Wednesday 16 November 2011

Sunday 13 November 2011

This week's thrifting


Just a couple of charity shop finds this week, both of which will eventually be re-sold.


I'm always happy to find bakelite beehive wool-holders, they are generally priced low, and sell for a good price on ebay.



I am really confused by this Portmeirion Totem dish and lid.  Love the colour, the pattern, the dish, but hate the lid.  
Ms Williams-Ellis, what were you thinking?
I guess it's fairly rare to still have the lid after nearly 50 years, especially as the particularly hideous design seems to be just asking to be broken.
Maybe its previous owner also hated the lid and kept it safely in a cupboard, because it is in absolutely pristine condition.
This is heading for ebay as soon as I can find a suitably sized strong box for shipping.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Bird-themed Thrifting

Not for the first time I find myself with an accidental thrifting theme - this time it's birds.


This lovely fat little crystal bird turned out to be made by Hadeland of Norway when I got it home and removed the price label from the bottom.  I'm not normally a big fan of crystal, but this is such an attractive, simple shape.  


I am a big fan of John Clappison's designs, especially his animal mugs, so I was really happy to find this Hornsea chicken family mug.  It must be 40+ years old, but the glaze is still as rich and glossy as new.


This owl vase/pot is a bit of a mystery item, and I paid a bit more than my usual thrifting limit for it.  

Confession time : I was immediately drawn to it, not sure if it was the slightly John Clappison style of the design or the red lava-style glaze.  I carried it around while I browsed the rest of the shop, decided it was too expensive and then hid it behind some books while I went to have a think about it.  Does anyone else ever do that?  

Well, obviously I went back for it, having Googled it on my phone in the meantime and found no trace of it, therefore convincing myself that I was unlikely to ever find another one and would regret not buying it.  It's made by the Tyn Llan pottery in Wales, but that's all I know.  Googling has only brought up images of big chunky pottery mugs with Celtic knotwork designs - no animals.  Any information gratefully received.