One of my passions has to be cute crockery. I love a pretty teacup, an unusual pattern to a plate, a striking teapot, and a decorative jug. Basically, I love collecting vintage crockery to create the most beautiful afternoon teas. I’m not saying vintage is the best, I have a lot of modern teacups as well. But there is something extra special about hunting down a matching teacup to complete a set, or discovering something that was created years ago. Plus, why wouldn’t you go for vintage, when there are so many beautiful sets out there.
Like with furniture, when it comes to my crockery, I like to try and see if there is a vintage version. Not only does it make it more sustainable, but I do also believe that the quality is better. It is also interesting to find out the story behind the design, and when I get my different designs out when we have people over for tea they are a conversation starter.
Crockery [/ˈkrɒk(ə)ri/]
[Mass noun] Plates, dishes, cups, and other similar items, especially ones made of earthenware or china.
Where I buy my crockery from
eBay
The first place I search for a specific piece of crockery has to be eBay. This marketplace really does have everything you might want, and a lot of what you don’t need. It can be a little overwhelming, but the search function is great at narrowing down the listings. It also has a great saved search function for those tricky to find pieces. I have a handful of saved searches that e-mail when something gets listed and it really helps me find the best crockery.
I also have a tendency to get a little carried away on eBay. If you ask my husband he would probably say addicted. I go down a rabbit hole and end up buying everything and anything. At the start of lockdown, I became obsessed with Aynsley pottery. This led to a collection of more than 30 vases, as well as a tea set or two, a coffee pot, a cake stand, a scalloped bowl, a shell, and a trinket dish. Each piece I bought is beautiful, I love them. Yes, they are what I wanted. Yes, they suit the house and our decor. But did I need to buy as much as I did all at once? Probably not.
But what I will say is, you also have to weigh up whether that piece will be listed again. Sometimes you have to take a chance, especially if you love it.
But unlike shopping at charity and specialist vintage shops, you can’t inspect the crockery to the same extent on eBay. This is when the photographs and descriptions come in handy. I look over the images for cracks, chips, and fading gilding, as well as imperfections to the glaze, and then check out the description to see if they mention any defects, as well as sizes. I’ve been caught out a few times with not checking the size and once I received a vase no bigger than 3 inches when in reality I thought it was a large vase – no wonder it was a bargain.
When you’ve found the item you want, do another quick search. Check on prices, and see how many people are bidding, to gauge how popular the items are. Then check the seller, read their feedback, a lot of recent negative comments can mean it might not be worth the risk. Then all you can do is wait.
There are many ways to be successful on eBay, mine is waiting until a couple of minutes for the auction to end. Set your highest bid and then swoop in. By adding in your top bid, if you aren’t successful, you at least know you weren’t willing to go any higher, and you can continue your search without feeling like you missed out.
Etsy
Etsy isn’t just for handmade gifts and creative designs, there is also a big vintage community on there. Unlike eBay, where most of the crockery is via auctions, on Etsy, it is a ‘buy now’ price, which means no waiting around to see if you win. This does mean that on average prices are a little bit more, but for rare and in-demand pieces it does mean that you can buy it without the stress of an auction.
Much like eBay, it is easy to search for vintage pieces, what I would say is always select your country, as some sellers might ship internationally but the postage will make it not worth it. Be as descriptive as you like in your search, for more targeted results, like ‘green vintage crockery’ or ‘Aynsley crockery’. You can even exclude things from your search by using a minus sign in front of the word, for instance, ‘vintage crockery -green’ and the search will exclude any crockery tagged with ‘green’.
Have a hunt around and see what’s on offer – there may be a piece you’ve been searching for just waiting for you to buy. Also, save your favourite shops to make it quick and easy to search through.
Charity shops
Before Covid, I loved a rummage through a charity shop’s crockery section, and I’ve been lucky enough to find some beautiful and rare pieces. The thing with charity shops is you might not get complete sets and some might have imperfections, but I always see the pieces I pick up as starting points, and then I can look around on eBay and Etsy for additional items to complete the set.
Antique shops
If you are after a bargain, antique shops might not be for you. But sometimes if you have exhausted all of other avenues and you need that final piece to complete your set then you have to decide how much you want it. I always find antique shops great for inspiration, you might not know which crockery you want to collect, take pictures and names and then search online for bargains.
Chinasearch
For discontinued bona china, and I have a few sets like this, I discovered Chinasearch. As with antique shops, this is not the cheapest of routes, but what they do offer is a ‘find it’ service – so for rare items, this might be a great idea. Do have a look on their site first as they stock over 300,000 discontinued china items from manufacturers including Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Denby, as well as Aynsley, Burleigh, and Coalport. They also have a great sale section so definitely worth checking out.
