“In 2013, I called Dodie Thayer and asked her if she would be interested in collaborating with us. To my excitement, she said yes! And now, after two years of working with her and her family to make sure our Dodie Thayer for Tory Burch collection is how Mrs. Thayer would do it, I couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce it.
“Here is my interview with her from an afternoon in late 2013, when I visited Mrs. Thayer at home on the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter, Florida, and we talked about how her designs struck such a chord. ‘They are big and showy,’ she said. And beautiful, I would add.” — Tory
Tory Burch: Tell me about your childhood.
Dodie Thayer: I lived on the Jupiter inlet and went to school. I took piano lessons and played in church. Waited tables in a restaurant in West Palm Beach. Always wanted to be an artist. I took home ec in college.
TB: What inspired you to create cabbage ware and lettuce ware?
DT: Napoli ware, especially the color.
TB: This is one of my favorite greens. What do you call it?
DT: Duncan Irish Green. Lettuce Green.
TB: Were there other colors that you did?
DT: Hibiscus pink, red, yellow.
TB: How do you like to entertain?
DT: Mostly family dinners.
TB: What was your favorite dish to serve in one of your pieces?
DT: Tossed salad in platters.
TB: Favorite flowers to put in them?
DT: Hibiscus.
TB: Most interesting thing you’ve ever seen served in them?
DT: Lots of oysters.
TB: Which were the most popular pieces?
DT: The platters and tureens.
TB: Which were your favorite pieces to make?
DT: Tureens.
TB: What’s the last piece you ever created?
DT: Plates.
TB: What was something you learned from your parents that you passed on to your children?
DT: How to cook. Try different things. Respect history and nature.
TB: Best advice you ever received?
DT: Be self-reliant. You should charge more.