Thrifts and treasures

I spent last weekend in Stavanger at my parents house, just relaxing, taking in the salty North sea air, watching the waves, photographing, having delicious prawns and doing no (yes, that's right:-) thrifting! Still, I managed to bring home some treasures. My dad's been at it again, and has made me another gorgeous bag. He makes them out of thick, delicious, natural tan leather that turn into a wonderful golden brown after some use and a few rounds of beezwax. I've had the large bag to the right for around a year. It's my everyday bag that I use for work. It has a long strap and can carry just about anything, my laptop, umbrella, hairbrush etc. The new bag is a much smaller size with a short strap. I'm such a lucky girl, he's made me a camera bag, belt and make- up bag. Apart from the unsurpassed leather and handcrafted quality, they're extra precious because dad made them! See more pics here.

I also brought home some of my grandmothers old pottery. Aren't they lovely? The one to the left is traditional Sandnes pottery. It's not stamped, but it must be either Gann, Graveren or Gann Graveren (after the two companies merged). My collection of this pottery is now quite numerous, and this is the smallest one until now, it's only 13 cm tall (the largest one is almost 40 cm and is the home of a large Monstera). My dad told me he remembers his mother used it for jam. It has a little less glaze than the bigger ones. The two planters in the middle are unmarked, and I have no idea who made them. They have an unusual glaze that's quite lovely. The last and biggest one is Strehla.

  

 

Do you remember I showed you my husband's lovely Stavangerflint plate that he had as a child? The pattern is "Venner" (Friends) and was designed by Gro Pedersen Claussen. My mum let me take my own Stavangerflint set back with me. The pattern is called "O du som metter liten fugl" and was designed by Anne Lofthus. I remember how I knew the pattern by heart and made up stories about the little birds and animals. I showed it on Instagram today, and got the sweetest comment from a lady from my home town, saying she remembers it from her kindergarden in the late 60s. She also told me she was sure one of the birds was named after her sister. I guess this shows how important the visual surroundings are for a child's imagination.

 

 

 

This weekend has been busy, but I managed to squeeze in a short stop at my nearest thrift store yesterday. It's a large shed really, but the owner really makes an effort, she lights candles and plays 30s music, trying to create a vintage atmosphere, she's a really sweet woman. I do pick up the occasional treasure there, this time I found these following pieces.

First out, a lovely little pitcher in Brunette by Stavangerflint. It's bigger than a creamer, smaller than a jug, perfect for custard or some other dessert sauce. Of course, a little bouquet of wild flowers would look just perfect in it too! Brunette was designed by Kåre Berven Fjeldsaa in the 60s.

I was really thrilled to find two Stavangerflint "Mesterkokken" (Chef) dishes. The pattern was designed, silkscreened and handcolored by Inger Waage, and also came in blue. The design is from around the same time as "Bambus", as the same techniques were used. There was a tv-show made by BBC in 1961 that featured Inger Waage and her design "Mesterkokken", which means it was designed in 60 or 61, or maybe even the late 50s.

The pattern is a feast for the eye, so quirky and rich in detail. The colors are a combo I haven't really seen before, reddish brown, yellow and teal. They look great together. The blue version makes me think of the great dutch patterns used on Delft and the likes. I found two old pictures on the web, probably from Stavangerflint ads, of tables set with the two versions of the design. I must say those flower arrangements surpass mine by far!! That wooden backdrop is gorgeous, don't you think?

Not quite so quirky is this simple award- winning Hadeland "Multe" (cloudberry) bowl, designed by Willy Johansson in 1966. I really looks like it could have been designed today, doesn't it? I've found two larger bowls in this lovely smokey grey earlier. The design also comes in a deep emerald green.

 
Finally, a small Stavangerflint souvenir dish, handpainted by Inger Waage. It shows scenes from the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city which is known for it's picturesque city centre, surrounded by mountains.

Stavanger finds

I didn't plan to do any thrifting (and that's the truth!!) when I was in Stavanger a fortnight ago, the weekend was all about taking in the landscape (see images here) but somehow, mum and I stumbled across an open air flea market in one of the city squares, and who can resist those?

I immediately spotted this amazing set of 12  Holmegaard Ballon glasses, all in mint condition. They were designed by Per Lütken in 1973. I love the heavy, solid glass stem with the bubble and the very distinct 70s feel. This is the biggest size, they came in three different sizes, where each size was meant to serve several purposes. They  go really well with Ruska, and they're perfect for almost everything. Aren't they gorgeous?

When I got back, I found this single glass in a different size and shape, but from the same series. Perfect for a cocktail or dessert. I'm hoping more of them will turn up!

I have been collecting Ultima Thule for quite some time, but it's going really slowly. If we are not more than the four of us, however, I have enough tumblers. I prefer the Ultima Thule glasses without stems, so what do you experts out there say, can these two be combined (yesterday's dinner setting below) or are they too different? Please ignore that I couldn't be bothered to iron the placemats....

That first stall of the flea market had so many gems. I found two pieces by Nils Aa Sivertsen, one from his time with Graveren (from 1949), the other one from the time he was employed by Stavangerflint. This first one is the Graveren piece, a candle holder. There was a number of products that had this lovely "gingerbread icing". Although I've never found when this pattern was designed, I will be very surprised if it wasn't in the 50s.

This is a Stavangerflint wall plaque, the second piece by Nils Aa Sivertsen. The back says "Sweetheart" and that it's handmade. Isn't it cute? I must admit that if it wasn't brown, it would probably be too cute for my taste... Sivertsen was employed by Stavangerflint in 1968, when Stavangerflint had just merged with Figgjo. He designed several patterns, like Florry, Amber, Bardu, Beito and Karin. I'm not familiar with these. He also designed some purely decorative pieces, amongst them the wall plaques, or relieffs "Mother" and "Wedding". I'm guessing the one I found must be from this series.

Yay!! My Wiinblad monthly plaque number thirteen! That doesn't add up, right? Well, I have two Januarys and two Februarys, but this is my first December, and now I'm only missing August.

The Figgjo Hedda pattern was designed in 1977 by Rolf Frøyland. It was printed on pieces from the Omega line by Ragnar Grimsrud and was in production until 1980. I like how the lid has more solid color and givs the piece some definition. I found some egg cups in this pattern earlier, that you can see here.

And Daisy.... This is only my second piece, I found a skillet a little while ago. I don't have much blue in my home, these are amongst the very few pieces that make the cut. There's something about that almost naive, happy pattern. I had dinner on it every day when I grew up, mum and dad had this and Tor Viking. Later they got Lotte, which they still use. Daisy was designed by Turi Gramstad Oliver, and was in production from 1969 to 1975.

This is my first Elvira piece! Elvira is a handpainted pattern, also one of the wonderful designs of mrs Oliver. It was in production from 1970 to 80. I learnt in the Figgjo museum this summer that the black was printed on, while the purple and brown was painted by hand. You can easily identify the brush strokes that adds to the handpainted feel. I think the pattern reflects the time it was designed so wonderfully. I cannot make out the "June design" on the stamp as I know for sure it was designed by Oliver. Does anyone know what this means?

I've never seen these next two plates before. Designed 18 years apart, they both feature a scene with one of our most famous writers, Alexander L. Kielland (1849 – 1906) who was one of the so-called "Four Greats" in Norwegian Litterature. You might have heard of the more internationally acclaimed Henrik Ibsen, he's one of them. In my Stavangerflint souvenir plates, Kielland is the  sculpture on the market place, gazing towards the harbour in a cape and top hat.

Born in, you guessed it, Stavanger, he grew up in a rich merchant family. Kielland was the younger brother of our amazing female landscape painter Kitty Kielland. Despite being born into wealth, he had a sincere affection for the less fortunate, treating his workers well when he was a factory owner. He remained a spokesman for the weak and a critic of the hypocrisy of society throughout his time as a writer. I really enjoy reading his novels. They give such vivid images of the city at that time, with it's wharfs, fishery and canning industries that made the city before oil was discovered in the 1960s. Right now, I'm reading "Gift" (poison) which takes place in my old high school. The descriptions of the building and the cathedral next to it are so vivid, and it's so amazing to think that we attended that same school 100 years apart.

More familiar places, the first plate, decorated by Anders Jaarvik in 1968, shows him strolling in front of the medieval church at Orre, which you can see in a couple of my pictures here. He called Orre "heaven on earth", and was often seen walking the beach there, which is a place I often visit too, have a look here. His love of Orre was also said to have something to do with a woman... There's a stone next to the church, saying that this is the place he would have liked to be buried. However, when he died he was given a state funeral and a much more prominent burial site. To you Scandinavian readers there's a text on the back which is worth a read.

The second plate is much more recent, it was designed in 1986 and was one of the motifs in a series of ten designed by Henry Imsland for Lions Club. The style is more of a charicature and shows Kielland sitting in the garden of what could be the city house of the Kielland family. Unfortuneately, it was torn down many years ago and I'm not quite sure what it looked like. The family had another grand manor house which is still there and can be visited.

Kielland is said to have been quite a character, I can't resist showing you a couple of images. In the second one, he's posing with another of the "great four", Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. Oh, the clothes of that time, aren't they magnificent? It seems like Kielland wore this kind of fez for informal occasions and at home, and wore a top hat when he strolled the streets.

My last Stavanger find is this piece of Sandnes pottery. I have mentioned them in several posts, and won't bore you with the details again:-) I was thrilled to find this particular one, you rarely find them in such good condition.

Finally (phew!!!), just a pic to show you some candles I recently found for my Festivos. I think it's really hard to find candles that fit them, but these aren't half bad! I dream of finding the original ball- shaped candles, does anyone know it they're still being produced? Wish you all a wonderful week!!!