Cup Final

The tea sets of yesterday are finding renewed popularity

Tiny blue daisies – every day, everywhere. Part and parcel of my upbringing was the ever-present reminder of the realities of my parents’ catering business – the leftovers in the fridge (ham off the bone if you will), piles of tea-towels to fold and the tiny blue daisies on every plate, cup, platter and bowl.

It was completely lost on me as a child that almost every meal we ate was served on New Zealand’s own iconic pottery brand. What I dubbed the blue daisies was in fact a Crown Lynn design called Fantasy made specifically for Gibsons Paterson catering suppliers, each piece made to an incredibly high standard, the little blue buds are still as good and sturdy today as they were in my childhood, despite the high usage and occasional (but perhaps purposeful) drop on the floor.

Little did I know that as I grew older I would develop an all-encompassing passion to re-claim those lost daisies along with whatever other lovely pieces of Crown Lynn china I could get my hands on. It’s obvious from the competitive Trademe bids that I’m not the only Kiwi pining over those classic 70s designs. My own sister taunts me that she currently houses my mother’s coveted Crown Lynn espresso set ... that could change all too easily I tell her – and I’m only half joking. Luckily, her saving grace was the lovely Crown Lynn book she gave me for my birthday – at least I can drool over the pages if I don’t have the real thing. Family feuds aside, my sister and I are united when guilty of indulging our desires for collectable ceramics – then the other is needed to hide purchases from respective partners until it can be subtly snuck into cupboards, or given as a ‘present’ from that thoughtful family member; we are made of the same cloth after all.

While early pieces produced by Crown Lynn such as the Railway Cup mimicked the British brands preferred by New Zealand customers, Crown Lynn soon developed a distinctly Kiwi style loved by collectors today. That functional Railway Cup was the epitome of sturdy sensibility and became an instant icon. By stark contrast, the intricately designed crockery custom made for Air New Zealand is equally coveted. Mum and I once came across (and quickly purchased) old Air New Zealand plates in a garage sale. What a sad fact it is that these days our in-flight meals are served on paper plates with plastic (re-washed and used again) cutlery!

Among the daisy-ware that filled our cupboards was my favourite plate, an orphan in our collection referred to as the feather plate. This feather plate was the one off which I preferred to eat my vegemite toast, but back then it never occurred to me that it was a cousin of those dreaded daisies and was also produced by Crown Lynn. Flicking through my Crown Lynn book is like stepping back through time, a visit to my Aunties in Palmy who owned the Egmont range of crockery, hot chocolate in front of the heater on those frosty early mornings in a mustard-coloured mug. I’m proud as Kiwi punch to have such fond memories.

Crown Lynn closed its doors in 1989. Gone but not forgotten. Cheap imported tableware proved to be too much competition, but Crown Lynn’s fate was sealed as a beloved Kiwi icon.
I still eat off those original plates when I visit my parents. I don’t mind those blue daisies so much these days.
Bron Taplin