A Syracuse China Teacup While Christmas Decorating

Holiday decorating is even more fun with a cup of tea in this lovely cup and saucer from Syracuse China!

Teacup Tuesday 03 December 2019

Happy Teacup and Christmas-Tree-Decorating Tuesday! I had my holiday color scheme all planned out until the minute I started decorating. Then it all changed. Instead of the minimal green and white I had my heart set on last week, we’re having warm gold and vintage rose. So when I took my tea time break, this lovely gold rimmed Syracuse China teacup was just right. Come on over to the blog for more pictures and details. As always, just click the link in my profile, or visit MANTELandTABLE.com.

Extra Teacup Tidbits

Usually my teacup inspires my decorating, but this time it was just the reverse. With my rose and gold Christmas color scheme in my head, this Syracuse China cup was the one I reached for.

There’s something about the shape and simple gold trim that feels so old fashioned to me. I can imagine my grandmother sipping her tea from this cup while decorating her tree, back in the day. Maybe with snow falling gently outside, and the firelight reflecting off the gold ornaments. Even though this cup isn’t a family heirloom, it felt like the perfect choice.

Syracuse China Manufacturer’s Info

The Syracuse China Corp got its name, appropriately, from its location – Syracuse NY. But when Mr Farrar founded the company in 1841, it was actually in Geddes, just on the outskirts of Syracuse. By the time Geddes was incorporated into the town of Syracuse, the company had already undergone several name and ownership changes.

The original Farrar Pottery became Empire Crockery, then Onondaga Pottery, then finally Syracuse China Corp in 1966. The company had used “Syracuse China” as a trade name since 1895, though, so it wasn’t a big surprise to anyone.

One thing that I think is really cool about Syracuse is that they made special patterns for restaurants, hotels, and railways. Wouldn’t it be fun to eat off china designed specifically for your train? And I love this bit I read in Wikipedia about marketing while traveling:

“Syracuse China sponsored the Turner-Over Club (later the Turn-Over Club) as a promotion for decades. The company gave out membership cards, with the idea that wherever members traveled, they would “turn over” their dinnerware to see if it was Syracuse China; witnesses to this curious behavior would then be treated to the story of the club and thus introduced to the brand name.”

Syracuse China Teacup ~ Behind the Scenes

Do you ever have one of those projects that just won’t work? I did – the photos for this post! To make a long story kind of short, I just couldn’t get the pictures to come out. In the first batch I took, almost every shot was out of focus. (Maybe my eyes were blurry from all those Christmas tree lights!)

In any case, I used up all my weekend daylight without getting any photos I liked. And since it’s dark when I leave the house in the morning, and dark when I come home, weekday daylight wasn’t an option!

But I had an idea. I packed up my camera, my Syracuse China teacup, my garland, roses, ribbon, (and trusty Replica Surfaces backdrops,) and put them all in my car. I knew where I could find daylight – at work!

There’s a nice big cement block around the corner of the shop where I set everything up. And the light was pretty good at lunchtime!

I did get a funny look from the forklift driver as he came around the corner. Of course, he asked me what the heck I was up to. And when I answered “well you know – just taking pictures of teacups … ” he only shook his head in baffled incredulity!

The things we do for art. And teacups! I hope you’ve enjoyed our little Syracuse China teacup, and the sneak peek of my holiday color scheme.

Thanks so much for joining me!

Teacup Shopping

If you love teacups as much as I do and want to start or add to your collection, Click HERE for the Shopping Page. Then click on the picture of the teacup.

Have a Lovely Teacup Tuesday!