There’s no doubting it’s Thomas!

Vintage Thomas Germany porcelain pieces | H is for Home

There’s no doubting Thomas Germany Pottery when you see it – especially from this 1960s period. The designs are fabulous – stylish, crisp and clean.

Vintage Thomas Germany porcelain lidded casserole | H is for Home

We picked up some lovely examples this week – namely a couple of lidded tureens and plates in three different sizes. We said that you can’t mistake it when you see it, but the feel of it is very distinctive too. A fine quality porcelain that feels wonderful in the hand.

Upturned vintage Thomas Germany porcelain lidded casserole showing maker's mark | H is for Home

Designers include Richard Scharrer and Eva Striker-Zeisel. Patterns include Pinwheel (shown below), Arcta, Eclipse and Onyx to name but a few. We couldn’t find another example of the two-tone blue diamond-over-circle pattern we’ve just bought – in books or online. Do you recognise it or know the name/designer?

Set of Thomas Germany coffee cans with Pinwheel pattern | H is for Home

Some patterns are very pared back in subtle shades, others have striking op art designs in eye popping colour combinations.

Thomas Germany Flammfest casserole with tulip pattern lid | H is for Home

We think it’s gorgeous – stylish and elegant. 

Set of Thomas trios with pattern designed by Eva Striker-Zeisel | H is for Home

We currently have a few pieces of Thomas in our shop if you’re interested.

Forthcoming Attractions: Early May 2016

Selection of vintage homeware sourced by H is for Home

We’ve acquired some fabulous vintage items this week.

Vintage Thomas Flammfest lidded casserole dish and Johnson Brothers Op Art coffee pot

We’ll start with two pieces for the kitchen diner – both items having a distinct Op Art feel. The coffee pot has a bold pattern of squares & circles in chocolate brown, black & white. It was produced by Johnson Bros in the late 60s or early 70s. The lidded casserole dish was made around the same time and has an equally striking design – this time, a repeating pattern of tulip heads in vibrant green & blue. It was made by Thomas of Germany. As we mentioned in the last Forthcoming Attractions post, we’re big fans of much of this company’s output.

Vintage toy Mettoy Elegant typewriter with original box

This toy typewriter is a lovely example. It’s the Mettoy Elegant model in shades of pink – complete with original box. We’ve had a few of these Mettoy typewriters, but never in this colourway before.

Small vintage Dümler & Breiden fat lava vase and Cascade glass piggy bank

Next is an old favourite – the West German fat lava. This example was produced by Dumler Breiden and has a striking, sculptural form with flashes of orange to the rim and twin handle like openings. The piggy bank was made by Cascade in the 1960s/70s. We like the design and pewter colour of the glass. You might want to use this money box for display only because there’s no stoppered hole to retrieve the coins – once they’re in, they’re in!

Small goose neck desk lamp and mid century modern teak, metal & glass wall pendant lamp

And last but not least, two nice bits of lighting. The miniature desk lamp is really cute. It dates from the 1950s/60s era and has a brass coloured flexi neck – perfect for those dramatic grey interiors perhaps. The wall lamp originates from the same period and is a real beauty. The mount is teak with brass & copper detailing – the glass shade has a wonderful swirling pattern. This piece looks good against grey too – and we can also see it hanging on a bright white wall in a pared back Mid Century Modern space.

Detail from a mid century modern teak, metal & glass wall pendant lamp

If anything has taken your fancy, most of these items have just been put into our web shop.

Vintage Thomas trios

Vintage Thomas trio | H is for Home

One of last week’s favourite items was the vintage Micratex ‘Catrina’ cups we featured – and we’re going to follow that up with more crockery this week. It’s a combination of loving this particular pattern – and having a high regard for the output of this manufacturer in general.

Triangle pattern on vintage Thomas trio | H is for Home

We have a set of six trios designed by Eva Striker-Zeisel in the 1950s for Thomas of Germany. The simple repeating triangle or arrow pattern in grey on white is classic Mid Century Modern; so clean, pared back and unfussy.

Set of 6 upturned vintage Thomas trios

Like many people, we drink most of our tea and coffee out of mugs, but occasionally you fancy (or need) something a little ‘posher’. These are perfect as they aren’t too small and suit any hot beverage.

Base stamp on the underside of a vintage Thomas tea cup | H is for Home

Thomas produced high quality pottery – porcelain in fact, for this range – and it’s a real pleasure to drink from. They’ve had many fabulous shapes and patterns in their output – mid century modern, op art, stylised abstract. We’ve had quite a selection of them over the years – and this one is a real favourite. We’ve just added them to our web shop so they’re available to buy now if you love them too!