For the love of antique english ironstone

Do you ever sit back and wonder what specific thing, event or person triggered a new focus, energy shift or obsession in your life? For me it was this:

Being the local real-estate stalker that I am (yes, I check har.com about 3 times per day just to peek inside the homes in my neighborhood for decorating ideas) I saw this platter in a few homes including that of a well known local designer named Ginger Barber. After 'googling' (even ebay didn't have it) this item endlessly I finally found one antique store in the Houston area that happened to have ONE (thank you Carol Gibbins Antiques). Well for those of you out there who know how much ironstone costs you can appreciate the abrupt halt to my search for this particular ironstone piece once Carol told me the price over the phone.

Imagine my surprise when I was awakened early on Sunday morning (May 10th, Mother's Day), to the smell of eggs cooking, toast toasting and the sound of hushed giggles from the kitchen. Was I being served breakfast in bed (in my 5 yr olds pink canopy bed of course)? My eggs and toast were served on such a large, white, heavy, dairy-slab looking platter with the word 'MARGARINE' painted in large black letters on the rim. Could it be? YES!
I do have THE BEST hubby and daughter in the world.

This antique ironstone dairy slab (made in the 1800's by Higginbotham & Co) is now living happily on my dining room table since it's way too big and pretty for my quirky little kitchen. I am looking for a large glass cloche for it and am not sure what I'll place inside....any ideas?
This beautiful piece is responsible for causing me to fall deep into an interior design and home improvement obsession. The good news is at least I'm focusing on improving my own home now instead of wasting time drooling over other people's homes.



Here are a few pieces of ironstone that I've since acquired:

I'll leave you with this Ironstone mosaic of my collection of three. Do three things really constitute a 'collection'?