Style & Design
Originally published on Monday, 9th June 2008
Storm in a Tea Cup
Ah that evocative 80s power ballad, ‘don't push too far your dreams are china in your hand’. Like the bull in the proverbial shop, the fragility of our teatime friends have so far relegated them to Gran’s ornamental shelf until they eventually fall into our unluckily bequeathed hands.
But crockery is coming back – first we had Man Tea , then Prohibition reintroduced us to the joy of substituting tea for gin and surreptitiously slurping 1920s style behind plant pots. The Hoxton Pony served shots in kitsch white tea sets, and Madame at Maison Bertaux is selling ‘Madame A Trois ’ sets of cups, saucers and side plates collected from antiques markets and vintage sales, and lends them out to Milk Bar so you can choose how you’d like to enjoy your Earl Grey. Even hardened jailbird Martha Stewart’s getting in on the act, hosting afternoon tea at Harrods later this month.
Finally, genius website Chinasearch has come to the rescue of imperfect tea sets, supplying thousands of missing pieces to complete your crockery collection. Our suggestion? Pick and mix to create your own mismatched set – after all, if our dreams really are like china, you want as much variety as possible.
Champagne Afternoon Tea: An Audience with Martha Stewart - 4-5:30pm June 26th
Harrods. 87-135 Brompton Rd, SW1
£45 - 020 7730 1234 ext 2375
