un petit souvenir

On our last Sunday in France, my friend and I managed to sneak off for an afternoon’s brocante-hunting.

Trundling out in the van along empty French country roads, getting a little lost.

Taking our time.

Rummaging in boxes of junk.

Browsing for as long as we liked, without a single “can we go now?” or “are you done yet?”

We bought a few bits, but to be honest, there was a lot of the sort of rubbish you might think twice about sending to the charity shop.

I didn’t stumble upon a hoard of fabulous fabrics. And Jodi didn’t find her enamel lampshades.

But she did unearth this gorgeous little pin dish, of which I was most envious.

Made by Gien, it even has a chateau on the back!

Later, she gave it to me.

Thank you Jodi, for a wonderful afternoon and a wonderful holiday.

And the perfect souvenir of fun, friendship and France.

perfect poole

Mid Century Modern Delphis P… mungoandmidge $25.00	Poole Pottery Delphis Range … LovedByYou $40.00	Mid Century Modern Delphis B… mungoandmidge $35.00	poole vase, England, vintage… vivarte $85.00
Poole Delphis Eye Plate No…. mascarajones $125.00	Large Ceramic Glazed PENDAN… MIZZENBLUE $45.00	Mid Century Modern High Glos… TheRustyChicke… $12.95	Mid Century Modern Aegean Pl… mungoandmidge $25.00
Mid Century Modern Delphis B… mungoandmidge $45.00	POOLE England Pottery Dish -… TreasuresYouNe… $142.50	Poole Delphis 83 Vase mascarajones $125.00	Mid Century Modern Poole Pot… CampHobachee $60.00
vintage Poole pottery delphi… Freakea $30.00	Vintage Poole Pottery Delphi… handpickedbyta… $45.00	Poole Pottery Delphis tray vintagegeeklov… $65.00	Poole Delphis Planter. 73. C… Addy $20.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

I love the cheerful mid-century goodness of vintage Poole pottery.

Although I don’t own any personally.

Etsy has lots.

And looking is free – yay!

nice topic

I picked up this little bowl from a local charity shop a while back.

The label is still on the bottom – 69p.

I had to look up the pattern when I got home.

It is Topic from the Studio range by J&G Meakin and dates from 1967.

I own a large but ugly plastic caddy that I use to store most of my sewing threads in (it was my mum’s; it is an unpleasant shade of dark beige and therefore I hide it away) but I use this little bowl to keep a few sewing threads to hand.

It stops them rolling about and disappearing under mounds of fabric.

As I am already over-endowed in the china department, I haven’t collected any more Topic.

Yet.

But it is certainly nice enough to covet.

thrift of the day

I have had a lovely couple of days out in the sticks this week, staying with friends.

I did not go looking for vintage treasures.

So imagine my surprise when we happened to visit a little house in the middle of nowhere – that turned out to be a cafe and charity shop!

You may be familiar with my love of Hornsea Pottery.

I caught sight of this gorgeous Hornsea mug – and it was love at first sight.

It looks to me like a mid-1960s Clappison design, but I have never come across this pattern before. It would be wonderful if anyone can further enlighten me.

Lovely!

pretty things of the week

I love a bit of retro-patterned homeware.

The people behind these rather wonderful mugs are Martin and Jill, collectively known as They.

They are fellow WordPress bloggers, which is how I discovered them.

I was very impressed with Martin’s twirly-moustache-and-pipe combo, so I followed their blog.

(Yes, that’s how shallow I am).

They also do a nifty selection of Little Red Riding Hood patterned stuff, available in their Etsy shop.

But it’s these lovelies that set my heart racing.

The mug below is pictured next to a Hornsea Pottery storage jar, just like mine.

Lovely.

pottery reflections

When I was growing up my family visited Yorkshire quite often.

My parents both hailed from Yorkshire. Whilst they were growing up they moved around and lived, separately, in various parts of the county, following fathers as they migrated with various jobs.

My parents met whilst living in Evington, near Leicester. Perhaps their Yorkshireness drew them together.

Despite the fact that neither parent had much in the way of family ties to draw them back there, Yorkshire featured strongly in my childhood.

We were taken to Bridlington and Robin Hood’s Bay and to York. We rode on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and ate fish and chips in Scarborough. Much later, I learned that my parents honeymooned in Scarborough. We went on a boat on Hornsea Mere.

This is undoubtedly part of the reason why I have such a lasting fondness for Hornsea Pottery.

My parents took my sister and I to the Pottery on several occasions. I loved it: the vast acres of ceramics in various stages of manufacture. But most of all I loved the shop, where, at the end of the visit, we got to choose a gift.

Most times it was just a badge, or a pencil, or a key ring. But one memorable year each member of the family got a John Clappison-designed mug. A mug! Such a treat! We kept and used them for many years until, inevitably, they all got broken.

Hornsea Pottery is, alas, no more. Some of the designs are becoming quite collectable.

But that’s not why I like them. As well as their intrinsic beauty, they represent for me a part of my life that, like the pottery itself, is now gone forever.