I got hand-me-down dishes from my brother for my first apartment with a friend, and bought the cheapest matching set I could find at IKEA when I moved in with my partner. My thinking was, the star of the mealtime show is the food, so what does it matter how the pretty the venue is? Now, I realize how wrong I was. I’m a complete convert aware of the power of a good dish now that I own the Fable dinnerware set and mugs. In speckled white, the dishes highlight the food on the plate. They don’t feel mass produced, like my previous big-box sets did. Each plate, bowl, and mug feels like someone crafted it with their hands, with the slightest variations along the rim. My old plates had a wide curve between the base of the plate and the edge of the plate. The Fable dishes, which are mostly flat with a small upturned rim at the edge, have so much flat surface that I can actually plate my food so it looks purposeful and styled. A kale chicken salad has never looked so fancy. I could be eating takeout leftovers, but on the gorgeous Fable plates it feels like an event. The mugs were the biggest surprise. I have always been a novelty mug person: my mug with the dancing croissant on it is a Friday mug. The mug that is a New Yorker cover of dogs wearing scarves is the designated soup vessel. A mug with Nicolas Cage’s face in a heart that says, “you’re my national treasure”? Perfect. But I have barely touched my novelty mugs since the Fable mugs arrived. One mug holds all 16 oz. of my morning coffee, and the wider handle truly does make a difference—it just feels cozier to hold such a big mug so comfortably. Even my boyfriend, who met the Fable plates with a skeptical eye, unsure why we needed to change literally anything in our apartment, is now converted. He prefers the Fable dishes, too. Next up: I want their dessert plates. If I’m going to eat dessert, I should at least make it feel like a real occasion. And with the Fable plates, that’s what it feels like—every meal is a special occasion. Editor’s note: The writer received product samples, but all opinions are their own.
