White Whales - June 2026

What’s this now? Another regular feature? Who does she think she is, some sort of MAGAZINE? She’s barely even got the other regular feature going (Add to Cart, my free-to-read monthly shopping joy roundup). Well, don’t worry - it’s got legs and I’m very confident.

So, here’s the concept: you tell me something you are searching for in the shops and having trouble finding, and I suggest some things to you that I think fit the brief. I will hunt your White Whale for you (as in Moby Dick - also hilariously the book my senile father tried to bring with him on my wedding day ‘in case he got bored’). White Whales is more personal, is mostly behind a paywall and is for paying subs who can put White Whale requests in the So Good chat. I think it’ll be a laugh! And I’m a champion shopper, so also useful.

Claire, please can you find me a chic and stylish dinnerware set (dinner plates, side plates and bowls). Ideally between £100-150. Will pay more for something very special. Everything I find looks like a mass produced version of something someone once made on a pottery wheel with all the quirks of it ironed out. - Naomi Nathan

We both know that this one is important, because you will be eating off that crockery for possibly the rest of your adult life. My grandmother had her crockery (Villeroy and Boch ‘Acapulco’ - pictured above) for a total of 4 decades, and when it chipped she would seal the it with pink pearly nail varnish. I’m not saying you’ll do that, but I am saying that I understand your need to get this right. There are times when we can allow ourselves a little whimsy, but this isn’t one of them. You can always tart up your glassware and tablecloth, but these plates have to be inoffensive forever and ever, amen. The other thing I would bear in mind is that you would be smart to choose something you can buy more of - that way you can replace breakages, or you can buy the set in installments to make it more affordable (i.e. dinner plates, then bowls when you can afford them, then side plates etc). This means you can cast the net a bit wider, price wise, but you pay in patience (my least favourite currency!!!)

So, how do we give ourselves the best chance of timelessness? Well, the first way is to choose something austere and very high quality. The other route is to choose something you really love, because you will love it forever (I say this confidently because I know you are a grown woman, not a teenager). It sort of has to stop you in your tracks with delight. Here are a few options that tick both those boxes for me, but do go with your heart.

I love this Cornishware plate and bowl set, currently on sale at £129. You know that you will always be able to buy more, and it is cheerful but has that utilitarian feel about it.

The crockery I went for last year when i moved house and needed a new set was this Denby Halo Speckle one. I really love it, and get pleasure from it every day, but I worry that it has that faux potter’s wheel thing you say you don’t want. Denby has also gone into administration, which is terribly sad, and means it’ll be less easy to source more (there is a lot of it in Tk Maxx currently, which is ominous).

For value and hardiness you can’t beat a kitchen/catering retailer. Nisbet’s have a good website, and if you live in London you can go to the showroom on Shaftesbury avenue to see things IRL.

Lastly, would it not be very chic to have a full service of Falconware enamel? Maybe a mix of the blue and the red ones? To be found here.