Spode dinnerware is a fairly popular dinnerware out of England that is normally thought of as slightly higher in quality rather than quantity when it comes to tableware for your home. They have many pieces to choose from whether you’re looking for an individual dish such as a plate or cup, or an entire dinnerware set.
A little important company history:
The company was first founded in 1784 to develop bone China and other creamware (which is a sort of cream-colored earthenware type dinnerware). In 2006 the company merged with Royal Worcester, but that company effectively went out of business in 2008, but the Spode brand was purchased by Portmeirion Pottery who continues to manufacture it today.
Popular Spode sets include:
- Baking Days
- Blue Bird
- Blue Italian
- Buttercup
- Christmas Tree
- Milkwood
- New England
- Westbourne woodland
- Willow (Blue Room)
While some people describe it as Royal Doulton in nature, I feel like it has a flavor and pattern design all its own that really shines through in each individual piece.
How About Prices? What Can You Expect?
Spode is definitely not cheap but I wouldn’t go so far as to categorize it as overly expensive either. You can find a decent 12 piece set for around $120 up to $250 for particularly popular sets. There are however certain sets that are incredibly expensive and certain individual pieces that can cost hundreds of dollars apiece. One expensive pattern is the Stafford flowers pattern in which an individual 8 inch plate can cost $125 and a soup plate can cost you $200. It’s all relative I suppose.
Where To Find Spode:
You can track down certain sets at sites like Amazon. For the most part you’re going to find the seasonal sets such as the Christmas and the Thanksgiving set at websites like this, as these sets are some of the more popular ones and also some the cheaper ones.
For the more expensive sets you’re going to need to track down a specialty websites that deals specifically in dinnerware and tableware. tableandhome.com has a particularly nice selection of individual pieces competitively priced, though expensive.
Spode Christmas Tree Dinnerware
This is probably one of their more popular collections. Obviously it is a holiday collection that will brighten up your Christmas and implant fun memories into your childrens’ minds. The set costs about $120 and is centered around large 10 1/2 inch dinner plates with a popular Christmas tree pattern in the middle.
Spode Blue Italian 12 Piece Set
Another popular site is this hundred dollar blue willow Italian set that has four plates as well as four salad plates and four mugs. The dishes are made out of earthenware and have a blue tapestry design throughout. Both dishwasher and microwave oven safe though I think I would probably wash them by hand myself. This is a really classic collection. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.
Spode Dinnerware is steeped in tradition that really shines through. The older pieces are definitely better because since the company has changed ownership over the last few years some of the manufacturing has been outsourced to Malaysia and other countries; so if you’re looking for that English craftsmanship you should probably look elsewhere or else purchase old used pieces wherever you can find them.
