I have asked area TS to let me know when they have broken china, pottery, etc. but they aren't very agreeable about it. One store told me to ask for discount if I find something broken or chipped. I thought that was kind of stupid because it would encourage me to break stuff. Your TS certainly has the right idea! If they refused to sell things as they are broken but stockpiled them to sell in the laundry baskets that would prevent people from breaking things because they would have no idea when the item they want would go on sale. I should suggest that to area thrift stores around here. Now the $10 for the BBs is kind of steep!

Hi perhaps this may be of benefit albeit a bit late. HB Henriot Faiencerie de Quimper continues to produce it's collection/line today and ever painstakingly so. Truly in keeping with their time honored 300+ plus year tradition, where-in each piece is hand painted by one of their acclaimed family of artisans. Frankly, it is fascinating simply to learn of the pure process maintained in production. There are indeed culprits/companies which attempt to fabricate/knock-off the brand and continue to make claims to selling the Authentic HB Quimper pure rubbish. Sadly the uninformed and unsuspecting are duped! There is in fact Only One HB-Henriot Quimper in the entire world, much likened to each of their exquisite and highly covetted pieces!I myself happen to adore their Botanicals Collection. In any event the sole USA Importer and Distributor for HB-Henriot Faiencerie de Quimper is indeed Marguerite Dorger Inc. And Margi,it just so happens indeed is a former president of Haviland Limoges Porcelain! So I would suggest you definitely contact her. She will no doubt have answers for you and at the very least can point you in the right direction she has an impeccable reputation and happens to be a Great Gal. Here is the url for her website, www.margueritedorgerinc.com Hope my contribution here proves helpful! And BTW.. Your grandmothers pieces are truly quite lovely! Thank you so very much for sharing them! Regards, sj

We used the top half of the china cabinet I inherited in the library of our former house. I had a plain box base made to hold it, stained it to the same color, and put it behind the small end of an L-shaped sofa, because with its own base, it was too tall to fit in our 8' rooms. It actually started life as a secretary-bookcase, but my great-grandfather, who bought it at auction, only bought the top half, and had a nice but distinctly inferior bottom made for it then. I've tried to find the other half, but with no success. Sigh. So much for its potential value. But I digress ... I put a few groups of nice old books, a couple of pewter pitchers, a plate or two, and some other attractive things in it. I also lined the back wall with a piece of cream jacquard fabric to lighten the whole business. Not sure how well you can see, but here it was: It was traditional in old houses to line the doors of large secretary-bookcases like this one with gathered green cloth to protect the books from sunlight, so you'd be in good company if you decided to put fabric in yours.

A few notes about 'super glues'. These are based on cyanoacrylate. This type of glue sets up quickly attaining 50% strength in one minute at room temperature and arrives to full strength in 24 hours. It will not stick to itself, or if it does, it will be very low strength and the joint will fail. In other words, if there exists a setup film on the surface, a new application to that surface will not work. This means that if one has a failure in joining two pieces, it does no good to try again without cleaning. The old material must be completely removed before trying again, and it is very difficult to completely clean crazy glue off the entire joint surface of broken china/pottery. Take precautions to insure that your first try is good. Cyanoacrylates melt at 150 F. Do not use on items that may get hot like coffee cups. Its ok for items that will be on display only. An epoxy is a better choice for items that may get hot. Cyanoacrylate is affected long term by moisture and humidity. It will deteriorate. For permanent joining, a barrier coating should completely cover cyanoacrylate. Again, an epoxy is the better choice. I have used both epoxies and cyanoacrylates for applying strain gages. The crazy glue type was the adhesive of choice for its quick setting property and where the temperature is limited. The installation can be made to last several years if a barrier coating is used. Epoxy is the best choice for permanent installations with possibly elevated temperature. For china ware, I recommend a clear epoxy that lapidarists and jewelers use. The difficulty is holding the pieces immobile during set-up. Pottery can be assembled using Elmer's glue, however, the results are not strong.