It’s the start of a new year… so we’re starting a new alphabet blog series.

We picked up this fabulous stainless steel tea set over the holiday period – so ‘A’ just had to be for ‘Arne’… Arne Jacobsen that is.

He’s one of the great designers of the 20th century – and is the man responsible for designing this set.

It was manufactured by Stelton of Denmark in the 1960s.  The various pieces are unused in their boxes… and retain their original labels to the underside.

The Cylinda-line brochures (of which the set is part) were inside the pots.

The range comprises a variety of tablewares including tea & coffee sets, salt & pepper pots, toast racks, sauce boats, serving dishes, coasters, cocktail mixers, ice buckets etc.

In fact, we sold the Cylinda-line ice bucket on the website last year.

The collection is beautifully made, very functional and looks fantastic too!

It was awarded the id Prize in 1967 by the Danish Society of Industrial Design and the International Design Award 1968 by the American Institute of Interior Designers.

A really great find to start the new year!

We spent a splendid few hours at the launch of the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. This year, it’s being held in Manchester city centre at Spinningfields.

There are almost 150 stands featuring the work of top class designer-makers from as far afield as Cornwall, Bristol, Argyll, London… with a strong representation from Greater Manchester and the North West. There was a huge turnout of visitors – many bagging themselves some fabulous early Christmas presents (for friends, family & themselves!).

We couldn’t blog about absolutely all the craftspeople there, so here’s a bit about some of the ones who especially caught our eye…

We were both really taken by these delicate and tactile hand-thrown porcelain vessels from Belfast-based Derek Wilson Ceramics. His display was the epitome of pared back, understated loveliness!

Adelle has a soft spot for colourful & playful jewellery like these felt pieces from Lynsey Walters…

…and a well-known penchant for vintage and vintage inspired handbags & purses!

These ones above are from Monica Boxley who, as well as using original vintage fabrics, makes beautiful handmade leather handbags inspired by a 1950s one belonging to her mother. It’s named the Marianne in homage.

As we’re on the subject of bags & purses, here are some lovely natural linen examples below from Teresa Green who makes an array of goods using textiles that she designs & hand prints.

If you’re a regular reader of our blog posts, you’ll know that we love pottery. The timeless slipware made by Hannah McAndrew is just the kind of thing that gets us excited.

Her pieces would sit equally comfortably in both an ultra modern pad as well as well as an antique furnished country cottage.

There’s another Hannah exhibiting who’s work we’ve known & loved for a very long time. She’s Hannah Nunn, a lighting designer based a 10-minute drive away from us in Hebden Bridge.

If you’re ever in the area, her shop Radiance is in Hebden town centre. If not, she also sells online.

Ruth Green Design had a lovely display of eye-catching silk screen prints.

In addition to screen prints she has a lovely selection of linocuts and oil on paper works available on her website.

Tricia Needham is another screen printer whose work caught our attention. She makes these tea cosies as well as cushions, bags, scarves and ties (seen adorning the neck of Jon Snow no less!).

One stand that was getting a lot of attention from visitors on the night was Ingrid Wagner‘s…

Ingrid was encouraging people to try their hand at knitting with her giant needles and huge balls of wool & fabric. Ingrid in fact broke the world record last year for ‘extreme knitting’ – using needles three and a half metres long!

The Fair’s on until Sunday 25th October so get down there, it’s well worth a visit!

We’re taking a look at the vintage and hand-crafted scene in Manchester, concentrating on the Northern Quarter area situated in the city centre.

The area has a nice collection of shops & stalls to tempt the vintage and hand-crafted enthusiast.

Let’s start with Manchester Craft & Design Centre. It’s a wonderful old building – a Victorian former fish & poultry market.

Spread over 2 floors, it houses a number of fabulous designer/makers, each with their own workspace cum retail outlet.

There are lots of gorgeous jewellery, clothing, home furnishings and accessories on sale.

Special mention must go to Calico Angel at Holm, owned by Susan Kane & Clinton Pilkington.

Not only are their products beautiful but the display was really imaginative – it’s an inspiring space.

There’s also a lovely little coffee shop, Café Aromat, on the premises. On a recent trip we had the best homemade muffins we’ve ever tasted!

Sticking with the hand-crafted theme, we move to Manchester Fashion Market

It’s held on Saturdays at the Piccadilly end of Tib Street.

It’s a group of about 10 outdoor stalls which sell clothing, bags, accessories and homewares – many using recycled fabric and materials.

Continuing on with vintage…

…there’s a great selection of vintage and retro shops in the area.

We love Pop Boutique on Oldham Street.

It always has a few tempting things in the window.

Once inside, you’ll find retro fashion upstairs and vintage homewares downstairs – along with a bustling café.

Across the road is Den Furniture…

…which has a mixture of contemporary & period vintage furniture including reupholstered pieces given a new lease of life.

Next door is Ryan Vintage – a real rummager’s paradise – both mens’ & womens’ fashion and very popular with Manchester’s student population.

Also on Oldham Street is Oxfam Originals…

… a great selection of clothes, bags, shoes and ties… and of course, the money goes to charity!

A short walk around the corner – back on Tib Street – is Rags to Bitches…

…it stocks a discerning selection of vintage clothes & accessories.

They also run lots of fashion-related talks & events in their shop.

Then there’s Cup on Thomas Street – homemade cakes & vintage crockery – what could be better?

Close by on Church Street, is Affleck’s Palace, something of a Manchester institution.

Three floors of fashion, vintage and alternative culture.

Also in the area and worth a visit are American Graffitti, Bluerinse Vintage and Retro Rehab – and some good art & craft supply shops like Fred Auldous and Abakan Fabrics, Hobby & Home.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our little tour and get the chance to visit!

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We’re excited to announce that we’ve just added an Amazon a-store to the H is for Home website.

It’s full of books & magazines that we find inspirational, informative or both. We’ve divided them into sections such as Guides to vintage collecting, 1950s design, Pottery & ceramics and Interior & style magazines.

Link to H is for Home bookshop (UK)

Link to H is for Home bookshop (US)

Come & have a browse!

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We’ve had a very nice mention in the January 2009 edition of Grand Designs magazine which came out this week.

The article’s called Last Orders and H is for Home is featured amongst their 50 favourite websites – with emphasis on websites for those late Christmas shopping ideas.

They highlighted a vintage 1960s tomato red Cathrineholm enamel coffeepot.

So it’s thanks to Grand Designs – we were really pleased to be featured as we’re big fans of both the magazine and the television programme.

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We’ve just been featured in the December issue of ‘Your Home‘.

Initially, the magazine asked us for one or two product shots of items from the H is for Home website. This escalated to a full house feature.

A couple of months ago, a photographer and his assistant spent a whole day taking shots around our house.

We’re very happy with the results, they’ve used a lot of the photos and the article is spread over six whole pages!

If you’d like to be able to read the feature properly we’ve scanned larger versions of each of the pages:

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6

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It’s been a bit quiet on the H is for Home blog front recently. We’ve been keeping very busy with a new little venture.

We were offered a space in our local antiques centre, which we’ve already mentioned in our Todmorden blog, and thought it would be nice to have a physical presence in our home town.

It’s a large cabinet in Picture House Antiques which we’ve given the H is for Home treatment.

We’ve painted its backboard a lovely, vibrant green…

…mounted some glossy photos and press cuttings…

…and have begun to fill it with a mixture of antiques, vintage and retro pieces… a taste of things that can be found on the website.

It’s taken a bit longer than anticipated to get to this stage as the whole project started with a bit of a disaster!

We’d arranged about 25 gorgeous glass vases on the top shelf… you know what’s coming next… yes, the shelf collapsed, and the vases came crashing down smashing themselves and other items beneath. There’s no photographic evidence – in the turmoil, taking photos didn’t cross our minds.

It took a few hours before we could face it again… but we eventually returned and have it looking quite nice again. We’ll no doubt be adding & rearranging aplenty over the coming days!

If you’re ever in the area pop in & have a look!

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We’ve had another lovely mention in the press – we’re in this month’s Fabric Magazine. It’s a London-based, monthly glossy that specialises in the capital city’s properties as well as features on interiors, travel, health, beauty & style, food & eating out. Take a look at the clipping below!

Thanks to them for their coverage and thanks to all of you out there for your continued support and feedback.

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This week’s blog is a small homage to a glorious colour. O just had to be for orange.

We are big fans, and judging by our popular photos on Flickr and items that always sell well on H is for Home, so are a lot of you out there.

Orange has the wonderful ability to look warm & cosy in the winter or lively & fresh in the summer.

Orange objects really catch the eye. It enables them to shout loudly in a collection of other brightly coloured pieces.

Alternatively, it’s perfect as a highlight colour within a muted decor or against natural materials.

We’ve given a few chairs the orange treatment!

We did a G is for Garden a couple of months ago having just planted out some annuals. Our French marigolds are doing well in the sunshine & showers.

Till next week! x

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We picked up this fabulous coffee set last weekend.

That made our minds up about what L should be for!

The Danish company Lundtofte produced high quality, stainless steel pieces – predominantly kitchen & dining wares, but also some decorative household objects.

They used top quality materials and manufacturing techniques – stainless steel often combined with teak and rosewood.

There are some fantastic, mid-century modern designs to be found by designers such as Tias Eckhoff, Eric Herlow and Lone Sachs.

We have a few examples of Lundtofte for sale at the moment at H is for Home- have a look!

Additional image credits
modcats.com
Vintage retro
Modernity
Yahoo Japan (kealoha)

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