VINTAGE CHILDREN'S TABLEWARE FROM NORWAY

Some of my favourite pottery pieces come from the Norwegian pottery factories Figgjo Flint and Stavangerflint. They were both founded in the forties, their prime being the fifties and sixties. The two rival firms were merged in 1968 and renamed as Figgjo AS. The company is still running today, though, their style is now more simplified and serious, and very different from the style of the earlier days which heavily emphasized colourful, playful decorations.

Most of the pottery pieces I have managed to collect from Stavangerflint and Figgjo Flint are filled with whimsical, quirky characters and plants which catch the eye of my little daughter as well as mine. The two companies also had some tableware especially designed for children. Over the years I have managed to collect a few for my daughter. These pieces are all finds from charity shops and flea markets. Most of them by my dear mother in Finland.

The design on the cup pictured on the top is by Gro Pedersen Claussen for Stavangerflint. She worked for the factory from 1963 to 1967, after which she continued as a freelancer until 1975. She designed two ranges of children's tableware: To barn med sau (Two children with sheep) and Venner (Friends), from which the pictured cup is from. The set also includes a plate and a bowl. They are pretty hard to find these days and very few come to auction on eBay. I really love the style of the illustration as it reminds me of the illustrator Ingrid Vang-Nyman's work on Astrid Lindgren's children's books, which were my all time favourites as a child.

The other cup is from Figgjo Flint and shows a little child fishing. I haven't managed to find any information about the cup's designer or age, but I would assume it dates to mid fifties.

The bowl on the top picture was designed by Inger Waage who was the most prominent designer for Stavangerflint. She designed three different children's tableware sets about road safety (Trygg trafikk) and this particular plate belongs to the last one dating back to the late sixties when Figgjo Flint and Stavangerflint were merged and the bowl has both companies backstamps.

The other bowl, with a little boy and a girl with a blue car, is by Turi Gramstad Oliver who became the most celebrated designer at Figgjo Flint where she started working circa 1960. Previously she had worked for Stavangerflint while still studying. The bowl has a Stavangerflint backstamp and her signature text, "turi design". The design dates most likely back to the fifties while she was still a student.

These plates, pictured above, are from Figgjo Flint but I have been unable to trace the designer. From the style of the backstamp I can tell they are from the early fifties and therefore I can assume that they are not designed by Turi Gramstad Oliver, as she wasn't working at the factory until 1960. Anyhow, the plates are absolutely gorgeous and still in perfect condition despite being 60 years old.

VINTAGE CURTAINS

Some days ago, I was rummaging through some drawers and came across my old curtains, pictured above, from my childhood room in the early eighties. A good reminder about the fact that I wasn't exactly born yesterday, as they had a very vintage feel to them. How about you Dear Readers; can you still remember your childhood curtains?

Anyway, as we are planning to go camping this summer, I decided to turn some of the fabric into a little sleeping bag for my daughter, pictured here above. Originally, on my wish list was a rabbit print sleeping bag from a British brand called Anorak, but this is a more affordable option. And as it has rabbits on it, which my daughter loves, all the better.

Talking about vintage curtains, I recently found this lovely pair above from a vintage shop in Hebden Bridge, a charming little market town here in West Yorkshire. They were manufactured in the sixties by a company called Duro. I am usually devoted to Marimekko curtains, as I use to work for the company quite a few years, but as these vintage curtains are so pretty, they ended up in the window of my daughter's bedroom. I wonder if she will remember them 30 years from now ...

A COAT FOR MY DAUGHTER

Handicrafts have always been a huge attraction for me. Already as a little girl I was making clothes for my teddy bears, for example a quilted jacket with cotton wool stuffed inside and finished with rather large and uneven stitching. My maternal grandparents had a big influence on me, my grandmother made beautiful embroideries and my grandfather knitted striped woollen socks faster than anyone I know.

This knitted hat in the picture, above, I bought for my daughter from Cos, a Swedish clothing brand that sells quite charming and timeless children's wear, among other things. It reminded me of a bobble hat my grandfather made me when I was little. I couldn't find a matching coat for it so decided that I needed to make one myself. Perfectly matching blue woollen material I found from Fabworks in Dewsbury. The plaid lining is flannel and the detailing, zippers, buttons and piping on the back are red to match the bobble. I also added a Mickey Mouse patch to make the coat more attractive in my daughter's eyes, but I did sew it inside the coat to keep the style as I wanted. It won't be forever that I am able to unanimously decide her fashion statements, so I may as well enjoy as long as it lasts.

TWELVE MONTHS OF BJØRN WIINBLAD

As a collector I have learnt to master the skill of good excuses. Obviously there comes a point when you no longer need that extra plate or two, but you learn to find other plausible reasons why you need to get them. Another valuable asset that I have is a patient and understanding spouse, as getting something out of our ever so crowded cupboards can get frustrating.

These wall plaques above are from Danish company Nymølle and they were designed by Bjørn Wiinblad in the mid 20th century. The complete set has 12 plaques, one for each month. They tell a love story from the couple's first shy looks to them starting a family. Amongst the first two that I found from The Great Wetherby Racecourse Antiques Fair, was the December plaque which features the couple's first baby being born. And as it happens our daughter was born in December which naturally gave me an excellent excuse to start collecting them. They are now decorating the wall above her bed.

Another valid reason for this purchase was that these plaques would not take any space from the cupboards since they can be hang on the wall. It was a rather enlightening moment when I realised how much more space the walls offer for storing things.

Wiinblad's designs have the similar allure to me as Pastoraali by Esteri Tomula and Emilia by Raija Uosikkinen, both designed for Finnish Arabia. These very stylized, whimsical characters come to life with a simple use of black line (or red, as is the case above). And I can see the referencing of this style in the modern pottery decorations in Siirtolapuutarha by Maija Louekari for Finnish Marimekko and Piilopaikka by Piia Keto for Arabia.