Jaba-daba-doo!

Surely you remember them? I do. Vividly in black and white.

The day I found these three cotton tea-towels there was no hesitation to be felt in my mind. I had to get them whatever the price. Luckily they fit into my range but they weren't cheap either.

Retu, Wilma and Siru Kivinen - and Dino of course. Tahvo, Betty and Bam-Bam Soranen, Kivinen's closest neighbour.

Thinking back - oh how clever it all was!



Fred Flintstone bathing in a tortoise shell.



Fred, Barney and Dino at work...

...and Fred helping Wilma in the kitchen.

The time The Flintstones was popular was also time when the appreciation of new linen, towels and table clothes was still high thus every piece was nicely marked with the initials of the owner.

These initials also quite likely tell us that the owner of these towels had time in her hands or was wanting to be seen as an industrious house wife. She also had a great skill that I assume has already vanished amongst women. This habit of marking is a beautiful image of an era that still existed not that long ago.

On the other hand...you can still use your sewing machine or get a company to mark the towels for you.

Would be a nice touch wouldn't it?





                                                                                                       jokipiinpellava.fi

And if you think having Frend and Barney in your kitchen tea towels would equal something extreme

what about this then? You might not even have a kitchen!



                                                                                        uuldesign.com





Water, earth, wind. Fire!

That is all that brings to mind when I see this orange sheepskin.

Fire that consumes and brings forest fires. The fire of Kundalini energy. The fire of desire. Hot hot hot!

Deck's on fire!

Luckily if you tune on to Hilversum or Luxemburg it'll all begin to cool down.

THE Radio was in the family before I was born. Family treasure, not for sale. Not me. The radio.

Daring to play!

People who have seen it say it is the ugliest thing they've ever seen. I do not disagree with them. But there is some quirky beauty in it too...or maybe it is just the Scorpionic Child in me who sees that. What ever it was it tickled my fancy! It stared at me from the top shelf at a flea market with an attached tag describing its honourable age "over 20 years". The price tag asked for 20 euros. That was definitely over the top end of my purchase prices and I firmly passed by it.

For the horror of my fellow rummagers, I ended up buying it of course.

My dear mum promised to storage it for me only for a few weeks and stated it was a pity she didn't own a horse to ride around it with a banging revolver. Oh my what a real turn on for me! Now I partly know from where I've inherited my wild imagination : )

It didn't take long to find the perfect companions for this Grand Old Lady!

"Meksikon pikajuna" tuned us to sing together and now the beasts are even kicking some ass around the cactus!

I firmly believe that Mind and Matter are interacting with each other as this amazing plant has now begun to bloom. It definitely was rescued to a new life and is enlivening my mum's days as she now has an interesting process to follow. We are awaiting the prickly pears to appear and I guess mum is reluctant to let go of her delight...

I found a website presenting fantastic cactus paintings by a Korean artist Kwangho Lee and it seems to be that the weird and wonderful world of cacti gives inspiration even to furniture design.



Design Valentina Conzales



Vintage hanging

museot.fi

There was a time when shopping was still done in style. You bought your coat or dress - you got the hanger. It was equipped with the company name, city and there possibly was also a clever slogan. The item was meant to keep your expensive clothes in perfect condition with a perfect posture. The best hangers were wooden - still are.

You can buy these treasures with a few cents and create beautiful hanging displays from your favourite scarves and table linens.  Change them as your mood changes.

There is still enough time before 7th August to go and see "Tyylin aika" photographic exhibition in Helsingin Taidehalli. There the era of  stylish shopping is captured by The Grand Old Lady of Finnish Photography, Claire Aho.



taidehalli.fi

For more adventurous vintage hangings check out these two!



                                                        Organelle Design: Hangelier



replayground.blogspot.com

Copperfield

What is definitely underestimated nowadays is the eternal beauty of copper. I'll foresee this metal becoming a hit before too long. One should look for more classical designs rather than old pots and pans. And remember to keep the patina! The shades of dark tan and even green. Match up together a few nicely shaped vases to form an intreguing composition with additional flowers.

The beauty of copper is multiplied by hundreds if you choose colours opposite to copper or use fabrics that are turquoise or greenish blue; 'peacock' is ideal. I've here teamed up a warm copper with a colder red.

For me these two vases resemble a human shape; a woman and a man...a married couple. Depending on how you arrange them they are either in an agreement or arguing with each other!

A few years ago I mainpulated a photo of my young beautiful parents from the day they got engaged in mid 50's. As by accident (or as a meaningful coincidence) the main colour of this image was pinkish and thus matched the copper theme. I'd also found a tacky plastic frame which I sprayed with copper paint and hey presto! a trendy combination was born. The image itself was a tad too small for the frame so I had to use some sprayed paper to fill in the gaps on the edges.



My 78 years old mum absolutely adores this combination!



I've now begun spotting copper everywhere and have found this timeless pendant lamp from Fida flea market and two small lamp shades from Ikea. I want the copper theme to flow through my flat.

The shade is acrylic and the parts come apart for easy maintenance and cleaning.

My copperfield is spreading as I keep finding new things. Little by little ideal partners will find each other and some return back to fleamarket. That's the name of the game.

Keep me warm!

I've never seen anything like this before...it surely was a bag-looking thingy. Made from beautiful fabric with bunches of pink roses on a pale yellow background. Covered with clear plastic secured with tiny red buttons. Handles, lots of padding and two zippers opening the sides. Suddenly the penny dropped. It's a thermo-bag! An old way of keeping things hot or cold for picnics. A different kind of a tea-cosy. A hunt for a suitable coffee or tea pot began.

Finally a perfect pot was found but I was not sure if something was missing from it. Usually these kind of glass tops are used in percolators but there wasn't anything inside this gorgeous little red pot. Oh well I can boil water in it.

When I returned to this pair of objects a few years later I found that mice have had a fabulous picnic party too. One handle was missing, there was a big hole in the plastic and a few nibbles here and there.

Still, even that couldn't shade the charm of this perfect pair from the golden era of Suomi Filmi black and white movies.



yle.fi


There is also a contemporary version of this type of tea-cosy by deruig.co.uk that Kate Carter (Life&Style editor Guardian UK) has referred to as a Buy of the day.

Bachelor Party

Once rummaging together in Uusiokeskus my friend spotted these glasses that have been used very little. Our guess was that they are from the 60's even late 50's. They surely tickle the male imagination and I can see the curly haired Tony Curtis having a refreshing drink on a boat deck!

www.dailymail.co.uk

But that's not all. With these glasses things are getting even better. Once you begin drinking the naughty secret will be reveiled as almost naked pin-up girls begin to appear.

vAVAvOOM!

OBEY YOUR THIRST HONEY!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48619154/pin-up-girl-cockail-glassware-set-kitsch sells them too!