Jens Quistgaard Flamestone Coffee Pot

This is an extremely hard to find, iconic, coffee pot designed by Jens Quistgaard for the Dansk Flamestone line. The unique, single, side handle gives this coffee pot its stand-out look. Smooth, matte brown, finish on the exterior with a white, enamel, finish interior. This is mid century, Danish modern design at its best.

The coffee pot is marked on the bottom with the early "Four Ducks" Dansk Designs Denmark logo and the initials IHQ for Jens Harald Quistgaard.

Not trained as a designer, but as a sculpture, Quistgaard used his mastery of form to turn functional items into "voorwerpen van kunst" (objects of art). Quistgaard's designs for Dansk helped to bring sophisticated European design into the average home.

You would think that the side handle, as nontraditional as it is, would be awkward, but it is surprisingly comfortable to pour.

Available on our Etsy store. Sold

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Bo Borgstrom Bamboo Vase

Simple, sleek, and elegant vase from Swedish designer Bo Borgstrom. Blue glass, bamboo shaped vase looks stunning, even when empty. Designed for Aseda Glasbruk in Sweden, circa 1960s.

Aseda Glasbruk was started in 1947 in Aseda, Sweden. Bo Borgstrom began designing for the company around 1960. During the 1960s, Borgstrom was Aseda's chief designer.

Available on our Etsy store.

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'Tis the Season ...

That Autumn chill is in the air. The scent of turkey and cranberry fills the house.

Yes, the holiday season is upon us.

Winter Wonderland

Hazel Atlas Ski Theme Tom & Jerry Set

This is a hard to find Hazel Atlas, ski theme, Tom & Jerry set. The milk glass style bowl and cups feature several ski themes depicted in a whimsical drawing style. Both the bowl and the cups have the "Tom and Jerry" label on them. We haven't seen any of these available as a set lately, and we're excited to be able to offer this set now.

Themes on the bowl and cups include a downhill skier, one putting skis on, one taking a tumble and one herringboning up a hill. All the skiers are drawn in a classic mid century style and have a bright red sweater.

Available from our Etsy shop. Sold

We Three Kings...

Porsgrund, Julen 1969, Three Wise Men Plate

Wonderful, stylized Christmas plate from Porsgrund, Norway. "De Hellige Tre Konger (The Three Wise Men)" 1969 Limited Edition Series Plate. The Three Wise Men are wonderfully depicted bearing gifts and following the star of Bethlehem. Marked on the back with the Porsgrund, Norway, PP and anchor logo. This plate is still in its original box (although the box has seen better days) and includes the brochure that came with it.

The design of this plate is quintessential late 1960s Scandinavian. Unfortunately, the brochure only describes the designer of this plate as, "a contemporary artist" and doesn't give their name.

Available from our Etsy shop.

The Story of the Nutcracker

Cheryl Johnson Designed "Nutcracker Prince" Glasses

From the "Nutcracker Village" collection by Cheryl Johnson Associates, ©1988. Featuring the regal Nutcracker Prince, en pointe, in his royal red coat with sword at his side. Surrounding the prince are crimson, red, ribbons.

Cheryl Ann Johnson designed a number of Christmas themed items in the late 80s for companies like Dept. 56 and Sakura.

Available from our Etsy shop. Sold

Silver ...

Dorothy Thorpe Style Silver Rim Barware

Elegant, Dorothy Thorpe style, silver rim double old fashioned and hiball glasses. Rimmed with a ¾" thick silver band. Base is heavy, concave glass.

Beautiful barware for any collection or celebration.

We can't directly attribute these to Dorothy Thorpe, but they have that "smooth and cool" style that has become synonymous with Thorpe and the A&E series, "Mad Men".

Available from our Etsy shop.
• Double Old Fashioned Glasses Sold
• Hiball Glasses

... and Gold

Weeping Gold Bowl, Kingwood Ceramics Art Pottery

Elegant, Weeping-Bright Gold decorative bowl from Kingwood Ceramics. Circa 1940s art pottery bowl is hand decorated with a 22 karat gold finish. Elongated bowl or vase has a diamond-like shape with ribbing on each side and white interior glaze.

Kingwood Ceramics was a pottery company in East Palestine, OH, from 1939-2004. Kingwood's Weeping-Bright Gold line was primarily made during the 1940s. The high price of gold eventually forced Kingwood to end the line.

If you're thinking of stocking up on Weeping-Bright Gold and removing the gold for your retirement ... Not gonna happen. Since it is 22 karat, it is not pure gold. Sorry. However, on the bright side (no pun intended) you will have better decor than Fort Knox.

Available from our Etsy shop.

Imperial Glass, Twisted Optic, Vaseline Glass Bowl

Exquisite, vaseline glass bowl made by Imperial Glass. Spiral design, footed bowl is in the Twisted Optic pattern. Has the classic, light green color that is the hallmark of vaseline glass. Low footed bowl that's perfect as a console bowl or displayed in a vaseline glass collection.

Vaseline glass, or more accurately called uranium glass, glows bright green when displayed under black light due to trace amounts of uranium added to it.

Available on our Etsy store.

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Anchor Hocking Jelly Server with Ruby Red Lid and Plate

Shimmering, covered jelly/marmalade or sugar server from Anchor Hocking. Clear, Prescut style server with deep, ruby red, lid, sits atop a matching underplate. Includes a clear glass serving spoon. Server is in the Anchor Hocking "Prescut" pattern. Circa 1940s-1950s.

Available on our Etsy shop.

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Hazel Atlas Ski Theme Tom & Jerry Set

Hard to find Hazel Atlas, ski theme, Tom & Jerry set. The milk glass style bowl and cups feature several ski themes depicted in a whimsical drawing style. Both the bowl and the cups have the "Tom and Jerry" label on them. We haven't seen any of these available as a set lately, and we're excited to be able to offer this set now.

Themes on the bowl and cups include a downhill skier, one putting skis on, one taking a tumble and one herringboning up a hill. All the skiers are drawn in a classic mid century style and have a bright red sweater.

Available on our Etsy site. Sold

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Red Wing "Party Ware" Designed by Charles Murphy

"Party Ware" from Red Wing

Available on our Etsy site.
Red Wing "Party Ware" Plate & Bowl

Hard to find, Charles Murphy designed "Party Ware" line plate and bowl from Red Wing. Mid Century ceramic serving plate and bowl with a fabulous free-form shape. The "Party Ware" line included different fruit motifs including grapes (this pattern), apples, cherries, and pears. Back is glazed in a deep, metallic brown/black.

These pieces are not marked "Red Wing" on the back, so it took some time to figure out just what they were.

Red Wing began producing the "Party Ware" line in the late 1940s.

After some digging around, we found that the Party Ware line consisted of twelve different free-form shapes with four patterns and three back colors. Altogether, that makes a total of 144 possible combinations to collect. Since the pattern had such a variety of shapes, and they didn't stack, you needed a lot of cupboard space to store these. Possibly one of the reasons that this pattern wasn't produced for very long and is hard to find today.

You could spend a lifetime looking for all the different mix-and-match patterns. So, if you're looking for Party Ware pieces, or thinking about starting a collection, here are some things to look for.

The four different patterns consisted of:

• Apples
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Pears

The styles were all numbered from 100 through 111. These items are numbers 101 for the bowl and 104 for the plate.

The back colors are:

• Chartreuse
• Gray
• Metallic Brown

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Vintage Finds This Week (02-11-2012)

What a great find this week!

While out hunting around, I looked at a table next to us in a consignment shop and spied a large, chrome, bell. Now, normally I wouldn't look at a bell. A bell, is a bell, is a bell. Right? Plus I have a tendency to have to ring them, which has a tendency to annoy Ellen.

There was something different about this bell, though, and I just had to check it out.

I reached over, and, making sure it wouldn't ring since Ellen was within striking distance, carefully lifted the bell. It was light. Too light to be a real bell. It had a solid bottom. Who ever heard of a bell with a solid bottom. It had a pour spout. Wait ... A pour spout?

Of course! This wasn't a real bell. It was a cocktail shaker in the form of a bell.

I quickly checked the internet and found it was a 1930s Town Crier Cocktail Shaker.

I snatched it up and headed to the front of the store.

Town Crier Cocktail Shaker

"Town Crier Bell Cocktail Shaker

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Vintage Finds this Week (01-28-2012)

We've had some great luck thrifting and rummaging for vintage recently. Here are some of our recent finds.

Some of these are already available on our Etsy shop, and some should be available soon.

Aldo Londi Vase

Aldo Londi Vase

First off, we found this wonderful Aldo Londi vase. Orange, green and gold with gold flowers. We couldn't believe it ourselves when we saw it on the shelf. It had to be be cracked or broken. But no. It's in gorgeous condition. Some days it's just better to be lucky than good.

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"Arden" by Turi Gramstad Oliver for Figgjo

"Arden" by Turi Gramstad Oliver - Turi Designs - for Figgjo

Found a treasure trove of vintage Figgjo ceramics by Turi Gramstad Oliver. These are from the "Arden" collection.

Figgjo AS is a Norwegian ceramics manufacturer located in Sandnes, Norway.

The Figgjo of today actually started out as two different cermaics companies; Stavangerflit AS and Figgjo AS. In 1968 the two companies merged into Figgjo Ceramics - Stavangerflint AS. Then, in 1979, the Stavangerflint portion closed and all manufacturing was consolidated into the Figgjo group. The company is now known only as Figgjo AS and its main focus is ceramics for the catering industry where it is regarded as a world leader in that segment.[1]

Available on our Etsy site.

"Arden" Soup Tureen by Turi Gramstad Oliver, Turi Designs for Figgjo Fajanse, Norway
SOLD

"Arden" Butter Box by Turi Gramstad Oliver, Turi Designs for Figgjo Fajanse, Norway
SOLD

"Arden" Cream & Sugar by Turi Gramstad Oliver, Turi Designs for Figgjo Fajanse, Norway
SOLD

"Arden" Jam/Jelly Bowl by Turi Gramstad Oliver, Turi Designs for Figgjo Fajanse, Norway
SOLD

"Arden" Pitcher by Turi Gramstad Oliver, Turi Designs for Figgjo Fajanse, Norway
SOLD

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Stavangerflint Box by Kari Nyquist, ca. 1950s

Kari Nyquist designed "Blue Series" Box for Stavangerflint

Wonderful Norwegian ceramic box designed by Kari Nyquist for Stavangerflint. From the Blå Serier (Blue Series), this box depicts a young man in his sulky, wearing his finery, top hat and all. Perhaps he is heading to meet his true love. The design is beautiful with a classic Norwegian feel. Backstamp is "Stavangerflint - Norway" with the signature "Kari" underneath.

Kari Nyquist was born in Oslo and studied ceramics at The Norwegian College of Applied Arts. She worked and trained in the workshops of noted ceramicists Eilif Whist and William Knutzen.  In 1942 she started her own workshop. From 1955 she worked as freelance artist and designer at Stavangerflint. Her designs were most often reproduced in a blue color on a blue background and made from blue clay or as stoneware.

A Kari Nyquist tea set from the mid 1950s is represented at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She has held several exhibitions in Norway and abroad and has pieces at The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo.

This box is in perfect condition with no chips, cracks or scratches. The design shows no signs of wear and the interior is clean with no blemishes.

Available on our Etsy site.

SOLD

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[1] Information based on the English translations of the Figgjo AS site (http://figgjo.no/en/figgjo/article/view/about-figgjo/history) and a Stavangerflint blog about Inger Waage (http://stavangerflint.gratisnettside.no/?&mid=44)

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