Wiinblad- a love story

Third entry today, don't think I will be able to keep this up...

Just wanted to show you something really beautiful. I've collected three plaques from a series from the sixties by danish designer Bjørn Wiinblad. There is one for every month of the year, and they are showing an evolving love story starting with the first encounter. I have january, february and march. In january they meet, in february they flirt and date, in march he wins her over.
 

 

 

 

 

I love Wiinblads intricate desings, especially the black and white pieces, and find they have a lot in common with the designs of Turid Gramstad Olivers fantastic graphic universe of the sixties and seventies. Here are some details, enjoy!

 

 

 

  

Que Sera Sera....

I had THE greatest day of thrifting yesterday. I started out at a local annual charity fleamarket. The place was full of stuff ranging from treasures to plain junk. As people were fighting for a couple of badly bruised Cathrineholm bowls (I've decided not to fill my home with broken stuff, no matter how tempting the bargain), I spotted two great pieces of Stavangerflint Sera by Inger Waage, a serving plate and a large lidded dish, both in mint condition. In fact, they are so shiny they don't photograph well.
 

 

 

Then,on my way to do some weekend grocery shopping, I stopped by my nearest FRETEX (the norwegian Salvation Army second hand store) and found these great pieces from the Stavangerflint Brunette line by Kåre Berven Fjeldsaa. The design originally came in three different colors, brown, beige and a beautiful brownish olive green that you could combine.

I found six dessert- or soupbowls, a plate (that will be great for serving cookies etc), and a cup and saucer, all in olive green exept the cup, which has the light beige color. I have a large serving dish in this pattern that I found a couple of years ago. I really love the great color and the two- toned variations the relieff pattern makes. There's a great website about Stavangerflint, their production and designers, check it out here. 

I almost wish the Salvation Army would charge more, the bowls went for a ridiculous 15 kr (the equivalent to $2,50 or €2)a piece....
 

 

 Finally, I found this beautiful plate from norwegian manufacturer Hadeland in a pattern called Furu (pine). See the branches?

 

Tor Viking repatriated

I'm amazed to see the keen interest in Figgjo pottery. A quick look at Ebay or Etsy proves it can be found in collections worldwide. Having grown up in the region they were made makes me very proud!

I recently managed to "repatriate" a set of four beautiful Tor Viking plates (17 cm wide) from the Isle of Wight (thank you Sarah!) I love this pattern, it reminds me so much of my childhood when every second household owned Figgjo sets. My mom had a Tor Viking set, but sadly it went to the local charity ages ago. Luckily she had saved this really cute sugar bowl and creamer that she has handed over to me.

This pattern is so amazing. At first glance you see these cute little flowers, then you spot the intricacy of the pattern, the great detailing.

The moment after the plates arrived, I scored two cute egg cups on Ebay, with a piece of the pattern you rarely see on the egg cups. They usually have a centered flower with a leaf on each side.

I thought I needed to hunt for some cups or mugs to go with the plates, but then I tried to pair them with some Iittala Ego espresso cups that I have, and find that they work really well together, don't you agree? They are small so they don't overpower the plates. Something old, something new....