{Flashback Friday} Hallcraft Bouquet

As you all know by now, Eva Zeisel is one of my favorite all-time designers. It is only appropriate that one of these flashbacks would showcase one of her designs.

The American Home for August- 1952

This image was used to showcase several place setting pieces, from the china to the glassware and silverware. This is what was said about the Hallcraft pieces:

Despite its thrifty price, the pretty dinnerware, timeless as a sonnet, has a good chance of becoming heirloom. Its designer is one of our country's most celebrated, Eva Zeisel, winner of a flock of awards - and some of her china is already treasured by museums as full-fledged art. This pattern, called "Bouquet," is brought out by Hallcraft at $9.95 for a 16 piece starter set. Notice the free-flowing curves, the modeled look which gives Zeisel pieces their distinction - and makes them easy to store and to handle.

Hunted:: Gathered: 08/12/12

Hey lovely readers, I am a bit late this week but as they say, better late then never! I have a few finds I'm excited to share with you.

Any of you recognize this piece? I found a smaller version of this bowl some time ago at a nearby estate. This weekend there was another estate sale at the same place! I'd found some lovely pieces the first time around so I was excited to see what was there this time. I was surprised to find some new things that hadn't been put out previously. One of them being this lovely Eva Zeisel bowl for Schmid.

The other new piece was this little Cathrineholm Lotus bowl! The bowl is a little one at 5-1/2" wide but it doesn't have any chips. What it does have is some calcium/ lime deposits along the interior. Anyone know how to remove these?

I decided to swing by a swap meet that I haven't been to in a long time. I don't know why I chose this particularly HOT weekend but I did. As a result I found this lovely Coquille piece by Flygsfors. It caught my eye and I picked it up to inspect it. One of the ladies running the booth shouted out a price and I felt really bad. I don't think they were selling much and so I bought it out of guilt. I'm glad I did!

Lastly, I found this lovely porcelain sugar bowl. It is unmarked and I can't seem to find an ID for it. I've checked some of my usual suspects but this piece isn't from any of their lines. Do any of you have a clue as to who this may be by?

I'm hoping to be a lot more productive this week now that the Olympics are over. I tried to pry myself away from watching them at times but I couldn't help it. I loved watching some of the events live. However, don't get me started on the "Primetime" NBC TV coverage. 

Have a great week all!

Hunted:: Gathered: 04/21/12

So is everyone having a good week? I hope so! It's been a bit of a roller-coaster for me but it's having a much better ending than beginning.
I haven't kept it a secret that my local thrifts haven't been abundant. A lot of my latest finds have been through estate sales and even from picking antique malls. I've even started picking Etsy! While I find myself telling a lot of sellers what they have there are some things that I just have to have.

My very first Etsy pick is this lovely platter in the Raymor Capri line by Michael Lax. I found my very first piece from this line when I had just started thrifting in SoCal. I picked it up and considered the price of $2.99. It was a divided bowl that I just didn't need at the time, but it was so beautiful! Luckily the boy is much better at just going for things and insisted that I get it. There was a fellow thrifter stalking me hoping I would put it down. I didn't. I paid quite a bit more for this one but I don't often come across these pieces.

Last weekend I was on my way to a swap meet and as soon as I got off of the freeway there was a loud tapping sound that lasted for a few seconds. It scared the crap out of me! Not long after, a maintenance light came on in my car. Uh oh. Just the day before the same light had come up and it turned out to be low air pressure in one of my tires. Since I had corrected the problem the day before (or so I thought) this shouldn't have happened. I called the boy in a panic, after all of my driving was I not going to be able to walk through the swap meet. These are life altering decisions here! (kidding)

He told me to relax, that I'd be able to walk around for a bit but that I should go to the nearest dealer. He thought they may have mounted the tire wrong. As I walked around the swap meet I couldn't help but worry about being stranded in the parking lot. I hurriedly walked around and then decided enough was enough and started walking back. Luckily I spotted a red Dansk platter that caught my eye and stopped for a second. I knelt down and saw this funny little scale next to it. I had seen it before on Alamodern's site and so I knew it was special. I was playing around with it and thought it was broken at first but it turns out it is just ingeniously designed! (The clear part rotates freely so that you can weight items in kg or lb)

So my trip to the swap meet wasn't a total miss after all. I went to the nearest dealer and their service center was closed! While there I took another look at the tire and noticed a nail sticking out on the inside part of the tire. I put some air in the tire and crossed my fingers that I'd make it home, taking all of the side streets of course.

Luckily I have a handy dandy Mister who has some (tire plugs)? and look at what he took out of the tire! Does that count as a find? If it does I'd rather not find those things in my tire again. ;)

Later in the week I went on my usual weekly route and came back empty handed. I visited 8 thrifts and all I got was an emptier gas tank. That's been the story for the past few weeks. It happens.

Eva Zeisel- Teapot in Museum White for Castleton

Yesterday, I decided to try my luck at another usual thrift. Different than the ones from my 'loop' and look at what I found. I couldn't believe my eyes and must have looked stunned 'cause I didn't move, kind of like a tiger ready to pounce. Since I found a nice set from this line last month the curves were as clear as day in my mind. The lid, the handle, the spout and the color. I picked it up and I turned it over, no marks. That's probably why it was still there. I'm sure if it had a floral pattern it would've been gone!

I was ecstatic, my heart was racing and as if it weren't enough I went through the rest of the store looking for more. In the end she was the only one, but boy was she a good one! Finding a lot of these pieces recently only makes me wonder if I've overlooked them in the past. I probably have. It's the nature of the game and one can only look forward.

So did you have an eventful week? I'll be linking up with Selena and Sophie and hope you do too.

Hunted::Gathered: 03/17/12

Phewy! This weekend's rain is surely starting to make up for our dry winter here in SoCal. The boy had been telling me all week to get all of my "things" done before the weekend. Did I listen? Sort of. One of my things was to go on my usual thrift run which I did mid-week. Unfortunately I did not find much. Local thrifts have been low on goodies that I'd like to get my hands on. However, estate and rummage sales have been pretty great. Not only that but sometimes their prices are even better!

This week I couldn't resist this fun leather? clutch. It is in great shape and I love the brass detailing. It was a bit spendy for this type of item, but the estate sale lady said it was leather. It is supple, and I had a feeling that it was leather but I don't know if there are any tricks to help determine that. Does anyone have any tips?

I've been having luck with Kokeshi's lately. This one is quite large and is a Sakunami Kokeshi. This is the first one I've found that has beads inside and so it rattles. As I was reading up on them I learned that Kokeshi's were originally children's rattles but are now mainly souvenir items.

This is another Kokeshi that I found at the same rummage sale. Isn't he cute! He's the first boy in my little Kokeshi clan. I couldn't resist taking a picture of both of them together so that you could get an idea of the scale of the large one. I would say the boy is about 6" tall so you can just imagine how HUGE the other one is.

This find was actually from a thrift store. They are a sugar and creamer set in the Prestige design by Eva Zeisel for Federal Glass. I didn't realize how many pieces are missing from this set until I saw this page. I'm going to have to go back and see if the remaining pieces were orphaned at the thrift.

Lastly, I couldn't believe my eyes! These pieces were at a local estate sale. I recognized the bowls immediately because it is one of my look-for items. I have an Eva Zeisel service in white that I found at a thriftstore years ago. I've been slowly adding to it whenever an item pops up locally. I did not have any of these pieces so I was extremely excited. They are in great shape too! There were other pieces of white dinnerware that were not Zeisel so I was unsure if the ladle was a Hallcraft piece. I bought it anyway because I recently picked up a gravy boat in the Harlequin pattern and I figured it couldn't hurt. When I did some research at home I learned that the ladle is also from her Hallcraft line. YES! They often get lost in the shuffle because they are not marked. I assume that due to this they are quite expensive, even for being such a small piece. I'm beyond ecstatic about finding it because I don't see myself ever paying retail for these pieces because I'm awfully cheap.

I have some aces up my sleeve that I may share with you this week. As a teaser I'll let you know that it involves Glenn of California. :)

So... what did you find this week? I'll be linking up with the lovely ladies Sophie and Selena.

Hunted:: Gathered: 03/10/12

Luck be a lady...

This week's common thread is that all of the pieces featured were carefully crafted by lovely ladies. Coincidentally, this week we had International women's day. Hurrah for women!

While I am not 100% sure, I believe this vase can be attributed to Tamara Aladin for Riihimaki/ Riihimaen. She was active with them from 1959-1976. I am the proud owner of other pieces by her.

This lot contains designs by one of my all-time favorites, Eva Zeisel. The four glasses in the front are from the Prestige line for Federal glass. On the top left is a gravy boat from her Century line for Hallcraft in the Harlequin pattern. In the top center is a lone shaker from the Century line as well but I believe it to be a reissue from Royal Stafford for Crate and Barrel. I know that the reissues are in an ivory tone and I couldn't tell until I paired it with the gravy boat. Can you see the difference? Lastly is a creamer in Metallic Brown/ Bronze from the Town and Country line for Red Wing. I couldn't resist this piece since it is my first piece of hers for Red Wing. I actually found it at an antique shop and it was properly identified but it was somewhat low in price.

Another first for me were pieces by Victoria Littlejohn who was a native California potter. These are some of her more typical Victorian home wall plaques but I didn't care because I'd passed up a wall hanging of hers before and was not about to do it again.

Then as luck would have it, I found another piece of hers. This time it was an actual pot/ planter signed by her. The bottom isn't very flat so I thought there was another piece that went along with it. I searched high and low at the thrift. I was also thrown off by her signature which is by the top rim, I didn't know which way was right side up!  It also has some cement-ish type residue near the top that I've tried to scrub away to no avail. The residue is on the unglazed part of the planter so I am hesitant to treat it with harsh chemicals. Anyone have suggestions?

That about wraps up my goodies! I hope you all had a great week and I can't wait to see your finds. If you have some extra time, take a quick look at a mini-DIY I did this week.

Cheers!

Hunted:: Gathered: 01/28/12

The Glass Menagerie

This week's finds have one thing in common. They are all glass! Glass is such a tricky item and I am continuously learning about it. With so many things made in China, it's incredibly hard to be able to decipher what is vintage and what is new imitating a vintage shape.

This piece is one that falls into the mystery category. It isn't marked and I have not been able to identify the shape. The way that the top flares out flatly is reminiscent of some Holmegaard pieces and the olive green color was also used heavily in the past. It may or may not be vintage. Anyone out there have any leads, otherwise only time will tell.

These little guys are my first find of the Eva Zeisel Prestige line for Federal Glass. I actually found eight but I sent four of them to a friend who appreciates some EZ design. They weren't a thrift store find, instead they were from a little antique shop en route home from work.

This piece I haven't been able to pinpoint either but I'm pretty convinced it is a Bo Borgstrom design for Aseda. It is incredibly heavy and thick, very similar to this one.

Since I'm continuously trying to refine my glass identifying skills, these were fresh in my mind when I saw them. They are American Modern glasses designed by Russel Wright for Morgantown. They were from a local estate sale and were priced at $1 each. I had one hesitation, they appeared to have hard water deposits. I asked the lady running the estate sale if she knew how to clean-up the glasses and she mentioned that she didn't get a chance to wash them. It turns out they were just dirty! Not only that, but she gave them to me as a gift. The catch was that I had just purchased a pretty pricey danish dining set. That's right, I straight out bought a dining set (that I intend to keep, but more on that later).

Lastly, I must not forget to mention that I also bought this 10.5" bad boy at the same estate sale. It was one of the lures of the estate sale to begin with. For those who don't know what it is, it is a Timo Sarpaneva Orkidea vase. It is signed and dated 1958.

This estate sale was a dream. The homeowners took great pride in maintaining their home and really took care of their possessions. Not only that but the lady who held it is an absolute sweetheart who runs estate sales as her passion. Her full-time job is as a realtor.

The one thing I left behind is this couch. It was priced very well but we just don't need another couch right now. The boy was open to adding this to our home, but I think it would just be too chaotic for the time being. Especially since we live on the third floor and are looking to move soon!

How about you? What did you find this week? Hope to see you at Selena's and Sophie's!

Hunted:: Gathered: 12/13/11

Is anyone else wondering "Where did this year go?". Christmas is less than weeks away, I have a milestone birthday coming up AND I'm trying to make it to 100 blog posts by the end of the year! In between house hunting, watching the lunar eclipse and working late, I've managed to do some estate sale shopping as well as thrifting.

Here are some of the latest and greatest, most from the same estate sale!

This little container caught my eye because of its retro graphic. I'm not crazy about cats but I am crazy about anything Scandinavian. It's a Laurids Lonborg piece and is small enough to hold some q-tips in the bathroom.

This bowl was designed by Eva Zeisel and is my first piece of hers in this line. It is her Schmid Ironstone line in the Stratford pattern. There were two of these bowls, mine being the largest. The other one had a lot of browning and crazing throughout so I left it behind.

My last piece from that estate sale was this Oiva Toikka bowl from the Flora line. It's about 9 inches wide and in great shape. Can you believe I bought all of these pieces on the last day of the sale, meaning 50% on everything! I did miss out on a few things like a Just Andersen Pewter complete condiment set. By the time I reconsidered, it was GONE! I also missed out on an Arabia pitched in a sunflower pattern and a Heath Casserole but by no means am I complaining. 

Last but not least, this ashtray/ bowl/ planter piece is by Robert Maxwell. It is the first piece of his that I find that doesn't have a large chip in it. I like its slightly grotesque details and its white glaze, if it had another level or two it would look like the Colosseum!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season, may it be merry and bright!

I'm linking up with the lovely ladies at Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl.

Hunted:: Gathered: 09/04/11

Hey all! I'm a bit late to join the party but I was pooped yesterday and didn't get around to taking photos of my goodies. Yesterday was a pretty good thrifting day... so good that I made two thrift runs! I had planned on only going to one thrift in the morning and then catching up on other things... well, I was so happy with my finds that I decided to push my luck and see if it would continue elsewhere. So here are my goodies from yesterday...

Take a close look at this bowl, at first glance it looks like Cathrineholm. However, it is plastic. This bowl was manufactured by Deka Plastics in New Jersey in the popular lotus pattern for Cathrineholm. It matches my Cathrineholm Dutch oven find from months back. I also picked it up because I wanted to learn more about it. I was completely unaware of a plastic version.

Yesterday I decided to go through the utensil bins and I found a cool cheese planer. It is vintage but in great shape. It was made in Sweden by Karlsson and Nilsson.

This vase has a funny story. Yesterday was not the first time I saw it. The first time I saw it I thought it might be Scandinavian but I wasn't sure. As usual, I snapped a picture of it on my phone and forgot about it. I decided to look through my pictures when I was at home and did a little research. I found out that it was scandinavian... now if I could only remember which thrift I saw it at. Well, we were reunited yesterday. It was half off too! In case you're wondering, this is a Piippu vase and it was designed by Aimo Okkolin for Riihimaki.

How about this cute Vera scarf... I thought the subject matter was too cute.

These are a set of crystal votives that were also around last week at the thrift. I had to snag them up this week. My self- restraint only goes so far! They are in the Sunflower pattern made by Kosta Boda.

I don't know about you but I often overlook items at the thrift. I bring some things home but everyday is a learning experience where one thing gets added into my design vocabulary. For instance, the bowl above had a tag dating it to July. It's been sitting at the thrift all this time... being overlooked by collectors and casual thrifters. I had this bowl along with another one and in my gut I thought they were Iittala. I started looking at the outside of the bowl for a clue from its manufacturing process. This one seemed similar to the Festivo candlesticks that I have. My gut was right! It is the Solaris design by Iittala designed by Tapio Wirkkala. It is no longer in production. Yea!

I like that the pattern looks like radiating rays of light... now if only I could get my hands on some Ultima Thule... I may have to resort to bartering.

Now for my favorite find of the week... just look at that lip for a clue. I saw that lip out of the corner of my eye sitting at the back of the bottom shelf. Luckily for me I was kneeling down to take a look at another item. I knew right away what it was but to be sure I had to turn it over.

Voila! It's an Eva Zeisel platter for Hallcraft. The perfect addition to my current set. I didn't have this size platter so I HAD to have it. It has a chip on the bottom but since I haven't seen any Eva Zeisel in ages I bought it anyway, especially since it matches my existing set. So there you have it, my finds for the week.

I also wanted to thank Ruth Kelly at Dian's Timpanalley for awarding me a blog award. Stay tuned this week to learn seven things about me.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend!

I'm linking up this week with Sophie and Selena.

Designer Love... {Eva Zeisel}

I've been endlessly debating about starting a designer series that includes spotlights on some of my favorite designers. I figured I would at least do one and so I chose one of my absolute favorites... Eva Zeisel.

Eva Stricker (Zeisel) was born in Budapest in 1906. In 1923, she began her painting studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest. During her studies, her mother convinced her to learn a trade and so Eva began an apprenticeship with a traditional potter.

In 1928, she designed several dinnerware pieces for Schramberg. Pat Moore, a member of Modish (a great source) published a book on Zeisel's work for Schramberg.

In 1938, she moved to New York as a newlywed with husband Hans Zeisel. The following year she begins teaching at the Pratt Institute and creates a curriculum for Industrial Ceramics. She creates designs that are manufactured by Universal Potteries, Castleton China and Red Wing to name a few.

Town and Country Line via British Museum

The shmoo that I have is unmarked but the shape is so unique and recognizable that I knew what it was right away. I found it at an antique store for .50 because it was unmarked and didn't have its pair.

Town and Country shaker for Red Wing- shmoo (schmoo)

One of the lines that I haven't been able to gather much information on is the one for Monmouth Pottery. This blog features a 1954 article on some of her pieces for them. You can also see some of the pieces here at Modish.

Eva Zeisel for Monmouth Pottery

I found a shaker that has the form of her Pals line for monmouth but it does not look like the blueberry glaze to me. It actually looks like one of the glazes for Red Wing. I also found this one (at the same antique store as the shmoo shaker) for a mere .50! It took me ages to figure out what it was but I thought the shape was really neat and the price was just unbeatable.

Eva Zeisel- Hallcraft Classic Century

 

One of the lines that I've been lucky to get my hands on is the Classic Century Dinnerware for Hallcraft. It was originally designed in 1952. In 2004, it was re-launched by Royal Stafford and is carried by Crate & Barrel. That alone should be a testament to the beauty and understated elegance of the set.

Luckily for me, I found a 32 piece set in pristine condition at a local Goodwill. The thrifting gods were looking over me because I had never been to this Goodwill and the only reason I went that day was because I dropped the boy off for a bike ride. I was looking through the housewares section and I always look at the white dinnerware. I liked the shape of one of the serving bowls and so I picked it up. When I turned it over I almost fell over with excitement, not only because I read Eva Zeisel but because it also read set of 31! I momentarily panicked because I didn't have a basket. Well, somehow I managed to carry all (32 not 31) of them to the register.

Later in the year I came across a hard to find 4 part relish dish in the Sunglow Pattern. The line is Classic Century for Hallcraft. If you feel so inclined, I would take a gander at some of her patterns for Hallcraft. They are quite stunning. 

I love her work so much that when I was browsing craigslist for her stuff I found the large set above listed in the Bay Area. The price was unbelievable and I immediately sent an email to a dear friend of mine about the find. Luckily, she was in the market for a tableware set and snagged it right up!

She also made designs for the Riverside Ceramics Company, United China & Glass, Sears, Clover Box Co., Salisbury Artisans, Federal Glass Co. and so on. You can see a complete chronology of her life and work here.

I badly want to find this book at a thrift!

It is nearly impossible for me to cover all of her work because I haven't even seen most of it. She is one designer that I continuously pursue. She has an incredibly extensive body of work that continues to amaze me. She is over 100 years old and continues to work and inspire. As a result, she was awarded a lifetime achievement award in 2005 by the Cooper-Hewitt.


You can see some of her pieces at UNICA, Klein Reid, The Rug Company, The Orange Chicken, Crate and Barrel and Design Within Reach.

My only hope is that after reading this you have added one more designer to your list of notable designers. You can continue learning about her through the various links that I've provided. If you have anything to add please feel free to comment below. If you want to share some insight on some of your favorite designers I would love to hear it!

Information was extracted from the Eva Zeisel Forum and MODish.