Whether you are from Manhattan, Boston or New England, the Buffalo Check Chowder Bowl is a great complement to your clam chowder.  It is one of the most collected Hartstone pattern.

Enjoy summer while sipping gazpacho from the Summer Garden Rib Bowl, its bright, vivid oranges and yellows wrap their way around and about the flower petals of Summer Garden as whimsical dragonflies make their way through nature’s light.

Dish up that favorite ice cream and serve the family! The Fruit Salad Mini Ruffle Bowl is great for ice cream or fruit salad.

The Cardinal Ruffled Bowl is new for the Holidays.  Place it on top of the coffee table and fill it with brightly wrapped candies to brighten your home.

The Hartstone Pottery presents a collection of patterns to choose from, made of vitrified stone, usually fired at temperatures above 2,100 Fahrenheit that makes stoneware dense, strong and non-porous.  Microwave, freezer, oven and dishwasher safe, the Hartstone Rib Bowls and Ruffle Bowls are available individually or in sets of 4.  All Hartstone products are hand crafted and hand painted at the Hartstone Pottery in Zanesville, Ohio. All body and glaze are lead and cadmium free.

Opal Innocence dinnerware had the addition of a Carved pattern, that takes the Opal Innocence design and interprets that design in a relief pattern. The relief pattern has a more casual appeal.

Butterfly Meadow dinnerware is 8 years old and still growing. Lenox introduced a new Cat Cookie Jar and a Bunny Sugar and Creamer.

Butler’s Pantry dinnerware has added rooster accents to a number of their items.

Peony Lane was reintroduced at the October Tabletop show. Peony Lane dinnerware can be found at Macys and other retailers.

Chirp dinnerware has new candlesticks, bud vase, and accessory sets added to the pattern.

Flutter dinnerware, a gray tone butterfly, is sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Macys.

Chocolate dinnerware has a drizzle design and is sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The answer is some of them.

Nautica introduced 5 new dinnerware patterns. Anchorage dinnerware was a grey and taupe pattern. Bar Harbor dinnerware featured boats. Sea Beach dinnerware showcased shells. Knot dinnerware had a rope knot trim. Boston Blue dinnerware was a blue and white pattern.
Unfortunately none of these have yet to be placed with a retailer.

Joseph Abboud introduced 3 patterns; Zebra, Cheetah, and Bengal. Both Zebra and Cheetah can be found in Bloomingdales.

Pfaltzgraff introduced a large number of patterns, and haven’t been seen at a retailer.

Denby introduced Sienna, and it is available at a number of retailers. Sienna is a lovely brown dinnerware with teal inserts.

Sango introduce Society dinnerware and Contrast dinnerware in a variety of colors. Both collections can be found at a number of different retailers.

Updates on other manufacturers will be on the next post.

White dinnerware is the most popular – not a big surprise.
Square dinnerware was everywhere – again, not a surprise.
Turquoise and otehr blue-green shades were shown in a wide number of showrooms – shown as accents with brown, white, and blue, but will this fashion color be strong for dinnerware?
Purple is making a comeback.
Greens are still strong.
Birds and butterflies are flying around the plates.
Reactive glazes still very strong in Housewares.

Fitz and Floyd is working with Ralph Lauren to create a brand new Ralph Lauren dinnerware line. The new line will include dinnerware, stemware, flatware, barware, and giftware.

Homer Laughlin showed their new Fiesta dinnerware color. The new Fiesta dinnerware color is Lemongrass. The new color was first introduced in March of 2009 at the Chicago Home and Housewares Show.

Waterford Wedgwood, has a new owner, KPS Capital Partners. They are restructuring, and will now be known as WWRD Holdings, which includes Waterford, Wedgewood and Royal Doulton.

Lenox has been bought by Clarion Capital Partners. They will put the spotlight on their heritage as an American manufacturer, ans will focus on both the bridal and casual upstairs market. They are also planning to develop a premier line of product that will appeal to the luxury consumer.

Mikasa, owned by Lifetime Brands, is focusing on fashion. They are developing a sub-brand called M by Mikasa, to showcase more contemporary and edgy designs for the housewares department.

Portmeirion bought royal Worcester and Spode, bringing togther the three powerful English Brands.

Luigi Bormioli introduced a line of bone china, the first time they have put bone china in their line. The white bone china line was introduced uner Luigi Bormioli;s Michelangelo collection.

Oneida introduced
Allegra – a white porcelain with a subtle texture on the rim.
Adriatic – soft liquid blue textural glaze that moves into even softer tones of blue
Windance – subtle effects, illustrative about nature

A number of companies focused on Black and White dinnerware.
Villeroy & Boch’s Bloom Shadow was black & white with a touch of gray, and Bloom Sun was black and white dinnerware with a dash of yellow.
Mikasa introduced a number of black and white dinnerware patterns, Etch, Brushstroke, and Urban Rose.

Lenox introduced a new Christmas dinnerware pattern called Merry Berry.
Tag introduces a number of Christmas dinnerware patterns, Winter Wonderland with an embossed snowflack and reindeer design and Alpine in red and white.

Zrike introduced three new Coca Cola collections in the melamine dinnerware line: Diner, At the Movies and Red, White & Bold. Zrike also introduced Marisol and Pirouette, 2 dinnerware patterns from Tracy Porter.

Don’t let the preparation get you down!! Here is a list of what can be helpful to make your dinner easier and more enjoyable for you.

Use your fine china Fine china will add to the holiday mood.

Decorate your table for the holiday, but do so simply. A big centerpiece will look very pretty as people arrive, but it will get in the way after everyone sits down at the table. It is awkward to talk around that big thing in the center of the table. Can we say . . . been there . . . done that.

Have extra dinner plates Extra dinner plates will be critical if extra people show up, or if you need a small platter to hold food that someone brought.

Have extra flatware and extra glasses In case extra people show up.

If you are having over 12 people

Have extra serving bowls and plattersso you can divide your food into half or thirds, and place the food into a couple of areas on your table(s). That way, one bowl of your special potatoes does not need to go all around the table. Everyone will get the hot food sooner

Have an extra set or two of salt and pepper shakersThe salt and pepper shaker sets do not have to be the same. It is very good if they are different, and there is a story linked to them, so you can pick up the conversation with their cute story when needed.

Serve butter on a couple of small plates Serving butter on a butter dish is not necessary, and the extra butter dishes will be a pain to store after the meal.

Either have an extra gravy boat or use your creamer as a second gravy boat. A tall bowl with a ladle will also work as an extra gravy boat.

Enjoy your dinner. If you are enjoying yourself, so will everyone else. You will set the mood of your meal, and create memories for everyone to talk about in years to come, and have them excited about the next time you all get together.