Category: alphabet

O is for… Owl

"O is for... Owl" blog post banner

detail from a brown vintage pottery money box in the shape of an owl

These are the big eyes of our latest owl – in this case, a pottery money box.

pottery pan trivet / pot stand in the shape of an owl pottery pan trivet / pot stand in the shape of an owl

vintage tin money box with owl decoration vintage pottery mug with owl face in relief on the side

They never stay with us long as these feathered friends are consistently popular in our shop.

green glazed vintage owl figure produced by Lotus Pottery

Whether in the form of money boxes, mugs, pot stands, textile prints, pictures or book illustrations.

small vintage white lustre pottery figure in the shape of an owl small vintage Shelf Pottery owl figure

vintage white pottery mug with transfer printed owl figure brown vintage Hornsea Pottery mug with transfer printed owl decoration designed by John Clappison

We’ve blogged a fair few times about the great illustrator, Kenneth Townsend. He designed the cutest owl as part of his Menagerie series – apparently the owl was his favourite animal!

vintage Kenneth Townsend pottery owl tile

Another wonderful illustrator with a thing for owls was Celestino Piatti who once said, “You can draw an owl a thousand times, and never find out its secret”.

mosaic of vintage Celestino Piatti owl illustrations
image credit: Fishink

We’ve had a quick trawl on the web for some more owls – here are some favourites:

cover from vintage book, "A Book of Various Owls" by John Hollander, illustrated by Tomi Ungerer and published by W.W. Norton & Company in 1963
image credit: Vintage Kids” Books my Kid Loves

bright orange ceramic owl available from Anthropologie
Wise Ol’ Canister, Orange: £118 – Anthropologie

Happy owl open edition print by Matte Stephens on Etsy
Happy owl open edition print by Matte Stephens: $35 – Etsy

"day time owl" 3D art tutorial from mmmcrafts"night time owl" 3D art tutorial from mmmcrafts
image credit: mmmcrafts

vintage german matchbox cover with owl illustration
image credit: Shailesh Chavda

N is for… New

"N is for... New" blog post banner

collection of fabric doorstops / bookends handmade by Sarah Nicol

green fabric doorstop / bookend handmade by Sarah Nicol green fabric doorstop / bookend handmade by Sarah Nicol

We’re known for vintage here at H is for Home…

collection of greeting cards by artist Gail Kelly featuring British trees, all taken from original linocuts hand-printed onto Irish linen

greeting card by artist Gail Kelly featuring an apple tree, taken from an original linocut hand-printed onto Irish linen

…but we also like to stock a smattering of new items too.

washing line display of 100% cotton hopsack tea towels designed and hand screen printed by Skinny laMinx in Cape Town, South Africa

100% cotton hopsack tea towel designed and hand screen printed by Skinny laMinx in Cape Town, South Africa. This design is entitled Borrowed Spoons

Things that we think sit well – contemporary products with a vintage or folk art feel.

vintage coffee set with cafetiere cosy handmade and embroidered by Janie (Knitted Textiles)

cafetiere cosy handmade and embroidered by Janie (Knitted Textiles)

We look for a handmade aspect too. These are a few examples – all currently available on our website.

M is for… Milk

"M is for... Milk" blog post banner

detail from a vintage 1950s red polka dot pottery jug

This vintage polka dot milk jug is a recent addition to our webshop.

vintage 1950s red polka dot pottery jug

Produced by Price Bros, it really is a fabulous bit of 1950s pottery… and just has to beat using a plastic milk carton!

vintage metal crate with vintage milk bottles

It got us thinking about other milky marvels we could rustle up.

vintage metal carrier with vintage milk bottles

Turns out we had quite a few pieces to share – from storage vessels like old bottles & crates to advertising items such as this teatowel.

detail from a vintage milk bottle tea towel vintage milk bottle tea towel

BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine ran a big feature on milk-related collectables this month… referred to as dairyana these days.

page from an article about dairyana in the June 2011 edition of the BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine

article about dairyana in the June 2011 edition of the BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine

page from an article about dairyana in the June 2011 edition of the BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine

Dairyana incorporates butter & cheese items too – so there are various utensils, stools, buckets, bowls, churns and moulds to consider.

vintage aluminium milk churn

Lots of lovely treen, enamel, metalware and pottery.

pair of antique copper cream pots

vintage Arabia jug with cow design detail from a vintage Arabia jug with cow design

Items have many practical uses which add to the appeal of collecting.

mosaic of images of vintage milk bottles

We like few pieces dotted around the kitchen. It adds a bit of vintage character & warmth. Some items we use as originally intended such as jugs – others can be repurposed like vintage milk bottles for displaying fresh cut flowers.

set of three vintage milk glasses in original packaging

So, raise a glass to dairyana… a milk glass of course!

L is for… London

'L is for... London' blog post banner

top of a vintage biscuit tin with illustration of Marble Arch, London

There’ll be many eyes- all around the world – focusing on London this week with the Royal Wedding happening on Friday…

…so ‘L’ just has to be for London!

detail of the top of vintage biscuit tin with London illustrations of such as a Pearly king and queen, beefeaters, street hawker etc

We’ve gathered images of H is for Home shop stock items – past & present, that celebrate the capital city…

detail of the sides of vintage biscuit tin with cartoon-like illustrations of tourists at London sites such as Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square
…famous landmarks, archetypal characters and classic scenes.

vintage tea towel featuring a London scene with a crowd of double decker buses at night around Christmastime, probably Oxford Street

They’ve appeared on all kinds of products…

vintage Chance Glass pin dish featuring a London double-decker bus designed by Kenneth Townsend
…lots of tins, pottery and book illustrations…

vintage Kenneth Townsend tile featuring a London beefeater

…and tea towels, posters and postcards.

vintage Kenneth Townsend tile featuring a pair of Chelsea Pensioners

We’d be tempted to have quite a collection if we were London dwellers!

vintage Kenneth Townsend tile featuring a London gentleman with bowler hat, briefcase and umbrella

We can’t resist a few pieces, even though we live out int’ sticks oop North.

vintage 1959 London Transport postcard. "Roundabout" designed by Victor Galbraith

We often see London-tastic products in the glossy interior magazines and websites – and we usually forget to bookmark them!

vintage 1960s Trans World Service menu cover depicting two horse guards in helmet and bearskin

However, you’ll always find some good stuff at places like the London Transport Museum or V & A Museum web shops…
vintage Carltonware moneybox in the shape of a London bobby

…and take a look at the “London Calling” Etsy Treasury that we’ve put together.

P.S. – Another special London event started last week – commemorating the original 1951 Festival of Britain.
triptych of images of an original 1951 Festival of Britain exhibition brochure
We loaned a few items to Kiera Buckley-Jones from BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine. She has recreated rooms from the period. Read her blog series charting its development here. We’re hoping to take a little trip down south to see it before it finishes in September.