Justin’s been photographing our recent vintage purchases today – here’s a sneak preview of items heading for the web shop & antiques centre this week.

We’ll start with this gorgeous fat lava West German vase. It’s got our favourite look for this type of pottery – heavily textured with a bold flash of colour.

We might be a bit premature in picking up picnic wares (there’s sleety snow falling outside as we write), but there’s nothing like being prepared! Some lovely items here for picnicking, camping – or a day on the allotment. The most unusual piece has to be this vintage enamel tiffin.

It comprises four cream & green containers with an aluminium carry frame. Perfect for all kinds of food from rice dishes to salads – a four course meal in fact!

We thought this wall-mountable first aid box was very nice – it’s made of metal and has a clean, simple style. Sitting alongside the cabinet is an old mill bobbin with jute twine. No house should be without some good twine – and when it looks this good, all the better.

Next, a couple of items that date from the 1920s/30s kind of era. These old staplers are full of character and display really well. It can earn its keep though as it still works – and even has a box of old staples to go with it! We love the tiny vintage case – endless storage possibilities from craft materials to fashion accessories. They look great on a shelf or chest of drawers – singly or in a small pile. This one even had some lovely old paper from a local drapers.

Last, but certainly not least is this gorgeous wooden hippo. We didn’t actually buy this piece recently – more a case of putting her into storage and it temporarily vanishing! Safe & sound now though. It’s an overnighter – the mouth opening wide to hold jewellery, watches and so on. It’s from the Zoo Line Series designed in the 1950s. There’s a bit of damage to the ear, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. The hippo has its original packaging and she looks pretty much unused – so ear aside, condition is excellent – including the bright red lips and the fact that the curly tail is intact – often this is missing or broken.

So, as usual, a diverse range of items – they’ll all be available to buy soon.