The Makings of a Set

Some years ago I enjoyed my first cheese n' cauliflower bake at my then-boyfriend's aunt's. This ardent home decorator and vintage dealer lived in a charming 1920s art deco two bedroom apartment in a small block of just 4 units in exclusive St Leonards, Sydney. Her unit overlooked a pine forest and then the sea.

But it wasn't the envious furniture she had, or her cheese n' cauliflower bake recipe, or her pretty decor stuff I remember. It was her Johnson Bros White Heritage dinner set. I love a white dinner set but didn't want something round and plain and modern. Since then, my mum-in-law and I have been trying to gather a dinner set for 8 without spending top dollar.



The Shopping Sherpa has set herself a challenge to own a complete Maxwell & Williams dinner set via op shops, second hand stores and eBay. On her blog (bottom left menu) she records how many items of the set she scored and the cost it took her.

Whenever I go to my favourite second hand and op shops, I always keep a lookout for the Johnson Bros pieces. So I am thinking of recording on my blog my challenge too.

I will say, after waiting for some other person to buy them for weeks, I scored 7 teacup sets today at Salvation Army for $25. Think I'd like to collect a set for 8.

So far:

Dinner plate: 6
Soup bowl: 1
Tea cup: 7
Saucer: 10
Dessert plate: 4
Bread and butter plate: 8 yay!
Milk creamer: 1