Delft 2.0

I so thought I had "done" Delft, a cute little town about an hour's drive from Amsterdam.

I've never much been into porcelain or Chinese-inspired blue pottery, but hanging out in Holland must be playing with my head cuz I'm feeling kind of smitten.  And if you've got a crush on this kind of thing, Delft is the place to be. 

I have visited Delft a number of times, and felt like I had satiated this growing love affair, but that was before my good friend, SF, took us girls on a field trip last week to the Royal Delft Factory where we did the tour and got to paint our very own vase.  Very, very cool.

The entryway at the Royal Delft factory.

Delft is a quintessential Holland town, with its towered churches and river running through the middle.  During the 17th century, it was home to about thirty Delftware factories.  This is a staggering number of production houses for the time, and speaks volumes about the popularity of Delft blue.

17th-cenutry Delft collection.

The blue porcelain first became the rage during Holland's Golden Age, the country's famed trading period, when overseas traders brought it back from China.  It grew so popular that when civil war in China brought a halt to the supply, factories popped up by the tens in North Holland.  They Royal Delft Factory, where we visited, is the only original of these 17th-century factories that remains in business (established in 1653).

The workshop:

The paint is black, but turns blue during firing.

Look at all those Miffy's.

A vase by Marcel Wanders (in partnership with Royal Delft) that I have coveted for a long, long time.

We tried our hand doing our own vases, and I dare say they turned out pretty great.  Such a cool souvenir from our time in Holland.  Thank so much, SF, for organizing!