The Compleat Table

Choosing a dinnerware pattern can be an arduous task for a bride. But choosing coordinating giftware and accessories is often a special challenge. While many of the popular dinnerware patterns have matching giftware, not every one does. For all those other patterns, it's a matter of selecting giftware that mixes well with the overall theme of the dinnerware.

The focus for the specialty retailer is on giftware. Here, we highlight six manufacturers — Bernardaud, Rosenthal, Royal Doulton, Royal Worcester/Spode, Lenox, and Villeroy & Boch — that offer coordinating giftware for top patterns.

Generally speaking, a top bridal dinnerware pattern doesn't automatically lend itself to giftware designs, according to Irene Ball, director of marketing at Royal Doulton USA Inc. in Somerset, New Jersey. Nevertheless, Royal Doulton has been adding accessories to its Royal Albert Old Country Roses pattern. "We've been expanding the franchise to include sculptural giftware, teaware, and holiday items," says Ball.

Old Country Roses Chintz features a variety of accent pieces including clocks, tea sets, tiered servers, and carafes. The reason? Old Country Roses is extremely popular. "Consumers collect the pattern," says Ball, adding that if the pattern weren't as popular as it is, Royal Doulton wouldn't create accessories for it. "People are [generally] very selective. They don't want 30 giftware lines [in one pattern]."

"Giftware has to be viewed as a different entity [from dinnerware]," notes Rhea Goldman, director of product development at Royal Worcester and Spode (The Royal China & Porcelain Cos., Moorestown, New Jersey). "It's not just about what works on the table. We look through the whole house; what would look wonderful in a living room or a den."

Giftware created to match a dinnerware pattern is not necessarily limited to being displayed with the pattern, Goldman emphasizes, citing Royal Worcester's Prince Regent pattern and its matching Imari giftware. The giftware should be able to stand on its own. She also notes that not all brides want their giftware to match their dinnerware. Some prefer to mix patterns and styles.

Mixing and matching is a trend closely watched by Bethany Bullard, brand development associate at Lenox in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. She recommends mixing crystal barware and candle accessories with Lenox's most popular formal china pattern, Federal Platinum, which, apart from accent plates and mugs, has no coordinating giftware. (Plates and mugs that coordinate with Federal Platinum and other Lenox patterns have become such popular gift items, the company plans to introduce them in sets of four at this month's New York Tabletop Market.) On the other hand, Lenox's Swedish Lodge is a transitional pattern with a line of coordinating giftware that includes candlesticks and bowls.

The debate about whether gold or platinum decoration is more the popular in dinnerware fluctuates with the times. But what role does this debate play in giftware?

"Platinum is still a favorite, but we are seeing a resurgence in gold," says Lenox's Bethany Bullard. "Platinum is trendier now, as it is in jewelry."

In response to platinum's popularity, Lenox is introducing a collection of alternative metal bread (or candle) plates to coordinate with its Federal Platinum dinnerware line. But will these metals work with the gold? "A lot of people will use alternative metals with gold," Bullard assures, "to mix up the table a little. It's all up to you, your style, and the atmosphere you're trying to create."

Royal Worcester's Rhea Goldman comes down on the side of gold. "We've been seeing more interest in platinum, but it's never surpassed gold. Gold has, and always will have, the metallic edge in formal dinnerware," she says.

And with the recent return to formality gifts will also change. "In the late 1990s there was more done with silver metals in home furnishings. I'm not seeing that anymore. I'm seeing more of a formal look, more woods. And that goes back to the gold."

Once a customer has chosen a dinnerware service, she is unlikely to stop there if she knows that there's giftware to be added. And that's where the independent retailer can be of service. You won't be stocking the dinnerware, but by concentrating on giftware you can offer the customer a range of choices for mixing or matching. And you'll have the tabletop manufacturers behind you.

"It's definitely a focus for us to address the needs of the independent," notes Royal Doulton's Irene Ball. Royal Worcester's Rhea Goldman says that tabletop manufacturers look at giftware as a separate category, and that the independent can do well with it.

It's a good way for the independent to be a part of the bridal market: Know what the top dinnerware patterns are, and offer coordinating or complementary giftware. You'll find your way into a newlywed's heart, and she'll be your customer for years to come.