There’s no doubting it’s Thomas!

Vintage Thomas Germany porcelain pieces | H is for Home

There’s no doubting Thomas Germany Pottery when you see it – especially from this 1960s period. The designs are fabulous – stylish, crisp and clean.

Vintage Thomas Germany porcelain lidded casserole | H is for Home

We picked up some lovely examples this week – namely a couple of lidded tureens and plates in three different sizes. We said that you can’t mistake it when you see it, but the feel of it is very distinctive too. A fine quality porcelain that feels wonderful in the hand.

Upturned vintage Thomas Germany porcelain lidded casserole showing maker's mark | H is for Home

Designers include Richard Scharrer and Eva Striker-Zeisel. Patterns include Pinwheel (shown below), Arcta, Eclipse and Onyx to name but a few. We couldn’t find another example of the two-tone blue diamond-over-circle pattern we’ve just bought – in books or online. Do you recognise it or know the name/designer?

Set of Thomas Germany coffee cans with Pinwheel pattern | H is for Home

Some patterns are very pared back in subtle shades, others have striking op art designs in eye popping colour combinations.

Thomas Germany Flammfest casserole with tulip pattern lid | H is for Home

We think it’s gorgeous – stylish and elegant. 

Set of Thomas trios with pattern designed by Eva Striker-Zeisel | H is for Home

We currently have a few pieces of Thomas in our shop if you’re interested.

A mysterious gentlewoman

Vintage platter with hand-painted gentlewoman illustration by Laila Zink for Finnish manufacturer Kupittaan Savi | H is for Home

This lovely large pottery charger was one of our more interesting finds last week.

Vintage platter with hand-painted gentlewoman illustration | H is for Home

We were wondering how to describe the subject matter. An elegantly dressed gentlewoman we figured – contemplating the day at the tea table with her cut flower and songbird.

Detail of a vintage platter with hand-painted gentlewoman illustration | H is for Home

It’s beautifully hand-painted and despite the piece being signed front and back, the artist was initially a mystery. But after some research, we’ve solved it! It’s the work of Laila Zink (1915-1999) for Finnish manufacturer Kupittaan Savi and dates from the 1950s/60s. It’s always good to keep learning!

Signature on a vintage platter with hand-painted gentlewoman illustration | H is for Home

It measures 36cm x 30cm and has holes to the reverse for hanging. It certainly makes for a very striking piece of midcentury modern wall art. She’ll be coming to our web shop very soon, but first dibs to our blog readers – priced at £175.

Bidasoa folk art pot

Vintage Bidasoa porcelain lidded pot | H is for Home

It’s always nice to pick up a piece of pottery by a company of which we’ve not previously been aware. This was the case with this gorgeous lidded pot that we bought at the local flea market last week. It was produced by Bidasoa who were founded in 1934 and are one of the premier porcelain manufacturers in Spain.

Base stamp on a vintage Bidasoa porcelain pot | H is for Home

We think this particular piece dates from the 1960s era. It’s just gut instinct – there isn’t another example of this particular pattern in any of our reference books, or indeed the internet that we’ve managed to find – quite amazing really.

Detail of a vintage Bidasoa porcelain lidded pot | H is for Home

We absolutely love the folk art design featuring trees, flowers, stag, fox, goose, hare – and hunters on foot & horseback. If we didn’t already know that it was Spanish, we’d say it had to be Scandinavian. Perhaps the artist responsible is Scandinavian, but we haven’t identified who designed it as yet.

Detail of a vintage Bidasoa porcelain lidded pot | H is for Home

We were curious as to what other products Bidasoa produced so we’ve been trawling the web. It’s a mixed bag, but in amongst their wares is ‘Block’ dining ware produced in 1969 – an under-rated classic design we’d say – particularly in the black and white colourways (entitled ‘Noche’ and ‘Blanca’. We’ve just been saying that if we’d seen it at the recent Tibor Reich exhibition in Manchester it wouldn’t have looked out of place. So Bidasoa is now something we’ll keep an eye out for – always good to keep learning!

Vintage Bidasoa Block 'Blanco' coffee setVintage Bidasoa Block 'Noche' coffee set

Vintage Bidasoa Block 'Noche' condiment set Vintage Bidasoa Block part tea set

Bidasoa Block ‘Noche’ coffee set for sale on One Kings Lane | Bidasoa Block ‘Noche’ coffee set for sale on Etsy

Vintage Thomas trios

Vintage Thomas trio | H is for Home

One of last week’s favourite items was the vintage Micratex ‘Catrina’ cups we featured – and we’re going to follow that up with more crockery this week. It’s a combination of loving this particular pattern – and having a high regard for the output of this manufacturer in general.

Triangle pattern on vintage Thomas trio | H is for Home

We have a set of six trios designed by Eva Striker-Zeisel in the 1950s for Thomas of Germany. The simple repeating triangle or arrow pattern in grey on white is classic Mid Century Modern; so clean, pared back and unfussy.

Set of 6 upturned vintage Thomas trios

Like many people, we drink most of our tea and coffee out of mugs, but occasionally you fancy (or need) something a little ‘posher’. These are perfect as they aren’t too small and suit any hot beverage.

Base stamp on the underside of a vintage Thomas tea cup | H is for Home

Thomas produced high quality pottery – porcelain in fact, for this range – and it’s a real pleasure to drink from. They’ve had many fabulous shapes and patterns in their output – mid century modern, op art, stylised abstract. We’ve had quite a selection of them over the years – and this one is a real favourite. We’ve just added them to our web shop so they’re available to buy now if you love them too!