pretty thing of the week

Table mats. They’re a necessary evil, aren’t they?

I’m a fan of a vintage fabric tablecloth, which brightens up our grey and white kitchen no end.

But vintage fabric tablecloths and mucky boys do not sit happily together, so table mats are essential.

Mine are cheap Ikea cork ones, now somewhat the worse for wear. They get caught in the drawer and bits keep breaking off.

If I had more funds I would invest in some of these beauties instead.

Designed by Gillian Blease, these are quite the nicest table mats I have seen.

They also come as coasters and trays.

You can find them for sale at Jenny Duff and see Gillian Blease’s prints on her website.

 

death of a design classic

This is the kettle that boils the water for my all-important Earl Grey tea.

I have always had a Russell Hobbs like this one.

My parents had the same.

I’ve always liked the design. The slanting handle. The traditional shape. The perky, pin-point-accurate spout.

I wasn’t keen on the addition of the water gauge (which doesn’t work) or the loss of the red button, but in essence it is more or less as it always has been and should be.

But I have discovered that I am living on borrowed time.

This will be my last Russell Hobbs kettle.

Apparently this iconic design has been discontinued.

It has been superceded by ugly, dribbling jug kettles with their silly stands and built-in obsolescence.

A victim of its own longevity and the fact that people are too lazy to unplug it when it needs filling (or buy a water filter so they don’t have to).

Call me a crazy fool, but I can’t help but think that Russell Hobbs has lost his touch these days.

Would Dualit have systematically downgraded the quality and then discontinued their iconic toaster?

Would Waring have changed the jug of their classic blender to plastic, before binning the design for good?

Would Kitchen Aid have updated the shape of their time-honoured mixer to look more like a food processor?

Of course not.

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.