How a humble tea set led to a creative career
How her gran’s best tea set, locked away in a china cabinet, led Tina Nunn to change careers and start pop-up vintage tea parties
“Gran used to say to me ‘I don’t think working in an office is for you, you need to do something more creative’ ”
As far back as she can remember, Tina Nunn loved big family Sunday dinners at her grandma Lily’s home.
It’s not just the memory of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings that she savours though – as mouthwatering as they were. Nor is it the apple pie and homemade custard served for afters.
“It was the whole weekly ritual that made it so special,” recalls Tina (38), from Middleton, Greater Manchester.
“No invitation was necessary. The house would always be full of relatives and we’d have to pull two tables together to seat everyone. It was my job, from being about five years old, to put the cloths on and set the places.”
But there was one unspoken rule. The ‘best’ china tea service with the golden yellow roses on it in the glass cabinet in the front room was not to be touched. “I’d never have dared ask if we could actually use it!” she admits.
Even the room it was in was out of bounds, kept pristine for special occasions. Nevertheless whenever Tina got the chance, she’d sneak in, press her nose up to the glass and stare at the pretty china.
What she could never have guessed was that one day it was this china tea set that would help her launch a new career.
After leaving school at 18, Tina landed a job as a legal executive and then became a lawyer. But despite her granddaughter’s outward success, Lily never felt that she’d made the right career choice.
Tina explains: “I used to spend most weekends at my gran’s and she knew me well. We’re quite a creative family and I was the one who was most into drama, dance and anything craft-related when I was younger. She used to say to me ‘I don’t think working in an office is for you. You need to do something creative; something that would suit your personality more’.”
For years the advice fell on deaf ears as
Tina progressed in her career, got married to fellow lawyer Craig, and eventually they had daughter Heidi (3) after IVF treatment.
Sadly, Lily died aged 82, before Heidi was born. But it was while Tina was on maternity leave that she had the idea to ask her widowed granddad Ernest if she could borrow her gran’s coveted china tea service to throw a Christmas tea party for work colleagues and her mum Gail (62).
He agreed and Tina set to work on creating a vintage-themed occasion at her home using all the skills she’d learned from her gran years earlier. “She was a good cook and a good baker. She taught me about the importance of timing, accurate measuring and how to make pastry.
“Even if she was making you a sandwich for your lunch, it would be made with fresh bread bought from the local baker that morning and the thickest slice of ham,” she says.
Taking a lead from her gran’s attention to detail, Tina concocted a hugely popular feast that included turkey and cranberry finger sandwiches, mince pies, trifles and macaroons – all served on Lily’s china plates and washed down with cups of tea. In the background, Forties music played.
When her granddad didn’t want the tea service back, Tina kept it and began holding more tea parties including a special one for her mum’s 60th birthday.
“At first it was a hobby when I was at home after giving birth to Heidi and deciding to take voluntary redundancy,” she adds.
Using any spare time to brush up her skills, she took training courses in bread making, patisserie craft and food hygiene – and scoured charity shops for more vintage china.
Buying a vintage-style wardrobe, including seamed stockings, she taught herself to create victory rolls in her hair to look the part.
An Afternoon with T inspired by Lily’s nickname for Tina – ‘our T’ – was born when she registered it as a business. Initially asked by friends to do pop-up parties in their homes, word soon got around through personal recommendations and social media.
Today she does around six tea parties a month (including weddings and children’s mad hatter–themed tea parties), plus two of her popular mini afternoon teas in a box.
Proving popular gifts for people living alone, or women who’ve just had babies, the tea boxes (from £10) are being bought as an alternative to gifts of flowers.
“I visit one lady who has dementia and I know Gran would really approve of that. I can remember visiting a lady with her who had MS. She liked to look after people,” adds Tina, who has no regrets about switching careers.
“My gran was right – I am much happier doing this!” she says.
Keeping it in the family, Tina’s mum and sister Kelly (31) help her out when needed, including making the aprons, bunting and table cloths.
“My gran would love all this now. I think she would be really, really pleased how everything has turned out,” says Tina.
Mum Gail agrees: “My mum was very sociable. She’d love to see ‘our T’ doing this!”
■ If you’d like more information about An Afternoon With T and the tea boxes visit www. anafternoonwitht.com