Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The French Hutch



Meet Emily of

The French Hutch.

This charming lady loves to travel, is inspired by all things French, and delights in feathering her nest. She is my kind of person! In fact she recently discovered HFTS and wrote to me. She thought we were kindred spirits. I do believe we are! Let's take a look.



This is a peek into Emily's breakfast

room where the French Hutch resides.

Do you see it?



The shelves of The French Hutch
are filled with Quimper pottery!

And this lovely lady is also a fan
of MacKenzie Childs Courtly Check!



Emily @ the Faiencrie de Quimper, 84 Rue St Martin, Paris

Emily and her husband started traveling in Europe in 1998. With each visit to France, Emily would return with pieces of Quimper as her souvenirs.



This pair of Paysan plates were Emily's first French faience purchase. Jim and Emily had taken the train from Paris to Chartres to tour the Cathedral, and after the tour they wandered into a nearby gift store where they made this purchase. These plates hung above Emily's kitchen windows for many years, but now rotate among various spots in her home.



Want a closer look at some of the

special pieces of Quimper displayed on

The French Hutch?



This platter painted with the Anjonc

decor takes center stage on The French Hutch.



The platter is 

painted with exquisite details.





It's no wonder this beautiful 

piece caught Emily's eye.




The three large chargers on the top 

shelf are also favorites among Emily's collection. 

 Each one measures fourteen inches.




Marked HB Quimper, 

these pieces are very old, and they found their 

way into Emily's collection by way of an interesting story.




For many years these plates hung on the walls of a local restaurant that Emily and her husband and young son frequented. Emily would sit and admire the pieces of Quimper on each visit. One day while Emily & Jim were in the midst of the construction of a new home, Emily marched herself into the restaurant to visit with the manager. She asked if he would consider selling these pieces to her.




To Emily's amazement, he agreed to let her have one of them. After relating the story to her sister, sometime later her sister arrived at her door step with the other two. She had convinced the manager to sell the others.




In fact, the restaurant was closing, 

and Emily eventually had the opportunity 

to buy two more plates from that collection.




The previous plate and the one above are both plates that hung in the same restaurant with the chargers. They are both Revolutionary themed plates produced by the HenRiot Quimper factory.




Emily enjoys moving her collection around as she changes things about her home. The three plates above feature a decor riche border. They are also HenRiot production.




Two plates in the Mistral pattern 

sit on the kitchen counter.




Another souvenir from France is this large platter produced by Moustiers. It was found at the antique market in Nice, France. Emily and Jim happened upon the market near closing time. The dealer, not wanting to return home with this large 14 inch long platter, began to bargain with Emily. He made an offer, she countered, and he accepted. Emily says it was the bargain of her French Faience Life. She hand carried the heavy piece home on the plane, safely stowing it on the floor next to her seat. Emily thinks it is one of the prettiest pieces in her collection.




The French Hutch isn't the only piece to

hold French faience in Emily and Jim's home.

Look at this china cupboard in the formal dining room.



Emily has been collecting Quimper for twelve years, 

but she has dreamed of this yellow pottery 

since she was a young girl.




As a child, Emily loved to tag along with her mother while she shopped local flea markets and antique shops. It was during those trips that Emily first noticed the bright yellow dishes of Quimper.




The memory of those cheerful dishes remained with Emily all these years. On her second trip to France, it was the yellow Quimper, the Decor Soleil, that Emily selected as her souvenir.




Through the years, 

Emily has added many special pieces in the Soleil pattern, 

such as this sweet tea service and candlesticks.




And all these wonderful 

special serving pieces.




The Soleil pattern has been produced since the 1920s. After the World Wars much of it found its way into the hearts and homes of Americans. That's certainly true for Emily. She now has a complete service for eight.





Emily has set a lovely table for a spring brunch featuring her special Soleil Quimper. Click here to view the complete post on this cheerful tablescape and welcome Emily @ The French Hutch as she shares @ Tablescape Thursday for the first time.




Emily began her blog in January 2011 with the intent of sharing her love of travel, France, and creating a beautiful nest for her family. I hope you'll visit Emily @ The French Hutch and follow along as she continues to share her travel experiences and love of family and home.


Thank you to the hostesses
of the following weekly memes.
Click the links to join in.

Thursday:



Friday:



Saturday:

Tuesday:
Sarah
Sarah

The summer we married, my husband was in graduate school, and I was employed as a teacher. We took a portion of our savings that summer and purchased a sailboat. We christened our Catalina 22, “Hyacinths For The Soul” after Saadi’s poem. Our "Hyacinths" provided years of pleasure.

56 comments:

  1. Hi Sarah, I do know Emily and she is so sweet and has a beautiful collection which she shares so nicely on her blog! Everyone should visit her! Linda

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  2. Sarah,

    Oh what a gorgeous collection of Quimper. I don't even own a piece but seeing all these gorgeous dishes makes me yearn for a collection of my own! LOL one more thing to collect! Yes I will let you know the next time I'm down your way..would love to meet you and go shopping and have lunch! Enjoyed your post!!

    Miss Bloomers

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  3. Great post. All of her Quimper is stunnig and her vignettes are fabulous. She definitely has some wonderfu pieces and her collection is exquisite. Thanks in advance for joining TTT. Loved the tour. Hugs, Marty

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  4. Thank you for this introduction, Sarah. I know I'll enjoy browsing Emily's posts.

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  5. Such a lovely introduction and a beautiful post of a passionate collector and kindred spirit! Thank you Sarah. It was lovely to meet Emily!

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  6. You guys are kindred spirits. What a beautiful collection Emily has.
    I am going over to visit now.
    Rhonda

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  7. I love this china!!! Quimper pottery is so unique!

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  8. Sarah, Thank You for featuring The French Hutch and me on Hyacinths for the Soul. I look forward to meeting your friends and following their blogs. You have helped me so much and I can never thank you enough. All new bloggers should be so lucky as me as to have someone like you to help.........

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  9. Hi Sarah:

    Great post showcasing The French Hutch. I only recently discovered her blog. She has an amazing collection.

    - The Tablescaper

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  10. I have been following Emily. She is awesome! Thanks so much for featuring her on your blog, Sarah! :D

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  11. Sarah, what a great find! This collection is amazing and fun stories to go along with the collection. Joni

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  12. Amazing! Really fantastic collections.

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  13. Emily sounds like a lovely person and I love the story of how she began to acquire her collection of Quimper from the restaurant...very sweet! I will check out her blog. Thanks, Sarah!

    XO,
    Jane

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  14. Emily has a wonderful collection - I do hope she will get the chance to add to it later in the year at the QCI meeting !

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  15. Hello Sarah,
    you really found a related friend, I guess. Your share the love for Quimper pottery and for Cortley Check pattern, isn't that really amazing. It is always very nice to find persons, who share our loves. The post is so enjoyable. I love to see the different variations of this gorgeous pottery. All is so sympathic.
    Best greetings, Johanna

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  16. I am so jealous! Emily's collection is amazing. Her personal hutch has more Quimper in it then the Quimper store one! Somedays I just can't get enough of this beautiful pottery. So glad Emily is a member of the Quimper Cub.

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  17. Such a great post!
    I have friends that collect these wonderful pieces also.
    They are so sweet!
    xx
    Alison

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  18. She has an amazing collection of Quimper. The yellow pottery is my favorite.

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  19. WOW! What an amazing collection of Quimper. So many, many treasures. Loved seeing this post, Sarah. Makes me wish I had started collecting Quimper years ago. My college roommate's mother carried newer pieces in her shop, and that was my friend J's pattern when she got married. I adore it.

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  20. She should be very proud of that collection. It's so impressive and your post about it was wonderful Sarah. Have a fabulous and sunny weekend. xo

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  21. Hi Sarah,

    What a lovely collection. I love seeing photos of Paris travels and what they collect. I'm visiting for French Inspiration Thursday.

    Have a wonderful day,
    Stephanie ♥

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  22. I absolutely love your French vignette! Spring truly has sprung.

    Have a wonderful weekend.

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  23. Sarah,
    You are such an inspiration to us all! How sweet of you to share Emily and her blogsite with us!
    Fondly,
    Pat

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  24. Hi Sarah,
    It was so nice getting to know Emily and see her Q collection. It just goes to show that it doesn't always have to be antique or Porquier Beau!
    Are you bringing her to the meeting in September?

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  25. Isn't it great all the people we meet through blogging : ) ? What a collection of serving pieces!

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  26. Aren't the connections we make in blog world just grand!!
    xo Cathy

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  27. What a lovely collection! I'm off to visit her blog. She and I started blogging around the same time. We newbies gotta support each other! thanks for sharing.
    xo,
    Sena

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  28. Oh my goodness! I drooled on myself a little! What an AMAZING collection of quimper! I'm already a follower on Emily's blog but now I'll go back and read the whole durn thing....make sure I didn't miss a thing *winks* Vanna

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  29. What a lovely collection and such a great idea for souvenirs when traveling. Much more fun than bringing home something you end up sticking in a closet for years to come - which also makes it one of those very smart creative ways to save money. Thanks for a delightful visit.

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  30. She has an amazing collection for sure! Beautiful display. So nice she wrote to you!

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  31. What a beautiful collection. Thank you for taking us on the tour. Karie

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  32. Hi Sarah, This is the most amazing collection of Quimper I have ever seen. I am headed to her blog now. Thank you so much for the introduction and for sharing this at my party.
    xo,
    Sherry

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  33. An impressive collection of beautiful Quimper. It's interesting to hear the stories associated with the pieces.

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  34. Wow, what a fabulous collection. I love that she has collected it over time and on her travels. Love the fancy dark border. Thanks for introducing us!

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  35. Oh my goodness! Those are some amazing pieces. Very Very pretty!

    ~Liz

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  36. Awesome pieces & collection of Quimper ... not easy to find the older pieces. Excellent ... TY for sharing.

    Happy PS April ~
    TTFN ~
    Hugs,
    Marydon

    FUN GIVEAWAY ends 4/10

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  37. That's an amazing collection of china - bet Emily has enjoyed every minute collecting, even when she had to put that large platter by her feet on the flight home!

    Where, when is the next annual Quimper convention?

    Hope your weekend is fun Sarah dear.
    Hugs - Mary

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  38. Hi Sarah! Oh, no wonderful you love this (I do too!). The Quimper is so lovely and just tells little stories.
    Thank you for popping in to see me and I'm so glad you've enjoyed visiting the cupboards in Blogland!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  39. Sarah, I had never heard of Quimper pottery until I started blogging. Now I would love to get my hands on some. Thanks for introducing us to Emiy and her blog. I will go and check it out. It's fun you two found each other with such similar interest! :)

    Donna

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  40. Wow! What a wonderful collection. And I love the stories behind all of it. I'm headed right over to her blog. Thanks for sharing!

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  41. Good morning Sarah, girl this was indeed Blog heaven for me to see..WOW!! so much beautiful eye candy and you 2 could be sister for sure..oved the tour my friend..Hope you have a GREAT Sunday my friend..Thanks for the wonderful tour..Hugs and smiles Gloria

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  42. Oh, Sarah,
    What a lovely collection! It is all beautiful but, the platters are just stunning! Such wonderful pottery. Thanks for sharing Emily and her blog with us!
    Sherry

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  43. Dearest Sara!

    Thank you for your birthday wishes! Indeed, we love to party chez moi! And your post reminds me on my days in Boston, Mass. when I would go to Newbury St. and go into Pierre Deux, that lovely FRENCH inspired store. I love all things French as well, taking me to the point of learning the language and teaching in French. Décor varies so much; while this style reminds me of a certain region, I have adopted a Provençal/French flea market look to my home. How lovely to have such various styles! HAVE A GREAT WEEK MY FRIEND! Anita

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  44. Wow such an awesome collection!Look forward to checking out her blog.

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  45. Hi Sarah! What a wonderful collection! I love the story about the restaurant, too! Yes, kindred souls indeed! Thanks for helping blogland get to know Emily. I love her blog...another Quimper lover after my own heart!...and it's great to see her introduced to your readers as well! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!...hugs...Debbie

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  46. What a great collection she has! Such a nice story of her acquiring those pieces from the restaurant!

    Katherine

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  47. its a great collection, speaks volumes about the collector, just too good

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  48. Sarah, I think you met your match. lol What a delight to meet Bloggers who connect with us from the heart. :)

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  49. WOW! Lots of eye candy in this post. I'm loving that hutch. I'm here from the French Cupboard and I'm your newest follower.
    Love your blog!
    xoxo,
    Kim

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  50. Oh Sarah, you knew I'd LOVE this post! What a wonderful collection Emily has! There was something about that first platter that captured my heart. And what a fun story about the chargers! Emily has a talent for displaying her Quimper, and I loved seeing all of it, even though I'm a little envious- OK, a lot. Thank you for linking to Favorite Things. laurie

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  51. This is lovely. Hope to see you at My Dream Canvas!

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  52. This is a wonderful post and beautifully written. I loved the story of getting the pieces off the restaurant wall.
    You always share so much with us and educate me too.

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  53. Hey there Sarah!

    It's Suzy from BetterDecoratingBible.com. What a wonderful collection of China you have and a wonderful blog as well!

    I hope you take the time to stop by my blog and let me know what you think!

    Hope to hear from you soon,

    Suzy Q
    Blogger
    BetterDecoratingBible.com

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  54. Hi Sarah, I'm an old blogging friend of Emily's and I was a little melancholy for her French hutch this morning, so I searched pinterest and google and found my way to your post. Wonderful read with my morning cup.
    She has a beautiful collection and a beautiful soul.
    xoxo

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Thank you to each of you who take the time to leave a comment. I read and appreciate each and every one and will respond to any questions. Your notes are the only way I know who has stopped in for a visit.