Welcome to the 878th Tablescape Thursday! I have a wonderful table to share with you today! Elena recently wrote, saying, “I have been thinking about doing a table honoring my family’s heritage for quite some time, and have changed how I was planning it several times. I started thinking about the theme as three of my Grandparents came here from Greece in the early 1900s. All three came through Ellis Island, and I have found all three on the Ellis Island website. There is a marvelous passenger search that is free of charge. You can see the actual documents and the ship that they arrived on, and you can order prints of those documents online.”
“When I started thinking about the Greek theme, I found that Spode had produced a pattern called Greek that had lovely scenes in several colors. I purchased several black and white salad plates on eBay over several months. Although tempted, I own WAY too many sets of dishes to get into more than salad plates. Or so I thought!”
“The other inspiration came from a terra cotta bowl that sits on the top of some of our bookshelves. It looks like an ancient artifact, but it was actually made by my father in the late 70s or early 80s. He took a terra cotta planter (or bowl) and drew ancient Greek-inspired designs on it with a black Sharpie marker. He then dropped it on the floor so he could glue part of it back together and made it look ancient!”
I loved how Elena explained her process as she planned this table setting. Elena said, “I had thought about using terra cotta in the table scape and found some terra cotta napkin rings on eBay. I thought I could use 12″ terra cotta plant saucers as chargers. Great idea, but I could not find anything reasonably priced that would work. Plus, I imagined the terra cotta napkin rings hitting the deck and breaking if I used them outside. So I started searching for chargers with the Greek key pattern around the rim. Funny, I never liked the Greek key pattern when I was younger. Maybe too many relatives had too much of it in their homes, think My Big Fat Greek Wedding, LOL!!!”
“In my search, I found a set of 8 dinner plates on eBay that had both the Greek Key pattern and a Medusa head that was reminiscent of a Versace pattern. You guessed it, I purchased the plates and I am thrilled with them!! They were extremely reasonably priced and are absolutely gorgeous. Good thing the seller had already sold almost all of the service before I stumbled across them, or I would be looking for someplace to put another set of dishes !!!”
“When the plates arrived, I thought I would prefer the blue and white salad plates with them, but I only have three of the blue and white. Yes, I looked for more, but the only ones I found online were priced at 50 dollars each.”
“So I stuck with the black and white. Plus, I had already purchased the black and white napkins.” (Napkins are available here: Greek Key Style Napkins.)
“The center of the table showcases items collected over my lifetime.”
“The dolls are from a trip to Greece in the early ’70s.”
“When I first worked on the table, I had no runner. I wished I had purchased a runner to go with the napkins, but then I looked through my linens. The one I used belonged to my Grandmother, so maybe that is Greek as well!” (Tablecloth is available in 20 different colors here: Tablecloth.)
“Some items are from antique shops or sales—like the Mercury bronze and the classical pitcher.”
About the red beads in the picture below, Elena identified those as Greek worry beads, or komboloi/kompoloi in Greek. Elena said, “They are common in Greek and Cypriote cultures. Modern use is not religious but for relaxation, claming, passing the time and even help in quitting smoking. They can also be prestigious depending on what they are made of.”
“Many of the plaques, plates, and vases are modern souvenirs from Greece.”
Love this table setting so much! I especially love how Elena was able to use treasured collectibles she already owned, along with cherished family pieces. The dinnerware is beautiful! I had not heard of Spode Greek before, but I love the design! The napkins are perfect for this setting! Beautiful, Elena!
Thanks so much to Elena for sharing this beautiful table setting, celebrating her wonderful Greek heritage.
Looking forward to the beautiful table settings linked for this week’s Tablescape Thursday!
If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then copy and paste the address showing in the address bar, into the “url” box when you link up. You’ll need to include a link in your post back to the party to link up and participate. That’s so visitors to your blog will be able to find the party and the other Tablescape Thursday participants. Requiring a link back also prevents businesses and scammers from linking up to sell their products. Please, don’t add your post name/blog name ALL IN CAPS…it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Please do not link up table settings that were just recently shared in the last few weeks for Tablescape Thursday.
Oh Wow! Such a gorgeous place setting Elena! The colors are just beautiful! And how fun that you’ve gathered so many wonderful Greek treasures. I love the story about how your dad made the bowl – that’s priceless! Thanks so much for sharing your table with Susan, and to you Susan for sharing it with us! And as always, thanks for the party. I’m so inspired!
Thanks so much for the kind words Barbara!
Fascinating history, background…that is what makes “our homes” special to us!! Many times I look at an item…have to smile to myself…because there IS a memory. Loved the tablescape!! TY for sharing. franki
Thank you for appreciating it that way Frankie!!!
At first I was hesitate to scroll down and see the table. Remembering the movie The Birdcage with those Greek bowls! LOL. Best part of the movie.
This setting was very colorful with so many pretty pieces. The vases were so unique.
OMG!!!!! That is SO funny, I totally forgot about those!!! I will be laughing about that one for DAYS!!!!!!
Elena, you did it again. I love the story of the table, especially how he broke the bowl and put it back together again. More importantly, how you use your collectionS and share with all of us. I am so grateful to blogs that have brought tablescapes back and saved “grandma’s old stuff” How many of us have an odd piece somebody would really like to have to add to their table ? I have a brass Kashmir vase that got no respect until I found out how much it was worth.
Myrna, I ended up with SO much of that stuff my husband keeps telling me I need to weed it out and get rid of some! NO chance, LOL!!! I just hope my kids will want some of it…………..Thank you so much for the kind words!!!
Ooh, I love this, Elena!
Thank You Rita!!!!
Elena, the table is beautiful and how wonderful to be able to fill it with precious memories from Greece. The key plates and napkins are lovely, very elegant and classy. I loved the backstory of your ancestors and your father’s bowl. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Kim! It was a lot of fun to put together!!!
What a wonderful tribute to your heritage, Elena! So many treasures in your centerpiece. Not sure if I can pick a favorite. Your dad was quite the artist. Imagine doing that intricate design with a Sharpie pen! And then smashing it. 😀 What a character he was, lol.
And thanks for the info on Ellis island and getting copies of the documents. That’s very cool. My ancestors came so early that it didn’t exist yet, but I would have loved being able to get something like that. It’s good to know.
Thanks for sharing this tablescape, Elena and Susan.
Thank You Pam! I know Castle Garden (now Castle Clinton) was used for immigration into NYC from 1855 to 1890. It also has an online search also but a lot of those records were lost in a fire. I did read online that US Customs does have duplicate records……….it would be neat to search back farther!!!
What a FUN and CREATIVE table honoring your Greek heritage! Your distant relatives would love it! I love the Ellis Island website and found a lot of information about our German and Italian heritage on there. I love that you can make a file that remains there when you return to do research. Thank you Elena for sharing your lovely table with so many wonderful treasures of the heart.
So glad you appreciated it Toni!!! I thought it was SO great to be able to see the actual ship manifest and passenger records from when they arrived! I would love to go back farther but they came from small towns in Greece so I am not sure I could find much online. I am tempted to try ancestry.com !!!