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).
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.
Thanks to Maria Sætre for putting this image out on facebook :-)
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.
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!
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.
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.)
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 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.
It could work on a table top, I guess.
Image: Courtesy Peter Visontay, Earth Photography.
Yohji Yamamoto at the V&A. (Click here for more info.)
It looks fantastic. Next year, perhaps?
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').
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.
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).
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.
