Use your Noggin!

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pair of vintage Viking noggin figures in front of a Lisa Larson ceramic tile of a Viking ship

We love these cute little wooden Vikings – or noggins as they’re widely known.

pair of Viking noggin figures

These vintage examples date from the 1960s & 70s. We think the name ‘noggin’ must come from a children’s animation called ‘Noggin the Nog’ which Justin remembers well from his very early years. It was the brainchild of Oliver Postgate & Peter Firmin and is considered something of a cult classic. The Nogs had a distinct Viking look and saga tradition – here’s a rather charming clip.

There are lots of different noggins to search out – if you’re of the completest persuasion you might want to consider a small house extension… but we’re happy with our two little friends sitting on the shelf keeping us safe from intruders – Nogbad the Bad in particular.

vintage Viking noggin figure with grey beard and Danish axe

P.S. If you’re wondering what the other piece of ‘vikingalia’ is in the background of the top photo, it’s a rather gorgeous pottery plaque by one of our favourite designers – Lisa Larson.

A package from Sweden

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collection of Swedish interior decoration magazines in a vintage chrome & glass magazine rack with a vintage Welsh wool blanket in the background

Adelle’s sister is a regular visitor to Sweden.

Mosaic of contemporary Swedish interior decoration magazine covers

On one trip she picked up a selection of Swedish interiors magazines for us.

selection of contemporary Swedish interior decoratoin and homeware magazines

2-page spread from Swedish Ett magazine

contemporary Swedish interiors magazine featuring new Rorstrand pottery items

We’ve enjoyed browsing through them…

page from Swedish interiors magazine featuring vintage wooden table and chairs

page from Swedish interiors magazine featuring vintage chrome & leather chair and colurful vintage fabric curtain

…particularly having a peek at the houses and products that haven’t appeared in UK publications.

page from contemporary Swedish interiors magazine featuring colourful childrens plate & cutlery

We wanted to share a few of our favourites with you.

page from contemporary Swedish interiors magazine featuring a selection of Black & white items

page from a contemporary Swedish interiors magazine featuring a selection of colourful items

Here are links to the websites of the magazines that we’ve featured:

A is for… Apple

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detail of vintage Rorstrand 'Eden' pottery dish designed by Marianne Westman | H is for Home

This is the beautiful, stylised and very desirable fruit & leaf design of the Eden range designed by Marianne Westman for Rorstrand of Sweden in the 1960s. This apple pattern was used to decorate various pieces of oven and tableware.

vintage lidded Rorstrand 'Eden' sauce boat designed by Marianne Westman | H is for Home vintage lidded Rorstrand 'Eden' sauce boat designed by Marianne Westman | H is for Home

We have this lovely, lidded sauce boat from the range available in the  H is for Home web shop

It can be used for sauces, compotes, relishes… and is gorgeous enough to simply keep on display!