Tibor Reich exhibition

Tibor Reich tapestry | H is for Home

Last week, I made an all too rare visit to Manchester; I was meeting a friend at the Whitworth to view the Tibor Reich exhibition.

Tibor Reich exhibition room at the Whitworth in Manchester | H is for Home

Tibor Reich mural at the Whitworth in Manchester | H is for Home

Tigoware sketch by Tibor Reich displayed at the Whitworth

Tibor Reich Tigo-Ware 'Florence' and 'Espanola' vases | H is for Home

It was wonderful seeing his work ‘in the flesh’ so to speak, rather than in books or on the internet, to appreciate the scale. The ‘Florence’ Tigo-Ware vase on the left of the photo above is over a foot tall.

Examples of Tigo-Ware designed by Tibor Reich and produced by Denby Pottery in the 1950s | H is for Home

Tibor Reich designed ceramic tiles | H is for Home

His black & white sgraffito designs are very eye-catching and distinctive.

Ceramic ashtrays designed by Tibor Reich | H is for Home

Apparently, he designed and produced these keyhole-shaped ashtrays as presents for friends one Christmas. I’ve never seen one on the open market, they’re absolutely beautiful!

Ceramic ashtray designed by Tibor Reich | H is for Home

Tibor Reich pen & ink sketches | H is for Home

A lot of his ceramic work is concerned with the female form and visage – my friend and I wondered whether his wife Freda, who was pictured in many of the photographs in the exhibition, acted as his muse.

Colour sketches of women by Tibor Reich | H is for Home

A displat of tools and other objects used by Tibor Reich | H is for Home

Tibor Reich's sitting room which he designed himself | H is for Home

Reich may be best known for his textiles (his designs were on the seats of Concorde and the QE II), however his practice was multifaceted. Ceramics, fine art, photography… he even designed his own home including the ‘flaming onion’ fire in his sitting room, shown above.

 

A photo posted by TIBOR (@tiborreich) on

Tibor Reich: Art of Colour and Texture, shown above, was published earlier this month to accompany the exhibition. It can be purchased here (£35.00). The Tibor Reich exhibition runs until August 2016, so you still have lots of time to check it out – it’s well worth it! If you can’t get to Manchester, the University of Leeds (where he studied) have a huge archive of his textile work which can be viewed online.

Wallpaper display at the Whitworth in Manchester | H is for Home

In an adjoining room, there was an exhibition of vintage wallpaper (which runs until the 4th of September 2016). With the room’s huge, tall walls the long rolls were shown off to spectacular effect.

Wallpaper display at the Whitworth in Manchester | H is for Home

Although I loved most of the designs, it also made me realise how overpowering some of the patterns would be if all four walls in a room were papered. A small feature wall would suffice!

Vintage 'Promenade' wallpaper sample | H is for Home

There were display cabinets of wallpaper samples – here are two of my favourites.

Vintage wallpaper sample with birds pattern | H is for Home

Hillarys Crafternoon

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Making jewellery boxes at Hillarys Crafternoon

This Saturday, I jumped on the train to attend a Hillarys Crafternoon.

Ziferblat kitchen area

It was held at Ziferblat, located in the city’s Northern Quarter. I’d walked past the venue loads of times but had never been inside; I’ve been missing out!

The buffet area at Ziferblat

Their philosophy is that everything you consume is free – all food, drink and wi-fi… all you pay for is the time you spend there (currently 6p per minute).

Dogs relaxing at Ziferblat

Even well-behaved dogs are welcome!

Mood board for Hillarys new 'Jewel' fabric collection

The reason for the crafternoon was the launch of a new range of fabrics by Hillarys entitled ‘Jewel’.

Sunny, from Hillarys

Sunny was the representative from Hillarys. He not only told us a bit about the range, he got stuck in with the making as well.

Jana from Crafty Hen who led the Hillarys Crafternoon workshop

Jana from The Crafty Hen led the session. Funnily enough, I’ve known Jana for ages, but I’d not seen her for years!

Buttons, threads and ribbon for crafting

We had lots of lovely fabrics and trimmings from which to choose to make our items.

Jewellery box making materials Completed jewellery box

The first item was a jewellery box. It took me AGES – I was the last one to finish!

Making a Suffolk puff

After a tea (and cake!) break we embarked on making Suffolk puffs. These were fab – easy to make and looked great – I’ll be making them again!

Completed Suffolk puff on my handbag

I embellished mine with some ribbon… and awarded myself with a rosette for a great day of craftiness! 🙂

Forthcoming Attractions: Early March 2015

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collection of vintage homwares including a vintage push along horse, pair of Hornsea Pottery 7 Dwarfs mugs, Manchester milk bottles and atomic drinking glass set in rack

Here’s a small selection of recent vintage buys.

vintage push along horse

We love the push along horse. It dates from the 1950s/60s and was produced by Triang. A little play worn, but full of charm. It would look great in a child’s bedroom or nursery. We’ve just put it in our antiques centre space, but we could post it if any readers have got the perfect little stable for it.

vintage red alarm clock

We’re always drawn to these old alarm clocks – they add a colourful, vintage touch to a bedroom – if the ticking doesn’t keep you awake, of course!

pair of Hornsea Pottery 7 Dwarfs mugs

This wonderful pair of mugs were produced by Hornsea Pottery in the 1970s – and feature the seven dwarfs. They’re by designer John Clappison – unmistakable really! We’re listing them on eBay as they have a really strong collectors’ appeal. The first one has just ended, and we’ll be putting the second one on shortly.

set of 6 atomic drinking glasses in wire rack

These vintage glasses are real eye poppers – lovely to get the original atomic-styled wire stand too. They’ve got a classic retro diner/milk bar look to them.

collection of Greater Manchester half pint milk bottles

We blogged about these charming little vintage milk bottles earlier in the week. They’re all from different Manchester dairies, and as we mentioned in the post, perfect for a small spray of flowers.

Manchester milk bottles

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collection of vintage milk bottles from Greater Manchester | H is for Home

We bought this small group of vintage milk bottles last week.

collection of vintage milk bottles from Greater Manchester | H is for Home

They’re half pints and date from the 1920s/30s kind of era – they’re very sweet!

vintage milk bottle from Sale in Greater Manchester | H is for Home

The bottle markings are interesting – each from a different local dairy.

vintage milk bottle from Salford in Greater Manchester | H is for Home

These are all from Greater Manchester. The area would have had large numbers of dairies at one time – supplying households, local shops, businesses & schools. They’d be situated in the various districts & suburbs. This group of ten contains bottles from Salford, Stretford, Sale and Moss Side. The bottles have relatively wide necks and make lovely little vases for a spray of flowers. 

vintage milk bottle from Stretford in Greater Manchester | H is for Home

They’re available from our shop singly at £6 each; perhaps you’ve got a small restaurant or café with about ten tables – they’d be just perfect for that – or a vintage-inspired wedding reception perhaps?