Great furniture design

Just wanna share this amazing piece of furniture I've just seen, the Bykato sideboard from the danish company Brødrene Andersen Møbelsnedkeri. With obvious references to the great credenzas of the scandinavian design heritage,  they've added a new and playful twist, the perfect receipe for scandinavian furniture design today. You can customize your sideboard with your choice of wood and door color. Isn't it gorgeous?

 

Macrame revisited

Do you remember the macrame of the seventies? I do. I used to hate it. We learnt how to make it at school, I even remember how it's done. Now it's back again, and boy was I wrong- it's so cool and goes wonderfully with everything mid- century. I have to search the attic of my childhood home, my parents have some macrame planters up there that my granddad (!) made.

I have to recommend to you this great blog called The Ouch Flower, if you don't already know it. The following images are Pippas.
I'm so impressed with this great gal, she makes the most beautiful things, macrame, embroideries, pottery, everything inspired (in my eyes) by the sixties and seventies. The embroideries remind me so much of something we had back home when I was a kid, I love the colors and patterns. The macrame planters are great and the wall art very mid- century/ indian dream catcher. Definitely on my wish- list.  You can buy some of her work at her shop, be sure to visit it, as well as her blog. It's so inspiring! By the way, see the red Scheurich in the first image? It's the exact same design that I showed you in my last entry, only with a different pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For some more great macrame- inspiration, check out the work of designer/artist http://sallyengland.com/Sally England, she makes some really nice stuff!

 

 

Pottery, pottery...

I arrived at my charity thrift store just 10 minutes before closing time yesterday, but managed to walk out with two great pieces of Scheurich pottery.
The first one is the big brother of this brightly colored Scheurich vase that I found at the same store earlier. Back then, I was a bit unsure about the color, but now I love it to bits, it's so gorgeous and goes well with my other stuff. I was thrilled to find another one. The one I already had is 21 cm, the new one is 29. Apart from the color and pattern, they have such a great shape. Don't they make a nice pair?

 

I'm guessing the neutral toned Scheurich I found last week must have been made around the same time, the style of the pattern is somewhat similar. Does anyone know? The seventies?

 

 

The other little vase I found is also a Scheurich, in green, mustard and beige with some black pattern. I payed the equivalent of 1,7 USD for it! I've displayed it with my vintage Magnor vases in green and brown.

 

 

This fridays' finds

The rain has been pouring down for a full week here now, but finally, at least some friday thrifting bliss...

I keep finding some bits and pieces from the Stavangerflint Brunette line that I'm collecting, and this Friday was no exception. I got five dessert/ cereal bowls, a teacup, a coffeecup, a plate and this really great bowl I've been looking for. It can be used for just about anything, but I think it was originally intended for sauce. I especially love the way the edge extends into a handle.

 

 

 

 

Isn't this little dish beautiful? It's from Arabia and is part of a line of souvenir plates. The motif is the modernist Finlandia concert hall in Helsinki by Aalto. There was no way my architect heart could leave this gem behind.

 

                                  

Finally, another gorgeous Scheurich vase in beautiful earthtones found it's way into my home. It's found it's place with a similar colored companion on my credenza. I'm hoping to find more of these!
Have a great weekend!

 

 

Gorgeous leather...

Just want to show you this gorgeous leather bag I just got. It's handstitched and made from the most sturdy, thick, delicious natural tan leather. It's a tote/ messenger, it's large and has plenty of room for my laptop AND a bunch of other necessities. I love handcrafted stuff and this is one of a kind, made especially for me!

I got it yesterday from the guy who made it, someone who really means a lot to me, my dad!! A retired petroleum engineer who has grown a keen interest in making things by hand, learning new skills. He was always the typical tough guy, sailing, developing new oil fields, but after his retirement has enjoyed much softer values, like gardening, crafts and being a great granddad and father.

Earlier this fall, he made me THE greatest camera bag after I'd expressed how dull I find the other ones on the market (won't mention any names here!), with a few exceptions, and how much I loved the slimfitting leather ones from earlier days. He's a perfectionist and gives a lot of attention to detail, notice how great the stitching is, the dark stain on the leather edges and the perfect steel parts. He even made the buckle on the bag strap himself, when he couldn't find one that was good enough!
I love this stuff, I'll cherish them forever, that includes my dad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pentti Sarpaneva

You might have read my last entry about the 70s glass vase from finnish artist Pentti Sarpaneva (1925- 1978)? This artist really triggered my curiosity, and I did some googleing. I found out that he was also a jewellery maker, I already suspected that, when seeing the intricacy of the brass headband on the vase.  

 

 

 

I came across this AMAZING website called HOPEA that sells nordic jewellery from 1960 to 1975. Among all the gorgeous pieces, there are some by Pentti Sarpaneva. When it comes to jewellery, I usually prefer far simpler pieces, but these are different from anything I've ever seen.

These are HOPEA's words on this wonderful artist:

"The curious designs of Pentti Sarpaneva brim with life. His large, dramatic pieces combine traditional themes of nature and Finnish culture, which have been uniquely interpreted by the artist.

Brother of celebrated design savant Timo Sarpaneva, Pentti was a graphic artist before he began to explore jewelry design in his thirties. Influenced by the tumultuous natural landscape of Finland, he produced explosive designs based on natural elements such as tree bark, volcanic lava and melting icicles; reflective of a wider revival of a relationship to nature in Finnish design.

Sarpaneva produced these evocative “objet trouve” creations under the firms of Turun Hopea and Kalevala Koru. His forms were unlike any other jewelry being produced in his native Finland at the time, and were not particularly well received by the contemporary public.

His use of local stones, many of which had been used and known since ancient times, are often left uncut in their more natural state. His interest in bringing components of traditional Finnish design into a modern setting results in bold, detailed pieces with strong emotional appeal."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quartet in green and brown

I found some great colored pieces today, don't they make a great little quartet? To the left, a vase by finnish artist Pentti Sarpaneva from the early seventies. I know it's from the first part of that decade because it has a bronze "headband" (see image below), which was not found on the later pieces from this line. I want to investigate some more about this curious design, another entry will be following!

 

The large green and the slightly smaller brown vase are 60s pieces by norwegian manufacturer Magnor. I've often passed these by in thrift stores (I've seen a lot of blue ones), but couldn't resist them in these great colors. Finally, to the right, a piece of east german Strehla pottery. I saw some on the internet with the exact same shape but a different pattrern, dating from the 60s. I'm pretty sure this is from that same period. I love the pattern and the colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New shelves!!

The String shelves have arrived! I'm so thrilled. Designed by swedish architect Nils Strinning in 1949, they're a great piece of mid century scandinavian furniture. They made a great change to a former quite dull area of our living room. They still have some free space, I'm still arranging and rearranging, trying to find out which setup looks best.

We chose a combo of black sides and walnut shelves. They remind me a lot of the Tomado shelves, and provide some contrast to the pale walls. Walnut very easily changes color when exposed to daylight and sun, the color becomes warmer and very similar to teak. This has been the case with our other walnut plywood furniture, they are now very similar in color to our teak pieces. Which, of course, is no disadvantage.

I'll leave you with some images of the String shelves as well as a few other living room snaps. I'm noticing how big my living room looks, it's really not!!