Bring the old, blue-glazed Christmas and Mother's Day plates back to life!

Use them as a centerpiece or étagère, and serve everything from sushi and tapas to homemade cookies and fruit - simple and elegant!

The transformation is performed by drilling a hole in the center of the plaques / plates (Use a 7 mm water-cooled diamond
glass drill). The supporting fixture in either gold or silver finish is then mounted to allocate 2-3 plates evenly and accurately over each other. The beautiful centerpieces can now be used to present all sorts of delicious dishes and exquisite aperitifs in an easy and elegant way - while releasing that extra space on the dinner or coffee table. You can buy fittings for centerpieces and complete centerpieces at DPH.

Don't have a drill? If you do not have a water-cooled diamond glass drill (7 mm), we can drill the holes in your chosen plates. Just order: item no. 501 (Drilling of holes).

Have you already bought a fittings or a centerpiece and are now ready to assemble it? Then read more here!

New life for old plates

Once upon a time the old blue-glazed vintage plates in porcelain from Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Grondahl were once immensely popular and valuable. Several collectors saw their Christmas plates, Mother's day plates, anniversary plates, etc. as a solid investment and retirement savings. Unfortunately, most plates are no longer as valuable as in the past.

But now it's time for the plates to reappear. This time not on the wall - but on the dinner table!

The plates from the walls are now becoming fashionable again, and several producers and designers have begun to transform the old plates into cake stands and centerpieces. The collection of Christmas plates, Mother's Day plates, anniversary plates, or other plates, are reconstructed quite simply into centerpieces or a so-called étagère - as it is so elegantly expressed in French.

We have both complete centerpieces, fittings so that you can create your own centerpiece, as well as plates you can buy if you are one or two short.

What you need to be aware of if you wish to have a cup in the top!

You can make a nice and usable centerpiece with a cup at the top. If you want to make this kind of centerpiece you need to be aware that it takes two sets of fittings because it becomes a 4 layered centerpiece. (One set of fittings only consists of parts for a 3 layered piece). You can create a 2 layered centerpieces with the reaming parts.

Be aware that when you use a cup at the top a hole needs to be drilled in the cup. This means that the cup will no longer be a 100 % waterproof...
Yes, that also surprised us and actually resulted in a quiet funny story for our director Lone... But she was also blonde at the time!

If you experiment with cups in the top of your centerpiece, you should also be aware that the cup and the saucer not always can be connected, as shown in the picture on the left. The thickness of for example Desiree cups and saucers are too thick, so the fittings cannot connect in between the layers. However, Royal Copenhagen Christmas cups and saucers are precisely not too thick to be connected.

The history of plate-based centerpieces

A lot of plate-owners don't know what to do with their beautiful plates. Maybe you have inherited them from great-grandparents, grandparents or parents. You might be a collector yourself, but honestly really don't know what to do with them, because you might feel they belong in the past?

DPH Trading in Odense got the idea to drill holes in plates, when it was discovered that the method of drilling holes in vases and jars when making them into lamps could also be used on plates / dishes. The machine was equipped with a thinner drill and could thus make a precise and straight hole through a plate without making the slightest chipping.

That gave us the idea of offering the many plate-owners who had no idea what to do with their plates the opportunity of creating a unique centerpiece or étagère matching their plate collection or dinnerware.

The large tableware producers Royal Copenhagen has recently launched centerpieces in the Fluted Mega tableware. Royal Copenhagen have as a refreshing reinterpretation launched the principle of mixing & matching different series.

Since then, several porcelain and china producers introduced different types of centerpieces. And, as the desire for flexible and modern table setting increases, the extravagant étagère fits perfect both for everyday use and special occasions.

The centerpiece allows a beautiful display of food which are also easy to carry. The centerpiece / étagère is no bigger than the lower, main plate and serving looks magnificent and appetizing at the same time.

As there are hundreds of different plates and dishes, and thus combinations, you can create your own unique centerpiece / étagère. For example, choose plates with the same motif in different sizes, or with different motif, but from the same vintage or series.

Do you need inspiration? Then look further down this page!

Only your imagination limits how your new centerpices should look like. We have collected some examples that we have created over the years, so that you can find inspiration for your very own centerpieces!

B&G centerpiece

Below you find a beautiful centerpiece with horses made of B & G Mother's Day-plate 1972 (15 cm), B & G Christmas plate 1975 (18 cm) and the B & G Christmas anniversary plate from 1975 (23cm) - put together by a set of fittings in silver finish for a centerpiece.

Find the complete centerpiece here!

Christmas plate tradition for almost 100 years'-centerpiece

At the bottom of the centerpiece below is the jubilee plate from 1908-1983, which celebrated Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates' 75 year anniversary. Here the motifs from 1983 and 1908 plates are shown together.
The middle plate is the union plate from 1987, when the Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Grondahl merged. Here the motifs from the first Bing & Grondahl Christmas plate from 1895 and the first Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate from 1908 are merged into one scene.
At the top is Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate from 1983 and the centerpiece rack with a heart handle.

Hans Christian Andersen theme

The next centerpiece is a 2-layered centerpiece which has a Hans Christian Andersen theme. At the bottom you will see Desiree Jubilee Plate 1970-1980 with the motif of the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, and a Desiree Christmas plate from 1980 with a motif from one of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, namely The Sandman

Find the complete centerpiece her!

Swan centerpiece

This example shows a centerpiece with the Danish national bird, the swan. At the bottom is the Bing & Grondahl's Mother's Day and anniversary plate from 1969-1984 (23cm).
In the middle the B & G Christmas plate vintage 1974 (18cm), and at the top of the centerpiece is one of Bing & Grondahl's Mother's Day plates from 1976.

Mix & match

Alternatively, you can choose the slightly more daring approach and mix both colors, patterns and dinnerset of your choice.

Here below is an example where we have chosen some old B&G Jubilee plates that we thought fits well in size and motif.

You can find all over B&G Jubilee plates here.

Seagull Service centerpiece

Here you can see a beautiful B&G Seagull Service centerpiece. At the bottom is a 25 cm flat plate, in the middle a lunch plate at 21 cm, and in the top a cake plate at 15 cm.
Because the Seagull Service centerpiece has a a gold edge we found that it fitted perfectly with a golden fitting.

A royal theme

Here we have chosen only to make a centerpiece in 2 layers that use a B & G commemorative plate from King Frederik 9th's death in 1972 (25 cm), and a Royal Copenhagen Queen-plate, with the silhouette image of Queen Margrethe and Queen Ingrid.

Did you not get enough?