Bernard Rooke floor lamp

Vintage Bernard Rooke studio pottery floor lamp | H is for Home

This fabulous floor lamp came into our lives recently.

Bernard Rooke pottery stamp | H is for Home

It’s by artist, Bernard Rooke and dates from the 1960s/70s period. Bernard Rooke was born in 1938. He attended Ipswich School of Art and Goldsmiths College, London where he took up pottery. He set up a workshop in Forest Hill in London in the 1960s, sharing the space with Alan Wallwork whose work we have sold in the past. Bernard’s pieces are very sculptural and he found that producing lamp bases made his pieces even more acceptable and accessible for the public to have in their homes. They’ve remained a mainstay of his output over many years.

Vintage Bernard Rooke studio pottery floor lamp | H is for Home

There are bulbs both at the top and internally, and this gives a great effect when illuminated – light diffusing through all the little holes and casting shadows on the wall behind.

Detail of a vintage Bernard Rooke lamp with the light diffusing through | H is for Home

We’re now on a hunt for the perfect shade. It has to be Hessian or raffia, we think – and a fair old size too – the lamp base itself stands 3½ feet tall. Let us know if you have one for sale or know where there’s one lurking. We currently have around five lamps that need shades, but this one’s probably top of the waiting list!

Collection of studio pottery stoneware vases | H is for Home

We’ve placed the lamp in our bedroom where it shares the space with other studio pottery from the same era. We like these little groupings of pots. They’re all in quite subdued tones of brown, beige and oatmeal so don’t shout for attention, but we love these subtle variations in colour, shape and texture.

Vintage Bernard Rooke studio pottery floor lamp | H is for Home

The lamp has real impact when you walk into the room. It has the potential to work well in all kinds of settings – from boho-chic to mid century modern. In addition to working well with the other pottery in the space, we also like the way the circular form is echoed by the cane mirror. There’s a classic 1960s starburst clock on the wall close by too. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we really love it. And we know a good friend of ours will be eyeing it up jealously (and we have to admit that it would look perfect in their house)!

Forthcoming Attractions: September 2015

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selection of vintage furniture and homewares in the H is for Home shop - September 2015

Here are some of our vintage furniture and homeware purchases from this past week.

Original vintage oil painting of a shipyard by J. Jennings

We’ll start with the painting – an original 1960s oil on board. It’s entitled ‘Waterfront’ and features a harbour scene with dock buildings, cranes and lights reflected in the still water.

Original vintage oil painting of a shipyard by J. Jennings

The artist is J. Jennings.

Cream-coloured vintage Horstmann anglepoise-type desk lamp

Next up, this superb lamp by Hadrill & Horstmann. It has a counterweight mechanism which not only looks great, but works very efficiently too – the perfect design combo. The West German pottery vases & planters always sell well – especially with that distinctive flash of volcanic orange.

Original vintage G-plan footstool with yellow upholstery seat

And more vibrant colour… this G-Plan stool with its original yellow fabric upholstery didn’t take much deciding upon.

Underside of a vintage G-plan footstool showing the original label

It’s a fabulous shape too and went straight into the boot of the car!

Vintage studio pottery lamp base made by Evans in 1976

There are slightly more muted tones in this studio pottery lamp base, but it’s no less attractive.

Detail of a vintage studio pottery lamp base made by Evans in 1976

We’ve got a friend whose studio pottery collection is ever expanding.

Underside of a vintage studio pottery lamp base made by Evans in 1976 showing the signature and date

She gave an, ‘oooooooh that’s nice!’, when she saw it – and has thus managed to squeeze one more piece into her house!

Shelf Pottery bird

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vintage Shelf Pottery bird with yellow tulips in the background | H is for Home

We picked up this striking pottery bird last week. It’s actually a money box and it was made by a company whose wares are very familiar to us – namely Shelf Pottery – who operated in Shelf, near Halifax and only a few miles away from where we live in Todmorden. We often come across their pieces at local markets, antique centres & auctions.

vintage Shelf Pottery bird

It’s quite distinctive pottery in terms of design & colourway with the warm oatmeal, cream, beige & browns. We love some of the stylised birds that they produced in the 1970s era. You can also find some great bowls & vases with quite eccentric and abstract forms. You’ll find a little more info and images of a few more examples on the 20th Century Forum

B is for… Briglin

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Vintage Briglin coffee cup & saucer with Italian espresso coffee maker and brown paper bag of coffee beans | H is for Home

Briglin Pottery was founded in 1948 in London’s West End by Brigitte Goldschmidt and Eileen Lewenstein.

Detail of vintage Briglin teapot

They produced a variety of handmade & decorated pottery items such as vases, lamp bases, money boxes and tableware.

Vintage Briglin Pottery vase

The pottery has characteristic subtle, natural tones – oatmeal, terracotta & chocolate.

vintage Briglin Pottery vase as part of an autumn-inspired mantelpiece

A wax resist technique was often used in the glazing process, producing a wonderfully tactile result – alternating coarse and smooth surfaces.

Vintage Briglin Pottery teapot

We really love the recurring daisy / sunflower motif – also the leaves on stem and striped designs.

Large vintage pottery mug
We’re currently fighting over this wonderful big striped mug. To keep the peace, the deal is – if you make the brew, you get the mug!

If we’ve spiked your interest you’ll find a lot more information on the Briglin Pottery and Pottery Studio websites. There’s also a book on the subject available on Amazon and Abe Books.