Category: vintage

Vintage shaving cloths

Vintage 1950s linen barber shaving cloths

We bought these vintage shaving cloths this week. Kept in traditional barbers, they were used for wiping cut-throat razors.

Vintage 1950s Irish linen barber shaving cloth made by Dunmoy Vintage 1950s linen barber shaving cloth with inscription: This is the cloth To wipe the blade To spare the towel To save the money To pay for the house That you built.

We thought they were fabulous – each having wonderful graphic illustrations featuring facial hair in its myriad of forms… and in one case, a little verse extolling the money-saving virtues of razor cloths over towels.

Vintage 1950s linen barber shaving cloth Vintage 1950s Irish linen barber shaving cloth made by Dunmoy. The Fitz Razor Line

These vintage shaving cloths are made of linen and date from the 1950s/60s era.

Vintage 1950s linen barber razor cloths

Having dealt with vintage homewares for many years, endless linen items from Northern Ireland have passed through our hands – manufacturers such as Dunmoy and Ulster Weavers. In addition to tea towels and place mats, it seems that razor cloths were also part of their massive output.

Vintage 1950s linen barber razor cloths

We thought that they had lots of potential as wall decoration in a vintage styled barbers or hairdressers… or would be equally at home in a domestic bathroom. They could be suspended from a row of small hooks – or perhaps, better still, simply framed and hung – singly or perhaps in small groups.

Soako

Vintage Soako metal advertising sign

We’ve been sourcing vintage metal and enamel advertising signs over recent months. They’re the kind of vintage item that works well in our old cottage. In previous homes, we’ve incorporated mid century modern, op art and the more ‘groovy’ 1960s items. However, they just don’t ‘sit well’ here, but we do love the interest and aged character that vintage items bring… so these signs are one way in which we’re doing it.

Detail from vintage Soako metal advertising sign

We bought this Soako soap powder sign with our bathroom area in mind. It dates from the 1920s era and was designed by Tom Purvis. He’s famous for those classic railway destination posters of the day. Come to think of it, we’ll have to feature him in one of our weekend Designer Desire posts to showcase more of his work.

Detail from vintage Soako metal advertising sign showing the signature of Tom Purvis

It has lots of bumps and scratches, but we don’t mind that… it’s 100 years old! The design is still clear and colours are bright. Soako does the work, eh? It will need to, judging by the filthy state that Justin gets in doing up this place!

Much more Mills Moore

Mills Moore mark on a vintage bottle opener | H is for Home

We mentioned some newly-acquired, vintage Mills Moore cutlery in a recent Forthcoming Attractions post. Here are some more images of the set.

Place setting using vintage cutlery and white crockery | H is for Home

This range of cutlery, dating from the 1960s, is one of the items that we’re most often asked about – in terms of current availability or asking to be alerted if we get more in stock.

Place setting with Mills More cutlery and white crockery | H is for Home

So here’s that alert! It’s not been listed in the web shop as yet, so first dibs for readers of our mail-outs and blog.

Place setting with Mills More cutlery and white crockery | H is for Home

As you can see, it’s a really stylish range of cutlery.

Detail of a knife and fork | H is for Home

Beautifully made from stainless steel with lovely walnut handles, this vintage Mills Moore cutlery is a mid century modern classic. No wonder it was selected and endorsed by the Design Centre in London!

One each of main knife & fork, starter knife & fork, soup spoon, dessert spoon, teaspoon, bottle opener and cork screw | H is for Home

We have at least six each of all the knives, forks and spoons as shown above – plus a very nice matching corkscrew and bottle opener. Drop us a line if you’re interested!

Vintage furniture highlights on eBay

We currently don't have a 'bricks & mortar' selling space

We currently don’t have a ‘bricks & mortar’ selling space as unfortunately, the antiques centre here in Todmorden had to close down due to unforeseen circumstances. In addition to placing some of the pieces that had been housed there into our own web shop, we’ve decided to sell some of the larger items from our former pitch on eBay… and we’d like to highlight three lovely bits of vintage furniture which have just been listed for auction.

Vintage Ladderax unit with white metal uprights, 3 short teak shelves and cube-shaped glass-fronted cupboard | H is for Home

First up, we have another mid century modern classic – Ladderax. This small unit is a very sweet example. It’s 60cm wide – and has 3 shelves and a glazed cupboard; very simple, compact and stylish. It would suit almost any room – office or lounge,  most likely – however, we could also see it working in a kitchen, bedroom or hallway.

Vintage wicker rocking chair | H is for Home

Next up, we have this fabulous cane rocking chair dating from the 1950s/60s. It’s quite rare to find these metal framed mid century modern ‘atomic’ era chairs in rocking form. And with cane & wicker currently being all the rage in interior design, we’re sure that this piece will appeal to lots of people.

Vintage leather footstool/pouffe

And last, but not least – a leather footstool. It has a lovely, aged patina and the patchwork forms a flower like pattern. It would fit perfectly in any interior scheme, from boho chic to mid century modern. It’s also an ideal piece to to soften the hard edges of a vintage industrial space.

All items are live and available to buy as this post goes live!