We’ve been having the most glorious late spring/early summer weather here in Todmorden and our vintage garden chairs have been seeing some action for the first time this year. We completely disagree with whoever came up with, “blue and green should never be seen”!
Here’s a new batch of recent vintage finds - slightly more items than our last ‘Forthcoming Attractions’ post!
We’ll start with a few pieces for the kitchen. Quite a blue feel to the selection. These vintage mixing bowls often have cream interiors, but more rarely have these lovely coloured glazes in blue, orange or yellow. The utensil sitting inside the bowl is a drinks mixer or frother. The metal whisk end spins as you press the handle down - perfect for cocktails, hot chocolate etc.
The sugar or flour sifter is classic 1960s with its geometric pattern in sky blue & deep olive green. It’s from the ‘Tivoloi’ range produced by Portmeirion Pottery.
This bowl could also find a good home in the kitchen, but has a thousand uses around the house. We often feature these pieces of colourful enamel produced by Cathrineholm of Norway - teapots, pans, bowls, ice buckets and more!
Now for a bit of wood. The butter knife set is a great bit of Scandinavian design - sculptural and useful. It was produced by Karlsson & Nilsson of Sweden in the 1950s or 60s. We think the letter box is very sweet - it would give a lovely vintage touch to an office desk or hallway.
Probably our favourite object this week is this 1960s shopping list board. It’s a humble object and quite a rare survivor being so simply constructed. It certainly has lots of charm.
We love the graphics - wife doing a spot of homemaking, hubby out collecting the parcels!!
And finally, a bold flash of orange. The lampshade is a very good quality piece of cased glass - it was produced by Holmegaard of Denmark, in the 1960s or 70s. The fabric is from a similar era. We think it might have been produced by Crabtree Fabrics. It would make great cushion covers.
Or perhaps even more perfect… curtains for a vintage camper van. One glimpse of these and you’d be in a happy, holiday frame of mind!
Justin arrived home with this dress last week after a trip to a local auction.
He was well aware that it may not find its way into the shop.
It’s very ‘Me’ - vintage, bright and very versatile. I’ll wear it on its own, with this thin belt, with brightly coloured tights, over trousers and/or a blouse - the combinations & variations are almost endless!
…and what a groovy pattern!
In the same week he came across this vintage Welsh wool tapestry handbag. And he was even more certain that I was going to keep it for myself - I have a cape and a purse in the exact same fabric & colour!
It’s in absolutely mint condition - and look at its gorgeous brushed steel clasp!
We’ve assembled some new items that we’ve picked up recently. They’re all arranged on a lovely vintage kitchenette - itself a recent auction purchase.
We often put these kitchenettes in our antiques centre shop - they’re good sellers and an added advantage is that they’re great for displaying lots of other items whilst they wait for someone to give them a good home. They require varying amounts of work when we buy them - a good wash usually - then painting, fresh lining paper etc. This one’s had its thorough wash, but apart from that, it’s good to go. We like its caramel colour and daisy patterned paper.
Moving onto the smaller items - two perpetual calendars to start with - one wooden, one red-orange plastic. Both probably dating from the 1970s. Perfect for the home office desk or shelf.
Also sitting on the upper shelves are this pottery jug & coffee tin - slightly earlier in vintage - both 1950s/60s. The jug was produced by T G Green and is from the ‘Domino’ range - we like the colour and simple polka dot design - ideal as a milk jug or for displaying cut flowers.
The coffee tin was produced by Worcester Ware. They made some lovely metalware items around this time - storage tins, placemats, serving trays, waste paper bins and so on.
Sticking with the metalware theme, we have this very vibrant set of coasters. These were designed by Lena & Al Eklund and produced by Launds Lonborg of Denmark. Are they fruit trees or flowers?
Next to the coasters on the main photo is this fabulous children’s wooden jigsaw. It features the nursery rhyme, ‘Hey diddle, diddle’. It was made by Arrow Games Ltd and we guess it dates from the 1960s. We love the illustration - it is signed by the artist ‘Hutchings’ although we haven’t established a first name yet - perhaps someone out there knows?
This sweet little party game will be of a similar age - this one produced by Spears Games. Justin says he’s got some vague memories of playing this with his Granny. Who needs an X-box when you’ve got ‘Mousie-Mousie’?
With summer approaching, thoughts turn to picnics, camping and trips to the beach. Colourful melamine and vintage Thermos flasks always prove popular from now until November.
This sweet little vase was made by Hornsea Pottery and is part of their ‘Rainbow’ range. There were lots of shapes made in this pattern - plant pots, vases, ashtrays and cruet sets.
To the left of the main photo is this tall pan stand - the red ‘atomic’ ball feet are a nice touch. On it sits a set of three aluminium saucepans with teak handles - they’re totally unused and have a great stylised flower design in eye-catching orange & blue.
We always make sure we have a selection of enamelware in stock. Its always popular as it gives a vintage feel to the most modern of kitchens, without breaking the bank!.
Season’s greetings, it’s Christmas once again!
This week’s Tuesday Huesday post is topical, bright & festive. It features artwork by Willie Lonardo for the 1973 Harry Simeone Chorale It’s Christmas Once Again album cover.
Thanks to the King of Jingaling aka FaLaLaLaLa for the use of this image. Check out his Flickr set of vintage Christmas albums!
Here’s a quick peek at a few of our recent purchases.
We’ll start with fabrics - a lovely pair of heavy curtains with a striped pattern in blues, greens & turquoise - perfect for keeping out those coming winter draughts. There are more shades of gorgeous green and a groovy pattern in the duvet cover.
The pottery kitchen storage jars are from the Kleen Kitchen Ware range produced by Sadler - a classic 1950s look.
The pedestal alarm clock is by Rhythm - its orange hour markers are a nice detail.
These stacking stools are perfect for a camper van or small kitchen - they’re stamped to the base ‘Chair Centre January 1972’.
This lovely Scandinavian mid century modern teak pestle & mortar is by Karl Holmberg.
The camera bag has all kinds of pockets and compartments and was manufactured by Hinomoto.
And last, but not least - the nest of tables that all the items are sitting on. They’re a wonderful shape and were manufactured by G-Plan.
In terms of style & design, the 1970s is sometimes dismissed as being a bit naff or as the decade that taste forgot.
This is very wide of the mark - its influence being both wide ranging and long lasting.
This book, 70s Style & Design, by Dominic Lutyens & Kirsty Hislop clearly demonstrates this.
The decade was remarkable for its diversity - its range of cultures & counter cultures. It began with hippies & flower power and ended with punks & new wave!
There was a “loosened up spirit of fashion & design” during this period - a strong sense of doing your own thing, experimentation, freedom and fun.
There were trends & fashions of course, but it never descended into a bland homogenisation.
It was a very eclectic decade in terms of style & design - psychedelia & flower power spilled over from the 1960s, then there was the strong influence of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, nostalgic Victoriana, the folksy/back to nature style - and later on a harder edged industrial look.
It has been referred to as a decade of ‘the self’ - whether that be individuals looking towards & analyzing their inner self - or an outward expression through personal appearance or living & work spaces. This resulted in a real blossoming of creativity.
The book highlights the influence of various music scenes, movements such as gay rights & women’s lib, the importance of an increasing awareness of the environment, the political & economic factors prevalent at the time, the increasing & diverse student population, the new DIY ethos in both fashion & interiors, a craft renaissance - and the impact of shops such as Habitat, Mr Freedom, Biba and Granny Takes a Trip.
Divided into four chapters, From Pop to Postmodernism, Belle Epoque, Supernature and Avant Garde, the book tackles these subjects in great detail and does a remarkable job in drawing all these strands together.
The text is informative, articulate & well researched - the accompanying photographs capturing all the spirit of this fabulous decade.
The 70s isn’t a particularly well documented era in terms of style & design - this book helps redress the balance.
As well as having their own dedicated website, the authors write the Flashin’ on the 70s blog which features even more 70s (and 70s inspired) gorgeousness!
As usual, the book is available both direct from the publisher and through our H is for Home UK & US Amazon aStores
[Many thanks to Thames & Hudson for this review copy]
More fab purchases… and quite an eyeful of colour!
No auctions this week, so everything was found on our market trawls.
A range of styles from the 50s, 60s & 70s - but you can imagine them all working together in the same vintage lover’s home.
Items include some lovely Kirkham Pottery with its distinctive spots & stripes, a bright orange record holder by Gustavsberg of Sweden, tin desk globe by Chad Valley and an amazing leatherette stool made by Sherborne.
The stool was looking tired & grubby when we picked it up, but a bit of TLC has had amazing results.
Other pieces just needed a quick wash and were good to go. They’ll all be hitting our shop very soon.
Here are some of our favourite recent purchases - picked up at auction & flea markets over the past couple of weeks.
Items range from a 19th century country Windsor chair to 1970s alarm clock. There’s some lovely pottery including a large Arabia plate and 1950s handpainted pieces by Glyn Colledge. Also a nice selection of vintage kitchenalia and the best child’s sewing machine we’ve ever come across! For a full listing see below.
We’re hoping to make this a regular post. It will enable us preview items about to hit the shop - and also share with you photos of goodies that might just take that bit longer to be prised away.
We bought a job lot at auction recently. Initially, it was the tray of kitchen utensils that caught our eye…
… but, in amongst it all, was a large box of sewing paraphernalia…
… embroidery silks, cotton reels and dozens of vintage patterns.
They date from the 1930s all the way up to the 1980s.
There were lots of 1950s examples by Leach-Way and McCall’s including some fabulous ‘New Look’ ones.
There was this one for a bridesmaid’s dress if you’re into that complete DIY wedding!
and patterns for the boys!
These ones given away free with Woman’s Weekly are a couple of favourites - especially the asymmetric midi skirt and puff sleeved blouse.
Free patterns with your weekly reading was a common thing at that time…
…as these giveaways from Woman’s Own and News of the World show.
Doesn’t everything about this Butterick pattern for shirt dress and pants suit just sum up the 1970s?
It’s been a real pleasure sorting through this particular box.
There’s a new woman in Justin’s life!
She’s an alpine flower girl - and resides on this fabulous vintage pinny.
She came home with him on Wednesday - and he definitely took longer photographing this apron than he does photographing a cruet set - dreaming of life in the alpine meadows!
We love period kitchen textiles - tea towels, aprons, oven gloves, pan grabs, curtains etc.
Have a look at all the vintage pinnys currently available in the H is for Home shop
We bought these two posters last week…
… they’re news stand posters dating from the 1960s - and quite rare survivors.
Most would be thrown away and replaced the following day without a thought… but someone decided to take these home.
We’re accumulating lots of vintage posters at the moment.
They’re perfect for filling the walls in our antiques centre pitch.
Travel posters, advertising and film memorabilia.
We look out for strong graphics & artwork - or favourite subjects.
Framing is quite expensive (particularly when the item is about 6 feet tall as in the case of this Rollerball poster!)
It’s well worth it for the end result.
We’re trying to be strict with ourselves, but the odd one or two have sneaked onto our walls at home - for a while at least!
The majority will be on display and available to buy from Picture House Antiques in Todmorden.
If any of them really take your fancy, we could look into getting them delivered.
We’re adding to the collection all the time - we’ll try to show any new acquisitions on our Flickr pages.
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You’ve got your wine, your beer, your mineral water…
…or if you’re lucky, a bit of fizz.
You’ve got your ice to keep it cool.
Now all you need is something stylish to put it in.
Step forward ICE BUCKET!
Made from all kinds of materials including glass, wood, plastic, stainless steel & silver - with shapes & designs too numerous to mention.
Some are big enough to plunge your whole bottle in - like this fantastic, 1960s yellow Cathrineholm number…
…others hold just enough cubes to keep that G&T at the optimum temperature.
Teak & stainless steel by Viners
left to right: Lundtofte, Crayonne & Stelton
We always have a few designs in stock, so if your cubes need a good home, check out the selection at H is for Home
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Claret & cream
vibrant orange & olive green
Shades of coffee
A number of mills have produced these high quality textiles over the years and in some cases still are. A couple of good examples producing traditional Welsh wool tapestry are Trefriw Woollen Mills and Solva Woollen Mill.
The distinctive designs are not ‘tapestry’ in the truest sense of the word but, are in fact, double woven cloth producing a pattern on both sides.
Mills produced textiles for sale by the length and also produced their own range of homewares including blankets, throws, cushions, placemats etc.
Tapestry drink coasters
In addition, these textiles were purchased wholesale by fashion manufacturers including Gwydir Garments, Dwyryd Clothes, Coracle Clothes, Gannex and many more.
vintage handbag
skirt suit
The 1960s were undoubtedly the heyday for Welsh wool. Nothing screams the 60s quite like a Welsh wool tapestry cape, mini skirt and knee-high boots. In fact, Mary Quant was known to make trips to Wales to source cloth for her fashion house.
vintage handbag
vintage handbag
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We recently posted a photograph of two ‘lava glazed’ vases on our Flickr page which has proved very popular. So we thought that we’d write a few words and share a few more photos about West German ceramics from the 1950s to the 1970s.
After a period of time being generally ‘out of fashion’ these amazing ceramics are being appreciated once more for their style and eccentricity. They are now regularly seen gracing the pages of design and interior magazines.
The range of colours, shapes, textures and sizes is mind-boggling!
Some pieces are hand-thrown, others are mass-produced, stock shapes. However, as with the Poole ‘Delphis’ Pottery range, even these stock shapes can be transformed by the textures and the individual glazes in every colour imaginable. Pieces range in size from 3 inches to well over 20 inches tall for the larger floor vases.
Impressed ‘thumbnail’ detailing
Frothing lava glaze
Incised decoration
No rules with colour combinations!
Typical base markings
A number of factories produced these characteristic ceramics - Baykeramik, Carstens, Dumler & Breiden, Jopeko, Roth, Ruscha and Scheurich to name but a few. Much has still to be learned about which company produced what. Some factories produced pieces with distinctive base markings such as the crossed swords of Dumler & Breiden, however the majority of pieces simply have serial number markings (often accompanied by ‘German’ or ‘W. Germany’). You may be lucky enough to find a piece with the original paper label, otherwise you’re in for a bit of detective work. 
There hasn’t been a great deal published on West German ceramics from this period, however Fat Lava, by Mark Hill (from Amazon UK)
In fact, the book was written to accompany an exhibition of German pottery from this period held at King’s Lynn Arts Centre in 2006.
Another place to find out more is the GinFor’s Odditiques website. Also Outernational, fat-lava.com and An Seta Pottery.
The pots work well displayed in groups of either similar or contrasting colours. The larger floor vases look great as stand-alone pieces.
Our particular favourites are the fiery oranges and reds, particularly ones with the bubbling lava glazes. We’ve built up quite a collection but good examples are getting harder to find and prices are rising steadily.
Trio of small, red and brown West German vases, 4-6 inches tall
Trio of incised vases - classic 50s shapes
Blue vase with original Scheurich paper label
Huge floor vases
Provides striking accent colours
We hope you’ve enjoyed looking at some of our collection. Have a look at our West German Pottery Collectors group on Flickr to see some more examples from us and other members. If this blog has inspired you to start your own collection, then happy hunting!!
Vintage West German pottery & ceramics currently available at our H is for Home online shop
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