WHAT’S
in store
Living the By Katie Walenter
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SHELL LIFE
was taking pottery and convinced me Oysteria coto take pottery with owners Leslie her,” says Massony, Stidd Massony an artist who works and Monique in painting, pottery, Chauvin show floral design and off their ceramic interior design. In oyster plates. the pottery class, OTO BY she started creating PC HH ER Y L G ER B ER oyster plates. “I have always had a love of oysters and Monique’s family started in the oyster business in Chauvin, La., in the late 1800s,” Massony says. The friends decided to update the oyster plate tradition. Their contemporary plate design is both attractive and meant for regular use. The sturdy plates are oven- and dishwasher-safe. Oysteria’s main design features plate bases of varying sizes on which several life-like clay oyster shells are attached and formed to hold oysters. There are also ramekins, nesting bowls, larger platters and appetizer plates. Plates in the line range from $10 to $200. Sold at Mitch’s Flowers and online, the plates are popular in New Orleans and far and wide. “We have customers from everywhere: from Alaska to Greece; the vice president of the United States to the owner of the Miami Dolphins,” Massony says. “Oysteria is handmade and it has become our passion,” Massony says. “We would like to share our passion with everyone. Almost all materials are purchased locally and it is truly made in Louisiana.”
SHOPPING NEWS
Goorin Bros. French Quarter Hat Shop (709 Royal St., 504-523-4287; www.goorin.com) celebrates the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5. There will be food, music, drinks and free hat pins with purchases over $60. The password “scofflaw” gets participants a cocktail.
The Newcomb Art Department Holiday Sale takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7 at Carroll Gallery (202 Woldenberg Art Center, 6823 St. Charles Ave., 504-314-2228; www.carrollgallery.tulane.edu). Glass, ceramics, prints, jewelry and more by Tulane students, alumni and staff will be sold. Santa Claus will visit The Rink (2727 Prytania
by Missy Wilkinson
St.) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 to take pictures with shopping center visitors. Refreshments will be served. Santa will return from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. There also will be a holiday party from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 14 with music, food, drinks and extended shopping hours. The Hike for KaTREEna Big TREEsy giveaway takes place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at City of New Orleans Department of Parks & Parkways (2829 Gentilly Blvd., 504-658-3200; www.nola.gov/parks-and-parkways). One thousand local trees will be given to New Orleans residents. Horticulturists, landscape architects and urban foresters will help residents choose their trees and teach how to plant and care for them.
GAMBIT > BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM > DECEMBER 3 > 2013
onsidering the prodigious way New Orleanians consume oysters, it seems reasonable that there would be specific plates for serving them. But because we tend to eat them right from their shells, regular plates generally do just fine. In the 19th century, however, hosts of dinner parties in the U.S. and Europe who lived in regions with access to fresh oysters served the bivalves without their shells on elegant handpainted dishes. Go into almost any high-end antique store today and you will notice an array of these decorative jewels. Oyster plates feature molded sections to hold individual oysters. There are many traditional styles of plates: circular or scalloped with five or six molds, often with a middle section for sauce; the turkey design, in which the oyster molds form a poultry pattern; the nongeometric style with an oblong or rectangular shape; and unconventionally shaped plates with designs like fans, baskets and sea creatures in rich colors. These plates are highly collectible. However, because they are so delicate they are often relegated to cabinets where they collect dust, charming vestiges from a bygone era. But oyster plates are making a comeback in everyday dining situations. In 2010, Monique Chauvin — owner of Mitch’s Flowers (4843 Magazine St., 504-899-4843; www.oysterianola.com) — and her friend Leslie Stidd Massony, launched Oysteria, a contemporary line of oyster plates that are both decorative and utilitarian. “After Hurricane Katrina, Monique
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