Growing up in South Alabama, I was raised to understand the importance of having the appropriate china for any occasion. Now that I am married and nesting in my own home, my love for tableware has only intensified. I am excited to spotlight one of my new favorite companies today, Dishique! Megan Dalbey Steffen, co-founder of Dishique, and I danced together on the high school dance team back in Alabama, which is where I discovered her incredible artistic ability. After venturing to UGA for college, Megan moved to Chicago and began this adorable dish company with her husband! Since I am frequently attending showers, I definitely appreciate original gift ideas and this is my place to go! One of my favorite styles of dishes designed by Dishique would be the hometown collection. Though I am no longer living in Alabama, this plate brings a pinch of hometown charm to my dinner parties. We recently spoke with Megan about her inspiration and process behind her company – Check out what we learned!
What inspired you to create a dishware company?
My husband and I wanted to start something ourselves- a lifetime goal if you will. We wanted to grow a business and learn about the process together. We joke that I like to design and he likes to eat, so creating dinnerware was the perfect middle ground! However, in all seriousness, I’ve always had a collection of artful drawings and I wanted to put them to use. We researched many a different processes and products that we could use this art on, and decided to try decorating ceramics because it seemed like an interesting journey to both of us.
Megan and her husband, Jason
We absolutely love the custom city plates. Do you think you’ll branch out with more cities in the future? A Dallas plate would be the perfect touch to our new home.
Of course! I’m actually working on lots of new urban collections including Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Nashville, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Louisville. Dallas would be super and I’ll certainly add it to my list! Sometimes I wish I had 4 more hands to create more! :)
How long do custom order typically take?
Our lead time for custom orders is typically 2-4 weeks. We’ve done lots of completely custom work too. For instance, we’ve made dessert plates for weddings with the couple’s monogram emblem as well as coffee mugs with adorable lobsters! The sky is the limit. If it’s something we can get our hands on, we’re typically game to try. Completely custom orders take around 4-6 weeks – depending on the quantity and design.
It says you design, create, and fire each individual item. We love a unique and handmade product. Could you tell us more about this process? Do you have a kiln in your house?
The process is fairly simple, but as we’ve learned, very tedious and tricky. Our artwork is made into special decals, that we hand apply to each item. The porcelain item then gets re-fired in a kiln so that the decal becomes part of the glaze. This makes it dishwasher and microwave safe. When we first started we knew we needed access to a kiln, but didn’t know the first thing about a kiln, let alone how to operate a kiln. So we actually drove about 2 hours to pay these fabulous, Wisconsin artsy ladies to use their kiln. It was a wild experience that we laugh about today. Once we got our samples back, we knew we were going to need to bite the bullet, so we bought our first kiln. We purchased a kiln and honestly didn’t even know how to turn the thing on…but we’ve learned, a lot! So, we currently have one kiln (and are shopping for a second) that is in our basement.
Check out some of my favorites:
To see more designs by Dishique or to learn about hosting a Dishique party of your own, click here!