Egersund Korulen

Apart from emptying an endless number of cardboard boxes with stuff to go in the kitchen cabinets, (I have the reclining tower of Pisa, cardboard edition, in my hallway:-) I managed to squeeze in some thrifting.

For a long time, I've been searching for pieces from the Egersund Korulen line. It's such a happy design, just makes you smile. The great 70s style just adds to the appeal:-) I've always imagined how great it would be to start my morning with such a cheerful breakfast set. They very rarely appear in thrifts, I've only managed to get my hands on two coffee cups. This weekend, however, I found an ad on FINN (the norwegian equivalent to Craigslist) for a set of 8 plates, 8 teacups with saucers, a sugar bowl and two serving plates in mint condition. I have seen ads before, but the sellers have sharged a fortune. This time, the set was very reasonably priced, and best of all, the seller was only a 45 minute drive from where I live! So now I'm the happy owner of this great set. And need I say they look fab in my new kitchen?

Korulen was in production at Egersund Fayance from 1971 to 76. The design is called Unique (Kaare Blokk Johansen) and the decor Solsikke (Sunflower) or Korulen (Unni Margrethe Johnsen). They also came in a sunny orange version without the sunflower decor, but with brown trim, and a version in brown with orange lids.

This little sugarbowl in the last two snaps is my favorite piece, isn't it cute? I found some other great stuff to which I will post shortly, to be continued....

TADAAA!!!

It's been a long prosess, but finally here it is in all it's glory! The floor is still covered, to protect it from the final strokes of paint, the window trimmings have not been put back on and there are building materials lying around on the floor, but I wanted to show you the gorgeous teak cabinets while they're still pristine and uncluttered, before all my stuff moves back in and steels their thunder....

Everything is handmade in teak and oiled to a silky matt finish. That's what I love so much about wood, the finish, the smell and how it feels to the touch. I chose teak to make a better connection between the kitchen and the adjacent living room with my teak furniture. Mine is the only kitchen they've made in teak so far, so it's a one of a kind! The countertop is danish, pure white deliciously smooth stone. All the cabinets and drawers are wide, 80 cm,which adds to the horisontal impression. The counter forms an L, in addition to a separate wall with floor to roof cabinets.

My house has traditional coastal architecture, and my strategy is to contrast it with some 60s and 70s touches, whilst keeping the "bones" of the house, as Kylie over at Lucy Violet Vintage once so cleverly put it!

The guy who made the kitchen for me started the still very small company called Tingbø just a few years ago, and his kitchens and dining tables have already been published in major design magazines. It's so refreshing that the big companies get some competition from someone who stays true to good craftmanship and great materials. The company is based in Egersund, on my beloved southwestern coast, the home of the great pottery by that same name. They made the interior for the pottery museum that I featured in an earlier post, have a look here.

Tingbø has a great website, and I'm more than happy to spread the word about these great guys. Unfortuneately for some of you, the site is only in norwegian. There are some really nice photos though, so it's well worth having a look.
Enough talking, here's my new kitchen! I'm already deeply in love with it. I'll be showing it again when it's all done, and my Figgjo, Stavangerflint and, of course, Egersund pieces has moved in:-)

Thrifting update

How was your weekend? Good, I hope! I did some great bargains in my local Salvation army store this weekend. I popped in just before they closed on friday and came out five minutes later with a heavy box full of goodies.

The first piece I spotted was this lovely Scheurich vase that fits like a glove in my collection of reds and browns. Isn't it gorgeous, I think I might be in love... 

 

Remember I told you in an earlier post I was in a thrift store that had heaps of Arabia Ruska, and how I was a good girl and resisted them? Well, this time they appeared in my Salvation army store. There was a stack of 12 dinner plates and a lovely dish on a plate. I'm collecting Stavangerflint Brunette, but the dinner plates never seem to turn up. There's a limit to how many sets that fits in a house, but at 10 kroner a plate (USD 1,80 or 1,35 in euros) who could resist? Designed by Ulla Procope during her time with Arabia (she worked there from 1948 to 68) they still look very modern. I had the lidded dish from before and together with the new dish on the plate they make a perfect pair for condiments. I love how the color varies from a warm chocolate to a very dark brown, and how the surface feels almost metallic.

 

 

I found this great caramel colored mid- century planter to go with my other two brown ones. Notice how the shapes of the three are almost identical? I love the color, yummy caramel. My favorite is still the Bay planter that my 11 year old son found, though! (to the right in the image below)

Speaking of planters, today I popped into my local garden center to pick up some cacti for my Figgjo butterdishes (Folklore and August by Turi Gramstad Oliver), which are missing their lids and will start their new lives as planters. I had to re- pot them to make them fit into the square pots, which is something I DO NOT RECOMMEND with cacti.... The one on the left, especially, was being a very bad cactus, and scratched my hands badly. I hope it'll enjoy its new life in the Figgjo, I don't think I'll ever re- pot it again...

My new Stavangerflint dish that I got on Etsy has arrived!! Right after I ordered it, I found another one in a local thrift, they'll make a great pair on my wall.

Wiinblad

Some of you might know that I collect the monthly plaques by Bjørn Wiinblad for Nymølle, designed in the 60s. I so love his whimsical figures and the black on white. They also come in red, but I think the pattern stands out more on these. My heart skipped a beat when I found a stack of ten plaques yesterday, lying on a shelf behind a pile of junk in a local thrift store. August and December were not there, but hopefully they will appear somewhere when I least expect it, it's often like that, right? I had January, February and March already, but bought them all anyway. You wanna guess the price? 20 kroner a piece!!!! That's 2,70 in Euros or 3,60 in US dollars!!! 

The plaques show a beautiful love story, month by month, from the first time the couple see eachother until they have a baby in december. They're so full of symbolism, like the rain on the April plaque "Konflikt" (conflict), and I never tire of looking at the beautiful faces of the two lovers. I'm amazed by Wiinblad's great attention to detail, that's why I posted so many pictures, including pictures of the reverse sides. Do you have a favorite? I think mine are january and October... The next time you see them will be in my new kitchen, I know exactly where!