When I had my first apartment I had no furniture, so I went to Cohn Brothers to buy a couch. This store gave credit to anyone who could make monthly payments, and I needed to establish a credit history. I picked out a lovely blue/green Swedish looking long couch, put down my first $25 and promised to return each month with any additional $25 until the $250 was paid in full. Once I had the habit of paying $25 a month for home furnishings, I continued this approach for many years. In those days, interest on installments was either nonexistent(as at Cohn Brothers) or very low.
Somewhere in the mid-1980’s I suddenly wanted to own real china. I chose the pattern above, Nanking by Noritke, and began buying it one piece at a time until I had acquired several settings. However, since I had a young child and the young child had many young friends, this was not a particularly wise move. I did love the pattern, and a few pieces of it still remain. My favorite platter, rarely used when I was younger, now comes out every Thanksgiving.
Looking at the plate now, I remember how much I longed for the kind of stability that owning china represented to me. I was a single mother, no longer waiting for another bridal registry to provide me with what I wanted. I decided to buy my own dishes, this time acknowledging a love for the traditional which had eluded me years before. One lovely piece at a time.
Saved By Words 
My Noritake set is still intact all 45 pieces of it. I’ve only used it twice I think.
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That would have kept mine intact too.
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Such a sense of accomplishment you must have felt acquiring these pieces!
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Absolutely.
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I do like this pattern, Elizabeth. My mom did a similar thing to you in order to get her collection.
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I don’t hear of that now. Maybe it is no longer possible.
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I can see exactly why you focused on collecting the porcelain. It must have been lovely to get that complete set.
That payment system was known as ‘Hire Purchase’ here. My parents bought everything that way, from a television, to the house carpets.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love the name ‘hire purchase.” I also bought my rugs and future furniture the same way. No 24% interest for me.
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What a beautiful pattern. And how much more those pieces must mean to you having painstakingly collected them one at a time.
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I enjoyed them much more than if I had bought them all at once.
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What a very lovely pattern, and how much more they must have meant by building up the set so gradually
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You understood me perfectly. Thanks.
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😊
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I got my first China set from my mom. Sadly, I have none of it now. Downside of hopping countries.
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For sure. Better than throwing it against the wall though.
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Here in South India most people use stainless steel vessels,plates etc for regular use. We drink coffee or tea in stainless steel glasses. People do use China or other crockery but not for regular use.
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I had no idea about that. I wonder how that came to be.
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I don’t know, we have always used them. My husband used to say when he was small banana leaves were used instead of plates in the village. But one year all banana plants died due to some disease. Then stainless steel plates were purchased.
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Thanks. I love learning that.
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Elizabeth, I love reading about how you developed the “slow, but steady” practice of putting money toward home furnishings, one piece at a time. There is something beautiful about that to me.
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Thank you. I buy clothing the same way. I seem to prefer “slow shopping.”
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