A few new ones

How was your weekend? Good, I hope! I took my youngest one (he's eleven) for some Saturday shopping yesterday, he got to have a look in his favorite electronics chain and I got to explore a charity store that I didn't know of.
We both had a great time, and guess what- I think I might have raised a thrifter! Out of a pile of junk he pulled a BAY West Germany planter. In brown!!! He came over and said "isn't this the kind you like, mum?" Remind me to bring him treasure- hunting again! The place was so full of stuff and the aisles so narrow, that at first I was a bit nervous he would break something. What was I thinking?

While he was busy somewhere else (they had a comics department, extremely convenient), I found these two cute Egersund cups in the pattern called "Korulen". Sadly, they had no saucers, but they don't appear in thrift stores very often, so I got them anyway. They cost next to nothing. They are quite small, almost the size of espresso cups. I love this pattern, it's a very happy 70s one. It was designed by Kaare Blokk Johansen and Unni Margrethe Johnsen in the mid 70s.

Are you foreign friends familiar with the Egersund brand? Alongside Figgjo and Stavangerflint, which I'm so proud to see has gained fame worldwide, this was an equally great fayance factory in the southwest of Norway. Alas, the factory has closed it's doors some time ago, but there's this great little museum that we went to when I visited my home town this summer. I really recommend it if you're anywhere near, it's pretty close to pottery heaven. Check out this post. The guy who made the cabinets for the museum is the same one who's making my new kitchen!

Ok, back to the charity store. I got a dilemma as we were leaving. Turns out, they have heaps of Arabia Ruska pieces, the great design by Ulla Procope... I love that design and could have just gone bananas and bought the whole lot, but I guess reason got to me. After all, I'm collecting whatever I can lay my hands on from the Stavangerfint Brunette dinner set, and have found some great serving dishes. Dinner plates seems to be hard to come by, though, so it's going rather slowly. I do love the Brunette design, and the color is gorgeous, so I will keep on collecting it. It's from my home town too:-) The sweet lady in the store told me they normally had a good selection of the Ruska, so I guess I can sleep on it:-) I bought a small lidded bowl that I'll use for jam, as a small reminder. I found this great image that shows the whole Arabia Ruska series on a site that sells great design form Finland, check it out here.

Speaking of Egersund, I don't think I've shown you the beautiful little pitcher my parents gave me as a house gift when they arrived for Christmas? The size is actually somewhere between a pitcher and a creamer, my guess is that it was meant for custard or some other sauce for dessert. It was designed in 1910 by Jakob Sømme and came in five sizes. It was in production until 1973, and is considered one of the factory's most iconic pieces. It's called "Alkemuggen"(Razorbill pitcher/ jug), named after the north Atlantic sea bird. I see that I called it the "Puffin jug" in  the above mentioned post, but that's not the right seabird... Isn't it beautiful?  What I find so amazing about the Egersund museum is to "read" the different eras in the designs when you see them all displayed chronologically. I think this little fella shows some remains of art nouveau and some emerging art deco. I never dreamed of owning one of these!