Adding to My Cornishware Collection

I am soooooooo excited for today’s post! You all know how much I love blue and white. I mean it’s the best color combination, right? Today I’m sharing more about adding to my Cornishware Collection.

What is Cornishware?

Okay, before I tell you a little story about my new Cornishware I think it’s important to share a little bit more about this beautiful blue and white pottery, especially if you’re new around here.

Cornishware is pottery made by T.G. Green & Company. The company started in the mid-1860s by Thomas Goodwin Green. The pottery sold like “hot cakes” for British kitchens – people loved the teapots, pudding bowls, and cooking dishes. They also did a huge export business to Australia and New Zealand, as well as, Europe.

The Cornishware iconic Blue and White Stripes designs date back to the 1920s and it was described as the blue waves of the sea and white clouds of Cornwall. They’ve since brought out many colorways but my favorite is the blue and white. I love blue and white together. It just makes my heart so very happy.

My husband is from Cornwall, you can read more about visiting Cornwall here and things to do in North Cornwall here. So I really always dreamed of having Cornishware in our home. I began collecting it back in January. I go more in depth in this post about collecting Cornishware.

I’ve slowly been adding to my collection. Some egg cups here, a few mugs there etc. Jim and Lindsay, Luke’s brother and his partner, came at Christmas and brought loads of striped goodies. Luke was in Cornwall in May and brought me back these side and lunch plates and some breakfast cups and saucers.

An Exciting Email

Well, up until the other week all my Cornishware was new and I enjoyed mixing it on our Welsh Dresser with antique Ironstone. I got a very exciting email from a blog reader and friend out in Arizona. Josette sent me some information on an estate sale happening near her in Arizona and she saw that they had my beloved Cornishware. Would I want her to go to the sale on my behalf?

Ummmmmmm, my heart almost burst out of my chest. The photo had so much Cornishware in it and the prices were unbelievable. I didn’t want to put Josette out but she assured me she wanted to look into a few things for herself. Josette loves antiques and thrifting and she collects Blue Willow so was happy to help with my Cornishware addiction. Ha! Ha!

The day after the sale I got a series of emails from Josette with bits and pieces of items she found me at the sale. Beautiful striped sugar pots, a lovely raisin canister with beautiful crazing (see above), and a few other items that aren’t marked as TG Green but I love all blue and white stripes!

Josette lovingly packed up the box for me and she sent it and it just arrived. You maybe saw this reel I posted on Instagram. In the video you can see all Josette’s finds and the pricing. I will detail below.

Cornishware Haul from Estate Sale

I told Josette I didn’t need more mugs or egg cups. This is what she got:

• Biscuits Canister with lid – $8 – TG Green
• Caster Sugar Canister – $3, lid – $3 – TG Green
• Raisins Canister – $3, lid – $3 – TG Green
• Sugar Canister – $3 – TG Green
• Flour Shaker – $5 – Kleen
• Batter Pouring Jug – $3 – no maker’s mark
• Sugar Bowl with lid – $3 – Sadler
• Milk Jug – $ 1 – no maker’s mark

Grand total for the vintage pottery – $35 and then shipping to Scituate from Arizona was $57. These prices are amazing. One canister can go for $60+ if you look online or in antique stores near us in New England.

Here’s a peek at the unboxing here:

I LOVE all the crazing and the patina of the raisin canister. I can’t imagine wanting to store this many raisins!

The sugar canister and jug are from Josette.

She also found a vintage green cookbook from the 1960s Cape Cod. We’re having so much fun leafy through it and Conor is going to try out a few recipes.

I am really so grateful to Josette for such a thoughtful gesture. I appreciate her offering to go “on the hunt” for me and also pack everything up. Wow! I sent Josette a little something in return. I can’t wait until her package arrives for her. It’s supposed to arrive today. Eeeek! I wish I could see her open it. Hi, Josette!

How can you tell if it’s real Cornishware?

To tell if something really is Cornishware – check the bottom. Above is the maker’s mark on the raisin canister, this is real Cornishware. Unmarked or other maker marks are not the original Cornishware.

Ideas for Styling Cornishware

I’ve been excited to decorate with these new pieces since Josette messaged me. It’s been rather HOT and humid and I lacked motivation but yesterday I had so much fun styling the Welsh Dresser.

Tips for styling a large shelf

• First I remove everything from the Welsh Dresser and clean it. I also dust the shelves.
• Then I start by placing bigger anchor pieces, ones that will make the most impact.
• I like to put vintage ironstone platters behind some areas so the striped pottery or other objects show up
• Then I fill in smaller things. When styling you want your eyes to dance across the space. If they are drawn to one thing then there’s probably something “off”.
• Play around with positioning. Remember it’s visually pleasing to work in odd numbers – 3, 5, 7 etc. You’ll see I grouped three egg cups together.
• Think about playing with heights, shapes and textures. I brought in shells and finds from nature to add texture.
• Always stand back and look at your shelves then tweak a bit more!
• Of course, flowers always add a bit of magic!

Ideas for using plants and flowers in your styling

I LOVE plants and flowers. I think they just have a way of softening a space and adding life to it. I simply went into our garden and cut some items. The Mountain Hydrangea as seen above. I also added Lacecap Hydrangeas, which just miraculoulsy appeared in our garden this year (we didn’t plant them). Learn more about hydrangeas here.

Tucking flowers here and there is a little bit whimsical and perfect for summer.

I also used real, live plants. If you look closely, you’ll see rosemary in a milk jug and mint in another jug. Both of these plants were ones I found at Trader Joe’s I simply took them out of the plastic sleeve and popped them in.

On the other side of the dresser, I used a blue and white striped wine cooler as a vase. This is vintage but I’m not sure who the maker is. I found it at Goodies II over the weekend. I thought it would be great for rosé out on the back patio but doubles as a pretty vase. I simple put a smaller vase inside so I didn’t need to use so many flowers.

Summer Vibes in the Dining Room

This pretty display makes me so very happy.

The painting is by John Fragrazzi. We fell in love with it the moment we saw it. How pretty does the Cornishware look in here?

The little bird house was a gift from a reader, Carolyn, in Canada. Hi, Carolyn! The cake stand was a gift from Matthew Mead. Hi, Matthew! The apple came all the way from Limoges, France. Hello, Isabelle and Alric! Hope you’re having a lovely summer!

I believe it’s so important to decorate with things that have personal meaning to you. Each time you look at them they’ll remind you of a special person or an event. Every time I see this beautiful Cornishware I’ll be reminded of Josette!

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did creating it. I had so much fun styling, photographing, and writing! Sharing simple tips with you guys brings me so much joy.

Did this post give you some ideas for your own homes or tips if you want to start a Cornishware collection?

Did you enjoy this post? If so, let me know! Do you have a collection? If so, I’d love to hear more!

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