Produced and Written by Sharon Hatten
Photos by Duane Tinkey
Summer awaits!
Perk up your picnic with these plates, totes and textiles, most found at local stores.
-
- French Bull melamine tray and plates (15.5-inch platter, $25; 11-inch plate, $11; 8-inch plate, $8, at Studio3 in Des Moines).
-
- Vietri bold stripe cotton napkins ($17.50 each).
-
- Karen Lee Ballard Conservatory cotton print napkins ($9 each).
-
- DwellStudio Bodoni Lemon linen napkins ($15 each). All from Accents and Interiors in Urbandale. Hurry! These were going faster than hot dogs at Principal Park. Make them part of your permanent picnic collection.
-
- Le Jacquard Francais French cotton-woven tablecloths ($279 at Kitchen Collage in Des Moines). Picnicking turns into an art form when these tablecloths appear. You get extra-credit points when you use them with the cloth napkins!
-
- Reisenthel red nylon insulated picnic basket with add-on pouch ($59.99; pouch $6.50 at Kitchen Collage in Des Moines). It collapses, too. It’s so 2012— no more packing your picnic in shopping bags.
-
- Electra custom add-on wicker basket ($50 at Bike World, three locations). Pedal to your picnic in style!
-
- Classic willow wicker picnic basket fully equipped for four ($349.95 at williams-sonoma.com; you also can check the Williams-Sonoma store at Jordan Creek Town Center). The granddaddy of all picnic baskets, this includes flatware, hand-blown glasses, plates, linens, wine and cheese server, and more.
-
- Hand-woven Morrocan market basket with leather shoulder straps ($69 at Kitchen Collage in Des Moines). Schlepping never looked so good.
-
- Picnic Time Legacy Collection Manhattan cocktail case, fully appointed, insulated leatherette case ($139.95 at picnictrend.com). We personally field-tested this one. It functions very effectively, right down to the vermouth mister. Bring cab fare—just in case.
-
- Takeya classic glass 22-ounce BPA-free water bottle with silicone jacket ($22 at Kitchen Collage in Des Moines). Save the planet and picnic at the same time. Mother Earth will thank you.
-
- Thermos vintage red plaid double-zippered tote ($22 at Porch Light in Des Moines). You could put coffee in this, but why? It’s summer; bring on the gin and lemonade.
-
- Six-ounce stainless steel flasks, engravable with leatherette covers ($30 apple red and lime green, $42 basketweave at Calypso 968 in West Des Moines). Good things do come in small packages. These flasks easily slip in anywhere. Now you know why my purse is so heavy.
