This weekend's catch

I found this gorgeous Scheurich vase yesterday. It's waaay beyond my normal color range, but I just couldn't resist it. I love the shape, and where it's red, it has the most beautiful glaze with speckles of brown. It even has the original label still on it.

 

 

Hunting for new storage

Lately, I've been on the lookout for some new storage for my living room. I absolutely love the 60s shelving systems like Cadouvius and Tomado that you could combine according to your needs. Not only do they look extremely cool, they're also practical. But I find it hard to find the combination I need here, and if it turns up, and in good condition, it's sooo expensive. It would also be great to be able to extend it later.

I started searching on the internet for a shelving system from that golden era that is still in production today. I got two hits, and they are both really great.

The first one is the String System, designed by swedish architect Nils Strinning in 1949. It's quite similar to the Tomado shelving and comes in several colors as well as wood veneers. Kitka Toronto displays a great combo in white, have a look here. I'm after something in wood veneer, teak or walnut. They look very good with the choice of black sides.

 

The other great shelving system I found is the 606 Universal shelving system produced by Vitsoe, and designed in 1960 by the grand old man of design, Dieter Rahms, the guy behind many iconic designs, like these for Braun:

 

 

The shelving is slightly more industrial looking than the String, but I think it's amazing in all its glorious simplicity.

 

 

 

 

Decicions, decicions.... What made the choice a bit easier was the pricing. The Vitsoe costs a fortune. So, some weeks ago, I ordered the String in walnut with black sides. It will arrive this coming week or the next, I will show you when it's all mounted and presentable!                              

Unintentional work of art

I took some pictures of a shipwreck on my native coast some time ago. I'm totally in love with this stretch of land where you can experience with all senses the power of lands encounter with the sea. The wreck is evidence of how ruthless this coast can be when the weather plays up.

The ship has turned into something almost unrecogniceable, a strange new distorted composition of parts. You can see sections of the hull and inner constructions that would normally not be seen.

The wreck is huge, and it's new state is a result of the power that worked on it and the shapes of the topography that received it. It's fascinating, it's something man can't make. I never tire of it.

Luckily the coastline in this area is protected, you're not allowed to add or remove any stones or other items. that's probably the reason why the wreck is still here. I guess some people find the rusty giant really ugly, but for me it tells a story of the overwhelming power of the ocean.

Fall

Fall is definitely here. My garden is putting on one last breathtaking show before going to sleep for the winter. We didn't get to do all the work we wanted to do outside this summer, but in full autumn colors the overgrown quality is kind of beautiful. I don't look forward to winter, I never do, so I'm trying to make the most out of this beautiful season, even if it's raining like it was today, going for walks and taking a lot of photos.

 

I did some thrifting today, too. I got a set of 4 cups and plates, again  from the Stavangerflint Brunette line, and in my favorite olive green color. The plates have a space for the cup, just like the Figgjo "tv- plates". These plates are smaller, though, and the cup takes up more of the space. This makes them more suitable for a biscuit than a sandwich, I guess.

 

 

I love the shape of this set. The plates are slightly square on the outer patterned rim. The cups are low and wide, perfect for tea. My Brunette pieces are slowly turning into a collection, I now have a sugar bowl & creamer set, a large serving dish, a medium sized serving bowl, six soup bowls, a small serving/ dinner plate and a single coffee cup and saucer, in addition to todays new acquisitions. I'll be on the lookout for more pieces.

 

 

I'm so silly; the color of the cups and plates looked so good on my grey dish towel after I washed them, that I had to photograph them....

 

 

Found it!!

In a prevoius post, I wrote about the little Stavangerflint Brunette creamer I found standing all alone on a shelf in my local Fretex thrift store without its companion, the sugar bowl. Today I found the cute little bowl! Actually I found BOTH a creamer and a bowl and got them both! I love this pattern, it's definitely one of my favorites, it's simple and timeless, and the color is great.

 

 

 

In addition, I found two heart- shaped Hadeland ornaments. I already have the bird from the same line. I still haven't been able to pinpoint their production period, but I'm pretty sure they're from the 70s. They have kind of a seventies vibe, don't you agree?

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Great reads

Just wanna show you a handful of great books. You're gonna LOVE these. I'll get right to it:

 

Minimalism by James Meyer is a book about the group of american artists who developed a new kind of geometric abstraction in the 60s. So many of my great favorites are in this book, artists like Donald Judd, Sol Lewitt, Dan Flavin and Richard Serra, to name just a few.

 

 

 

 

Modernism Rediscovered by Julius Schulman and Pierluigi Serraino features amazing images by architecture photographer par exellence Julius Schulman of american modernist buildings from the early "International style" until the 70s. Most of the images date from the heyday of these buildings and depict both the exteriors and the great interiors.

 

 

I know you guys are mad about scandinavian mid- century design, this is just the book for you!Scandinavian Design by Charlotte and Peter Fiell is a whopping 704 pages and covers just about every aspect of norwegian, danish, swedish and finnish design, with a range from textile art, pottery, glass, tableware and furniture to industrial design, telephones, radios and cars. I'll promise you, you'll find all your favorites here! 

 

 

 

 

Donald Judd by Hatje Cantz focuses on the architectural aspects of Judds work and his comprehension of the spatial concepts in his precise metal objects. The book also shows his furniture , which is closer to works of art than design.

 

 

 

Neutra by Barbara Lamprecht is a book that covers the most important work of architect Richard Neutra and his wonderful California modernism.

 

 

Mies van der Rohe at work by Peter Carter.  I love Mies van der Rohes wonderful steel and glass buildings, as well as his use of wood and polished stone. The book shows a variety of his buildings with pictures, text ans drawings. I've visited a few of them and I'm always amazed of the honesty of his use of structural elements as the only decor.

 

Okay, these were just a few of my favorite books, I might be back with more later!

To all you lovers of Egersund pottery out there

This summer I visited Egersund Fajancemuseum. It's a lovely museum located in the center of Egersund. The museum features a representative collection of objects from the 132 years the factory produced objects for everyday use as well as more unique art objects. The factory was founded in 1847 and closed it's doors in 1979. Alongside Figgjo and Stavangerflint, this was an influential pottery brand from the Rogaland region of Norway. Read more here.

 

The building is nothing special, (the museum is located in a shopping centre where the old factory once was), but the museum itself is beautifully designed (the white wooden cabinets are made by Tingbø, the company I've chosen to make my new kitchen!) and arranged chronologically so you can get a good picture of the changing trends, from the first years of production via their famous Puffin jugs designed in 1910 and up to the seventies and the "Unique" sunflower pattern most of you probably know. If you have a general interest in art and design, it's really interesting to see the changing trends and how they correspond with the movements on the continent, like bauhaus and art nouveau.

If you are anywhere near, I strongly recommend visiting this great museum! Here's a few pics of the museum interior and a handfull of the beauties on display there. Enjoy!

 



Large vase by artist Andreas Ollestad. 1910, influenced by art nouveau. 

 

The famous puffin jugs were designed by Jacob Sømme in 1910 and came in five different sizes. They were extremely popular and were in production until 1973.

 

 

I'm unsure of the production period here, but I see som art deco influence. 20s maybe?

 

Pieces from the line "Rex" by Jacob Bjørheim. Strong modernist influence. Production period from 1925- 1962.

 

Coffeepot and cup from the line "Gazelle". Production period 1930- 39.

 

"Unique" by Kaare Blokk Johansen and Unni Margrethe Johnsen 1971- 76.