We are so fortunate to live in a creative society where resources are at our fingertips and we can customize anything. Some people feel that if you customize something then it must be personalized too, right? Wrong. You can select a graphic fabric, or pick a color for a room but that doesn’t mean it is personal. Recently, as I rummaged through my flatware, dinnerware, and glassware to sort out what I have to play with this holiday season I started to think it would be great it I could create something completely unique - not just mixing and layering pieces from various stores but actually creating my own patterns and finding new ways to personalize the tabletop. So, I began to dig and here is some of what I have found: Freddy & Ma is a great online resource for custom handbags, pillows, and melamine plates. Of course, my fave are the plates. My mind is spinning with all of the accent plates I could design to change up my tablescapes because they are fairly inexpensive at $15 per plate. Since these are melamine, they are more casual than china and are perfect for a casual dinner - better yet for the kids table because they don’t break or chip. Of course, most items that are custom are likely more expensive than items that are mass produced. Since I am in New York, I thought it would be appropriate to share information about a company here that specializes in custom china. The Bespoke Porcelain Company excels at manufacturing fine custom-made dinner and decorative ware, based on images provided you. From monograms to photos, patterns to colors for rims, gilt details and any other artwork you wish to provide they can create a place setting for you. This is the ultimate luxury, and such an amazing way to share your personality and aesthetic with friends and family. Sarah Cihat gives old dishware new life. She takes thrift store finds, redesigns them and then resurfaces them to create a hip line of dishware. She has dishes that you can purchase online, but she also takes custom orders.

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alt='tealdiamond.jpg' /> Wouldn’t this dish be great for an engagement party? If you are getting ready to propose, have Sarah make one of these plates and include the proposal on one of them. The holidays, especially Thanksgiving, reminds me of my family. My dad sat at the head of the table, and typically my mom sat only momentarily because she was constantly taking care of everyone else. I have never completed my family tree, but it is a goal of mine someday. With that said, Jessica Rust, will sketch your family tree and then transfer it on to a dinner plate or platter. I can’t think of a more personal way to dress up your dinnerware and share it with the entire family. Sharing your family tree will be sure to start conversation and I bet a story or two will be told about the generations before you too. If you are looking for a more economical way to personalize your dinnerware, and you have an artistic hand, you can always create an accent plate by painting your family tree on the plate with ceramic paint. This is a fun project to work on with the kids. Let them paint the tree in the center on the rim of each plate, and then complete the project by including the names of family members around the rim separated by a small dot. As an example of how the hand painted plates can look layered with your fancy china and chargers, we just finished these plates with the seven deadly sins on the rim for Halloween: Remember, regardless of which paint you use, even though they are all non-toxic, none of the plates should be painted where the paint can come into contact with food. If you are painting dishware that is not transparent and you want to paint something on the front of the plate, either keep the design to the edges to avoid contact with food or use a clear charger plate on top of the painted one. Be sure to check in over the weeks to come for more ways to customize and personalize your tabletop this holiday season!

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 1:09 am and is filed under Friends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.