Blue Onion and Cesky Porcelan

I wasn't interested in buying anything in Prague until I saw this window.

I would have bought a dozen water goblets if Prague was our last stop

The store was closed when I saw it so I had to make a mental note of where it was in relation to our hotel. I also went online that night to see what Cesky Porcelan was all about. Almost everything in the window display was Blue Onion, a pattern that originated in the 18th century and copied from the blue and white porcelain designs from China during the Marco Polo days.

 

Cesky Porcelan's webpage makes a connection to Meissen, the first producers of the Blue Onion pattern in Europe, but they might also just be one of the many manufacturers that make this pattern. I wouldn't know.

These are not expensive plates--they are just classic and traditional.

I don't need any more plates, but I just had to have a couple of blue onion things from here.

This store looked like a factory outlet--probably the reason I was attracted to it. The store layout didn't encourage browsing or handling, and there was only one lady manning the whole store and the cash register.

She didn't speak a word of English so I had to use sign language and point to the pieces I wanted. She went to the back room to get them, removed each piece from its wholesale box, showed them to me one at a time, and then packed in tissue and then repackaged them into individual boxes.  It's a good thing I was only buying a few pieces. The two customers behind me waited very patiently. When their turn came, they knew exactly what they wanted too.

Now that I look at the pictures, I should've bought more.  But the purchasing process did well to restrain me. I bought two little egg cups with saucers, and one set of tiered plates. I can hear my mom saying,  "What? You should always buy a dozen, or at least half a dozen!"  She likes "round" numbers, while I am used to buying things in the flea-market, therefore one or two things at a time is par for the course--specially when I don't need them.

When I left the store, I saw this pretty Blue Onion Ruby pattern. I wanted to go back in and get the plate with the handles behind the bowl. But the thought of lining up behind those two customers and the slow-moving lady? It gave me enough time to rethink that I really don't need another serving plate at home. It would've made a nice souvenir though. Oh well, next time.