Look what I've got!

I have to admit that I am finding it hard to be upbeat with my half empty nest. That happy, jumpy, excited feeling I usually get when playing with my Gorgeous Things has been passing me by! But then, the other day, this little kitchen cabinet popped into my life, and I am feeling a little tiny bit of the old bounce returning.

It needs some care and attention - look the poor old drop down leaf is dangling by a thread! If I take that strap off, then the whole thing half falls off. But the colour is sooooooo 50s and all the knobs are original, and in great condition. Now, here's the thing, I am a painter of furniture, so I would normally get the sandpaper and paint out and set to..... BUT this is in its original colour which, I think, is totally and stunningly fab. A bit scratched and scuffed, but still FAB. So no paint will be sloshed over this old girl! She will be carefully washed with some good old fashioned Vim powder (remember that stuff? I love it); her poor old broken leaf will get some new hinges; and she will get a soothing coat of wax to protect her. And then she'll be off to Bourne Mill where she'll be used to display my ever growing 1950s kitchenware collection. I suppose I ought to offer her for sale as well, but I'm not sure I can bear to part with her just yet!

So what else have I been up to whilst quietly pining for Little Thing 1, you may ask? Well, maybe you won't ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway. The clue is in the word - pining - I have been painting a few pieces of pine furniture I have had skulking around the workshop for longer than they should have been! AND I have been playing with a new paint colour (new to me, that is).

I normally use a very neutral palette, because a) that is what I have always used in my house, so I am used to it and love it, and b) because I assume my customers will find it easier to fit into their homes. But I rather rashly decided to start experimenting with some stronger colours. So this is the first piece off the production line - in Farrow and Ball (of course!) Stone Blue. Of course, I couldn't resist a little bit of decoupage on the interior of those doors - just jollies it along I thought. But, silly me, when I took it up to the shop on Friday I forgot the shelf - duh! So, I shall be sprinting up there as soon as I have finished this post to put the shelf in - let's hope noone has noticed!

It is a pretty strong colour, but I am SOooooo pleased with the result. What do you think? It provides a lovely blast of colour in the shop - I love the way it looks with the Midwinter tureen (pattern Cassandra).

So here is a gratuitous photo of it nestling in the shop.

oops, just slipped another quick picture of the shop in! I had a little reorganise on Friday - I removed some of the "stuff" off a couple of the pieces of furniture, as I think people can't see that the furniture is for sale when it is obliterated by things (even if they are Gorgeous Things!). But I still think there is too much stuff on the furniture - ah well!

Gorgeous Glass

I love all glassware - as anybody who knows me, or visits the Gorgeous Things Flagship Store at Bourne Mill will know. But the coloured glass is just soooooo divine. Here is one of my shelf units covered in lovely, jubbly coloured glassware. On the top shelf here is a 60s lemonade set which is a real cracker - the jug is a great shape - sleek and tall - and the set of glasses not only are in harlequin colours (my favourite) but have an unusual lustre to them.

I have soooooo much glassware (and other gorgeous vintage things!) waiting to go up to the shop - would you like to see some of it? 

Some lovely blue glass here - and, of course, the sparkly cake stands.

This milk glass goblet shaped vase is more unusual. It is by Anchor Hocking an American company who produced a lot of this type of glass in the 30s, and it has their impressed mark on the base - it is quite unusual to find makers marks on glass, so I was very excited when I found this one! Although my photo may not do it justice, it has grapes and vine leaves impressed on the sides. It is really pretty!

I'm not so sure about the little Virgin Mary statue - she is an experiment. I have painted her in Farrow and Ball Pointing - so she looks all virginal! She is definitely a unique "interesting" object. I am having a bit of a thing at the moment for painting things other than furniture - like statues of Virgin Mary, wooden bowls, biscuit barrels, basketware etc. I love the clean but old kind of look about them - you know, they look like they are old, loved objects which have been refreshed to give them a new lease of life. I suppose that is what I like to achieve will all my painted furniture.

So, are you ready for a bit of colour again, now?

Here are some more of the lovely, 50s stuff I'm getting ready to make a display of in the shop.

And some more....

Got any favourite pieces amongst this lot? I know I have!

As soon as I have the new set of shelves painted and ready, these lot will be going up to the shop, and there will have to be a serious sort out and rearrangement day (what fun!)

I am always happy to chat about any of my items further if you are interested in them - just email me. (Don't worry, there is never any obligation! Browsers and chatters are most definitely welcome!!!)

The Glamorous Fifties

So glamorous! So stylish!

I was just saying to Mr. Things the other day over a cup of tea - why don't the young Things and I go and visit my very good friend in France as soon as school is over for the summer. We've been invited to spend a week near the glamorous Biarritz. So I have consulted the travel brochures ....

It looks pretty sophisticated - I'm going to need to glam up! I'll need  a nice frock to travel by air - this one from Horrockses might do..

...but I think I'll take a handbag rather than a coffee pot (not sure what that's all about). Oh and gloves - yes dress gloves will be needed.

And when I get there I can sun myself and frolic on the beach...

...all whilst looking incredibly glamorous, of course!

I have a modest collection of 1950s magazines - they are fascinating to leaf through. The articles are pretty interesting, but the photos, and some of the ads are brilliant - really evocative of the era. While I was setting up my latest gorgeous things to show you, I suddenly thought that a couple of 50's magazines might help to set the scene. But, of course, I couldn't resist checking through them, and was amazed to find the article on Biarritz - I have literally just booked flights to go there this morning - spooky coincidence. So I managed to waste (?) quite a bit of time day dreaming about the 1950s.

Well, I ran out of time to finish photographing my 50s themed china collection, but I'll show you some of the snaps, as it must be time for another picture...

I have amassed quite a quantity of Midwinter Stylecraft and other 50s china. It is just so amazingly jolly! I just picked a few of my yellowy themed bits and pieces here.

The picture above has one small difference to the previous one - can you spot what it is? Sorry, no prizes - well not today! Let's have a closer look at the detail on the different thing.

Oh my, those colours are so pretty! And I can't wait to set up the turquoisey themed pieces, and then the black/red/grey one - oooooh, I'm getting hip hoppy happy thinking about setting that lot up!

As you can probably guess, I'm supposed to be getting some of my 50's china collection ready for the shop, but I wanted to show you some of it first - cos I'm sure it'll all be snapped up and gone in a jiffy once it's over at Bourne Mill.  I've got loads more to photograph, so if you fancy seeing some more I'll post again tomorrow (and try not to spend too long looking through the magazines!).

This little number by Johnson Brothers is called "Gay Fantasy" - I was thinking of titling this post the same, but I'm not sure whether the audience I attracted might be rather disappointed by the content! Still, it might get my hit count up! Hmmm.

Toodle pip!