Hi Tea Re*Creations: September 2012

As I continue to see this micro business I have fondly named

**Hi Tea Re*Creations**

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grow steadily, I am finding more and more that locally at least, my high tea stand creations are slowly gaining recognition for both their uniqueness and practicality.


One of my creations used as a fruit stand

I am now finding as well that many people have very stylised and individual takes on what they would like created for themselves. So after seeing what I am designing I feel privileged when asked by a client to create a gorgeous one off design . These designs I refer to as BESPOKE.

Bespoke according to Wikipedia means;

" Bespoke is an English word meaning made to a buyer's specification (personalized or tailored)"

This is a fitting description for all the creations pictured below.

ENJOY :)

'PINKIE'
This stand was created specifically for a work colleague currently living with cancer. Pink was the inspiration for this bespoke piece to honor the very deserving recipient. Everybody in the unit where I work contributed to the amazing array of pic-me-ups filling the cottage style high tea stand .

'Pure White Baby Bundle'

Pure White 3 Tiered stand

Completed Baby Bundle

This pure white and gold stand with baby bundle was created especially for a baby shower held recently. I used paper doilies instead of the cup cake papers to sit the goodies in the baby bundle on.

A lovely story attached to this particular creation is that the mum-to-be was so delighted with the high tea stand that she is intending to use it for the Christening Cake/Cupcake at the new arrival's Christening later in the year.

'Port Meirion Botanic Gardens/Roses'

Created by request for a colleague of my daughter-in-law.
This lady was able to give me a detailed description of the style of plates she was hoping that I could source for this beautiful stand. As many collectors of Port Meirion would know, these plates can be rather expensive, so I did my best to source plates from their starting point (England) which would keep costs down for the client. I was delighted to hear that my client was very very happy with the results as she was giving it as a gift to her mother-in-law. I am sure that the recipient will also be thrilled when she receives it.

'Regency' from British Anchor ENGLAND c1930

Sometimes a Bespoke piece is created especially for a client who's personality is a true reflection of the timeless elegance that only comes from vintage chinaware. I am personally very drawn to plates just like the ones I used in this very classic vintage high tea stand for a client's friend recently.

People ask me if I get scared drilling into such old pieces of chinaware or if have I ever broken any vintage pieces as they appear so fragile and can be up to 80 years young. The simple answer to that is no!! In fact I find these pieces are far more durable and easier to work with than the newer retro and contemporary plates that I create high tea stands from.

'Jessie'

'Jessie' was my first BESPOKE creation. It seems such a long time ago now but is only a few months back when it all began. I was asked to create this again for a baby shower. The colour scheme was mint, lemon and mauve. I already had the centre tier in my sights and so it began. This photo does not really do the colours in this piece justice. It really came up well and I heard that the mum-to-be was thrilled with her special gift.

SPRING is in the air . . . . . . . . . . .

Do you have a special occasion coming up ?

Perhaps I can create a BESPOKE piece for you

I love a challenge and I get a buzz from sourcing particular chinaware to co-ordinate or enhance a theme or colour scheme. The possibilities are endless.

For those who would like a stand made for a gift or occasion where travel is necessary postage and packaging are a breeze too as all stands can be packed un assembled and very easily assembled when they safely arrive at their destination.

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Happy Days :)

Yesterday . . . . . . . . .

Yesterday many people would have ended the sort of day I had, reflecting on it and wondering why the hell they gave up the first day of Spring (and a beauty at that) to stand in a cold old shed in a country town, on sub zero uneven flooring, smiling wistfully at passers by all the while trying to spread the joy and sell my little Hi Tea Re*Creations . Many people may have . . . . . . . . . .but I didn't and this is why . . . . . .

Hi Tea Re*Creations Stall at Deloraine Market

My faithful man and I started our Saturday morning together a lot like a work day morning, buzzing around the kitchen together and taking far too long to get ready to leave the house together at an ungodly hour, .
We were off to MARKET DAY!!! My little lovelies were tucked away in their travel bags safely clinking away in the back of the car. I was going to sell heaps today, definitely!!

Deloraine is a pleasant 30 minute drive from home and being the first day of spring, everything looked a little bit brighter and maybe even a little bit warmer. (This last statement is a lie). Upon our arrival I put on my cheery stall holder face and headed off to find the organisers and to see what "wonderful position" I had been given to set up. it's usually average if your a newbie stall holder but happily I was near the door to the shed, which on a typical Tassie Winter's morning would have been , well, to put it mildly- CRAP-, but not today. Today the sun was shining in onto my stall and this really did show off the "high tea stands" as they sat gleaming on the crisp latte coloured linen , covered in heavy white lace.Good spot for optimum sales!!

My first "customer" was a lady who had been given the task of gathering as many cups and saucers and high tea stands as she could , rapidly. Her daughter is getting married and the affair will be vintage . This lady stood patting the stands and wishing I'm sure, that the price tags would say 'free to all mother's of the bride'. She started to share her story with me about how tricky it is to find good quality vintage chinaware, . We chatted away for several moments about my

*****HI TEA FOR HIRE SERVICE*

and through our conversation, I do believe that I could be seeing my hire high tea sets heading off to their first Wedding very soon!!!


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My second 'customer' was a willowy much older man, with snowy white hair, matching his bushy beard, poking out from under his 'Akubra' who looked like he had just come in from digging spuds. He was striding through the shed at pace to greet the sunshine outside, UNTIL he spotted my high tea stands glistening in the sunshine. He stopped and gently touched the one I had placed deliberately on the centre of the stand to show off my work, and as he touched it I could 'see' the thoughts he was having as the emotions played across his face. "Do you make these all yourself?" he asked. When I told him that I did and why I did we found ourselves in a long conversation about the art of making high tea stands and also about the type of 'cafe culture' that he would like to see offered in the area and how he believed a true style 'tea house' was needed locally. "I need your business card "he said. "High Teas are all the rage in Queensland." "Was up there for a while [over winter]and loved the food they served at the high tea I went to." To which I thought, "OK , don't judge this book by it's cover, he looks like "the man from Snowy River, but he clearly knows what a "real" high tea looks like. It turns out, He did. He had grown up in the Cambridge area of England during the post war era. His mother, wanting him to experience the little pleasures in life had taken him, along with his aunties, to 'take high tea' at the Savoy Hotel. THE SAVOY HOTEL!!! He took me on a journey with him as he explained the beauty of such an occasion. WOW!!

How unbelievable would that have been to experience The King of all high teas during a time when the pace was slower and etiquette was so articulate. Not to mention the beautiful pieces of chinaware that would have been laid on the table. The same pieces that I now source which are clearly wearing the test of time like a badge of honor with their 'crazing and 'flea bites' but still after decades of use, manage to catch the eye as they glisten in the day light. The pieces that I lovingly redesign into my Hi Tea Re*Creations.

Savoy Hotel London circa 1950

Customers 3 through 7
were never going to buy with currency, any thing that I had to offer on the stall, because they have already given me something that makes me far richer than money ever could. They have given me a family. So as my darling granddaughter ran around the back of the stand calling "Mam Ma uppie, Mam Ma uppie pleeese, my stall holder face turned in to a grandmother's face full of joy and I just enjoyed being the mum , mum-in-law and grandmother.

Esther "straightening" my business cards.

The stories continued all day. The lady with pink hair who wished her life was like the scene from the Royal Albert Kentish Rockery chinaware. The lady with rainbow coloured dreaddies who walked by several times , giving the stands a glance each time. The grandmother who almost too cheerily told me she "had plates" just like these and none of her kid's wanted them so they got "chucked on the tip" (breathe, breathe). :( Or the lady who said "I already have 3 of them plate thingy's at home and there is only so much room to put them isn't there?" Well, I don't know about that? I currently have about 3 DOZEN of them at my place!! LOL

As the day started to wind down with only 2 teacup candles and 1 base screw (any sale is a sale I suppose), sold, I wandered around to chat with other stall holders who were all very disappointed that the customers wallets were not being emptied into the stall holder's pockets this market day. While doing this I picked up dates for 2 more market days that I knew nothing about before hand. Networking is so worthwhile

So- this had been a market day where plenty customers flowed through but none had been prepared to buy. Perhaps it's the current financial climate or the fact that school holidays are just one week away. Or maybe it was simply because we were in a place where high tea just doesn't rate a mention. Yet. What ever the reason at the end of the day, absolutely none of this actually mattered to me. I had spent a perfectly lovely first day of spring in the company of my family and many new acquaintances and prospective future customers and I could not have been HAPPIER!!!

So today . . . . . . .

Today I can look back on yesterday and smile. And that doesn't cost a cent.

Happy Days :) Tonia

Hi Tea Re*Creations