I have always loved blue and white china. As a little girl I remember my mother telling me the story of the oriental princess as she helped me to eat with my first cutlery. Each spoonful revealed more of the picture and as the story continued I happily finished my eating. I never tired of the Willow story and the trick always worked!

Since the first dishes came from China and were then copied by English and European potteries the Willow pattern has been a favorite household pattern for pottery and china. It has never gone out of fashion or stopped being produced. There is something very jolly about it as well as feeling homey and cozy.

When I was older, I remember Sunday lunch with my Grandmother. She had grown up in the South, (America) and was of European decent and as most Southerners would know and agree, ladies of the South are very good at entertaining and hospitality The 16ft Victorian mahogany dining table would be opened to have 1 or 2 extra leaves added, best tablecloths and set beautifully with blue & white willow pattern china. The table would be full to heaving with food, Southern fried chicken, candied yams, etc., etc. Family, friends and the odd stray my Grandmother thought needed feeding up would be entertained and it was followed by cobbler,lemon meringue pie, green tomato pie and key lime pie. Not only was blue & white china used as “Sunday best” it was the everyday china and what you ate off of in the kitchen and breakfast room. i know this is getting off track, but, my Gran lived to 103 and was still cooking, baking, canning., growing veg and had chickens. When visiting, there was always food cooking. I would ask “who are you cooking for?” she would say “those very elderly people down the road, they are a bit frail and can’t take care of themselves.” The elderly people down the  road were in their early 70s!

Life is not quite like that today but the willow pattern lives on in it’s modern incarnation. As it has been produced for so long one can buy a complete set or what is much more fun and interesting is to collect different pieces, which can be far more affordable and build up a collection to use. Staying in the blue and white theme, you can mix other patterns, say for instance English pastoral scenes, flow blue, Spode's Italian, sponge ware, or any type of a blue & white pattern. It makes it interesting as well as a talking point at a dinner party and if anything gets broken, easily replaced!