Oh, give me a home...

...where my glasses won't roam!

I breezed through HomeGoods looking for Coimbra pottery today and found this pretty little tray, which will join my the Coimbra vase/pencil caddy and trinket box/stamp holder on my desk as a home for my glasses when I'm not wearing them. At least, I won't be hunting for them constantly.

The perils of collecting; or, the porcelain traffic jam

I have written about being a sucker for Coimbra pottery. If I'm out on the loose and have a minute to spare, I will duck into T. J. Maxx or Homegoods or Tuesday Morning and see if they've received any pieces. They only get a few and they go really fast. So far, I've usually bought smallish pieces, due to serious storage issues. I started out with a few pieces displayed in the marble-topped round end table. Then they crept into my glass-front secretary desk in the foyer, the hutch on my desk in the den, even on the shelves my husband bought for storing CDs. One tray even resides on my dresser holding perfume bottles.

A few days ago I found a nice divided tray. The hunt was on for a display spot. I tried rearranging the stuff in the secretary desk; no good, the tray was too large. Then to the dining room, the den, the living room. Nothing worked. This was by far the largest piece I had bought and it defied every cabinet with its size. Then I decided that the Coimbra would play nicely with my pre-war Japanese tea set.

CAREFULLY, I removed the pieces from the case. They are about as thick as a sheet of paper and it terrifies me to touch them. Then out comes the blue and white tray which stood behind them. A quick rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul trip around the house exchanging plate stands to locate one large enough, and the tray settled into the shelf, surrounded by the blue and gold tea set. Perfect!

Now, where I am going to put the blue and white tray?

Coimbra Pottery

Here are a few of my Coimbra pottery pieces. They are made in Portugal, where pottery works date from Moorish control of the Iberian peninsula. The Moorish influence in the painting style is evident. They are all new pieces, bought in places like Tuesday Morning and T. J. Maxx, where they are discounted. Otherwise they are too expensive.

I have 22 pieces so far. They appeal to me because of the elaborate design and variance on a theme you will see on each piece. They are all hand painted and each painter has his or her own style of doing borders, flowers or decorations, although the animal and floral themes are repeated on everyone's work. The back of each piece is signed, so you could possibly only collect one painter's work, for consistency, although I love the riotous color of the mix.

I didn't know a thing about Coimbra pottery when I bought the first piece. It's the round trivet on the bottom shelf in the picture. I bought it because it matched my redecorated kitchen, I loved the colors, and it was on the clearance shelf at T. J. Maxx for $10.00. I thought it was a steal. After that purchase I started reading, and became fascinated.

The patterns and colors appeal to the scrap quilter in me. Others are not so charitable. One minimalist friend pronounced it "gaudy". She also thought my scrap quilts were a little much, too. To each her own.