My mom is like a walking encyclopedia of good taste. She can identify the proper wine glasses for each type of wine, she can properly set a formal dining table and school you on etiquette during dinner, and she knows anything about collectable china.
(She also dances in public, hits things when she laughs really hard, and makes rhinestone text on t-shirts look downright classic. She’s an incredibly well-rounded human.)
She flips furniture and decor for a living (aka finds old & downtrodden items and transforms them to modern beauty!), so we have spent our fair share of time in Goodwill and Salvation Army looking for treasures.
As long as I can remember, we’ve always passed through the fine china & dinnerware sections of these second-hand stores on the off-chance the donor and/or recipient got their hands on a valuable porcelain gem and didn’t know any better than to price it at Goodwill prices. I can so clearly see my mom walking through the aisles, grabbing cups and plates and immediately flipping them over to see the maker’s mark on the bottom of the piece.
These days, I can’t seen to pass through a thrift shop without wandering down the aisle, flipping the teacups that look the most high-quality and beautiful – just in case there’s a gem.
There were a few times that we spotted some really striking & beautiful pieces, but ultimately passed on them. There are only a handful of names that you want to see emblazoned on the bottom of a fancy little dish, and one of those names is Lenox.
Lenox makes the kind of china that you register.
Little did I know that Lenox ventured into other arenas of Things I Like Buying, like jewelry-related objects. This collection of porcelain ring holders is dresser-top ready, and each has its own totem: an owl, a dragonfly, nondescript bird, and a floral design.
My personal favorite is the owl design, not just because owls are badass, but because of the actual design of the ring holder. The extra little “branch” on the side is going to serve as some convenient extra ring storage. All of the other designs only have one primary ring holding area, though the dragonfly comes close but I don’t think the wings would be very effective ring holders! It’s just too tight a space.
See: Lenox Porcelain Ring Holders, $12.74 at Macy’s
Right now, these are 50% off at Macy’s plus an extra 15% off with the code SUMMER (which expires on July 6!). That makes these porcelain, heirloom-able ring holders just about $13 each. I think getting one of each would be a weird choice, but I’m not gonna judge you… or know what you bought!