"Every

so often, I would call them and check to see if I was still on the list,"

laughed Winters. "They always told me they were still looking for

me."

"These

are more than dishes," said Replacements Ltd. spokesman Liam Sullivan.

"They're part of people's lives, part of their family history. We're

really replacing memories."

As people get

ready to set their tables for the holidays, bringing out the family china

gives them a chance to reconnect with pieces of their past.

Should they

discover a missing or broken piece, chances are that the Greensboro, N.C.-based

business will have what customers are looking for. Replacements Ltd. has

an inventory of more than 9 million pieces in stock, representing 175,000

different patterns, and the list is constantly growing. "We discover

a new pattern just about every day," said Sullivan.

Thanks to this

large inventory, most customers will have their pieces delivered within

a week to 10 days, in plenty of time for the holidays. The company prides

itself on customer service and lives by the motto "it absolutely

has to get there in one piece."

"Some

of these pieces are 100 years old and may be one-of-a-kind," said

Sullivan. "These are people's memories. It's more than a dish to

them it's part of their family."

"If we

don't have it, we will do everything that we can to try to find it,"

said Sullivan. Indeed, Replacements has about 1,000 "dish detectives"

who are constantly scouring flea markets, garage sales and estate auctions

for items requested by customers.

As pieces come

in, employees inspect each one and give it a grade, then assign it to

a spot on one of the 50,000 shelves in the warehouse, which is the size

of more than four football fields. In the showroom, the Great Wall of

China spans 40 feet and displays hundreds of china patterns. The display

area is open to the public, and hosts thousands of visitors every year.

Those looking

to complete their set of china or silver simply call the company or visit

its Web site armed with the name of the pattern they're looking for and

the pieces they need. If you don't know the name of the pattern, you can

compare it to pictures on the Web site, or call and describe it to a customer

service representative who will help identify it.

Bob Page, founder

of Replacements, started the company in 1981 as a logical extension of

his weekend hobby of scouring flea markets and estate sales looking for

tableware. He started getting requests from people asking him to look

for pieces they wanted, and from there a business was born.

Replacements

has tracked down china for the rich and famous, including Sen. Ted Kennedy,

Barbara Walters, Charlton Heston, Betty Ford and author Anne Rice. Television

shows such as "All My Children" and "Everybody Loves Raymond"

also come to the company looking for dishes. However, it's stories like

Winters' that make the business so fulfilling, says Sullivan.

Winters would

agree. Although it took some time, Replacements found her a new teapot

just in time for the holidays. "I kept longing for that teapot,"

she said. "Now I can fully enjoy my china."

For more information,

or to register your pattern with Replacements Ltd., visit the company's

Web site, www.replacements.com, or call (800) 737-5223.

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