2020 gave us many things, and whilst the overwhelming majority of them have been challenging I feel one of the positive things to come out of the year has been time to think. I spent quite a chunk of the year thinking about how important connection is, connection to myself, to my family, to my friends but also my connection to the environment.
I’ve pondered over how best to reduce the waste involved in transporting my stock of beautiful vintage crockery to and from events and customers. Obviously all the pieces are heirloom and often irreplaceable [teapots I’m looking at you] so in the past the tendency has been to swaddle each item in bubble wrap and sellotape. Not good for the environment by any stretch of the imagination but great for the crockery especially as the aim is to get everything to and from a hire in one piece. It has definitely been possible to wash and reuse some of the bubble wrap but all too often it is torn and covered in jam, cream and pickle! I stopped using bubble wrap all together back in the summer when I really started to think about my own carbon footprint and impact on the environment.
Since then I have been using large sheets of paper. My thought process here was that unlike plastic it’s totally recyclable and so that would make it ok. But on reflection all of the paper needs to be thrown away after each use and so it’s definitely not a reusable solution and therefore quite wasteful.
I’ve felt for a little while the way forward is to use fabric and I’ve settled on using towelling mainly because it is absorbent, quite thick and designed to be washed frequently. Once this decision was made I then spent a little bit of time thinking about how I want to package up the crockery. It is really important to me that whenever you receive a delivery of vintage crockery from Bristol Vintage – whether you are a venue or an individual – there is a wow factor to be felt. I believe this starts with the packaging, the first impression if you like and then extends to each individually selected, washed and packaged item of crockery.
Choosing to lay your table with vintage crockery and avoid a plain white plate is not the norm, it is a style statement and by extension choosing Bristol Vintage above other crockery providers is also a style statement. So for 2021 and beyond you can expect our crockery deliveries to be fully considerate of the environment and our role in reducing and reusing its resources. You can expect to receive a crate of beautiful vintage crockery protected by stylish, handmade, reusable bags and pouches.
Despite my writing this post at the beginning of January 2021 it’s less of a new years resolution and more of an intention for the future of Bristol Vintage. My aim is to create all of the new fully reusable packaging ready for our spring bookings. There – it’s said now. It’s out of my head and written down and I can’t wait to show you how I get along.
Lisa