Tin-tastic!

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trio of Marks & Spencer biscuit tins designed by Sanna Annukka

Marks and Spencer are selling these Christmas biscuit selections…

Marks & Spencer chocolate chunk selection biscuit tin designed by Sanna Annukka

…with gorgeous tins designed by Sanna Annuka.

Marks & Spencer Swiss biscuit collection biscuit tin designed by Sanna Annukka

Future classics with their vintage Scandinavian folk art feel.

Marks & Spencer Swiss biscuit collection biscuit tin designed by Sanna Annukka

She was responsible for this Swiss biscuit tin last Christmas – it’s currently changing hands for £15-£20… without the biscuits!

detail from a Marks & Spencer Swiss biscuit collection biscuit tin designed by Sanna Annukka showing a Swiss milk maid

We’ve bought ours early this year – they’re sure to be popular again.

detail from a Marks & Spencer chocolate chunk selection biscuit tin designed by Sanna Annukka showing alpine trees

We’ll be giving a few tins as presents – but some will have to go under our own tree!!

Marks & Spencer Scottish shortbread petticoat tails tin

They’ve also got a butter shortbread tin with a sweet little Scottie dog on the front.

detail from Marks & Spencer Scottish shortbread petticoat tails tin showing a black Scottish terrier with a red tartan collar and lead and an envelope in his mouth

We recently posted a blog featuring illustrations by Miroslav Sasek – we don’t know who designed this tin – but it also has a vintage feel is very reminiscent of his work.

detail from Marks & Spencer Scottish shortbread petticoat tails tin showing legs of two mean and a woman and small flock of pigeons

Here are the actual illustrations from the book…

illustration of a Scottish terrier from vintage book, "This is Edinburgh" by Miroslav Sasek

…published in 1961.

illustration of a Scottish terrier from vintage book, "This is Edinburgh" by Miroslav Sasek

It’s not only going to be a tin-tastic Christmas in our house – looks like it’s going to be biscuit-tastic too!

Darn it!

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vintage Frears "Tea Time" Christmas assorted biscuit tin

In our last post we talked about a pleasant little surprise we had when we opened an old tin… well it’s just happened again. We saw this lovely, vintage Christmas biscuit tin in our local Picture House Antiques today.

detail of vintage Frears "Tea Time" Christmas assorted biscuit tin

We’d already decided to snap it up for the tin alone. However, the price tag said that contents were included.

vintage Frears "Tea Time" Christmas assorted biscuit tin with its lid off showing its contents to be vintage darning materials

What a lovely surprise to find all this inside…

vintage darning mushroom, scissors and pocket darning kit

…everything you might need for a bit of darning…

set of 6 vintage bundles of darning wool in shades of green and yellow

…including tools and lovely old yarns.

collection of vintage Chadwick's darning wools

Almost looking forward to getting holes in our socks!!!

One lump or two?

'One lump or two?' blog post banner

Vintage J & F Bell Three Nuns tobacco tin | H is for Home

We often find these small tobacco tins in the mixed boxes we buy at auction. Usually they’re full of nails, pins, screws or tap washers. But this one contained a more colourful surprise…

Vintage 'Three Nuns' tobacco tin showing 8 different paper-wrapped sugar cubes | H is for Home

…lots of old, paper-wrapped sugar lumps!

They look to date from the 1960s – someone had obviously started a little collection – quite rare survivors probably.

Old paper-wrapped sugar cubes including Harrods, Sunny Southport, Kent and Ravenglass | H is for Home

Some of them have lovely period graphics… very sweet!

Takes the biscuit!

We think this is a future classic… having said that, it probably already is!

This biscuit tin was sold through Marks & Spencer only this Christmas gone. They’re already being resold for £15-£20 (without the Swiss biscuits inside!).

It’s a special commemorative tin celebrating 125 years of Marks & Spencer. It was designed by Sanna Annukka. She’s half English and half Finnish – and the illustration has a real vintage Scandinavian feel.

It reminds us of this original 1960s travel poster we had framed to display in our Picture House Antiques centre pitch.

Not only the general style, but also the landscapes and even the colours.

The poster entitled Carefree by Coach is signed by ‘Bigg’. We have to confess, we’ve not been able to find out anything about him or her… but it’s a fantastic illustration.

We might have been tempted to pack a flask & sandwiches… and hop on board for our ‘carefree’ trip through the countryside!

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: tin

Tin-tastic!

Darn it!

One lump or two?

Takes the biscuit!