Glass, gorgeous glass...

Inspired by Dana's post about the wonderful effect of glass, over at Mid2Mod, I'll throw in a few of my own mid- century glass favorites from Norway and Finland.

The Festivo- line of candle holders were designed by finnish artist Timo Sarpaneva in 1966. I remember when my dad arrived from a business trip to Helsinki with a couple of these as a gift for my mom some time in the seventies.

 

 

I guess I'm a hopeless nostalgic, I find myself drawn to stuff from my childhood, things that bring out fond memories. This bowl and plate from the "Greenland"- line by norwegian artist Arne Jon Jutrem was on my mom's coffee table.

What I always regarded as a typical 70s design actually date from the mid fifties. Designed for Norwegian manufacturer Hadeland, the line won a gold medal at the "Triennale di Milano" in 1954. The pieces are really heavy, and are characterized by the myriad of bubbles in the emerald green glass.

 

 

I love the Ultima Thule line! Tapio Wirkkola designed these gorgeous pieces for ittala in 1968, and they are still in production. When this design was unveiled in the 1960s, it represented something new in the glass industry and contributed to Iittala’s international breakthrough.

Thousands of hours were spent to perfect the glass-blowing technique that’s required for the ultima thule collection, whose unique pattern is created when the molten glass burns into the surface of the wooden molds. The resemblance to ice is striking, when the sun shines through the glass it glows like wet, melting ice. Oh my goodness... I've managed to get my hands on 4 dessert bowls (have a look here), but I'm constantly on the lookout for more pieces. The decanter is truly gorgeous and very high on my wish list!

 

 

 

More jewellry

I had a dive into my overfilled jewellry box today, most of all to throw out all the junk and make more room for what's worth keeping. Among my dearest treasures are the colorful jewels my kids have made for me.
I have a few really modern pieces- I got this gorgeous cuff from my parents, it's a one of a kind made by a norwegian artist called Fie von Krogh. Isn't it great? It's made of solid silver with a steel button and is a full 8 cm wide.

 

Funny thing is, and I totally forgot about this bracelet that I made when I studied modern art and design years ago, before I did my master degree in architecture. It has the same cuff with steel button design. It's made of laminated plastic sheets with steel wires.

 

 

I made a line of plexiglass jewellery with very simple geometry in red and clear, as well as a bracelet inspired by the beautiful materiality (the two toned onyx marble) in Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona pavillion. Alas, I don't find that the pieces are very wearable, I don't want to stroke my kids' cheeks while wearing one of those rings, if you know what I mean... I'm sorry about the poor quality of the images, this stuff is really hard to photograph. Wishing you all a great Sunday evening!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you kidding me?!?

All you teak lovers out there- have you seen this? I found it in this shop on Etsy. At first glance I thought it was real wood, but after a closer read it says "Made from the highest quality film, to replicate the look and feel of real wood." So sadly, no real  teak... I guess it would break very easily. But certainly good looking! Images coutesy of the shop.

 

 

 

More great norwegian mid- century design

The weekend is almost over, it's been a relaxing one, thank goodness. My weeks are so intense, I try not to have too much planned for my days off.
I made a stop at my nearest charity store on Saturday, but came home with no (as in zero) thrifts this time...
I did however see a chair there that I've been wanting for a long time. It was a bit tough leaving it behind, but the condition of the wood frame and leather was quite a bit below what I normally find acceptable. The wood frame I could probably sand down and polish, but it probably needed a new leather cushion.

The chair in question is the Siesta, designed in the 1960's by famed norwegian furniture designer Ingmar Relling. The chair is one of Norways greatest success stories in furniture design, a great piece of mid century design, and it's actually still in production today (an updated design, though, not the same as the vintage one) . It consists of a laminated wood frame, stretched canvas and a leather cushion. The principle is the same today, but it's interesting to see the subtle changes during the years, where it adapts to changing trends. I'm searching for the original model from the 60s, which was in production into the 70s, with a palisander frame and a black leather cushion. My mother nursed me in this exact chair, and I have a lot of memories of it from my home.

 

 

When returning disappointed from the charity store, I put an ad in the norwegian equivalent to Craigs list, hopefully I'll get some response.

Another great norwegian design is the Falcon chair by Sigurd Ressel in 1974. I love it in this lighter brown color, so cool and 70s! I'd love one of these too....

 

 

(I'm sorry, none of the images in this entry are mine!)

Great furniture design

Just wanna share this amazing piece of furniture I've just seen, the Bykato sideboard from the danish company Brødrene Andersen Møbelsnedkeri. With obvious references to the great credenzas of the scandinavian design heritage,  they've added a new and playful twist, the perfect receipe for scandinavian furniture design today. You can customize your sideboard with your choice of wood and door color. Isn't it gorgeous?

 

Macrame revisited

Do you remember the macrame of the seventies? I do. I used to hate it. We learnt how to make it at school, I even remember how it's done. Now it's back again, and boy was I wrong- it's so cool and goes wonderfully with everything mid- century. I have to search the attic of my childhood home, my parents have some macrame planters up there that my granddad (!) made.

I have to recommend to you this great blog called The Ouch Flower, if you don't already know it. The following images are Pippas.
I'm so impressed with this great gal, she makes the most beautiful things, macrame, embroideries, pottery, everything inspired (in my eyes) by the sixties and seventies. The embroideries remind me so much of something we had back home when I was a kid, I love the colors and patterns. The macrame planters are great and the wall art very mid- century/ indian dream catcher. Definitely on my wish- list.  You can buy some of her work at her shop, be sure to visit it, as well as her blog. It's so inspiring! By the way, see the red Scheurich in the first image? It's the exact same design that I showed you in my last entry, only with a different pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For some more great macrame- inspiration, check out the work of designer/artist http://sallyengland.com/Sally England, she makes some really nice stuff!

 

 

Pottery, pottery...

I arrived at my charity thrift store just 10 minutes before closing time yesterday, but managed to walk out with two great pieces of Scheurich pottery.
The first one is the big brother of this brightly colored Scheurich vase that I found at the same store earlier. Back then, I was a bit unsure about the color, but now I love it to bits, it's so gorgeous and goes well with my other stuff. I was thrilled to find another one. The one I already had is 21 cm, the new one is 29. Apart from the color and pattern, they have such a great shape. Don't they make a nice pair?

 

I'm guessing the neutral toned Scheurich I found last week must have been made around the same time, the style of the pattern is somewhat similar. Does anyone know? The seventies?

 

 

The other little vase I found is also a Scheurich, in green, mustard and beige with some black pattern. I payed the equivalent of 1,7 USD for it! I've displayed it with my vintage Magnor vases in green and brown.

 

 

This fridays' finds

The rain has been pouring down for a full week here now, but finally, at least some friday thrifting bliss...

I keep finding some bits and pieces from the Stavangerflint Brunette line that I'm collecting, and this Friday was no exception. I got five dessert/ cereal bowls, a teacup, a coffeecup, a plate and this really great bowl I've been looking for. It can be used for just about anything, but I think it was originally intended for sauce. I especially love the way the edge extends into a handle.

 

 

 

 

Isn't this little dish beautiful? It's from Arabia and is part of a line of souvenir plates. The motif is the modernist Finlandia concert hall in Helsinki by Aalto. There was no way my architect heart could leave this gem behind.

 

                                  

Finally, another gorgeous Scheurich vase in beautiful earthtones found it's way into my home. It's found it's place with a similar colored companion on my credenza. I'm hoping to find more of these!
Have a great weekend!