Vintage teapot & jug

Several months ago I bought this very sweet vintage teapot (I think I bought it when I visited Inglewood), which is made in England by Arthur Wood, with a pattern called 'Summertime'.  I was really drawn to the stylised floral pattern, and the colour palette of the florals on the yellow glazed teapot - definitely not the usual old-fashioned florals found on English vintage ceramics. 

Then a few weeks later in Daylesford I came across this large jug, and instantly recognised the pattern as being the same as the teapot.  I thought it was a bit unusual that the jug was white, whilst the teapot had a yellow glaze - and on turning the jug over I learnt the jug was made in New Zealand, and wasn't part of the English Arthur Wood collection. 

It's a bit of a mystery how the two pieces have the same pattern (maybe the pattern was licensed for the Australia-Pacific region?) but either way I like that the two pieces don't match perfectly, and they make a great addition to my random collection of vintage chinaware.

Vintage teacup trio's

 

I'm loving this Autumn weather we're having, cool mornings and evenings but with beautiful warm sunny days. The tree's and shrubbery here in Kyneton is changing and every evening the garden is full of fallen crunchy leaves.  All around the town green leaves are changing daily into golden yellows and firey reds.

The change of seasons reminded me of these vintage teacup trio's I picked up a while ago from our local Salvo's.  They have an Autumnal air to them with decorative red roses, deep teal leaves, and bronzed leaf patterns.  Perfect for drinking endless cups of earl-grey tea.          

yellow.....orange.....green

 some recent 2nd hand purchases in accidental colour groups......yellow,orange and green

A few weeks ago I was visiting Daylesford - and it's impossible for me to visit Daylesford without a trip to the fabulous Mill Markets to see what second hand, vintage or retro bits-and-pieces I can find.

It was only when I got home and unpacked my goodies, that I realised I'd unintentionally purchased in colour groups!  My little second-hand lovelies were all yellow, orange and green.

I picked up the very cute retro melamine cup (love the square shaped handle), saucer and plate set featuring a yellow rose pattern, which sits so happily on the ceramic plate with the orange and grey geo pattern on the rim.  I also picked up 3 jugs; a small English jug with a yellow and green floral pattern, the larger orange melamine jug, and finally the large green and white polka-dot jug (which I think is Australian).

And lastly I found an old English 'Mackintosh's' tin, with an over-scaled daisy pattern - in orange, yellow and green!    

Retro coffee pots....and diamonds

 

I think I'm a very easy person to buy presents for...... pretty much anything ceramic, second-hand, vintage or retro - I'm guaranteed to love!  No diamonds, pearls, emeralds (OK, I do like emeralds - my birthstone and favourite colour), but really, I'm not one for expensive gold jewellery or fancy gemstones, so I think Mr B has it pretty easy when it comes to buying birthdays and Christmas gifts.  

 

He did particularly well this Christmas when I received these two rather funky retro coffee pots!  The gorgeous teal coloured coffee pot is marked as 'Sadler' England, and the other pot is a 'Kathie Winkle' design by Broadhurst, England.

 

I can't find much information on the Sadler design, but it's a really beautiful colour and features an embossed geometric pattern and stripes on the body, with part of the geo design echoed on the lid.  The Kathie Winkle pattern is called 'Roulette' and features her trademark stamped black outlines with green, orange and light blue hand-painted detail, dating from about the 1970's.  The shape of the Roulette coffee pot is the same as another Kathie Winkle design I picked up recently.

 

So there I was on Christmas day, one happy lady with two second-hand ceramic coffee pots - and no diamonds!    

Fab vintage second-hand finds

I've been rummaging around in the three second-hand shops here in Kyneton, and I've come across a few treasures recently. 

Last week I picked up this super-cute yellow embossed Carlton Ware dish in the shape of a leaf with a design called Apple Blossom, and little silver teaspoon.  After a bit of research it looks like the Apple Blossom design was introduced around 1937 and produced until the 1950's.  I love the backstamp with the decorative Carlton Ware script, and I've since found out the 'Australian Design Registration Applied For' on the backstamp was used from about 1935 onwards, in order to prevent the Japanese from copying the designs.  In the 1930's the Japanese were copying good quality ceramics and Carlton Ware was a target, however a clause in the South East Asia Treaty Organisation between Australia and Japan meant that designs registered in Australia couldn't be copied by the Japanese - therefore many designs were registered in Australia!   


I also found this Broadhurst coffee pot with a design by Kathie Winkle.  The pattern is called Woodland and features classic Kathie Winke style of strong black geometric lines (created by rubber stamping), with a limited colour palette of orange and olive green applied by handpainting.  The tall, statuesque coffee pot is the Riviera shape which was also designed by Kathie Winkle about the mid 1960's, specifically to allow for rubber stamped patterns.  Again I love the backstamp which incorporates and celebrates not only the pattern design, but the ceramic shape design, as well as the actual name of the designer. 

Green retro coffee pots

How fabulous are these two green retro coffee pots that arrived for my birthday!  I love the textured pattern detail on the emerald green pot, and the rather squat shape of the spout and handle on the olive coloured coffee pot. 

Nobody uses coffee pots these days, which is a shame really.  I don't use mine either, they stand together competing for admiration and proudly collecting dust!

I often wonder what children growing up today will collect in the future - most of the tabletop products produced and consumed today are white boring teapots, plain white plates, standard metal coffee pots, and coloured IKEA tableware.  All very practical and economical to purchase - but they hold no beauty or surface interest.  The appeal to me of older tableware is the fabulous colours, textures, glaze effects and patterns available - many were made during a time of exploration and discovery of new techniques and a desire for surface pattern and interesting shapes.  I somehow can't see a current tea or coffee pot lasting 50 or 60 years - let alone being placed on a shelf to be admired.  

J&G Meakin retro 'Aztec' coffee pot

 'Aztec' coffee pot by J&G Meakin

I'm very chuffed that little Jasper at just 9 months old, already seems to have a keen eye for vintage ceramics - as I got this rather fabulous retro coffee pot for mothers day! 

The coffee pot design is called 'Aztec' and is applied to the 'Studio' shape, which was introduced by British manufacturer J&G Meakin in about 1964.  J&G Meakin started manufacturing ceramic ranges way back in 1851, and their Studio range was particularly popular both in the UK and overseas.

This is the third design by J&G Meakin I have in the Studio shape, the other two being Topic (left) and Elite (right).  I love the elegance of the studio coffee pots with their tall, slender and statuesque shape - and I also love the colour palettes of the three designs with their turquise, aqua, and olive green shades.  Gorgeous!!

The Topic design in particular has become a favourite of mine, and has featured in many of my illustrations and sketches in recent times. 

Various sketches and illustrations featuring the Topic coffee pot.
 

H is for Home

H is for Home - one of my favourite vintage online shops 

 

I love this old harlequin patterned biscuit tin

Fabulous retro fabrics & interior goodies

And I love the array of vintage & retro teacups, kettles and coffee sets

I thought I'd share one of my favourite online vintage shops - the rather fabulous H is for Home.

Based in England, H is for Home stock an amazing collection of retro, one-off and hand-made items (and a word of warning it's quite an addictive shopping site!)  Divided into various categories, the site showcases items such as textiles, clothing, ceramics, books, kitchenware and outdoor accessories - and all with a vintage flair.

I love perusing through the What's Cooking and Wining and Dining sections for superb collections of teasets, coffee pots, old kitchen utensils and patterned enamel saucepans - and wonder where they find all this fabulous stuff.... I'm imagining endless garage sales, trips around the UK and Europe visiting flea markets and antique fairs, and perhaps the odd rummage in a local charity shop.  Its my dream job!   

Check out the website at your wallets peril, and you can also visit the Blog.  Enjoy :)

Frankie magazine

My vintage china artwork in the latest edition of Frankie magazine  

I was super excited to be featured in the latest edition of Frankie magazine!  Yay!!

I've always loved Frankie's retro vibe, so it's a real treat to have my vintage china artwork profiled and I'm feeling oh so very cool to have my illustrations in such a cute and funky mag.  I really am very thrilled to see this series of artwork in print.

There's also this free pull-out poster with my illustrations of china teacups and saucers, with a little calender on the back.  Cute!

New christmas ceramic goodies!

Ceramic Kofti pot (above) by Kathie Winkle c.1967             

Japanese coffee set (above) & decorative mugs (below)

I got quite a selection of vintage ceramic goodies for Christmas this year from Mr B - he certainly knows the way to my heart! 

The Kofti pot by Kathie Winkle (manufactured by James Broadhurst & Sons) is actually a mix of a coffee pot and a tea pot - clever! Designed in 1967 it has a fabulous retro pattern and I love the tall modern shape to the pot.  I have quite a few plates with designs by Kathie Winkle as I love all the classic retro patterns she produced in such a recognisable style.

I also got this rather amazing Japanese coffee set with coffee pot, jug and little mugs - very cute!  The set features an embossed circular geometric pattern which I'm guessing dates from about the 1970's.  The Kathie Winkle Kofti pot and this Japanese coffee set now sit happily on my shelves amongst the rest of my assorted cups, saucers, jugs and coffee pots.

Mr B also managed to find some more Japanese mugs with different patterns to add to my rapidly expanding collection!

Happy Christmas!

 'Happy Christmas' tableware exclusive to David Jones (designed by me!)

Original artwork and design concepts by Lucy King Design

I was doing some Christmas shopping last week, when I came across a display in David Jones of a range of ceramics that I designed last year!  It's always exciting to unexpectedly stumble across designs I've worked on and to see them as finished products.

The 'Happy Christmas' range of ceramic and tabletop items were designed exclusively for David Jones, and created as simple, graphic motifs - rather than my usual hand-painted artwork.  The design features traditional Christmas motifs assembled in a fun layout with a bold colour scheme.  Cute!

Wishing everyone many happy festivities and lots of seasonal cheer!  Merry Christmas!!

Japanese mugs - update!

I have two new additions to my little Japanese mug collection.  How super-cute are these two green mugs - and the best part about these new additions is they were sent to me by a lovely lady who spotted them in her local op-shop!

I already have a similar mug to the one on the left, but not with the fab scalloped handle this one has.  I've never seen this style of handle before so its great to add to my collection. 

It was so thoughtful and generous of the lady who posted them to me....although Mr B is a little worried that other people are sending me cute second-hand ceramics to fill the house up!  Sending out a big 'thank you' as I love them - and don't worry I can always find room for cute little patterned ceramic lovelies!