S is for… Salt

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Collection of vintage salt & pepper shakers | H is for Home

Essential for seasoning… salt and pepper need storing, sprinkling, pinching, grinding and shaking. There are endless possibilities to enable all these things.

Starting with the traditional matching salt & pepper pots… they’re made from pottery, glass, metal, plastic and wood.

Pair of Hornsea 'Rainbow' salt & pepper pots | H is for Home Vintage Hornsea 'Saffron' salt & pepper pots | H is for Home

Pair of vintage Staffordshire pottery salt & pepper pots | H is for Home Pair of two tone brown vintage pottery salt & pepper shakers | H is for Home

Pair of vintage stainless steel salt & pepper shakers H is for Home Pair of vintage teak and stainless steel salt & pepper pots | H is for Home

As these pots are often left on permanent display, it’s a great opportunity for showing off a bit of good design, striking pattern or flash of colour. These gorgeous Cathrineholm ‘Lotus’ examples (manufactured by Lyngby) manage to combine all three…

Vintage orange & white Cathrineholm Lotus salt and pepper pots | H is for Home

We also like pinch pots; they’re great for salt crystals or flakes – and coarse, ground pepper.

Pair of vintage John Clappison designed bird dishes being used as salt & pepper pinch pots | H is for Home

We keep these John Clappison-designed Hornsea pinch pots in our kitchen table. They were originally intended as ashtrays, but are the perfect size & shape for this alternative use.

Vintage John Clappison designed bird dishes being used as salt pinch pots | H is for Home

Larger pinch pots & salt pigs are great for keeping beside the stove for everyday cooking use.

Antique wooden cheese moulds being used as stove-side salt & pepper pinch pots | H is for Home

Antique wooden cheese moulds being used as stove-side salt & pepper pinch pots | H is for Home

These wooden pinch pots are actually antique cheese moulds – again they’re ideal for their new function.

A salt pig is one of the best containers to keep by the cooker as it allows for a good scoop or handful when adding to boiling water for pasta, rice, vegetables etc.

Vintage glazed pottery salt pig | H is for Home Vintage cream glazed pottery salt pig | H is for Home

If you prefer your salt in a sealed container there are lots of options here too!

Vintage Hornsea Pottery 'Bronte' lidded salt pot | H is for Home

Vintage pottery lidded salt pot | H is for Home

And finally grinders… these make light work of salt crystals & whole peppercorns – releasing aromas and flavours right at the point of serving.

The undoubted master of the grinder is designer Jens Quistgaard, with his numerous examples produced for Dansk Designs. There is, in fact, a book available entirely dedicated to the subject – Danish Pepper: Jens Quistgaard’s Teak Pepper Mills (Amazon)

Danish Pepper: Jens Quistgaard's teak pepper mills book available at AmazonAs you can see from the cover, their sculptural forms and beautiful grain makes for a stunning grouping. We’ve just decided that we may have to start a collection of our own!

R is for… Rorstrand

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detail of a pear from a Rorstrand pottery dish | H is for Home

Swedish ceramic production has been dominated by 3 firms – Gustavsberg, Upsala-Ekeby and the subject of today’s blog… Rorstrand.

'Pop' series teapot by Inger Persson for RorstrandPop series teapot by Inger Persson

Rorstrand is in fact, the 2nd oldest porcelain manufacturer in Europe, having been established in 1726. However, most of its early production was based on successful ranges developed by other factories.

'Koka' teapot by Hertha Bengston for Rorstrand | H is for Home
Koka
range by Hertha Bengston

The arrival of Alf Wallander as Art Director in 1895 was very significant. The factory began producing original, distinctive and innovative ceramics of its own.

Small 'Eden' lidded pot by Marianne Westman | H is for HomeEden range by Marianne Westman

'Eden' casserole dish by Marianne Westman | H is for Home

Rorstrand has attracted some of the most talented artists & designers of the day. Names such as Edward Hald, Louise Adelberg, Carl-Harry Stalhane, Hertha Bengston, Gunnar Nylund, Marianne Westman, Inger Persson and Bertil Vallien.

Stoneware ewers by Gunner NylundStoneware ewers by Gunner Nylund

The mid-twentieth output is our own personal favourite – with its simple stoneware designs & informal tableware ranges such as Picknick and Eden.

Rorstrand 'Picknick' serving trayPicknick serving tray

Rorstrand 'Ark' plate and bowlArk plate and bowl

Over the years, there have been various mergers & takeovers within Swedish ceramics – the ‘big three’ firms are today part of a single conglomerate – Designer Oy.

Rorstrand 'Granada' pattern milk jug | H is for HomeGranada pattern milk jug

Rorstrand is still producing great ceramics – take a look at their current designers & ranges.

Of the recent output, we’re fond of the Grade tableware designed by Pia Torwell in 2000 – simple, functional & beautiful.

Rorstrand 'Grade' ceramic kitchen/tablewareGrade kitchen/tableware

For more information about Rorstrand & Swedish ceramics in general check out the books listed below. They’re packed full of images!

Additional images courtesy:
Fischler, George & Gould, Barrett: Scandinavian Ceramics and Glass 1940s to 1980s
Fiell, Charlotte and Peter: Scandinavian Design

F is for… Figgjo

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vintage Figgjo Flint milk and sugar set

Figgjo Flint is a Norwegian pottery company still producing today.

detail of pattern on vintage milk and sugar set

Our favourites of theirs are the folk art and landscape-inspired designs of the 1950s & 60s – ranges such as Lotte, Daisy, Sicilia and Market.

vintage Figgjo Turi egg cup vintage Figgjo Turi plate detail
Tor Viking
pattern egg cup and plate border detail

They incorporated mythical creatures, whimsical figures and stylised flowers.

vintage Figgo Flint 'Sicilia' folk decorated plate vintage Figgo Flint 'Sicilia' folk decorated plates
Sicilia
pattern plates

The motifs were used to decorate tableware, kitchen equipment and decorative objects such as bowls and wall plaques.

vintage Fijjo pottery saucepan vintage Fijjo pottery saucepan
Pair of pottery sauce/milk pans

vintage Figgjo wall plaque featuring Vikings by Rolf FrøylandDetail of wall plaque designed by Rolf Frøyland

vintage 'Daisy' tray by Figgjo Flint vintage 'Berry' butter dish by Figgjo Flint
Daisy
pattern tray (left) Berry and leaf patterned butter dish (right)

Various mergers have taken place under the Figgjo umbrella, significant amongst these was with Stavangerflint in 1968.

vintage Stavangerflint 'June' coffee setStavangerflint June coffee set

For more of a detailed history visit the Figgjo AS website.

Lots of our Flickr friends have lovely examples of this distinctive pottery. Have a look at them here.

D is for… Denby

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Group of vintage Denby Pottery Arabesque tableware

The name Denby Pottery is synonymous with good quality, hard-wearing British ceramic tableware.

Denby Pottery plate 'Potter's Wheel' pattern Detail of Denby Pottery plate 'Ode' pattern
Potters Wheel
(left) Ode (right)

It has to be admitted that there are a few, fairly drab ranges. But in amongst the company’s production there have been some outstanding designs.

Vintage Denby Pottery teapot 'Chevron' pattern
Metal-handled teapot in the Chevron pattern. Designed by Gill Pemberton in 1961

We love the work of Gill Pemberton, also Glyn Colledge, David Yorath and Thelma Hague. The output during the twenty year period spanning the mid 50s to the mid 70s was particularly strong.

Vintage Denby Pottery studio bowl Detail of vintage Denby Pottery studio bowl
Studio bowl by Glyn Colledge

At their height, the designs were original and exciting in terms of both decoration and shape.

Vintage Denby Pottery Arabesque fruit bowlFruit bowl in the Arabesque pattern. Another hugely successful Gill Pemberton design

Vintage Denby Pottery 'Trees' lidded soup bowlThe hard-to-find Trees pattern

Other highly collectable, popular ranges to look out for are Rondo, Stone and Teak, Gypsy, Westbury, Bokhara and Kismet.

To find out more about Denby designs, the following book is highly recommended – full of information and colour illustrations.

Denby Pottery 1809-1997: Dynasties and Designers

Visit this page for a brief history of Denby