New Westport Business Will Lease You China for a 'Mismatched Tea Party'

Jessica Hill, who recently moved to Westport with her family, is hoping that an English trend will catch on more in America: Using mismatched china for “mismatched tea parties.”

An anglophile living in England for a decade, Hill came to enjoy going to these tea parties, which were more light-hearted than a stuffier high tea event, she said.

“I thought it was a great way to sort of have the decadence of a tea party without the stuffiness of one,” she said.

Hill, the mother of two boys, now 4 and 6 years old, had met her (American) husband while at graduate school in London, married him in America and unexpectedly had a chance to move back to England right after the couple’s honeymoon. Her husband’s work and a desire to see the kids grow up in America brought the family to Westport in November 2013.

She had begun collecting china while in England, scouring charity shops and flea markets. When she and her husband were thinking of moving back to the U.S., the idea of starting a rental company for mismatched china took hold, and she bought some more. After a year of settling in, she’s now started the company: The Dish & Spoon Vintage.

Hill now has enough to comfortably rent teapots, cups, saucers, plates, cake plates, cake stands (she counted: 496 items of china, including 144 tea cups and saucers) and silverware to accommodate parties of up to 100 people (with plenty of spares in case somebody breaks some of it). She started her business in January from her Westport home and has rented to several events so far.

Another trend she likes in the U.K. is a ”kind of irreverent cocktail party using tea party china — serving alcohol from teapots. It’s just a crazy, inspired thing to do.”