Blog Arts de la table — General

Christmas presents do not always have to be something new. From festive tableware and useful stocking fillers to the missing piece from a much-loved dinner service, pre-loved china can make a surprisingly thoughtful gift.

Once, breakfast had its own dedicated tableware, from large cups and saucers to toast racks, muffin dishes, egg cups and preserve pots. We take a nostalgic look at how the traditional breakfast set disappeared from everyday British tables, and which pieces survived.

There was a time when sending a plate from Dorset to Germany, America or Australia was mostly a question of packing it properly, putting the correct postage on the box and trusting the postal service to do the rest.

Those days feel rather distant.

International shipping has become considerably more complicated in recent years.

It would be easy to look at the recent news around Denby and feel rather gloomy about British pottery. Another historic name changed forever. Another working pottery lost. Another reminder that the tableware industry we grew up with is not the same one we have today.

And yes, there is sadness in that. Denby closing its pottery doors is a genuine loss, particularly for those of us who care about British-made tableware, factory history and the everyday pieces that have sat on kitchen tables for generations.

But it is not the whole story.

For anyone who cares about British pottery, this is a sad one.

After more than two centuries of tableware history, Denby has now closed its stores, its Pottery Village and its Derbyshire pottery operation. The brand itself appears set to continue under new ownership, but the Denby we have known for generations, the Denby of Derbyshire clay, British-made stoneware, factory seconds, pottery visits and familiar patterns on kitchen tables across the country, has reached the end of a very significant chapter.

That deserves a moment.

When people talk about replacing a broken plate, cup or serving dish, the words can get a little muddled. One person may call everything china, another may say pottery, while someone else may refer to ceramics, porcelain, bone china, stoneware or earthenware.

Summer eating has a different feel to it. It is less about formal place settings and more about sharing. A quiche on the table. A jug of something cold. Bowls of salad. Pickles, chutneys, olives, dips, bread, fruit, cheese, and someone inevitably asking where the...