Taigan Fetch Magazine by Taigan

We know corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish, but wouldn’t it be so much nicer to eat anything you want on some fabulous Dodie Thayer cabbage-leaf pottery plates and bowls instead? The candle holders from Hollyhock pictured here are so beautiful that they can be used as objects without candles—and plates, bowls, and serving dishes are available as well. Though the pottery is referred to as “Lettuce Ware,” Palm Beach potter Dodie Thayer actually hand made each piece using cabbage leaves in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. They were sought after by collectors, including the Duchess of Windsor, C.Z. Guest, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, whose 10-piece set fetched a record price at the 1996 Sotheby’s sale after her death. When Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip dined at Will Farish’s Kentucky horse farm in 1986, their lunch was served on Lettuce Ware ordered especially for the occasion.

These days, contemporary collectors snatch up Lettuce Ware pieces wherever they can find them, and we don’t blame them. The fluted and curled leaves are so delicate, they seem made of porcelain not earthenware, and we love the spring green color. “Nobody gets that combination of whimsy, color, and quality,” says Glenn Lavinder, an interior designer in Greensboro, North Carolina who has collected Lettuce Ware for 25 years. Hollyhock’s Suzanne Rheinstein agrees: “They look fresh again!”

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