Dutch creamer and sugar set, unknown maker

Years of collecting ceramics and treating them like fine china has sometimes blinded me to their origins: functional pieces serving a purpose in the home. Now, this can come as quite a stretch when you consider some of the crazier vases produced in the 60s and 70s — vases which are more suited for the art gallery, and less so for the occasional flower — but it is far easier to comprehend in pieces like the set above. The same colors and textures found on vases at the time, albeit in a slightly toned-down manner, made for some very nice daily serving pieces whose durability is something to be admired. In this day and age of disposable everything and coffee on the run (egad, even France and Italy are bowing to this pressure), it is nice to use a set like this to bring a touch of elegance and style to one’s morning coffee. Appreciating life at a slower pace, while helping the environment at the same time via reuse of a joyful example of Mid Century style? That is a purpose everyone should embrace.