Here I take three areas that I believe are worthy of more consideration, even if they don’t look like it at first, or else don’t initially make sense on paper…
I. Blue & White Transfer-Printed Ceramics
It’s just as well I peered under the huge tarpaulin spread across the ground at a rainy Lincoln Antiques & Homes Fair earlier this year. I was about to walk across it, but the blue and white transfer-printed platters and plates underneath it wouldn’t have liked that much. And nor would the stallholder! This experience just goes to show the change in respect that these appealing ceramics have suffered over the past decades.
Pine or oak dressers once groaned under the weight of desirable displays, and they were a staple of the popular ‘country cottage’ look of the 1980s. Not so now, with many plates being largely un-saleable at even a few pounds, and previously popular meat platters that used to fetch a couple of hundred pounds at auction now generally fetching a fraction of that. But it’s not all bad news, as rare shapes such as baby feeders, or rare patterns such as ‘The Durham Ox’ or those from the ‘Indian Sporting’ series, are still sought-after enough to fetch good sums.
Now could be a good time to buy the rest. The collapsing economies and wars of these depressingly thrifty times tend to lead us to ‘nest’ at home more, and also to hark back to a better past. Even if it is through rose-tinted spectacles. With this in mind, I think the cosy and comforting country cottage look could be in for a revival, with blue and white wares going with it. It’s that Grandmillennial movement again, the warming comfort of homely things, often viewed through rose-tinted spectacles, especially in today’s scary world driven by unseen technology.
Even if that chintzy look isn’t your cup of tea, you’d be surprised at how good a carefully-curated small selection of interesting shapes or patterns looks, even in the most modern and minimalist of interiors. The truly ‘vintage’ juxtaposition can work wonderfully well. Always buy the pieces you like and the best you can afford. And don’t buy damaged pieces unless they’re rare and the price is right. Go for large chargers or plates as they make maximum impact and give a lot of ‘pattern for your pound’.
II. 1950s High Street or Department Store Furniture
I usually only suggest going for great midcentury modern pieces by great designers, as it has proven to be a safer bet than anonymous, mass-produced pieces from any given decade. However, we can’t all afford these definitive design icons, and buying high street department store pieces that scream the styles of the day will add an instant vintage or retro look to a room…
These were inexpensive at the time, and weren’t made to last. As a result, many were thrown away when tastes changed, or when the piece became tatty, or simply fell apart. This can make examples in great condition hard to find today. Due to this, and their obvious appeal to retro fanatics, prices are rising. If you like them, get in now before they rise further.
The 1950s didn’t just give us rock ‘n roll, the diner, and the teenager, but also a fashionable new way of living. Go for pieces that epitomize this ‘contemporary’ (as it was often called then) look, and seek out modern, abstract patterns over more traditional patterns like roses. This funky combined coffee table and stand is a great example, and has the asymmetric, curving shapes and jauntily bright colours that epitomized this forward-looking decade. In its day, the pedestals would have held fashionable houseplants or cacti – think of Terence Conran’s 1956 ‘Plant Life’ pattern for Midwinter, for example. Today, they make the perfect podium for a display of period ceramics or glass, and a handy place to rest your espresso cup.
Hunt round larger outdoor fairs away from city centres for a bargain, but be prepared to pay more for the best bets for the future - those in mint condition, like the one shown here. Other popular period alternatives include artist’s palette-shaped tables, and anything with a strong ‘atomic’ feel with black wire frames and legs, and coloured ball feet. Although they were the cheap ‘n cheerful Ikea-type pieces of their day, they’re cheaper and more funky than many pieces from Ikea today. And, value-wise, although you shouldn’t expect to make a fortune I think they have a strong future.
III. Caithness Glass
If cool, austere Modernism is more your style, I take a look at the 1960s designs that launched Scotland’s renowned Caithness Glass. Fight past the droves of paperweights and chintzy mottled and striped posy vases to find their first range, designed by Irish-born Domhnall ÓBroin in the early 1960s. Starkly un-embellished, and strongly geometric and linear, forms comprise the cylinder, cone and barrel, and variations or combinations of each. Inspired by Scandinavian glass in both form and colour, they were produced in subtle, muted hues that also hinted at their Scottish origins. These included ‘Moss’ green, the pinky-purple ‘Heather’, ‘Soot’ grey, and ‘Loch’ or ‘Twilight’ blues.
Their simplicity and balance means they look fantastic when arranged in odd-numbered groups of differing heights and colours. And, with prices currently ranging from a few pounds upwards, you can afford to buy en masse, even in these economically austere times.
I believe that we’re just at the beginning of the curve for these designs, particularly when you bear in mind the enormous price rises seen over the past few years for designs by ÓBroin’s peers Geoffrey Baxter, Ronald Stennett-Willson, and Frank Thrower. Their designs regularly fetch hundreds of pounds, with some fetching over £1,000.
Just like these, this Caithness range looks as modern and contemporary as it did over four decades ago and, as such, they’re often missed by sellers, and passed over by buyers. Learn to recognize them from later rip-offs by their shapes, sizes, and more appealing colour tones.
Don’t ignore the company’s much later designs either. During the 1990s and early 2000s, innovative designers such as Helen MacDonald, Alastair MacIntosh, and Gordon Hendry produced designs made using complex techniques that brought them close to studio glass. The quality is typically excellent, and many were only produced for short periods of time, as fashions changed increasingly fast, or in small limited editions.
Furthermore, they were also typically highly expensive in their day, meaning far fewer were sold than was suggested at the time or may be thought today. They’re much rarer than you think. The best place to look is any of the online auction sites, like eBay, Etsy or Vinted. People often don’t realise what they have, especially if they were bought by Mum & Dad, or an auntie or uncle. Whilst I think prices for these later pieces will take much longer to reach maturity than for ÓBroin’s work, I think it’s well worth playing the waiting game. For both.
Thank you for being a Paid Subscriber, I really do appreciate your support as it makes all the difference and helps me to continue with my Substack :-)
As always, let me know in Chat if there’s something you really want to see or read about, and do recommend me to your friends.