The Simple Joy of Creating a Teacup Collection
They say variety is the spice of life. We tea lovers know that to be so very true. From lively green tea to earthy rooibos, from citrusy Earl Gray to calming chamomile, there is always a perfect tea selection for every moment. Now consider how an individually curated collection of teacups and saucers can enhance your daily experience. What better way for a tea lover to enjoy their favorite brew than sipped from a special and meaningful tea cup and saucer to match your mood, the moment and your special memories. Although everyone loves elegant tea sets, tastefully decorated, and all matched in pattern, graceful and refined, what a great time you will have thinking outside of the box, finding special and unique one-of-a-kind teacup treasures. Discovering and purchasing these pieces that reflect a theme (such as vintage, favorite color, destinations and more) is such a delightful endeavor that will lead to an eclectic teacup grouping to enjoy everyday, and when serving tea to your family and friends when entertaining with tea. Your exclusive collection says who you are and what you love, and is such a great conversation starter at your next tea party get-together!
The pursuit of collecting individual teacups and saucers that reflect your personal style and esthetic can be a lifelong hobby, and it will not break the bank. You can find these tea treasures everywhere you go, building your collection while on vacation or weekend get-away, a business trip, a daytrip or even while browsing close to home in your own downtown shopping district at a thrift or secondhand shop. Having distinctive teacups and saucers that don’t match, but “go together” tell your story and make your tea party events easy to plan. Just make your tea table as whimsical as you can, using your other tea décor. It is perfectly suited for your mood and esthetic, because you picked them out for a reason. What a great way to entertain teatime style!
So tea lovers, here are just a few ideas to awaken your interest in foraging the collectibles and gift shops wherever you go, now and into the future, creating your personal teacup and saucer collection.
Vintage Teacups
So many of us have been fortunate to receive a beloved teacup collection that has become one of our most treasured (and well-used) possessions. It may have been your grandmother, or a well-traveled aunt who collected teacups on global journeys who passed their collection to us. As we enjoy tea as our predecessors did in their day, these same teacups are now vintage, or even antique. Vintage teacups are often just one of a kind, having survived the years (hopefully without chips) and are awaiting a new tea lover and home. As you are out and about, take time to have a cup of tea, and make time of visit a thrift or collectibles shop featuring antiques. Searching for vintage teacups unites you with lovely floral patterns in bone china, delicate diamonds painted with gold leaf, and dainty porcelain teacups decorated with vines. You never know which teacups and saucers you’ll find that will start or add to your collection.
Your Favorite Color…or a Teacup Rainbow
As you identify the theme for your collection, a great choice is to make your purchases by color. Choosing an uplifting color scheme will always bring a smile to your face. Is your favorite color blue? From pastel Robin’s egg blue teacups to deep royal blue hues, or patterns including the coveted Blue Willow pattern, you will find many choices here and there. Or think yellow, bright and happy, with solids and patterns to fit your color scheme. You may find them at shabby chic stores or online as well. You may opt for a new bone china sunflower pattern or a bone china classic enamel pattern in bright, cheerful yellow. Just choose your color and start looking. Seek and you will find….a rainbow of teacups. Look for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, in solids and complementary patterns of all sorts to create a stylish collection to wow your guests and bring you joy every day.
Find a teacup that you love but it doesn’t have a saucer? Consider looking for colorful saucers-only collections on Etsy or EBay to mix and match with your solo teacup purchases.
Destination Teacups
Whether you’re a global traveler or making your way to all fifty states, getaways provide a great opportunity to start or add to your teacup collection. Gift shops, tea houses and specialty shops are everywhere. You never know what you will find that will be just the right teacup and saucer which will remind you of your special trip for years to come. You’ll enjoy your tea and savor the memories that come to mind when you are back home, drinking from your vacation destination teacup.
Not as much time to travel? No problem. There are plenty of websites to browse and find teacups from your inspirational daydream itinerary. Try a search for teacups from your favorite famous cities worldwide. Teacups from countries, such as Japan, China, Ireland, India, England and so many more amazing destinations are available online to make your collection diverse and interesting. If your passion is the great outdoors, search for National and State Parks which often have teacups made for special anniversaries of the parks. From Yosemite to Yellowstone, teacup collecting reminds you of your favorite places. Mix these teacups with nature scene teacups for a fun theme.
A NOTE ON ORGANIZING AND DISPLAYING YOUR COLLECTION:
- Consider keeping a list of when, where and why you picked up each of your teacups and saucers. Write a little note about what made you decide on that teacup and saucer. If you decide to gift your collection to a family member later on, your personal notes will make your legacy collection all the more meaningful with all of its memories.
- Keep your entire collection in a china cabinet, on a special table, on shelves, or put them in your cozy tea corner. Having your collection together in its entirety makes a big impact. Tea décor is fashionable and mixes well with any design style.
- Once you have a large collection, you can rotate and rearrange your teacups and saucers seasonally to keep the look fresh and new. Keep your collection washed and chip-free and ready to use when your next tea party is planned.
- For tea décor design style, use some of your collection as decorations around your house or apartment. Try filling a teacup with a small dried floral bouquet and place on an end table or entry hall table. Place a few sprigs of lavender and rosemary in a teacup and set on your dresser or a bedside table. Put flameless tea lights into several of your favorite teacups and line them on one side of your kitchen countertops for a cool glowing display.
So get your scavenger hunt hat on and pour yourself a cup of your favorite tea. Do a little planning to see just what types of teacups and saucers you would like to collect and where you will display your collection. From there it is all up to you, the opportunities that present to you, and what comes across your path on the journey of life, one teacup at a time. Enjoy!