The perfect setting

No matter how much Donna Howard has to do, it would be difficult for her to use the phrase, "My plate is full."

That’s because the Maui resident keeps adding to her collection of decorative plates, which remind her of her travels around the world as a fundraiser for colleges and universities.

"I like to travel with a carry-on-only suitcase, and there aren’t many souvenirs one can buy or fit in a suitcase that size and bring home," she said. "Plates are very collectable. You can slip them between your sweaters and your underwear, and they don’t break too much."

Her collection includes several full sets as well as about 30 "mismatched" sets. She brings out her collection at dinner parties to make each guest feel special with a unique place setting.

"When planning dinner parties, I set the table first, because that’s what’s important," said Howard, who lives in Wailea.

Sometimes she tries to make a connection between the plate and the person who will be eating from it. One of the first plates she collected was from San Diego, where she has relatives and friends, so when one of them visits, that plate is brought out. One of her East Coast plates is "kind of wild, so I tell someone I’m seating them there because they’re the craziest guest," she said.

Howard, 72, began collecting plates in the 1990s while working for Hawaii Loa College, a private college that later merged with Hawaii Pacific University. Over the years, she has headed up the University of Hawaii Foundation and worked at schools in California. Fundraising involves traveling to meet donors and alumni all over the world, and because she enjoys traveling, it’s been difficult to quit.

"I’ve tried to retire three times, but I’m still doing a little fundraising consulting," she said.

Her interest in plates probably stems from her upbringing in a home furnished with Asian porcelain. Her father was an attache for Gen. Douglas MacArthur during the Japanese occupation, "so I grew up with a lot of Imari," she said, referring to a decorative Japanese porcelain that has been popular in the West since the 17th century.

Although her sister, who lives in Washington, D.C., has most of that porcelain, Howard does have a set of Imari bowls. It is one style she seeks out in antique stores.

"Sometimes I pay $5, and sometimes I pay $50 for the exact same size Imari bowl," she said.

When traveling, Howard asks the locals if they know of a specialty pottery shop or artisan. Though she might start out with one piece she can bring home on the plane, sometimes she’s had entire sets made for her, ordering items in odd numbers out of superstition.

Though Howard has one plate from Turkey that cost about $1,000, she does not think her collection is worth a lot of money. But its value has become apparent in other ways.

"My 10-year-old granddaughter has already said, ‘When you die, can I have your dishes?’" Howard said. "She’s my only grandchild. Where does she think they’re going to go?"