Busy Susan

During the holidays there wasn't a lot of time to go thrifting, but I was still able to go to one market nearby. There were a few nice things, so I just wanted to show you the last finds of 2013. From left to right we found a vase from the Dutch designer Max Verboeket for Maastricht Unie, with a very pretty purple swirl, a plastic orange Busy Susan spice rack by the Danish company Digsmed DK, a very kitsch 1970s or 1980s cat brooch, with creepy little red eyes, and last but not least a Riihimaki vase by Tamara Alladin, which will be added to my Riihimaki collection.

Digsmed were a Danish company, there isn't a lot of information available about them. It looks like they made mostly kitchen and table ware, mainly in teak. There is a report that the company was located in Roskilde and closed in 1975, although this information is not verified.

The spice rack I found is called a Busy Susan, they are named on the original box (that sadly didn't come with my purchase). These also came in teak, which are very cool as well. There is even a teak version available with an amazing 18 bottles. They can be mounted on the wall, and the wheel they are on turns. What I love about the item is it's functionality, this could easily be used in a modern kitchen, or even to store little knick-knacks in.

If you have any more information on Digsmed, please leave a comment, as I would love to know! I'm sure there must be more sources about this factory in Danish, maybe we'll find out more in the future!

Catching a Bullet Vase

I know I mentioned this before, but part of why I do this is because I LOVE going out and hunting for new items to add to my collection or shop. Once a month there is a huge second hand market close to my home that has about 250 to 400 stalls. The good thing about this fair is that the sellers often vary, so you won't run into the same (frustrating) chipped vase or that beautiful piece you cannot afford every single time.

Last weekend was the last fair of 2013, and in my experience the one before Christmas is often the best and busiest, both in number of sellers and number of visitors. Obviously that meant I had to be there early to catch the proverbial worm, so early that it was still dark when my alarm clock started ringing.

Even though it was early on a Sunday morning, I was glad I made the effort, because there was already a line forming to go in when I arrived. Smart little trick I picked up over the years, and that I would like to share with you now: directly walk to the end of the hall and start at the back! Most people will automatically start at first rows, so it will be more crowded there. At the back you'll have plenty of room to start your browsing session.

It was a good day indeed, as you can see I found loads of pretty things! From left to right you can see an original roll of seventies wallpaper, two American pyrex dishes from 1975 (very rare to find these in the Netherlands!), a yellow Sklo Union Bullet or Lens vase, a set of six shot glasses in original rack from the fifties or sixties by the german company Ruhrglas, a green Ruscha 346 vase, a vintage dalarna horse, and a Sklo union candlewax vase by Frantisek Peceny (the larger version).

Because it is almost Christmas, I was hoping to find some Czech glass from one of the factories grouped under the umbrella term Sklo union, as my mum is a collector of these vases. She particularly loves the Bullet or Lens vase, designed in 1955 by Rudolf Schrötter for Rosice glasswork, and produced from that year onwards. 

Her collection started with one yellow bullet vase that came from my grandma. I'm not a 100% sure, but I think my grandma might have actually bought it new during a trip to Prague in the seventies. However, my mum now has 14 small bullet vases in different colors, and the larger model in 7 different shades. They are presented on the windowsill, and they look lovely with sunlight shining through them. 

Originally these vases were made in 12 different colors: clear, turquoise, dark green, spring green, amber, yellow, citrin, light blue, mid-blue, cobalt blue, rosalin, amethyst, lilac, smoke. It is getting increasingly harder to find a color variation she doesn't own yet, so finding a yellow colored bullet vase, similar to the one that started it all, but this time in the large model, really made my day!

Chariots of Fire

Remember the classic Egyptian inspiration for this Uebelacker vase that I wrote about a few weeks ago? Well, I have another German take on the classics for you today!

As we have had amazing autumn weather for the last two weeks, we decided to pick up my parents (who love a bit of antique-hunting themselves - I didn't get this passion from a stranger) and drive to Germany for the last few outdoor markets of this year.

These treasure hunts are what made me start collecting and selling vintage goodies in the first place. The thrill of the find, the feeling of anticipation and excitement on the way to the first market; you never know what you might find. We've had times when we came away with one small vase, but luckily we've also had trips were we returned with a car full of goodies.

This time we found some lovely items, the weather was good, it was great to spend time with my parents, people understood my German, and we had a Bratwurst. What more can one wish for?

One of the most enjoyable finds was this stunning baby blue vase with a décor of horse-drawn chariots, made by Jopeko. We found this beauty on the biggest market of the day, which mostly had people selling new items, and only a few sellers of used items. It is always difficult to predict if this will be the case in Germany, as both types of markets are called Trödelmarkt.

Jopeko 509-18, design from 1958

  

Even though this market didn't seem to be what we were looking for, we still decided to do a quick round, and at the last stand I spotted this vase, standing at the back of the stall. The lady who sold the vase told us that it was given to them by a Greek neighbor, and told them that it was a souvenir from Greece! At that time I couldn't read the markings on the vase, but I was still pretty sure that it was a fifties or sixties vase made by a West-German factory, so I bought it anyway.

When we came home, and it was time to do a bit of research, I found out that the vase is actually marked Foreign on the bottom, and not the usual West-Germany. I'm still wondering if the neighbor did actually buy the vase in Greece and brought it back to Germany, or if he bought it in Germany and didn't tell them or the story was remembered incorrectly.

Greek Amphora, British Museum

My first hunch, based on the shape of the vase, was that it was made by Kreutz or possibly by Jopeko. The sweet folks on the Pottery and Glass forum helped me out again, and they confirmed that it was indeed made by Jopeko. The shape of the vase was designed in 1958. This décor can also be found in black on red, and black on brown, even though in that case the chariots are in relief, and not impressed, as is the case with this example.

The image of horse-drawn chariots was of course based on decorations on ancient Greek and Roman vases, and this masculine, powerful image  was often used on West-German pottery, for example by Ruscha on wall-plaques and by Scheurich on floor vases.

The black on the light blue background works extremely well, and the slender handle make this a very elegant vase. Although the decoration is clearly inspired by the classics, the shape is quite innovative, and very Mid Century Modern.

I would love to hear if you have any clues if the vase might actually have come from Greece, if you have similar stories, please leave a comment!