Think back to your family’s china cabinet. You know, the one you were afraid to even breathe by lest the priceless china shatter? The one that was opened once a year for a special occasion but collected dust the other 364 days of the year? Yeah, that china. Well, two Johnson County preschool teachers-turned-business owners are poised to disrupt the once-a-year dinnerware industry.
Jami Van Hercke and Laura Shore started collecting china as a hobby. They liked the old vintage pieces they could get at estate sales or thrift stores, and their collection quickly grew to two thousand pieces housed in a three hundred-square-foot facility. They have everything from plates to cups to serving platters in a large variety of designs and patterns. They focus mainly on collecting vintage not only because there is a larger variety but also because they want to be eco-friendly.
“We like the idea of repurposing because they are so pretty,” Van Hercke says. “We like using what is already there instead of creating more unnecessary stuff.”
Last year, the pair decided to share their large collection with the world, and they started a rental company called Good Stuff China (goodstuffchina. com). They create table settings for parties, dinners, head tables and so on. Their goal, Hercke says, is to “add a little fancy to any occasion.”
