Vintage pieces/ Copenhagen, Denmark

Left: Wall plaque from Scholm, Right: Plate from Bornholmsk Keramik, Photography: Marcus Hay

Left: Salt pig from Royal Copenhagen, Right: Dish by Royal Copenhagen, Photography: Marcus Hay

Right: Vase by Nils Thorsson, Left: Shallow bowl by Nils Thorsson, Both for Royal Copenhagen
Photography: Marcus Hay

Left: Gold Candleholder, Right: Royal Copenhagen Fajance bottles, Photography: Marcus Hay

Left: Royal Copenhagen Fajance dish, Right: Annette Fajance Royal Copenhagen pitcher
Photography: Marcus Hay

Left: Various blue bowls Right: Bowl from Scholm, Photography: Marcus Hay

Left: Small pots, Handpainted, Right: Bowl from Bornholmsk Keramik, Photography: Marcus Hay

I thought I would share with you some of the pieces I have picked up thus far from Copenhagen at various Flea Markets and Stores, It is an amazing experience to actually see so much on mass and to see Danish people so knowledgeable and excited to buy these pieces, largely from the 1950's to 1980's.

I have always been a big fan of Royal Copenhagen, The styles can be quite varied as many different artists contributed to the brand during this era, while I am quite familiar with some of the silhouettes here, I also managed to pick up some I have never seen, like the matching bottles with stoppers.

I have also fallen in love with many pieces from Bornholmsk Keramik, Some I am still identifying but am having a great time doing so, It's amazing how much you can learn in just one trip.

Thanks to my wonderful hosts Neill Seeto and Damien Miller for showing me around this trip, they are helping me open my eyes even more so to Denmark's hidden treasures. 

Poole Pottery/ Freeform, 1950's

An example of Freeform vases by Poole Pottery, designed 1950's

Left: Promotional plate used as signage in stores for Freeform, Right: Freeform vases

Left: pattern Trail vases, Right: Totem pattern shallow bowl by Diane Holloway

Left: Artists at work in the Poole Factory, Dorset, England in the 1950's
Right: The Freeform collection of Poole expert John Clark

Left: Unusually shaped Freeform bowl, Right: Platter, owned by myself

Left: Freeform vase owned by myself, Right: Another design in the same silhouette 

Left: lamp bases designed in Freeform range, Right: platter

Left: Tiles designed by Poole in the same period to promote Dorset, Right: Freeform vase

Left: Some quite unusual colors for Freeform in vases, Right: Freeform bowl

Often the most sought out and the most pricey to collect is the Freeform range from Poole Pottery, based in Dorset, England. Designed by Alfred Read and Guy Sydenham, Poole Pottery launched the Freeform range in 1956-57. Consisting of nine slip-cast 'freeform' shapes decorated in eight new patterns and some hand-thrown shapes, with ten additional new hand-painted patterns all designed by Ruth Pavely and Ann Read.

Influenced quite heavily by Scandinavian studio Pottery of the period such as Gustavsberg and their work with one of my heroes Stig Lindberg, Scandinavian design was well ahead of the pack in the 1940s and it was in the mid 1950s that UK and USA began to catch up using shapes colours and glazes being produced by the leading Scandinavian factories.

I love the patterns that are used on the silhouettes of these vases and bowls, The soft but structured designs that were largely produced in dusty pastels, It's amazing that they are all so intricately painted by hand. 

I am lucky to own 2 pieces that I have acquired over the years but these guys are not easy to find and if you do, you have to be prepared to pay premium prices. 

Please note: Some of these images have been kindly supplied by John Clark, who generously reached out to me to share his knowledge of this period of Poole Pottery. I am afraid in my first post I did not get all the information right, This general post of Freeform also cover the Contemporary period that John pointed out is in fact often mistaken as Freeform but actually encompasses 2 periods of Poole.


For interested collectors of Poole, There is also good information in a catalogue from the 1997 “Poole in the 1950s” exhibition that John Clark co-hosted with Richard Dennis at his gallery in London. The catalogue is still in print and can be purchased through the Richard Dennis Publications website, as can the best book on the pottery “Poole Pottery” by Hayward and Atterbury which has information on all periods.
http://www.richarddennispublications.com/shop/category-46-book-list

Poole Pottery/ TwinTone Range 1940/50's

Left: The stamp found on Poole Pottery. Right: TwinTone platter in Ice Green, Photo's courtesy of Yay Retro

Left: Freeform flower troughs in Lime Yellow and Sea Gull, 1956/57, Right: The colors available in TwinTone
Images courtesy of Rob's Poole Pottery

Left: TwinTone Jam Pots, designed by John Adams, Right: Cucumber Sandwich trays

Left: Lidded Hot Water Jug in Ice Green, Right: Collection of Teapots and pitchers from above

Left: Sky Blue and Dove Gray Salt and Pepper, 1958-81, Right: Teapot from 1960's

Left: Tea set collection in Mist Blue and Dove Gray, Right: Coffee Pot in the same series

Left: A massive collection of TwinTone, Right: Free Form vase in Black and White,
Not strictly TwinTone but in the same genre 

Left: A large collection of Poole Pottery TwinTone available at The Vintage Kitchen Store,
Right: Another beautiful FreeForm Poole Pottery vase in the same genre as TwinTone

My love affair with Poole Pottery continues on this post on Twin Tone, When I first started collecting Poole Pottery in my teens I first started with The Delphis range but quickly side stepped to also collecting the Twin Tone series. I was quickly attracted to the playful but chalky pastel colors. Some of the colors produced were called Red Indian, Seagull, Peach Bloom, Ice Green, Lime Yellow, Dove Gray and Mist Blue. Don't those colors sound yummy!..Right?

Twin Tone is called as such because obviously because the glazes are described as ‘semi-matt’ or ‘vellum’ because of their smooth feel and soft sheen, and they always come in two distinctive colors used together, The interior often being the contrast color to the exterior of the vessel. 

Twin Tone was produced right up until the 1980's, but kept it's largely 1950's feel and silhouette, In the 1960's pattern and sheen was added which reflected the era's obsession with design that was busier in design, I kind of prefer the cool stream lined Twin Tone of the 1950's the best. 

The best site on the web to read and appreciate Poole Pottery is www.robspoolepottery.co.uk Rob does an amazing job and I love reading his website. 

Poole Pottery/ Delphis Range 1960/70's

Left: Poole Delphis platters by Jean Millership, 1966-1969, Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery
Right: Packaging design for Poole Pottery

Spear shaped sweet dishes by Various Artists

Pin dishes, Left to right: Carole Holden, 1968-69, Unsigned, 1962-64, Angela Wyburgh, 1968,
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Pin dishes, Left to right: Carol Cutler 1969-76, Carol Cutler 1969-76, Geraldine O'Meara, 1966
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Platters, Left to right: Shirley Campbell, 1966-69, Carolyn Bartlett, 1966, Jean Millership, 1966-69
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Left: Right: Vase by Lynn Gregory, Platter by Carol Cutler, 1966-76
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Vases, Left to Right: Cynthia Bennet, Valerie Pullen, Ros Summerfelt
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Vases, Left to Right: Judy Evens, Carol Cutler, Christie Tate
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Left: vase by Angela Wyburgh, Right: Various stacked Delphis silhouettes

Left to Right: Carol Cutler, Angela Wynburgh, The Poole stamp on bottom of pieces during the Delphis era
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Pots, Left to right: Both by Jean Millership
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery

Carved Delphis bowls by various artists including Pamela Bevans, Patricia Wells, Angela Wyburgh and Patricia Churchouse, 1966-70
Photograph from Robs Poole Pottery 

When does one start becoming a collector, Are you born with this gene already in your genetic makeup, Is it learnt by our parents or is it a result of not getting everything you wanted as a kid so the need to collect becomes stronger as you get older. We all know someone’s mother who collects eggcups or teaspoons or everything that has to do with pigs for instance, Why do they do it?

For me, my first collection started with ceramics and I have always said it’s one of the most dangerous things you can collect with the constant fear of it always breaking in the back of your mind, Maybe that’s why in a strange way people that collect breakables want to live with that constant risk? My first collection started with discovering a piece of ceramic in my early teens that had the mark Poole on the bottom. I was intrigued by it’s amazing glaze, it’s fluidity in design, it’s smoothness, and it’s vibrancy. I came to learn later that it was part of what they call The Delphis range.

For people who know me well, they know that I have been collecting Poole for years. I collect all era’s of Poole but as there is such a large catalog, for this post I will stick to The Delphis range. Poole as a company is located in Dorset, In England. Now owned by Denby, The Company was originally founded in 1873 on Poole quayside, where it continued to produce pottery by hand before moving its factory operations away from the quay in 1999.

"Delphis" Studio wares are easily recognized: it is labeled psychedelic, with vibrant colors and designs inspired by artists such as Mondrian, Warhol, Matisse and Pollock. Launched in 1963, was initially conceived by Guy Sydenham and Robert Jefferson and later developed by Jefferson and Tony Morris, One of the most famous of the many artisans who worked with Poole over the years.

The Delphis range used a black wax resist technique to delineate abstract patterns.  Every piece is pretty much unique, with designs created by the decorators themselves, and with serendipity playing a big part too.  Marketed as "irreproducible", this was true freedom of expression that befits the 1960’s.

To encourage this experimentation and creativity initially each decorator would be given a few hours a week to produce their own work, be it models, tile panels, any artistic output they wanted.  However, Delphis became such a commercial success that demand began to encroach on these creative freedoms with over time been introduced and later with the painters terms of work changed in 1972 from an hourly rate to piece work.

On the bottom of each piece it is clearly signed by the Artist and you can collect based on knowing whose designs you respond too the most, For me I always like Carol Cutler’s work, Her signature was CC.

Hope you enjoy looking at these amazing pieces, A great source is a website called www.robspoolepottery.co.uk

Check it out, Rob has an amazing collection of Poole and his site is truly inspirational.

Inspiring Icons/ Edith Heath

Left: As a younger woman, Edith Heath, Right: A collection of Heath Ceramics in the studio

Silhouettes of Heath Ceramics, Including Salt & Pepper, Vinegar Bottle, Vases, Plates and Pouring Dish

Ceramic tiles produced by Heath Ceramics, Including their House Numbers and Inside their showroom

Left/ Right: Ones of Heath's Outlet's Signage and Showroom, Right: Photography: Corey Walter

More examples of Heath Tiles

More Silhouettes including their mugs, espresso cup and saucer, a vase, teapot, plate and children's set 

Left: Vintage Heath Casserole dishes, Right: In the studio, Including bowls, pitchers and bowls

Left: Heath Pitcher, Right: Edith Heath in the Studio

Left: Atwater Pottery for Heath, A collaboration currently in store only, Right: this season's multi stemmed vase

This seasons Desert bowl in Seasonal colors, Right: Espresso cups and saucers in yellow

Row's of Heath product In store

Heath Ceramics was a company I discovered when I moved to the U.S.A several years ago. It was actually their website I discovered first, purchasing a lot of props for The Real Simple prop cupboard which I managed as part of my job as Style Director. I loved the simplicity of their lines and their chalky matt colors that changed out seasonally. Always a fan of twin tone, the interesting use of contrasting color in say an interior of a bowl captivated me with quirky and unexpected combinations.

Heath Ceramics was founded by Edith Heath (1911-2005) who has had a lasting influence on Californian design through pottery. An Iowa farm girl, raised during the Depression and trained as a teacher, Heath worked as a studio potter in San Francisco until 1947, when a growing demand for her pieces inspired her to establish her own line of products and Heath Ceramics was born in 1948. Her parents were Danish and I think you can see this cultural influence in her work.

Edith was influenced by the art and architecture of the Bauhaus movement, pursuing simple, functional forms, and she collaborated with many of the leading architects and designers of the mid-century modern genre. Edith sadly died in 2005, aged 94, but her studio and pottery line still exist. In 2003, husband-and-wife team Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey, both ceramic artists themselves, purchased Heath Ceramics in Sausalito, where every product is still made in 2003.

The company has evolved to be ever current and their company identity and branding is always on trend, working in collaboration with other companies and designers to bring ever-revolving collections. Vintage Heath can also be admired and purchased in sections of their stores. On the West Coast, Heath defiantly has a presence and they have a number of stores and outlets that carry the full range and the seasonal offerings as mentioned.  

I love the story of Heath Ceramics and that today they are still going strong, I can’t wait to visit all their locations, I am currently in the West Coast so it strikes even more so a chord, Hope it does you too. 

Many pictures here can be found from Heath Ceramics website, check it out. 

Inspiring Design Legend/ Eva Zeisel

I had just been collecting images on Eva’s work to write a post about her inspiring design and influence on American ceramics when I heard the news that last week we lost Eva at the truly amazing age of 105. The Design world has certainly lost a legend, Born In Budapest in 1906, She studied at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts there. She lived in Germany and Russia where she was actually jailed due to a Stalin purge where she experienced horrific conditions, her reason for imprisonment never really known even to her, it seems narrowly escaping execution she went to England in 1938 and married before moving finally to NYC in 1939 where she created the department of Ceramic Arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn where she taught until 1952.

She has been credited for merging the worlds of the fine arts with mass merchandise and industrial design and introducing modernism into middleclass American homes, Her designs look like sensual modern sculptures but have a warmth and everyday quality that makes you just want to reach out and use them, She said herself: "We feel differently, more intimately, about dishes than we do about shoes or chairs or forks. If we unexpectedly come upon a chair like we used when we were children we say, 'We had a chair like that at home.' But if we come upon dishes like we used on the dinner table with our parents, we will surely exclaim: 'Look! Our dishes!” Her work is so instantly recognizable with their rounded curves, arches, teardrops and wave motifs.

Over the years she designed for well known ceramic and glass companies Hall China, Red Wing Pottery, Castleton China, Norleans Meito (Japan), Rosenthal, Royal Stafford, Noritake and Western Stoneware and more recent collaborations with Klein Reid, Chantal, Design Within Reach and The Rug Company.

Here are a smattering of her huge library of design, I cannot even touch the surface of her massive contribution to modern design, I am so sorry I never got to meet her, RIP Eva.