Things I like

Whenever I am feeling a bit uninspired, I seem to end up on Flickr looking for pics of other peoples vintage pottery collections, vintage kitchen stuff and any kind of exciting 1970’s inspired interiors. It always seems to cheer me up for some reason, I think it’s because it reminds me of the prospect of finding some of these treasures in charity shops, car boots, Ebay etc. Although it does seem that everyone has got wise to the ‘value’ of these items and seem to be sticking ginormous prices on anything interesting I find (apart from The Ark in Albert Road, Southsea).

Yesterday we went to the Chichester car boot and Chris had a ridiculous row with someone on a stall about a vase:
Chris (picking up some reproduction almost-Whitefriars style vase that we’ve already got) – ‘Look at this, do you want another one Sarah’
Bloke on stall – ‘That’s Whitefriars that is, worth a lot of money’
Chris – ‘Well, actually no it’s not, it’s a reproduction… nice vase though’
Bloke on stall – ‘Yes it is’
Chris – ‘No it’s not’
Bloke on stall – ‘Yes it is, it’s Whitefriars, it’s worth a lot of money’
Chris – ‘It’s not Whitefriars, believe me’
… and so on, it probably could have gone on in the same way for 10 minutes. Last year, whatever car boot I went to, if I saw anything vaguely ‘retro’ or the odd Hornsea Bronte patterned item (which is hardly difficult to find), before I’d even touched it the stallholder would be like ‘Yeah that’s Hornsea, from the 70’s, it’s retro, worth a lot of money’ etc – so annoying!

Anyway, these are a few of my favourite mugs / kitchen stuff photo pools, where I can look at things without getting the spiel:

Vintage mugs – http://www.flickr.com/groups/45432195@N00/
Lovers of Carlton Ware – http://www.flickr.com/groups/1184567@N20/
The Vintage Kitchen – http://www.flickr.com/groups/thevintagekitchen/
Staffordshire Retro Mugs – http://www.flickr.com/groups/retromugs/
The people who run Staffordshire Retro Mugs also have this particularly nice website, don’t like the gif-age of the pics but some fab mugs: http://www.topkop.dk/

Bought from Ebay in 2008.

1970’s money box by Carlton Ware, bought in Snoopers Paradise on the North Laines in Brighton in 2008.

Bought from Ebay in 2007, think it cost about £20 because there is crazing in the whites of the eyes. Normally they go for silly money.

1970’s Carlton Ware salt and pepper pots. The lady is salt and the man is pepper.

Bought from Ebay in 2007.