Necessary Luxury: Mustardseed & Moonshine

Named after two delightful sprites in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mustardseed & Moonshine creates hand-made porcelain tableware as unique as it is beautiful.  Made by hand in a small Cape Town studio under the discerning eye of founder and designer Kate Carlyle, these true-to-nature botanical designs turn any table into Monet’s garden.

When setting a springtime table, we love adding an element of charm and whimsy – a Mustardseed & Moonshine charger, plate or ramekin is a necessary luxury to complete the look (see our post on Diane’s table setting at Neiman Marcus last month).  Each hand-made and hand-painted petal, stamen, stem and leaf is based on a real flower and each piece takes 17 artisans over 15 days to create.  Though delicate in appearance, these beauties are dishwasher-, microwave- and oven-safe.

The more we learned about this company, the more we loved their story.  Not only do the employees consider themselves as “family”, most are women with school-aged children without previous artistic experience, who have been trained in this company’s unique methods and are given a lifelong skill.  We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with a special giveaway this week of Mustardseed & Moonshine’s exquisite tulip dipping set – perfect for springtime entertaining!

All you need to do is send your name and address to TheBuzz.Giveaway@gmail.com and write “M&M Tulip” in the subject line.  Only one entry per giveaway is allowed and all entries must be received by 11:59 pm EST on Saturday, May 8th, 2010.  The winner will be announced on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9th, 2010.  And please don’t worry, we will not share your address with any other parties or use it for any other purpose but to send you your prize!

A big thank you to Diane Seidle, who launched Mustardseed & Moonshine in the US five years ago, for bringing such beauty to our tables!  See Diane’s interview from The New York International Gift Fair here and see how the artisans create their wonderful wares here.  For more information about where to find Mustardseed & Moonshine or to buy online, please visit their website here.

Photos from Mustardseed & Moonshine