Thursday, March 31, 2011

The little things

To prove that size doesn't necessarily matter, here are some of the smallest dishes in my collection.

Pastoraali, Arabia made in Finland. Artist: Esteri Tomula.

Also Arabia of Finland. Could this also be by Esteri Tomula?


Turi-design, Market, Figgjo Flint, made in Norway.

Furstenberg, made in Germany. For the ship TS Hanseatic of the Hamburg Atlantic Line. (Artist unknown).

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Dashing driver

When we visit London, a trip to the Transport Museum is always on the charts, as our 4 year old son insists on going to try out the London buses, trains and taxis. It's a great museum (with an equally great gift shop). Every time we're there, I'm intrigued by this guy. The way he's got that blanket wrapped around him like a skirt. For me it's like Hermès meets Jean Paul Gaultier or something. So cool. He should be on the Sartorialist blog, really.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Barn Igjen fabric by Cecilie Ellefsen

My illustrator friend Cecilie has designed these fun fabric prints for mother and daughter team Barn Igjen. You can buy the fabrics by the meter here.




Just to give you an idea of a great craft project using one of these fabrics:

Thanks to Maria Sætre for putting this image out on facebook :-)

I think it's time for me to dig out that sewing machine again very soon.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Wooden Donkey web shop

Wooden Donkey is one of my favorite spots online for quirky vintage purchases. Above are some of my latest finds there. 1 Tin toy car, 2 Book on modern glass, 3 Tin coasters (set of six) and 4 Wooden shop peg puzzle.

Take two

Maybe these were the images I should have used in my previous post. But then I would have missed Francesca's witty comment, of course ;-)

I'm not trying to say my son's got great taste or anything (but he does, of course ;-p). I just thought I'd better post a photo without blurs. You learn as you blog, I guess... Thanks, Francesca!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Latest pattern purchases

My Orla obsession never ends. I finally got my hands on a piece from her latest House collection. It was a difficult decision, but I ended up with this navy blue lidded cookie jar. I think it blends in OK with all the other jars and things.

The other house item I brought home from London this time was this cushion, bought at The London Transport Museum. I remember the days when that fabric adorned the seats of British Rail. It now adorns my lounge.

Inspiration in London SE21



Last Sunday noon I headed south-east from central London

to the English countryside.

Well, to Dulwich College, at least. What for, you ask?

For this: Midcentury Modern. Furniture and collectables for the home from 50 top dealers and designers. I read about this last year and I've been wanting to go and see it for myself. I was thrilled to be able to go and enjoy all this mid-century goodness.

At the entrance point there was live music (a lady on ukulele) to welcome us visitors.

The show was quite full-on from the word go.

I just loved the juxtaposition of this shelf of mid-century fabric and the classical portrait painting.


Tulip table with Eames chairs in a rather unusual colour - bright yellow with dark green seat cushions. The Krenit bowl on the table was incredibly expensive, I remember.

Now for my favorite discovery at the show: fellow Norwegienne Maria Hatling. (Amongst all the vintage stuff at the show, there were some exciting young designers selling their products too.) I was drawn to this shelf full of beautiful printed cushions and framed prints. Maria has studied fashion design in Wales and I was delighted to find out she had worked as a creative for Orla Kiely for six years. I have even blogged about Maria's work earlier, without knowing it was she who was behind the designs. I am sure we will see a lot of Maria's work in the future.

An overview of Christon Hall.

I wouldn't mind this little chair. It was way out of my budget, though.

I wouldn't mind this Morris Minor either. 7200 pounds was the asking price.

This illustrated coffee table caught my eye. I really like the line drawing with the colour blocks behind it. (Petrol blue and mustard yellow being my favourite combo at the moment.)


I came to the show with hardly any cash in my wallet. It didn't occur to me that the sellers might not take plastic. In hindsight, this might be just as well, as I could easily have invested in something too big and heavy to carry on the plane home. The one souvernir I did purchase was this:

a London moneybox. To help me save up for the next trip, perhaps...

This cushion above is one of the things I had to pass on. It was by Lucy Bates Vintage Fabric. There was a lot of vintage fabric at the show, but I think Lucy had some of the best.

With a head full of mid-century impressions, I left Dulwich and walked in the lovely spring weather (cherry blossoms and all) across to West Norwood for Sunday dinner.

I hope to be back for this show again. And next time I will remember to bring cash.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Traditional Norwegian tapestry

I have seen a lot of these wool tapestry things in my life, but never really had much interest in them, to be honest. When I came across these two though, I changed my mind. The colour-combo and patterns really appeal to me. I love the craftmanship that's gone into making them. They are created on a loom and I think they might be from the late 50s.

In all likelihood these will not go up on the walls in my house – I think it will give too much of a mountain cabin feel. Perhaps I could make cushions of them, but it seems a shame to cut them up. What do you think?

It could work on a table top, I guess.

Monday, March 14, 2011

London calling

Image: Courtesy Peter Visontay, Earth Photography.

Belgravia, Bloomsbury, Marylebone, Fitzrovia... these are some of my favorite names of London areas. Bloomsbury being my favorite place to stay. I will be there again soon, and I have to say I'm pleased to be leaving the snow and winter boots behind and hopefully soak up some London spring.

When there, I am planning to see these exhibitions:

Bridget Riley at The National Gallery (click here for more info on the show).
Image: Courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

Yohji Yamamoto at the V&A. (Click here for more info.)
Image: © Courtesy of Gael Amzalag

More on all of this later (amongst other things). Meanwhile, I feel it's time to get in the right London spirit by watching an episode or two of Jeeves and Wooster. Rather.

PS. I wish I could have been there for this as well:

It looks fantastic. Next year, perhaps?
See more here.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

What to write?


I think I know that feeling... ;-)

Hope you're having a nice weekend. I'll be back on Monday.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Modernist motoring

I'm not sure what the link was between motoring and cigarette smoking back in the 1950s/60s, but I have in my possession these two Scandinavian ashtrays from that era - both carrying advertisement for car related organisations.

The Domino ashtray designed by Stig Lindberg for Gustavsberg should be well-known to a lot of you. However this particular one has the symbol of Scania (or Aktiebolaget Scania-Vabis to be precise). Scania do buses, that's about all I know about them... Other than that, I'd just like to add that I was thrilled to find this piece in a flea market a few months ago :-)

This second ashtray is Norwegian, produced by Stavangerflint and signed 'Kari'. It promotes the Royal Automobile Club of Norway and its hotel in Oslo ('Kongelig Norsk Automobilklub-Hotellet').

I love the way the couple in the car look so chirpy greeting us, even if they're almost running over a black cat... Also they have really dressed up for the occasion of taking a car ride, which is cute, and then there's that little poodle sitting like a statue in the back seat. Priceless.

Scandinavian mid-century pottery on Etsy


...and some German lava-type pottery too. If you like any of what you see here, hop over to my Etsy shop to see more (click here).

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Two for tea

My favorite color combo for some time now - petrol blue and amber. These two lovely teapots have been sitting in my local thrift shop for years. And I have passed them more times than I care to remember. Because I didn't think I had room for them. In the end I couldn't resist them any longer and got them, and I made room :-) Now I don't understand why I didn't do it sooner.

Both teapots are unmarked but I have a feeling the yellow one is British and I'm pretty sure the blue one is Norwegian, most likely from Egersund.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Planetveien 12 FOR SALE!

Here I was, thinking this was going to be just an ordinary Friday. I'm very happy to have been wrong on that one; I think this is my longest blog post yet...

In the afternoon I got a mail from a friend with the news that THIS house is up for grabs: Grete Prytz Kittelsen’s modernist gem in Oslo. It was designed in 1955 by her then husband architect Arne Korsmo. Grete Prytz Kittelsen lived and worked there until her death last year.

I was kind of hoping the house would be turned into a museum as it is a very important building in Norwegian architectural history as well as holding Grete Prytz Kittelsen's workshop (the oven she used to make some of her enameled pieces is still in there). The good news is that it will be made a protected building. It will be interesting to see who buys it and for what price... (It’s estimated at 7 to 8 million Norwegian kroners, which is surprisingly modest for what it is and what it contains.)

Here are a bunch of photos borrowed from finn.no and DN, for you to enjoy and (like me) drool over. (Click on them for lager versions).

Have a fantastic weekend!

























Of all the lovely interior photos, I think this one moved me the most. It’s a bit like the holy grail...

Grete Prytz Kittelsen posing for Vogue (no less) in her workshop, 1961.



Still not had enough? Click here for more fantastic photos...

Related posts: Here, here and here.