I'm usually partial to very plain dishes and tableware. My favorite plates, for example, are simple matte white disks with no printing or embellishments. So I'm a little surprised to be so attracted to the pretty toile dishes that I'm starting to see here and there on the internets. Especially beautiful is the blue toile bowl from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks, pictured above.
This is not a traditional table loaded with layers of toile dinnerware, which would have a somewhat fussy and old-fashioned feel. Rather, it's more about the occasional toile platter or bowl mixed in with simple, modern pieces in informal settings, with bare wood tables or marble countertops.
It's especial nice when the toile is vintage and has the look and feel of something that has been around for a while. Jamie Oliver's At Home cookbook and TV series, which came out in 2009, is a good example. In the video clip below, at 2:22, you can see Jamie pull out a pretty pale blue toile platter to build his Rice Pudding and Hot Strawberry Jam. (Yum!)
Toile, once only available to the wealthy, can now be be found on drugstore shelves as well as in the priciest shops, so clearly the quality varies widely. Vintage pieces are still pretty easy to find in thrift shops. Look for fancy labels like Spode and Wedgwood and for clear, not blurry, lines and patterns. For a brief history of toile dinnerware, also known as toile transferware, visit this page on the Eras of Elegance website.
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(Images: 101 Cookbooks and Jamie Oliver)
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I have to say I usually love this site, but I hate this post.
First off...these dishes are not "toile" they are transferware.
And as a site that relishes almost anything food-related, how dare you say that a traditional table loaded with layers of transferware would have a somewhat fussy and old-fashioned feel.
I'd love to know how many of your readers love the "fussy and old-fashioned feel" of their transferware! Probably more than you think.
I'm confused about the 'toile' thing, too. In a previous life I worked as an archaeologist, and dug up boxes-worth of transferware pieces at various fur trade sites. Always called it transferware. There may be a pattern out there called 'toile', but it's transferware first.
That said - love it! And definitely need more in my kitchen.
Toile comes from the French word for fabric. Fabric printed with a decorative pattern similar to the one seen on those dishes is often called toile de joie.
Ceramics printed with the patterns seen above are called Transferware, due to the printing processed used.
I must admit I was also a little mystified by "toile transferware"--in fact, the Eras of Elegance site only uses the term toile in reference to fabric. That said, it's a lovely bowl and I agree that it looks very good mixed with simpler servingware that sets off the pattern.
I also love Heidi Swanson's transferware bowl. It HAS been popping up in lots of photos, in the second volume of "Kinfolk." and is so recognizable that, when I see it I say, "That's Heidi's bowl!" What I love is that she uses the bowl for many purposes--mixing, serving, eating. And I think a reason it is so distinctive is the color; teal is more rare in transferware than blue or green.
I love this type of dish! Thanks for the post! I am off to my favorite antique store to look for similar types of serving dishes.
Yes, it's transfer ware...probably all of it is English too. I follow this blog and the lady who writes it is also one of the biggest dealers of English transferware and has an online shop with hundreds and hundreds of pieces. She does amazing tables and tells the history behind all of the patterns.
http://nancysdailydish.blogspot.com/
I love these type of dishes and if they are fussy then I guess I am to because I'd make a fuss to have a full set anyday! That bowl in the first photo is so pretty!
I just went to the blog I mentioned above and here's an article she wrote about what transferware is and how it's made. Interesting stuff!
http://nancysdailydish.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-is-transferware-and-how-is-it-made.html