cups

morning tea

Yellow’s everywhere isn’t it?  Instead of purchasing a ceramic pineapple or owl (the two favoured yellow homeware items I’ve noticed everywhere of late) I’ve introduced a bit more yellow into my life with these dried flowers. I bought them from Lord Butler.

what a beautiful florist with so many great ideas. It's not usually open, just while the elk sale was on (it's in the same building).

So many beautiful ideas for floral arrangments and plants and all things associated.  I walked out of this studio/warehouse seriously contemplating learning floristry.  Lord Butler isn’t usually open to walk in off the street, just while the elk sale was on (it’s in the same building).

And I have put them into my Nanna’s silver vase.  Which is perfect.  Because I don’t like to put water in this vase (I have this vague idea that it’s not good for the silver, right?  Or am I mistaken?)  and these flowers don’t need any.  I probably should polish the vase, shouldn’t I?  But then again, if I do it will show up all the other tarnished silver things I have.  And then I might be endlessly polishing silver. So on second thoughts, I think I’ll just leave it as is.

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I’ve got the vase on my kitchen table.  The flowers look great with the yellow Johnson cups and plates that I have out at the moment. And the saucer.  It’s one of my favourites. Myott.  So cheery.

 

I love green (things)

Today I present some nice green things.

1.  A green office chair.  I sit on this green office chair every day in my studio.  I bought it at the tip shop (Outlook Environment Centre at Darebin tip) for $5.  It is a great mid colour.  And I love the industrial look of the chair.  And the castors are cool too.  It’s a bit lumpy, but suits me fine.

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2. And my most favourite material in the whole world (I think) covers the chair I inherited from my great aunty.  I really and truly love it.  It is getting old and thin but I can’t bear to take it off and replace it.  I am not attached to the chair in itself … it’s all about the fabric.  I wouldn’t keep the chair without it. But while it looks somewhat respectable, I would never part with it.

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3. A green ceramic dish. I just love the colour of this dish.

4.  I think the dark green writing on this ‘dripping’ container looks pretty great with the aluminium of the container itself.

5.  I love the lumpy green ceramic cups (or are they vases?).  I am sure this type of china has a name that I don’t know about.  But I remember my nanna having it at her house.  So these remind me of her, and how she liked green.  And then I think about her wearing the most hilarious green sunnies in her 80s, and not caring one iota what we thought about them …

6.  These celadon vases look a bit pale in comparison to the other green things, but they are a wonderful bluey-green and were given to us as a wedding present by Clive’s cousins and I really love them.  I had trouble finding a home for them in my house for a long time, but then Elise gave me the green ceramic bowl/pot plant holder for our ‘second hand christmas’ one year and since then the vases and the planter have stuck together and filled various corners in my house beautifully.

cream johnson bros.
cream johnson bros. – thesecondhandcity.com

Two years ago I started a collection of Johnson ware cups because 1. I liked the fineness of the china and 2. they could handle the dishwasher.  They cheer me up immensely for my morning cup of coffee, and it is lovely to serve tea to anyone who pops past with some nice china and a teapot.   With these out you can’t go wrong!

Op shops are a great source of Johnson ware, but as it is becoming more popular and less of it is out there to be discovered for a bargain, there are other more reliable places to shop … the secondhand shop on High Street in Thornbury, for example, sells mixed china for $5 a piece.