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All About Chintz

Chintz China can be quite beautiful, coming in many beautiful and varied patterns. To truly understand and appreciate Chintz, it helps to understand its history, and what is involved in creation of a piece of Chintz. Then, its easy to understand why collectors are willing to spend thousands of dollars to own Chintz. The word "chintz" has its origins in the Hindi word meaning, "spotted".

With roots going back to the seventeenth century, it original basis was the colorful patterns found printed on fabrics imported from India during the seventeenth century. These early Chintz patterns consisted of larger flowers and were not as densely packed as the Chintz we are familiar with today. Over time Chintz patterns evolved, and by the early twentieth century patterns were much more densely packed, as we know today. Modern Chintz is generally considered to be items produced in the period between the 1920's to late 1960's.

During the period from the nineteenth to early twentieth century, several major English factories entered, helping make Chintz patterned pieces available for everyday use. One of the challenges of Chintz makers was to come up with new patterns each year. They became masters of taking pattern and making small changes and new backgrounds to create a whole new look.

Production of Chintz required much handwork. Designs were transferred by hand from lithographs to individual pieces prior to firing. Young women would spend hours transferring these patterns onto each piece of Chintz. The process, similar to application of a decal, required detailed matching to ensure that seams were invisible.

What's interesting is that the difficulty to produce Chintz may have led to many manufacturers to stop its production, yet the prices that Chintz commands today has lead many manufacturers to start production once again. A series of recent limited edition reproductions have been released as well as some giftware lines (not limited in their edition) from the major long-time manufacturers. New collectors of Chintz needs be aware of these reproductions since many are based on previous editions.

Collectors of Chintz have philosophies as varied as the Chintz patterns they collect. While some might focus their search and energy on a particular pattern / maker, others focus on mix and match of many patterns to create wonderful sets. Yet others still might collect just tea cups only or just teapots only in as many patterns as possible.

Chintz is still regarded as a collectible item. There are clubs, conventions and shows that focus on this activity. Prices of collectable Chintz are remarkable. So check your attic or china closets for that family passdown and you might just have a collectable item.

The ubiquitous press pot. It's everywhere. It's seemingly easy to use, right? Well, yes, but a little understanding of the device, how it works, and maybe a bit about the history of the product will get you using yours better. If you want some of the richest coffee you can get, a press pot can deliver. What may surprise most is that you can also get a relatively clean brew from it as well, if you have the right tools and prep everything correctly.

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