitely a budgetary challenge.
So instead, I try to buy used, or take cast-offs from friends and family. The majority of my furniture, and a good deal of everything else has come from the homes of friends and family as they have outgrown or moved on from them. As a result, my couch and chairs are older than me, and hold marvellous memories of my childhood. My dishes, too, are older than me, and remind me of countless feasts at the no longer existing family cabin.
Not everything is like that, however, but I'm doing my conscious best to stick to that rule of sustainability or second-hand. After all, the 3-R's are reduce, reuse and recycle. Sustainability comes in at least a few different modes.
Your story is nice, but buying new sustainable or new IKEA aren't your only options. Like mudmama, I can't think of anything more sustainable or budget friendly than buying a set of dishes at a thrift store or antique store, or surfing Craigslist for free stuff....
Most of the time, I am a big supporter of buying one high-quality, handcrafted, environmentally-concious (or as many of those things as I can get) item over a series of cheap and bound-to-break, yet affordable and stylish items. However, for me, dinner plates are one of the very few exceptions. Dinner plates break. I have butterfingers. It's inevitable. It's going to happen. While I know that I'm not likely to snap a swanky, well-crafted bed in half, it takes just one slip of the hand to disintegrate an oft-handled ceramic piece. Thus, for this reason, dinner dishes are one of the few things I will probably always buy cheap, manufactured, and mass-marketed. Because as long as I'm replacing plates, I'd rather replace $3 ones instead of $33 ones.
My everyday dishes are a vintage steal. $12 for 8 perfect place settings. I won them at my very first estate auction. Unfortunately, I tripped over my dog clearing the dinner table one night and broke four pieces! THAT is why I will continue to find crazy deals on used pieces, and would never ever spend that kind of money on something I ALWAYS break. For the not so clumsy folks, more power to ya.
I can understand buying what you really want as you can afford it, but I have to say the eco-green spin to this post is a little misguided to me. While I applaud your interest in buying locally and items that will have lasting value and durability, firing new pottery uses a LOT of energy, even if, as Heath says, it is at a lower temperature. There is so much really nice pottery and china already existing out there, it would seem so much greener to buy it second hand, if that really is your main concern. In fact, I'd be willing to bet there is even Heath available on eBay and craigslist; or local thrift, consignment, and estate sales.
Just a note of caution to those buying vintage sets of plates - older sets of ceramics may have lead in the glaze. Might be a good idea to get a lead testing kit to check if your set is okay...
Thanks for your comments, everyone. I just want to note that I wholeheartedly support buying used/vintage dishware. In our case, we wanted matching, white dishes and really love this particular design, so it made sense for us.
@elizabeth630 I love the fact that you worked with a local artist! A great idea.
@DahliaCactus I'm not sure whether you were referring to me or other commenters, but my partner and I are neither white nor rich! :)
@bepsf Thanks for the tips and, whoops, I've fixed the name!
I love the idea, but with three kids and frequent guests, three plates wouldn't get us through a single meal!
We have Fiesta, which a few others have mentioned. Durable, made in the USA and comes in a rainbow of colors. I rotate through mine seasonally and pack away colors as I get tired of them. Then they seem fresh and different when I get them out again.
Plus, they are cheap enough that I'm not upset when one breaks, which hardly ever happens. Because, did I mention they are durable? I think we've broken three in the decade we've been using them. With kids, that's a must.
No, they're not handmade, but I think I'd cry if my kids broke a $30 plate.
To me it all comes down to what do you want to be surrounded by on your table while you are eating, on your counters, in your cabinets, and in your house.
We love our Dansk plates, our china, our crystal and my husband's grandmother's silver. we use it all, every day. A few things in 25 years of marriage have broken and we replaced what we could (Replacements.com is great.) A few more nicks on the silver.
But I wouldn't trade any of it for the gravitas it lends to every meal - both prep and eating. And I certainly don't want to share my house with a bunch of "stuff" that I'm only using because I am afraid of using the real stuff that I actually like. We live in a small house, so we have to use everything that's there. It's worked for us.