Coffee Time! Vintage Keele Street coffee set in original box

What makes the thrill of finding an attractive set or piece of vintage homeware, even more satisfying, is finding it still has its original box. Look at this lovely set of six coffee cups and saucers.


The cups are most attractive with their rose-floral pattern, but for me what sets the set off nicely is the shade of yellow in those saucers. It is an unusual combination with the roses, but it is a very utilitarian colour, I feel, which is evocative of the age - 1950s if we use the cups as a guide, but probably 1960s, judging by the box.

And the box! What a design. It could have fallen in from the 1950s, but is is that typeface, which is a little less fussy than what went before, that tells me a more modern 'mode' of thought went into the design.


The whole package to me straddles the two decades, but that's OK - we live in a mix and match 21st century, where we can grab and pick 'n' mix just what we want to be surrounded with, rather than have the completeness of a trend dictate to us.


The only thing that matters is, is that you like them.

Our first etsy listing - Chance Glass pin tray

Although we are not officially opening our Etsy shop until January 2012, it will still take time to get the shelves filled, so between now and then you will see items appear in the shop. It is OK, you don't need to wait until January 2012 to buy, you can still go ahead as usual.

Not being used to Etsy, we found it took a little longer than it would to list on any of the other online retail sites. Sure we'll get used to it though! It seems you have to think in USD$ regarding the pricing of the item and postage, so if any of our prices seem erratic, please ask why. Anyway here is our very first Etsy offering, a cute little Chance Glass pin tray.

Missing you already - mid century salad serving spoons.

Vintage Dubarry boxed gift set of toiletries

Just the thing if you want a really authentic vintage look to your dressing table

Don't know how old this lovely lot is - the box looks 1950s - the labels on bottles look 1960s. The box is showing signs of the years. It is a real shame that it has some staining and has taken some spillages from the bottle contents, though I am sure a clever crafty person could put this right.

Set comprises:

2 soaps - unused and in their cellophane
6 Forget-Me-Not bath cubes still in their foil
1 bottle floral mist Forget-Me-Not - bottle is empty except for the merest dribble and seems to be the source of a spill
1 bottle Shalimar hand lotion "Recipe for Dainty Hands" to the rear
1 perfume bottle with squeezy bulb - I don't know if this works - appears a little stained on inside - might be OK with a wash?
1 Small blue plastic funnel (for pouring perfume into the bottle??)
1 Dropper - rubber bulb looks perished
1 Fragrant Talc satin smooth - still has label across the holes, so am assuming it is full
1 bottle of Forget-Me-Not perfume - approx three-quarters full
1 bottle of Forget-Me-Not Bath Foam - approx half full

Ajax Radio

 

This is definitely one for the kitchen - many a cheese scone has been baked to the sound of The Archers and the seemingly repeated loop that is erm... Classic Gold, or whatever it is called now. To say the volume control is crackly is an understatement, but once you've found that sweet spot, this is medium wave nostalgia bliss!

For a cosy corner

This is what happens when you mix the old with the new! The lamp base is a fairly recent creation - the lampshade I feel is from the 1970s, though it would be at home in a room themed in the 50s, 60s or 70s depending on exacly what touch you have put to it. We no longer have a cosy corner to put it in, so it is now available. Please ask.

Vintage Coral Radiogram Clock

This clock, in the shape of a radiogram, looks as if it has come straight out of a British manufacturer sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, but it is in actual fact Japanese and was probably made in the 1970s. No matter when or where it was made, it looks fab!