Breakfast conference?

This little group was occupying the breakfast table this morning. I wonder what it was all about.

Christmas time already?

This early Christmas surprise turned up in my mail last week. It is a gift from the super sweet Francesca over at Mrs. Eliot Books. Thank you so much, my friend! I have admired this pattern for some time, and now I finally have a sample in my collection :-)) The pattern is called Checkmate and is by the Empire Porcelain Company. If you like this, do check out Francesca's fab coffee pot here...

What is Christmas without some candle light? I almost passed on these candlesticks at my local flea market... Sometimes it's hard to see the gems among all the trash at these places. I'm very happy I brought them home, though. They are made from black stained wood, designer and make unknown. I love the little stick handles on them and the cone shaped tripod feet.

And then there is this vintage LP with Christmas songs that I picked up for its sleeve design. The illustration is by Peter Haars, who I have blogged a little about earlier (click here to see). It dates to 1968. This particular illustration reminds me a lot of Sanna Annukka's style.

And the winner is... (slightly on overtime)...

First of all, thanks for all your comments! I did say I would name the winner on November 1st, and here it is - a day late. I'm sure you've all been close to dying from excitement... ;-) So, without further delay, here goes:

All 13 names on individual notes...

... flip them all over...

... call in the assistant and tell him to pick one.

He's made his choice...
and the lucky winner of the jb design fridge magnets is...

Didi! My lovely friend in New Zealand.
Congratulations :-)

Total blog visitors or: Give-away time

Hello dear readers,
It looks like today will be the day when my blog reaches the number of
100 000 blog visits :-)
As you can see in the screen shot above, I'm 51 visitors away at the time of posting this. I guess this cause for some kind of celebration, so I've decided to do a little give-away on this occasion. If you would like to become the owner of this item:


(the last remaining lot of my handmade vintage fabric covered fridge magnets), just leave a comment to this post some time between now and say November 1st, when I'll do a draw and name a winner. Good luck!

Oh, Orla...

...why do you have to design so many stunning items? I have no more room in my cupboards! I still want these from the new Orla Kiely kitchen collection:

It was time to take out all my Cathrineholm pots and pans today and give them a good clean.

And put them back on display.

In memory of the fantastically creative woman who designed them (although the Cathrineholm Lotus pattern items were not her own favorite pieces of work). Grete Prytz Kittelsen will remain one of the most inspiring Norwegian designers of all times. She died three weeks ago at 94.

(Portrait photo borrowed from Dagens Næringsliv)

British steel

I couldn't resist these little beauties from Viners Studio, Sheffield, England when I came across them in a fleamarket a few days ago – in their original box. The texture and shape of the teaspoons as well as the packaging practically screams of the 1960s.


PS! On the side of the box it has the designer's name: Gerald Benney, DES., R.C.A. (Which I Googled – it stands for Diploma of Designer, Royal College of Art.)

A couple of odd couples

I'm now the proud owner of a Lisa Larsson (fox) figurine. I've placed him in the company of a recently thrifted ceramic piggy bank.

Two vintage melamine bowls designed by Sigvard Bernadotte for Husquarna, Sweden. I think the shape is beautiful. The red one was handed down to me from my grandmother some time ago while the little brown one was purchased yesterday.

The hobby room

Hmmm... Should I do sewing, watch TV, typewrite, play tennis or maybe do a little shooting?
I love this interior image found on Retrospace. It's just so... wrong.

Funky Friday

Due to a severe lack of spare time on my part these days, my blog posts are few and far between. I hope to make it up to my readers soon. Meanwhile, here's a little something to hopefully get you in the right weekend mood. Have a groovy one.

Colorful cars

Mum is not the only one in this household with a slight obsessive collecting disorder; The four-year-old loves his toy cars and can't get enough of them.

Just when I thought we had lined them all up, he sees some more on the shelf and climbs up on a chair in order to reach.

...76, 78, 79...

They all stayed in place for a whole week. After much debate I was finally allowed to move them in order to hoover the floor.

PS! The road map rug is from Ikea. From the PS range ;-) No longer in production unfortunately.

Random fall photos

Fall fashion colors

Following up on my last post – it seems the colors in that print is everywhere this season.

Marni

Dries van Noten

Burberry

Kon-Tiki, Stavangerflint

My latest Stavangerflint additions:

I love the colour combo in general, and the asymetric design on the big plate in particular.

This is not the original cup for this plate, but it is in the same product line and the petroleum blue colour goes well with pattern I think.

Here's an ad from a vintage catalog showing more items with this pattern (found here). I assume the range was named after Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki expedition.

Marimekko autumn wish list

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks... ;-)

Amalia shirt dress
Designer: Mika Piirainen

Daniella dress
Designer: Chary Westberg

Edith coat
Designer: Nora Iknadossian

Lakunauha necklace
Designer: Kaisli Kiuru

Olkalaukku messenger bag (in aubergine)
Designer: Ristomatti Ratia

Puolikaskukkaro purse
Pattern: Pikku Suomu (by Annika Rimala)

Hip Eames environment. Not so hip occupants.

I can't remember which blog I found this image on, but every time I come across it in my files it makes me smile. So, I thought I'd share it with you.

Friday kitchentop blog post

I like the light in this photo. (Looks like it's time to go grocery shopping and get the bowls filled again...)

I think the Norwegian word for this thing is a 'saltkar' - a lidded tub for salt. Usually they will be pottery with a wooden top. This one is produced by Rosti Mepal, and as most kitchen things by Rosti it is made from a plastic or melamine – the lid too. I found this at Fretex (Salvation Army's second hand store) in Gol, Hallingdal. A great place for thrifts if you're ever in that area.

Ikea 2011 catalog

The new Ikea catalog release is an interior design highlight of the year. Here are some of the few pictures that caught my eye so far.

It could look like Ikea is forecasting a more cabin/countryside-ish trend.

An all white backdrop for a colorful children's room. I particularly like the little 'Skojig' table lamp (far left).

...which looks even better as a pendant lamp:

This last bit is great news for me – I've struggeling to find some suitable cupboards (not too deep and with glass doors) for my vintage cup collection.
Voila!: