Harry Potter and the order from Kenilworth

By Lucia Clifford
Edited by Susan Ranta

Jackie Wigley, seated, with starstruck members of the Chinasearch team in Kenilworth. Picture: Jass Lall

When "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" hit the big screen, dinnerware supplied by one of Set Your Table's dealers, ChinasearchUK was part of the show. The staff at ChinasearchUK was able to use its own breed of magic to help the film's props department find the perfect china dinner service. Chinasearch, on Princes Drive, Kenilworth, had an order of a different kind when the props department contacted them in search of the 'right' kind of china for a scene in the film. And after finding Chinasearch on the internet, they contacted the company to take a closer look.

Helen Rush, of Chinasearch, said: "The buyers who get all the props emailed us and asked if we had any blue and white china, that's what they were after. "They then came to see us and chose a large Edwardian dinner set in blue and white with some gold edging." She added: "They told us the dinner service will appear in a kitchen in one of the scenes of the film and they are to be printed with a special crest especially for the film, they go to a lot of trouble to make it perfect."

Chinasearch, which supplies discontinued china and tableware worldwide, began in 1988 and today it is the largest china-matching service in Europe. The warehouse stocks thousands of discontinued items from more than 40 manufacturers, including Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and even chainstore lines. It can also search for discontinued glassware and cutlery.

Helen added: "This is all very exciting for us. We have supplied china for the Talisman and Priory Theatres in the town but this is the first film. "We actually offered to rent the china to them at first but they were adamant they wanted to buy it. Once it's used they told us it would be locked away for prosperity, I am sure it will be very valuable one day."