Polish Pottery

I’m not quite sure when I became a stress-case, but I’ve been feeling a bit of that stress thing lately and so today I stepped away from everything that I NEEDED to do, and took the time to unpack, wash, and arrange my latest spoils. Have I told you about Polish Pottery yet? If I made a Top 10 list of “Things I Have Been Introduced to in Brussels and Absolutely Love”, #2 would have to be Polish Pottery (ousted from 1^st place only by piping hot waffles from the street vendors ;) )

My first introduction to Polish Pottery was from a friend of mine here in Brussels who is a long-time collector. It was love at first sight for me. I loved all of the intricacies of the different designs and also the slight variation between pieces, even of the same design. Most of all though, I loved the colors. The pottery is handmade in Poland and is not only beautiful, but extremely functional. All of the pieces are oven-safe and wipe clean with no amount of effort, which of course is an added bonus. As much as I am a dedicated fan of my tried-and-true Corelle, I knew almost immediately that collecting as much as of it as I could in my time here would soon become a hobby...and it has. All of the different patterns coordinate when displayed together and so I have chosen to pick each piece individually as I see fit. Even with my dinner plates (where I would normally think coordination is ‘key’) I chose 12 different plates and it has been fun to see the different plates rotate through and enjoy the different designs. Short of going directly to the factories in Poland (which I am hoping to do next Spring before we leave) there is a wholesale warehouse open to the public on Fridays in Holland, and I made another trip up there last Friday with some girlfriends and fellow collectors. It was so fun and a much needed break and something I look forward to doing again before my time here is up, but for now, I will be baking away, enjoying these: