April's Purchases - Freddies of Pinewood and Vintage Homewares!

Usually I can afford to treat myself to a couple of things every few weeks, so as of this month I plan to do a regular post about the more interesting items I pick up.

Recently, I've been trying to refine my tastes. Peviously, I went for just about anything 1950s, whereas now I'm focussing more on more mid century modern and atomic styles in homewares and furniture. I'm also not allowing myself to buy things unless I need them or really, REALLY like them. Here is a little cruet set I picked up; I especially love the wirework and the little plastic spoon that comes with the mustard pot, it has a tiki bamboo style handle!



I found this coffee pot in a second hand shop in Manchester for £5. It is by Ćmielów, a Polish manufacturer based in a tiny town of the same name with just 3,222 occupants, whose factory dates back to 1790. After seemingly doing not much at all for forty years, the factory has recently begun production of elegant but rather expensive animal figurines from original 1950s moulds. I can find very little online about the factory or any of their products apart from the modern run of Henry Moore - inspired animal sculptures, so I don't know if what I have is a rarity? I love it anyway - the design is quintessentially 1950s and it fits perfectly in with the design and colour plan I have for my fantasy future kitchen!



In complete contradiction to what I just said, I also collect uranium glass , and bought this lovely ring bud vase this month. Uranium glass (also referred to as Vaseline or depression glass, though not entirely correctly) was produced commercially from the mid 19th century until the start of the cold war when uranium production was deferred to the arms industry. In the US, none was produced between WWII and 1958 due to the government's tight control of the substance. The heyday of uranium glass was the 1920s - 30s, and some wonderful art deco designs arose. My collection consists mainly of pieces from this era. It is oddly plentiful in certain charity shops! I think this piece might be early 1920s... it is the highest quality piece I own, being more of a yellowish hue and having cut rather than pressed decoration. Uranium glass glows an amazing bright green under UV lighting, you can see in the picture how it is fluorescing slightly in the sunlight.



I have around fifteen pieces, and that is the extent of my cheating on the 50s with other decades... then again, what could be more of a nod to the atomic age than radioactive housewares?

My last purchase in April was some jeans from Freddies of Pinewood who are having a huge sale at the moment - many of their fantastic retro styles are down to just £20! I got the 'Classics' in black. The design and quality of them is great and so flattering, but I think I do need to lose a little weight for them to fit correctly. I got their biggest size which is 38" waist, 48" hip. My measurements are 36/49, so they are a bit tight across the tummy. I am losing weight slowly on my diet of careful calorie control and occasional cupcake blowouts, so hopefully soon they'll fit just fine and I can simply adjust the waistband to take account of my large waist-to-hip difference. I would also love some of their pedal pushers!



Jeans - Freddies of Pinewood
Sweater - Vintage, eBay
Bandana - Vintage, Affleck's Palace
Cherry Pumps - Rockers England

Little Scamp dog is invading my picture!