Mud Australia

Truth be told, I'm not too crazy about the whole registering for wedding gifts process. Not only is it stressful  walking through a store with that scan gun trying to figure out what tablecloth I'm going to want for the rest of my life but I feel like it's also a bit presumptuous. I feel uncomfortable telling people what they should buy me as a gift. However I do see that it's totally practical. With 150 guests coming the odds of a kooky family friend buying something hideous that is non-returnable are high. The odds of 5 people buying us a bread machine (something that we are NOT registering for) are even higher. 

So with that in mind and being 2 very practical people, Alex and I set out to register for our wedding gifts. We ended up registering at Unica Home (for dinnerware, flatware, and other modern stuffs... like Fornasetti plates), Boolmingdales (for linens, pots & pans, kitchen electronics), Target (for more kitchen / home stuff. Most of  which Bloomies had but Target is way cheaper. I mean 20%  to 30% cheaper for the exact same thing), and Sur La Table (but only for Alex's fancy knives that I'm sure will cut off one of my fingers). We tried to pick a mix of things that were high and low that would complement what we already own. I'm not sure how much we need everything that we registered for. In fact I'm pretty sure we don't NEED any of it. But apparently that is neither here nor there in the crazy world of weddings. 

One of the things that I'm most excited about is the set of dishes that we registered for from Mud Australia. After much deliberation we decided to NOT register for fine china. While I'm sure we'll want it someday, that day is not now. By then I figure our aesthetics will have evolved and we'll probably want something different. Plus we don't have anywhere to store it. Instead we are registering for everyday plates that we love. And what's not to love!!!

Since we aren't doing fine china, we're going to register for 16 place settings instead of 12.  We are mixing and matching 5 or 6 colors that all complement each other which I think will look so fun at a dinner party. We're doing colors in sets of 4 though in case we want to be matchy matchy. I've seen these plates in person and they are incredibly lightweight (but strong since they are made from limoges and imperial porcelain) with a matte exterior and a high gloss interior. Finding these babies seems to make all the registry headache worth it.

From Mud's Site:

As a small business we strongly believe in the global values of craft, community and sustainability. We actively build relationships with our retailers and the people who buy, use and love our product.

Our porcelain range is handmade in our factory by our staff of professional and amateur ceramicists. Each piece is designed to last and manufactured using the best materials available. The pigment is tinted in the porcelain at the slip stage to provide colour depth. Clear glaze is then applied to the interior of each piece leaving the exterior with a vitrified stone-like surface that becomes smooth with handling and use. The end result is a product to fetishise, that perfectly combines a minimalist aesthetic with a clearly hand made finish while providing a soulful alternative to mass produced & highly manufactured ceramic design.

All our porcelain is oven, microwave, dishwasher and food safe — making it ideal for domestic and commercial use at the table and in the kitchen.

mud australia gladly adheres to Australia’s strict employment, environmental and health regulations. All glazes and porcelain bodies are non toxic.

DISCLAIMER:  I do recognize my gross consumerism present in this post. I am all too aware of the oil spill in the Gulf, WWIII looming in Korea, the war in Iraq, Greece's failing economy, upheaval in Jamaica, and other injustices and tragedies in the world today. Please allow me to digress on a totally trivial topic and don't judge me and social consciousness.

{all images c/o Mud}