It is nearly upon us, there are only four weeks to go. Your budget is looking sour and you have not purchased all the presents. Panic is setting in or at least concern. Here is an idea that might help, although it did not originate with me.
Do you remember last Christmas when there were not enough plates to go around and you were forced to use your best ones? With all those children present it was a recipe for disaster. You were lucky as there were no breakages, but it was a near miss. Here is the idea.
Go Retro this Christmas !
Retro? Has he finally taken leave of his senses? No I have not. Recently when visiting a friend, I noticed that instead of using new plates, Phillip and his lovely wife were using plates dating back over fifty years. The soup plates were Susie Cooper whilst the main course was served on twin tone Poole plates. I must admit the wine glasses were new but when we received our coffee later in the evening it was served in 1953 Coronation cups.
My friends are rather retro obsessed and have a copy of a James Dean movie poster (not anoriginal) over their fireplace and a few film stills behind glass in one of the guest rooms. They have a retro record player dating from the 1960/70s (and yes it still works) and a large number of LPs and a few singles (Simon Dupree & The Big Sound). Their house whilst very modern does have a great feel to it. The new and the not so new.
But it was that one idea that appealed to me. Retro crockery if you like.
If you look in the Arcade or any boot or jumble sale, you will find cups and saucers and plates made by companies such as Meakin or Midwinter or from designers such as Susie Cooper (and I am only scraping the surface). A lot of these items were mass produced and that is why they are easy to find. Almost every time I look I find examples of all the work of all the large companies dating from the 1930s onwards. And here is the good news; you will not break the bank when purchasing these items.
At the beginning of the year, my daughter asked me to look out for a Poole Coffee Set.
It took me a matter of weeks to find one as well as a huge selection of twin tone plates and bowls. All for eighteen pounds. That might seem like an awful lot of money but you did not have to carry the box up the hill. If I broke the cost down, then each item would have cost the equivalent of thirty pence. You do not get much for thirty pence these days. If you are of a gentler persuasion and do not want to risk upper body injuries then there are always a lot of single items to be found.
Earlier this week, I purchased four or five Meakin plates and a Midwinter dish for £1.50. As far as I could see they dated from the 1950s and were in very good condition. I often buy later Susie Coopers which we use on special occasions. These items are kept in our cupboards which are filling up nicely. Even Clarice Cliff can be found reasonably easily. I am not saying that you will find one of her Bizarre plates for a bargain price. But the run of the mill items are there to buy and as I have noted, you will not spend much. Fifty pence here, a pound there. In a way, as long as you like the chaos of choice then there is a great deal available. My motto is if you like it then buy it even if you are not going to use it straight away. And you do not have to limit yourself to cups and saucers or plates.
I have seen lovely gravy boats and handsome tureens all for the price of a cup of coffee.
In this short article I have only skimmed over the surface as I know that you are too busy to read anything longer. But if I have sowed the seeds of an idea then that was my intention.
It is nearly upon us, there are only four weeks to go. Your budget is looking sour and you have not purchased all the presents. Panic is setting in or at least concern. Here is an idea that might help, although it did not originate with me.
My friends are rather retro obsessed and have a copy of a James Dean movie poster (not an original) over their fireplace and a few film stills behind glass in one of the guest rooms. They have a retro record player dating from the 1960/70s (and yes it still works) and a large number of LPs and a few singles (Simon Dupree & The Big Sound). Their house whilst very modern does have a great feel to it. The new and the not so new.
you look in the Arcade or any boot or jumble sale, you will find cups and saucers and plates made by companies such as Meakin or Midwinter or from designers such as Susie Cooper (and I am only scraping the surface). A lot of these items were mass produced and that is why they are easy to find. Almost every time I look I find examples of all the work of all the large companies dating from the 1930s onwards. And here is the good news; you will not break the bank when purchasing these items.
Earlier this week, I purchased four or five Meakin plates and a Midwinter dish for £1.50. As far as I could see they dated from the 1950s and were in very good condition. I often buy later Susie Coopers which we use on special occasions. These items are kept in our cupboards which are filling up nicely. Even Clarice Cliff can be found reasonably easily. I am not saying that you will find one of her Bizarre plates for a bargain price. But the run of the mill items are there to buy and as I have noted, you will not spend much. Fifty pence here, a pound there. In a way, as long as you like the chaos of choice then there is a great deal available. My motto is if you like it then buy it even if you are not going to use it straight away. And you do not have to limit yourself to cups and saucers or plates.
I have seen lovely gravy boats and handsome tureens all for the price of a cup of coffee.