Tableware guides and help
Browse topics
Color History
The color reference behind this collection traces its roots to a dinnerware line introduced in 1936. Its palette has changed over time as new glaze colors entered the range.
Working with a palette
Try one color as a base and a second as an accent. A small plate or mug is an easy way to add a brighter glaze without changing an entire place setting.
Our Story
Color and shape are the starting points for this collection of tableware. Use a consistent palette for a matched place setting or combine a few colors across plates, bowls and mugs.
Build around pieces you use
Start with a dinner plate and an everyday bowl. Add a smaller plate for sides or dessert, and choose serving pieces based on how you bring food to the table.
Contact
Use the form below for questions about tableware, an item on the site, or an existing order.
What to include
For a product question, add the product name and the size, color or model you are looking at. For an order question, include the order number and the email address used at checkout.
Dinnerware
Choose a plate and bowl combination for the meals you serve most often. Smaller plates fit breakfast, starters and desserts. A wider bowl leaves room for pasta and grain dishes.
American Tableware History
Early pottery in the Ohio Valley
The source dinnerware collection grew from the pottery industry of East Liverpool, Ohio. The factory that produced the collection later expanded across the river to Newell, West Virginia.
Color at the table
The line arrived in 1936 with bright glazes and simple shapes. Its palette expanded over time and the line returned in 1986 after an interruption.
Customer Service
Have the item name and glaze color handy for a product question. If your message is about an existing order, include its order number and describe what you need help with.
Tableware FAQs
Where can I check how a piece should be used?
Look for the care symbols and material details on the item page or packaging. Check the markings on your particular piece before placing it in an appliance.
What are the gray marks on a glazed plate?
Utensils can leave a trace of metal on hard glaze, especially on pale colors. Check the care guide before choosing a cleaner.
Patterned Tableware
Patterned dinnerware gives a table a point of focus. Mix a decorated plate or mug with a plain glaze that picks up one of its colors.
Serving Pieces and Table Accessories
Set out shared dishes
Use the platter or bowl dimensions to plan how much it will hold and how much space it needs on the table. Add a pitcher, butter dish or sauceboat for the foods you serve regularly.
Tableware Use and Care
Check the piece
Read the item instructions before using a dishwasher, microwave, freezer or oven. If oven use is listed, follow the temperature limit for that piece.
Utensil marks on glaze
Metal utensils can leave gray surface marks, especially on light glazes. Use a cleaner suitable for the finish and follow its label. Wash and rinse the piece afterward.
Marks in mugs
Tea and coffee can leave stains with regular use. Clean the interior with a soft dishcloth and follow the item instructions for any additional treatment.
Dinnerware FAQs
Where should I look for the maker's mark?
Look on the underside. Some forms have an impression in the clay and others have a printed stamp under the glaze. Dark glazes can make a mark difficult to see.
Can I identify a color by its appearance alone?
Compare the piece’s shape and any markings along with the color. Older pieces may have a different mark or no readable stamp.
Flatware Care
Follow the instructions for the material and finish shown on the product page. Rinse off food after use and dry the flatware before storing it.
Glassware Care
Follow the care marking for your particular glass. Where the listing calls for hand washing, clean it by hand and dry it before putting it away.
Mixing Tableware Colors
Pick a starting shade
Choose a color for the plates, then introduce a lighter or deeper shade for the bowls. Repeat a glaze across two pieces to tie a mixed setting together.
Change an accent
A new mug or side plate can shift the palette while keeping the pieces you already use.
Sky Blue Tableware
Sky is a soft, cool blue glaze. It pairs with ivory and white for a lighter setting or provides a blue accent alongside deeper glazes.
Find a Tableware Piece by Size
A label can change while the piece stays the same. When you are matching an existing item, compare its diameter, capacity, shape and glaze with the measurements on the listing.
Tableware Gift Guide
For a new home
Start with a place setting or a small group of pieces that can be used every day.
For a host
Choose a platter, a serving bowl or a pair of mugs in a color that suits their table.
Spring Tableware Patterns
The spring range features botanical, breezy floral and coastal motifs. Choose one as the focus of a place setting and use a solid glaze for the remaining pieces.
Linen Tableware
Linen is a warm neutral glaze. Use it for a quiet base or pair it with a colorful bowl and mug in a mixed place setting.
Build Your First Dinnerware Set
Choose the pieces
Start with a dinner plate and a bowl for the meals you make most often. Add a salad or luncheon plate for smaller portions and a mug if you want matching drinkware.
Choose a glaze
A single color makes it easy to add pieces later. For a mixed set, try a neutral plate with a contrasting bowl or accent mug.
Lavender Tableware
Lavender is a light purple glaze introduced for the source collection’s 90th anniversary. It works as a single accent piece or as the base color for a setting.
Botanical Floral Tableware
Botanical illustrations are the focus of this range. A plain plate or bowl in a color drawn from the illustration can accompany a patterned piece.
Shop by Color
Retired Tableware
Browse past glazes, patterns and shapes. If you are replacing a piece, compare the color name, measurements and shape with the tableware you already own.
Browse by piece
Look up a past glaze
Start with the retired color guide if you know the shade but need to find a specific shape.
Retired Tableware Colors
The archive includes warm yellow, cream and green glazes as well as past pinks, blues and reds. The same glaze may appear on several different shapes.
Browse selected archived glazes
Match an existing piece
Compare the shape and measurements along with the color. If a matching piece is unavailable, a different glaze can work as an accent.
Christmas Tableware
Build a holiday setting around a pattern such as holly, a nutcracker or snowflakes. Pick a solid glaze that repeats one color from the design.
Choose pieces for your table
Use decorated small plates for desserts or appetizers. Add a patterned serving piece where it will be easy to see among the dishes.
Autumn Tableware
Pair leaf and harvest patterns with warm glazes for an autumn table. Keep the patterned pieces together, or repeat one of their colors in plain plates and bowls.
Set out shared dishes
Choose a platter sized for the main dish and bowls for sides. Smaller patterned plates can carry the same colors through to dessert.
Peony Tableware
Peony is a soft pink glaze. Use it for a full setting or bring it in with a mug, bowl or small plate.
Colors to try together
White gives the pink a quieter background. Lavender keeps the palette soft, while a deeper red can add contrast.
Jade Tableware
Jade is a deep green glaze. It can anchor a mixed place setting or appear on one piece, such as a serving bowl.
Colors to try together
Pair Jade with Linen for a muted setting, or use a lighter green like Meadow to keep the contrast within one color family.
Dinnerware and Accessories
Find the pieces for an everyday place setting and the serving or countertop accessories you use alongside them.
Start with your place setting
Choose plates, bowls and mugs for the meals you serve most often. Check how many people a dinnerware set serves and what each setting includes.
Add serving and countertop pieces
Compare dimensions and capacity before choosing a platter, pitcher, canister or other shared piece.
What to Look For in Dinnerware
When choosing ceramic dinnerware, look at the material, the shape and the quality of the finished piece.
The ceramic body
Vitrification refers to the way firing reduces the amount of open pore space in a ceramic body. Use the item’s stated material and care instructions when deciding how you will use it.
The shape and feel
Check the dimensions, weight and shape. A dinner plate that fits your cupboards and a bowl with the right capacity are easier to use every day.
The finish
Look at the rim and base, where an uneven finish is easier to spot. Check the item instructions for cleaning before using an abrasive tool on a glaze.
Tableware News and Guides
Explore the background of colorful tableware and find guides for choosing pieces, patterns and glazes.
Tableware stories
Read and browse
An American Tableware Timeline
Potteries in the Ohio Valley
In the 19th century, local clay deposits helped support the pottery industry around East Liverpool, Ohio. Producers used the Ohio River to transport wares to customers.
Colorful dinnerware in the 1930s
A brightly glazed dinnerware line debuted in 1936. The palette changed as new shades entered the range and earlier ones were retired.
The color line returns
After a break in production, the line returned in 1986 with a vitrified body and an updated palette. White, black, cobalt, rose and apricot were among the shades introduced with the return.
Americana Tableware
Americana pieces include patterned designs and rim-band styles. Choose one design as the focus and use plain glazes on the remaining pieces.
Build a place setting around the pattern
Try a patterned side plate or serving piece first, then repeat a color from the decoration in a bowl or dinner plate.