Powered by Google
Home
Listings
Editors' Picks
News
Music
Movies
Food
Life
Arts + Books
Rec Room
Moonsigns
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Personals
Adult Personals
Classifieds
Adult Classifieds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
stuff@night
FNX Radio
Band Guide
MassWeb Printing
- - - - - - - - - - - -
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Work For Us
Newsletter
RSS Feeds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Webmaster
Archives



sponsored links
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
PassionShop.com
Sex Toys - Adult  DVDs - Sexy  Lingerie


   
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend

At your service
Modern teatime accessories that borrow from a more ceremonial era of socializing
BY RUTH TOBIAS

WHETHER IT conjures images of Southern belles congregating on verandahs with lacquered fans in one hand and dewy tumblers of cherry limeade in the other, or dapper gents gathered in private libraries around cut-glass decanters of single-malt Scotch, the afternoon social evokes bygone luxury and hospitality. While it’s all very well to toss a can of Bud into a pal’s cupped palms, today’s domestic deities can borrow from that more ceremonial era simply by tending to the occasional detail. For instance, just as clothes make the man, charming vessels — from urns and jugs to flutes and flagons — can make the beverage, and you can find them at bargain prices to boot.

Put a quirky yet oh-so-sweet twist on the teapot with a china-inspired thermos ($23) from Koo de Kir. Aside from its convenience as a container for beverages served hot or cold — tea, coffee, even sake — it’s a conversation piece, looking as it does like antique porcelain with a profusion of cherry blossoms against a white or wintergreen background. Similarly funky are Black Ink’s faux old-fashioned milk bottles ($18). While these off-white ceramics hold milk or cream for your java or Earl Grey, their resemblance to sake carafes renders them useful as such; and they can even double as bud vases for the serving tray.

Those whose tastes in objets dictate that form follow function will appreciate the tiny black cast-iron teapots ($48) on display at Folklorica. Graced with simple, abstract designs in relief, they hint at a Zen aesthetic — one underscored by the fact that they don’t hold more than two small teacups’ worth of liquid, so you’re not likely to be whipped into a caffeinated frenzy when using them. Meanwhile, if "all-purpose" is your kind of adjective, then the "Carmen" at Crate & Barrel is your kind of beverage service. It starts with a bulbous 86-ounce pitcher ($19.95) made of clear hand-blown glass, whose handle sparkles with multicolored confetti; it continues with matching tumblers ($6.95/each), wine goblets ($8.95/each), and hurricane glasses ($8.95/each), all sprinkled with the same festive design. Invest in a set and your pitcher will see you through lazy lemonade afternoons, sultry sangria evenings, and merry margarita midnights.

As for glassware, if grandma never left you any good stuff, at least you can revel in replicas. Anthropologie stocks all manner of fin-de-siècle and Art Deco throwbacks, from sherry glasses ($8/each) with a white fruited-vine motif etched above and around a logo for the Hotel Pierre to cute-as-could-be ceramic demitasses ($8/each) set on square, scallop-edged saucers in an array of pastels: mint, butter, sky. And at Monroe Salt Works, you’ll find cheeky pilsners ($10.50/each) emblazoned with retro graphics depicting pin-up girls, clowns, and the like alongside slogans like GOOD BEER, TASTY SANDWICHES and BEER IS GOOD FOR YOU; even the color combinations, including rust-on-gold and brown-on-turquoise, cast nostalgic overtones.

Where to find it:

• Anthropologie, 799 Boylston Street, Boston, (617) 262-0545.

• Black Ink, 5 Brattle Street, Cambridge, (617) 497-1221.

• Crate & Barrel, various locations; www.crateandbarrel.com

• Folklorica, 61 Union Street, Newton, (617) 630-1815.

• Koo de Kir, 65 Chestnut Street, Boston, (617) 723-8111.

• Monroe Salt Works, Copley Place, 10 Huntington Avenue, Boston, (617) 236-0045.


Issue Date: May 28 - June 3, 2004
Back to the News & Features table of contents
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend
 









about the phoenix |  advertising info |  Webmaster |  work for us
Copyright © 2005 Phoenix Media/Communications Group