P is for… Per Lütken

We’ve just realised that it’s been almost a year since our last Alphabet blog post!! Where does time go?

Anyway, we’ll get back on our metaphorical alphabet bike and resume where we left off. The last post in this series was O is for… Owl. So today it’s P – and ‘P’ is for… Per. Per Lütken to be precise.

_{photo credit: 20th Century Forum}

Per Lütken is one of the great names in Scandinavian glass. He assumed the role of art director & chief designer at Holmegaard Glasværk in 1946.

_{photo credit: Retropolitan}

He introduced lovely soft colours and free flowing organic forms to the company’s output in the 1950s – ‘Provence’ bowls & ‘Beak’ vases being classic pieces from this period. The iconic ‘Aristocrat’ decanter is also much sought after by mid century modern fans. The 1960s saw experimentation with clear & coloured glass to achieve eye-catching, swirling designs. Towards the end of the decade he introduced his innovative ‘Lava’ glassware which retained impurities to give an earthy, rustic look. The 1970s saw Lütken produce one-off glass sculptures along with further mass produced ranges such as the Vintergaek series which incorporated opaline glass into a clear glass body. He continued to design, develop, guide, influence & innovate at Holmegaard until his death in the 1990s.

_{photo credit: austrohungaro, Collectors Weekly}

There are some must-visit sites on the net for reference guides to Scandinavian glass – 20th Century Glass, 20th Century Forum and Collectors Weekly.

_{photo credit: austrohungaro, Collectors Weekly}

Here’s a selection of books on Scandinavian art glass that we recommend:

We often have plenty of Scandinavian art glass available in our shop. We have one lovely example of Per Lütken’s work currently in stock. It’s the small, icy blue vase in our main picture. It has the great man’s signature etched to the base and the date year of 1958.

Forthcoming Attractions: mid June 2012

Here’s a selection of recent vintage homeware purchases heading for our shop.

We regularly come across these vintage aluminium colanders, but not often with groovy orange handles.

There are seven of these vintage metal containers. We think they’ve been repainted at some point – a long time ago and rather expertly it has to be said. The cream & dove grey colour combination is lovely.

Next we have this drinks flask produced by Thermos. So famous are this company for producing vacuum drinks flasks that most people actually call them Thermos flasks – in the same way people call vacuum cleaners ‘Hoovers’. This is a lovely example dating from the 1960s with a bold, graphic pattern in red & cream.

The clock dates from the same period. It was produced by another famous maker – this time Metamec. They produced this type of clock in many different colourways. They’re also well known for their sculptural starburst clocks.

This stainless steel tea strainer was made in Denmark. It’s neat & well designed – ideal if you’re a regular leaf tea drinker.

The Hornsea mug is one of a set celebrating the twelve months of the year. Each one features a couple occupied in typical activities for the month in question e.g. celebrating bonfire night in November, building snowmen in January, dodging rain showers in April and so on. This one’s for March and they’re being blown about in the wind.

The ashtray‘s also by Hornsea – but a much simpler, geometric repeating pattern this time.

We have little & large of the desk lamp world. Well, the larger lamp isn’t that big, it’s just that the smaller one is very dinky indeed. They both have a really good mid century modern look. The larger of the two was produced by Anglepoise, the smaller by Tensor.

This wooden shelf system is so 1950s…

…not only the shape with its interlocking squares, but also the packaging – and its name of course – the “Gaybox”… wonderful!

This corner unit also dates from the 50s – it would sit very nicely with blonde Ercol furniture. The bright yellow floor lamp is a much more recent product. It’s called the ‘Bobby’ lamp and is sold through Habitat. We bought a pair in a recent house clearance auction. We like the colour, styling and functionality – in fact, Adelle’s been using it all week as her task light of choice for sewing.

Finally, we have these salad servers in teak & stainless steel. These examples date from the 1960s, but are boxed & pristine. Great styling & quality materials – just a lovely piece of classic Danish design for everyday use.

All the items shown will be heading towards the website or antiques centre soon, but feel free to enquire about anything that particularly takes your fancy.

Forthcoming Attractions: Mid May 2012

Here’s a new batch of recent vintage finds – slightly more items than our last ‘Forthcoming Attractions’ post!

We’ll start with a few pieces for the kitchen. Quite a blue feel to the selection. These vintage mixing bowls often have cream interiors, but more rarely have these lovely coloured glazes in blue, orange or yellow. The utensil sitting inside the bowl is a drinks mixer or frother. The metal whisk end spins as you press the handle down – perfect for cocktails, hot chocolate etc.

The sugar or flour sifter is classic 1960s with its geometric pattern in sky blue & deep olive green. It’s from the ‘Tivoloi’ range produced by Portmeirion Pottery.

This bowl could also find a good home in the kitchen, but has a thousand uses around the house. We often feature these pieces of colourful enamel produced by Cathrineholm of Norway – teapots, pans, bowls, ice buckets and more!

Now for a bit of wood. The butter knife set is a great bit of Scandinavian design – sculptural and useful. It was produced by Karlsson & Nilsson of Sweden in the 1950s or 60s. We think the letter box is very sweet – it would give a lovely vintage touch to an office desk or hallway.

Probably our favourite object this week is this 1960s shopping list board. It’s a humble object and quite a rare survivor being so simply constructed. It certainly has lots of charm.

We love the graphics – wife doing a spot of homemaking, hubby out collecting the parcels!!

And finally, a bold flash of orange. The lampshade is a very good quality piece of cased glass – it was produced by Holmegaard of Denmark, in the 1960s or 70s. The fabric is from a similar era. We think it might have been produced by Crabtree Fabrics. It would make great cushion covers.

Or perhaps even more perfect… curtains for a vintage camper van. One glimpse of these and you’d be in a happy, holiday frame of mind!

Wednesday Wish: Gudrun Sjödén

I’ve loved Gudrun Sjödén‘s fashion for over a decade – it really my style. This pair of catalogues popped through in the post this week ad I can hold off buying no longer.

Striped, spotted & solid microfibre tights, from £13 per pair – Gudrun Sjödén

I am going to treat myself to a few pairs of the wonderfully colourful tights. It’s spring at the moment, but it’s still chilly enough to wear them!

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: Scandinavian

P is for… Per Lütken

Forthcoming Attractions: mid June 2012

Forthcoming Attractions: Mid May 2012

Wednesday Wish: Gudrun Sjödén