X is for… Xmas

'X is for... Xmas' blog post banner
Vintage hand-made cross stitch of Father Christmas and reindeer

Xmas… that’s worked out nicely…

Vintage children building blocks
Vintage children building blocks
Vintage Xmas biscuit tin
Vintage Xmas biscuit tin

It’s a good job that Christmas is here as we didn’t have any xylophones or x-ray machines for sale!

Vintage 1960s December Nymolle ceramic wall plaque Vintage 1960s December Nymolle ceramic wall plaque
Vintage 1960s Scandinavian ceramic wall plaque designed by Bjorn Wiinblad

Vintage 1970s Bernard Buffet print entitled 'Nativity'
Vintage 1970s Bernard Buffet print entitled ‘Nativity’

X is for Xmas gives us the chance to send all our blog readers seasons greetings…

Vintage 1960s/70s desk calendar manufactured by Park Sherman
Vintage 1960s/70s desk calendar manufactured by Park Sherman

Vintage 1970s Hornsea Pottery December mug Vintage 1970s Hornsea Pottery December mug
Vintage 1970s Hornsea Pottery ‘December’ mug

Vintage Christmas baubles in original box
Vintage Christmas baubles

…and, with 2009 approaching, it’s also an opportunity to thank you all for your support & encouragement during our 1st year in business.

Detail from a vintage 1970s linen tea towel entitled 'Noel' by Jonelle
Detail from a vintage 1970s linen tea towel entitled ‘Noel’ by Jonelle

H is for Home is going really well and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed these past few months.

'Tall Book of Christmas' inside cover
‘Tall Book of Christmas’ inside cover
'Christmas Surprise' story from the Tall Book of Christmas book
‘Christmas Surprise’ story from the Tall Book of Christmas book

So it’s a happy Christmas to you all – we hope you have a fabulous time!

Charles Harper illustrated Christmas recipes
Charles Harper illustrated Christmas recipes
Bill Charmatz illustrated Christmas pudding recipe from the Gourmet Restaurant
Bill Charmatz illustrated Christmas pudding recipe

Warmest wishes,

Adelle & Justin xx

S is for… Salt

'S is for... Salt' blog post banner

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!

C is for… Coffee

'C is for... coffee' blog post banner

Vintage espresso maker, pottery cup and chocolate bar | H is for Home

What makes that perfect coffee break? Well designed machines to brew it in…

Vintage orange Rowenta coffee machine Vintage orange Rowenta coffee machine

Striking pots to serve it from…

group of vintage pottery coffee pots

Vintage Denby Arabesque coffee pot Vintage Pontessa coffee pot Vintage Meakin Aztec coffee pot

Beautiful cups to drink it out of…

group of hand thrown pottery mugs

Vintage Thomas porcelain trio Vintage Staffordshire trio

Vintage Hornsea Bronte trio Vintage Stavangarflint June trio

Vintage Elizabethan Portobello cup and saucer Vintage Studio Meakin cup and saucer

And not forgetting… cosies to keep it warm!

collection of hand knitted mug cosies

hand knitted mug cosy hand knitted mug cosy

Coffee time @ H is for Home

Something Fishy!

Bill Charmatz fish illustration

Whether it be the physical landscape itself or the flora & fauna contained within it, artists and designers have been influenced by nature over the centuries.

Inspiration drawn from mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, clouds, trees, birds, fish, plants, flowers are all reflected in their work.

We thought it would be fun to take these broad themes and show their influence on the creative process. For no particular reason, we’re going to start with something fishy!

Poole Pottery Aegean plate Pottery plate decorated with three fish
vintage 1960s pottery plates
vintage pottery plate

We might feature stuff from any decade, but there will, no doubt, be a mid 20th century bias as we love this era and are always drawn to vintage pieces from the 50s, 60s & 70s.

Vintage green glass fish dish
Large 1950s green glass dish

Small green art glass fish sculpture Small blue art glass fish sculpture
1960s art glass sculptures

Stylised fish were a much-used design motif in this mid 20th century period – in art, design and everyday homewares.

vintage fish collage artworkCollage entitled Fish Fossil Sea Bed by Andrew Rob, 1970

Pottery serving dish detail detail of Swedish pottery serving dish
1960s iron trivet | Swedish serving dish (Dukat)

vintage fish plate detail vintage fish plate detail
Aquarius series fish plates by Washington Pottery

vintage John Clappison Hornsea Pottery mug Small vintage pottery pin dish
John Clappison, Hornsea Pottery | Bernard Moss Pentewan Pottery

Trio of wall mountable pottery fish
Hornsea Pottery wall-mountable fish… who needs flying ducks?

Also, the artistic treatment given in cookbooks etc can be quite magical. Two of our undoubted favourites are Bill Charmatz and Charley Harper.

Bill Charmatz illustration of a fish stock pot Bill Charmatz illustration of fish in a fryer basket Bill Charmatz illustration of a cat and fish in a bowl
Bill Charmatz – from the Esquire Cook Book first published in Great Britain in 1956.

Charley Harper illustration of fish with a thermometer in its mouthCharley Harper – from Betty Crocker’s Dinner for Two first published in 1958.

Charley Harper illustration of a flat fish Charley Harper illustration of a fish with a tangled fishing line in its mouth

Finally, to show that nature can do a pretty good job herself, we picked up this fossil from a great little shop in Hastings. Preserved in green river shales, it’s 45 million years old (hopefully you won’t be waiting that long for the launch of our website!).

image of fossilised fishKnightia alta, Eocene period. Origin: Wyoming