Blomus tea set

Limited edition stainless steel 'Asia' Blomus tea set | H is for Home

This stainless steel tea set caught our eye at a local flea market last week. What a fabulous modernist shape!

Stainless steel Blomus tea pot with large West German vase | H is for Home

The lady selling it thought it dated from the 1960’s. We could go along with that assumption in terms of design – you could just see it in the departure lounge of 2001: A Space Oddysey!

Stainless stell Blomus tea pot showing integral stainless steel strainer | H is for Home

However, this date was far from certain and would require some checking. It was clearly marked to the base, so detective work was quite straightforward.

Blomus Germany base mark | H is for Home

As it turned out, it dates from the noughties – and is the limited edition ‘Asia’ tea set produced by Blomus of Germany.

Stainless steel Blomus tea set with stainless steel candle holder and vintage Danish Fortnight Neiman Marcus poster | H is for Home

The design and quality is superb – and we love little details like the integral strainer. The set comprises teapot, lidded milk and sugar bowls – and under tray. Form meets function perfectly.

Detail of the milk jug from a stainless steel 'Asia' Blomus tea set

It’s quite quickly become sought after and collectable. It’s just gone into a mid century modern corner of a new retail space that we’ve just acquired… more details to follow on that! It’s priced at £125 the set.

Tempting tea set

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Vintage stainless steel & teak tea set

And the nominations for our favourite purchase of the week are… *dramatic pause*… it’s like the Oscars… well, not quite. Anyway, our choice for favourite purchase of the week is this fabulous 1960s tea set.

You can’t beat a stainless steel teapot when it comes to style and practicality when thinking about your daily brew. It keeps your tea hot for longer compared to other materials and is the hygienic choice. Also, it doesn’t crack, chip or smash like ceramic teapots are prone to doing.

Vintage stainless steel & teak tea set

We see so many drab, average-looking stainless steel tea sets from this period that we don’t normally look twice. Just occasionally, one stands out from the crowd!

Vintage stainless steel & teak tea pot

This one’s quite sculptural – we love the angular ‘hollow’ handles and circular teak finials. It has a really clean, modernist look. We’ve no idea of the designer or manufacturer. The only markings indicate it was made in Hong Kong, which was quite common during this period, as many companies based production there.

Base stamp of a vintage stainless steel tea pot

Whoever is responsible, there’s no doubting that it’s a great looking piece. Just the thing to accompany a plateful of modernist triangular sandwiches (crusts removed, of course) – or sports biscuits with their 1972 Munich Olympics vibe (the original versions, at least). Alternatively, the set could just sit on open mid-century modern shelving, looking fabulous. Let us know if you do happen to know a possible designer for it – or if you’d like to own it, of course!

Art Deco tea set

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chrome Art Deco tea set with black bakelite handles & knobs comprises tea pot, hot water pot, milk jug and sugar bowl

We don’t often pick up Art Deco, but we liked the square, modernist form of this tea set – the four pieces are like a group of 1930s skyscrapers.

chrome Art Deco tea set with black bakelite handles & knobs comprises tea pot, hot water pot, milk jug and sugar bowl

The architectural reference doesn’t end there – the black Bakelite edge detailing is also very pillar-like…

chrome Art Deco tea set with black bakelite handles & knobs comprises tea pot, hot water pot, milk jug and sugar bowl

…and after a bit of elbow grease the dull metal finish was transformed into the shiny, reflective, window-like chrome.