Surround Yourself with Beauty - Part 2 of 3

Blooming for Every Season

An Ode to Villeroy and Boch - Part 2 of 3

Magic happens when you are in the right place with the right mindset at the right time.  That's the circumstance I find myself when the best things in life happen to me.  Magic is the ingredient in forming friendships, falling in love, finding the right house to live in, or even finding an awesome deal while shopping.  When I look back upon the situation and all the components that came together, it's more than serendipity!  It's pure magic!

That's how I feel about these dishes - Villeroy and Boch's "Flora Bella" pattern.  This special pattern has a swirled bright white vitro-porcelain base, a hand painted deep pink edge, and spring and summertime flowers like daylily, freesia, tulip, and azalea blooming.  A delightful acorn tops the coffee pot with it's beautiful classic swirl handle.   To me, it has a French feeling to it, possibly because the base porcelain blank is the same as "Vieux Luxemborg" or Old Luxemborg which is still produced.  

You might be asking, what is "vitro-porcelain"?  Well, it's what makes Villeroy and Boch dishes so durable and elegant.  The word vitreous means "glass-like", describing both enamel coating giving porcelain durability to resist scratches, crazes, and chips as well as the glossy shine that makes the dishes feel elegant and gleam on a table.  The enamel glaze makes the surface highly durable, stain resistant, and sanitary which is great for a daily-use china.  As porcelain is one of the whitest and strongest clays used for bathrooms and dishes, adding the vitreous glaze provides an additional layer of elegance and durability to an already beautiful material.  

You'd never believe that these pretty dishes are used everyday from these photos!  Flora Bella feels as fresh as the flowers that decorate it!  It makes for the loveliest breakfast set and sets an elegant dinner table, no matter the season.   That's part of the beauty of "transitional china patterns" that are made by several manufacturers including Villeroy and Boch.  These dishes look lovely in so many settings and lack a metallic edge of gold, silver, or platinum, which means they are easily used in a microwave and survive a dishwasher.   These look as lovely with stainless flatware as with sterling.  Transitional dishes are the workhorse of your pantry!

This pattern was manufactured from 1990 to 1994, which are some of the years I worked for Villeroy and Boch at their beautiful outlet store in Castle Rock, Colorado.   This is the place where I met one of my favorite friends, Carol, and where Carol fell in love with this beautiful china pattern.  We were working one evening and playing our favorite game, "which pattern would you pick if cost was no object".  You know that our answers changed with the seasons.  However, we had received a large shipment of this pretty pattern and it was marked down as it was to be discontinued.  In fact, though neither of us had two dimes to rub together, the price was so low and the stock was so plentiful, that Carol allowed herself to swoon over this pattern and get a few pieces to enjoy.  She is a tea lover and chose this tea pot and a couple of cups and saucers to enjoy. .  Her family and friends (especially me) loved gifting her with this pattern, adding to her collection.   As the weeks and months went by, she ended up with a lovely service for six and some beautiful serving pieces

When she sets her table, Carol usually puts this pattern on a pink or white placemat.  Today, we are showing it on a beautiful French blue jacquard linen, which makes that pink azalea really pop!  Using a secondary color from the pattern highlights the primary color even more.  So for this pattern, using soft green, butter yellow, hunter green, navy blue, or French blue will make the pattern look even more intense.   One of my favorite stores for pretty linens is Williams Sonoma - especially when they are having a sale.  These jacquard napkins are a great compliment to her beautiful dishes.  

Collecting dishes is a lot like friendships.  I'm lucky to have met Carol more than 20 years ago when we worked together.  We liked each other's dedication to our jobs,  we were both new to Colorado, and we both loved dishes.  Turns out, we both love each other a lot too.  

Carol is one of the most devoted friends I could ask for.  She's been a friend of mine through thick and thin.  Carol came to visit me when I lived in Atlanta.  She supported me through terrible illness and injury.  She encouraged my newfound romance with my boyfriend (now husband)and was one of the first friends he met.  Carol participated in our wedding and picked us up at the airport when we returned from our honeymoon.  Season after season, Carol is a blessing and a great good friend of mine.  She is the best part from our days working for Villeroy and Boch - collecting a new friend as well as a new set of dishes.  I hope I'm as good a friend to her.  

See, it's pure magic!

Blue jacquard napkin from Williams Sonoma

Teaspoon from Oneida Classic Shell