Happy holidays!

It's late in the evening, the house is peaceful and it's certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas:-)
I wanna wish all of you wonderful blogging friends out there a wonderful Christmas, I hope all of you get to spend it with your loved ones, and I hope Santa will come visit!
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, I really appreciate hearing from you! I'm looking forward to reading all about your crafting, thrifting and goings on in 2013, you are all so inspirational, I'm so happy I found your blogs!
Warm holiday wishes,
Tove X

'tis the season to be jolly...

This weekend's thrifting certainly made me jolly! Or maybe ecstatic is the right word? I wasn't supposed to get myself anything, I was supposed to focus on my Christmas shopping list, but I just couldn't leave these treasures behind...

After work on Friday, I popped into the Fretex Salvation Army store where I found a set of three serving dishes in the Stavangerflint Brunette design from the 60s by artist Kåre Berven Fjeldsaa that I collect. I now have five of these in a wide range of sizes. I love this design, the pattern is so simple and refined and the color so great. I love how the edges get wider and turn into handles. The variation in color is created by the relief pattern. The smallest one originally made for sauce is my favorite, it has more of the gorgeous pattern than the larger dishes. I use it for Saturday sweets.

 

 

 

As you can see in the photo in the middle, the dishes have some variation in coloring, three of them are brown with a hint of olive, one is a bit greener, one a more golden brown. The Brunette line had a long production period, this can also be seen from the different stamps under them. The word "Ildfast", which can be found on a lot of Stavangerflint and Figgjo pieces means oven proof. I'm not sure what the word "Flamingo" refers to, I haven't seen this on the other pieces I own. The stamp on Figgjo pieces consist of the name of the brand and the spesific line (Folklore, Market etc), but I know Flamingo is not the name of this pattern. Anyone?

 

Next thing I found was this butter box in the August pattern from Figgjo. It's designed by the wonderful Turi Gramstad Oliver, who is the woman behind a great number of Figgjo designs, like Market, Lotte, Folklore etc. Her patterns are easily recognizable by their whimsical figures. All the Figgjo lines, even the newer ones, have these square butter boxes. This one is, unfortuneately, missing it's lid, but I couldn't leave it behind. I love this pattern, it has such a great 70s vibe. Maybe I'll use it as a small planter. It was in quite a sorry state when I found it, but after a good scrubbing, the white came out nice and bright.

 

 

One my way home, I stumbled upon a thrift store, or rather a warehouse, that I didn't know of. It's hidden away in an old industrial building and quite hard to spot if you don't know it's there. There was a large amount of clothing, glass, pottery, jewellry, books, old records and a lot more. There was a lot of really old stuff, but also quite a few mid century pieces in between. I immediately spotted a Stavangerflint brunette teapot that I've been looking for. And that wasn't the only thing....

 

 

I also found some Arabia Kaarna teapots, designed 1959- 60 by Ulla Procopé. This is the woman who also designed the Ruska line. The color is very similar to the Ruska, and the pattern has the same understated qualities. The Kaarna has horisontal lines that are slightly in relief and thereby a bit lighter than the background.

 

 

I found two more Hadeland heart ornaments in their original box from the 70s. I now have four hearts alltogether, a small bird and a larger one from this line. I feel so nerdy showing you the box, but I just couldn't resist! There's something about those images in the second photo that reminds me so much of Norway in the 70s.

 

 

Isn't this bird a cutie? It's a vintage piece from swedish manufacturer Eneryda glasbruk, I'm not sure of the production period. The body has color inside, while the head and tail are clear glass. The Eneryda birds came in different colors, I've seen a lot of blue ones on Etsy and Ebay, but I think it looks great in brown, it goes so well with the teak it's sitting on. 

 

 

And finally- hold your breath - I found a large piece from the Hadeland Grønland line designed in the mid 50s by artist Arne Jon Jutrem. This is a piece I thought I'd never find. I'm so thrilled! My mom has a slightly smaller version and a bowl that was on our coffee table when I grew up. I think the set was a wedding gift, they got married in 1966.

 

The Grønland plate is such a beautiful and substantial piece. It's a full 35 centimeters (13,78 inches) wide and really heavy. It has all the beautiful qualities of a handmade piece, it's not completely circular and the edges are uneven. And don't even get me started on the bubbles.... This is the feature that really makes it stand out. Isn't it beautiful?

 

 

 

 

 

The lady who owns the store told me to collect the pieces I was interested in in a basket, then she would suggest a price. In an attempt on a little modesty, I decided on the Grønland plate, an Arabia Kaarna pot (she had three) and the Brunette pot. After she had told me the total (which was very reasonable), she threw in the smaller Kaarna pot, the two hadeland hearts she noticed I'd been looking at, the glass bird and the smaller Grønland plate for free!! Such a nice lady, I'll definitely come back. Great catch, huh? I'm still on cloud nine!

 

Weekend summary

The weekend always passes so quickly... Over here in Scandinavia the days are short at this time of the year. By five pm, it's almost dark, so we have to make the most of the daylight hours and make sure we're stocked up on candles for those cosy indoor evenings. It's been cold over here, but almost no snow. I live close to the water, so the frost usually puts it's white icing on the trees before the snow comes. I never really get used to the cold. I grew up on the southwestern coast, a stones throw from the North sea. The climate over there is like the british east coast. Over here, in the south eastern part of Norway (close to Oslo) the winters are colder, but the climate is more stabile. My longing for my childhood coast never seems to end. The landscape there is very different from here, we have miles and miles of sandy beaches, miles of stone polished by the sea and the land is flat and windy. It's a piece of Norway that looks more like Denmark, I'll show you some time!

I was out putting some seeds in the glass Eva Solo bird feeders I got from my sister last year, aren't they beautiful? They have an edge that the birds can sit on and hang by a black rubber band. I have two of them in my cherry tree that I can see from my kitchen window.

 

My lovely sister always gives me such wonderful gifts, stuff she knows that I like. Yesterday was my birthday, and she gave me the Muuto wooden salt and pepper mills that I've been lusting for. They will look so great in my new teak kitchen, where I plan to have a little black and white theme going on, as a contrast to the warm teak. My Bjørn Wiinblad wall plaques will be there too. If you don't already know the company, have a look here. Their products are designed by numerous cutting edge Scandinavian designers, like the award winning trio Norway Says, who designed the salt and pepper mills. I guess what I like so much about these, are their resemblance to the Danish Brio- toys! Playful AND functional, great combo. They come in white, black, multi colored and maple wood. 

 

Even the card my sister got me is such a great print, designed by Finnish designer Sanna Annukka who has designed for Marimekko. Have a look at her site, she makes some really great graphic stuff. I'm planning to frame it.

 

 

 

My husband got me a gift card from my favorite clothing store, and my parents keeps theirs a secret until they're coming to spend Christmas with us. They sent me this beautiful Christmas rose (that's translating directly from the norwegian name, I don't know if it's the right name in english). My kids got me some great L'Occitane goodies and some handmade cards, which always warm my heart.

 

 

On friday I made a quick stop at Fretex, the local charity store. I found another little Hadeland "tweeter", from their 70s series of ornaments. I already have two hearts and a bird, but this is larger. I love the 70s playfulness of the shape and pattern! 

 

 

 

I also found a lampshade for my red lamp. After searching numerous stores who all had more or less the same selection of very traditional shades, I finally found this straight tall one. Although very reasonably priced, it has a nice uneven linen finish, which I love on a lampshade. It's the only one I could find that looked okay on the lamp, I can see it could be slightly wider.  What do you think? I got one for my Søholm lamp too, I wasn't at all satisfied with the one I had.

 

 

Hadeland Furu

 

I heard somewhere that three items makes a collection. If that's the case, I now officially have a  collection of Hadeland Furu (pine)!
I found the first plate, which is a dinner- plate size, a while ago. I wasn't really looking for it, but recognized the pattern and found it really beautiful. This weekend I found a larger serving plate and a wall plaque. Even if it has a little hole in it for hanging, I think I'll rather use it as a small cheese plate. It's perfect for a piece of brie. My walls are next to white, so the pattern wouldn't show. That is, if I don't work up the courage to paint one of my walls black like this, which I think looks amazing. That's a great mid- century blog from Brussels, by the way, well worth exploring.

The furu pattern was designed by artist Severin Brørby. I'm a bit unsure of the year, but the information I have found suggests 1972. I'm not at all sure about this, if any of you guys out there know anything about it, it would be great to hear from you. There's not a great deal of information to be found on the web. The pieces are heavy and substantial, made of full lead crystal. The wall plaque is flat while the plates have carefully rounded edges. The pine branch  pattern is pressed into the back, leaving the front shiny and smooth.