charity shop round-up

I have steered clear of charity shops lately as I keep having the feeling that I have too much stuff. But every now and then I spot something and weaken, here are a few of my latest finds - copper plant holder and marble mortar and pestle (top trend for materials here!) more Pengiun poets, enamel tea pot, ship in a bottle (essential I would say) and yet another birdie. Cue massive clear out!

simple things

I found this 1965 Waddington's game in the charity shop (sometimes I feel like the little man in the top hat on the front cover, always running!) I think its Ludo with boats so I can't see it taking over from the Xbox this christmas, looks nice though. 

And on the subject of simple pleasures, I am on The Simple Things magazine blog today, they asked me to do a little Q&A, hope it has turned out ok! Read all about it here and find out details of a festive discount in my shops.  

blue notes

I have not been a very good blogger lately, a bit busy, a bit empty headed and not much happening in  the charity shops. But I did find these heavy weight Danish cast iron cooking pots, folksy mug and Dansk spiky candle holder. I was not sure about the blue colour of the pots but looking round the house I see that blue seems to be my colour of the month, might be something to do with the wet and gloomy English weather. I am off to Broadstairs this weekend dog-sitting while my sister and family are at a festival, I think I have the better deal!

Thank-you for all your lovely comments on the trays, I think I have made up my mind now!

lines

Also from the charity shop, 1960 Arts Council Picasso exhibition catalogue. Black and blue - fantastic!

wild raspberries

Fashionable food seems to take itself very seriously these days, there's a lot of scandinavian foraging and arranging and fiddling. Here's a book that lifts the spirits! I found it in a charity shop for £1.50, Wild Raspberries by Andy Warhol and Suzy Frankfurt. It was first published in 1959 as a limited edition. (This one is a facsimile obviously or I would be retiring to the seaside and living on nothing but piglet and omelet greta garbo for the rest of my life) It is very funny and camp with charming advice and eccentric hand written recipes garnished with fabulous Andy Warhol illustrations.

new ceramics

The top tiles are a set that I bought from Lubna Chowdhary's studio sale before Christmas. I am a huge fan of her intensely coloured stoneware tiles and ceramics. I have been scouring the charity shops to find a frame to fit them, no luck yet but I found a very useful Thomas teapot and some more studio pottery - a dish with a lovely lazy flower pattern and a teazel tile. 

Valentine's day is on its way (treat yourself, why not!) - until February 14th there is 20% off Lovespoons print in my online shop when you use this code at the checkout: LOVINSPOONFUL 

weekend finds

I found this enamel coffee pot in the flea market this weekend, not sure about the swirly pattern but it's a fab orange and it was the wooden handle that did it for me. The Jonathan Adler elephant bank was 50p in the charity shop - funny what some people throw away! 

No sign of a Christmas tree here yet but the illuminations have been switched on! I always hang a rope of lights from top to bottom of our tall skinny '60s house, looks lovely for very little effort!

weekend finds - salt

I have been madly busy lately so apologies for infrequent blogging. However, I found some time for charity shopping at the weekend and here are my salt and colour themed finds. Lovely Swedish lidded glass jar, teak salt and pepper pots and Sixties book all about Salt! This is part of the Lets Read and Find Out science series, all with great illustrations.

blue and orange

Blue is the colour - behind the kitchen shelves, it's quite intense so takes a bit of getting used to but it certainly makes the orange pop.  On the subject of orange, this is my husband's first ever hi-fi, brought back from Wales, a splendid combo of orange, teak and stainless steel. Unfortunately we have nothing to play on it as I was never much of a music collector and I made him take all his prog rock albums to the charity shop along with his star wars annuals - was that a bit mean of me?

The blue is Trelleborg by Siecle paints, available here and is the same colour as my Logpile wallpaper in woodsmoke - just thought I'd tell you that.

Finally....worth watching tonight: The Kids's Speech, BBC 1 at 10.35. About the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children where my son attended a speech course this summer, a really inspiring place.

labour & wait

I left Tent London on Friday feeling a bit confused, apart from a few old favourites I am not sure if I was very inspired by the design on offer. I sought refuge in Labour&Wait, now relocated to trendy Redchurch Street (along with the Story Deli, home of the delicious frilly pizza). Every humble household item for sale in Labour&Wait looks beautifully designed but probably wasn't, it has just stood the test of time. I fell for an orange enamel teapot/kettle, a lovely thing at a not very humble price, I blew several weeks charity shop budget! 

Now obsessed with enamel ware I spotted this big blue jug with iconic stem print pattern in a charity shop in Newcastle this weekend, somewhere to keep my melamine collection.

apples and pears

I have been avoiding charity shops lately (too much stuff!) But I had to bring home this giant glass pear to go with my giant glass apple. It's a funny thing but I only ever see these giant glass fruits in charity shops, I don't know what they are for but they seem like a good place to keep apples and pears. Actually these are quinces, my quince tree is leaning over with the weight of fruit this year which fills me with a slight feeling of doom, all that chopping and stirring, plus I have a membrillo/jelly backlog from last year, I need some new ideas!

four flasks short of a picnic

I think I am sorted for vintage thermos flasks now and should probably stop buying them. Same goes for
plates but I really love the pattern on this one.

magical songbook

I found this beautiful songbook in the charity shop this weekend. It was published in 1978 with joyous illustrations by Josef Palecek who I knew nothing about. After a bit of investigation I discovered that he is a renowned Czech illustrator and animator born in 1932 and still working today. His illustrations are truly magical and really worth seeking out.