Friday Find

No 7 - vintage metal cabinets

These little beauties are my pride and joy.

I bought my first one for £2 from a junk shop in Cardiff when I was at college, and it was love at first sight. Subsequent additions to the collection came in at £4 and £4.50 from long gone junk shops in Sheffield.

I love the fact that each one has a different mirror shape and distinctive handle.

I confess there are also another two lurking elsewhere in the house, and I would almost certainly have collected more but they've got very popular and I can't afford to buy them now!

They hide all our bathroom clutter and always lift my spirits just by being there with their slightly rusty and battered exteriors.

Below them, on the loo, you'll find a warped tin portrait of this chap. A fine complement for their rusty bits and speckled mirrors.

K x

Friday Find

No 6 - Wade figures

As a lifelong collecter and hoarder I have boxes full of stuff that doesn't get to see the light of day very often. Things I'm attached to from childhood and bits and bobs I've picked up over the years because I like the look of them.

It's time for a clear out!

These will be first to go - I've had them since the 1960's, they live in a shoebox and, if Ebay is to be believed, a few of them are very rare and worth a fine penny or two.

They'll be going into our new shop 'Kettle of Fish Vintage' on Etsy next week.

Along with this little beauty...

See you there!

K x

Friday Find

No 5 - Hastings and St Leonards

It's been a while since I posted a Friday Find so here are a few finds I made over Easter in Hastings and St Leonards on Sea...

Wayward - St Leonards on Sea

Hendy's Home Store - Hastings

                           

The south coast is a long way from our north-east home but, wherever you live, it's well worth the trip if you like a rummage!

Friday Find

No 4 - buried treasure

This used to be my garden.

I worked hard in it and loved it for sixteen years.

Over those years it provided me with flowers, fruit, vegetables....and buried treasure!

All manner of weird and wonderful bits and pieces emerged from deep in the soil as I dug it over. These are my favourites...

An old Henderson's Relish bottle, a beautifully worn marble, the head of a china duck, and a fascinating tiny headless figure with something in the crook of its arm.

I love the surreal nature of these random bits and pieces, full of intrigue and hidden stories.

As a Sheffield lass, the Henderson's Relish bottle is real treasure!

And the little figure has a very neat behind!

If anyone can shed any light on the origins of this intriguing little doll, or can suggest what it might be holding so carefully in its arm, I'd love to know.

K x

Friday Find

No 3 - tin oil lamps

In 1988 I was very fortunate to be taken on the trip of a lifetime to Kenya. It was an amazing experience - truly unforgettable for many reasons, good and bad. Everything seemed very harsh and very real. 

We returned with a treasure trove of weird and wonderful things bought from street markets in Nairobi and Mombasa. The vast majority of my treasure was beads, but more of those another time.

These quirky little oil lamps are one of my favourite things. I love their mismatched, rusty appearance and how they're so beautifully put together.

One is made from an old tomato paste tin... 

   

...and both have top sections cut from a can of the fantastically named Cooper's Super Doom Insect Killer!

They're truly beautiful in all their rusty, patinated glory.

K x

Friday Find

No 3 - a vintage tinware grater

This little beauty was picked up for 30p from the regular Monday flea market that used to take place in Sheffield back in the early 1990's. It's a fantastic bit of kitchenalia and the detailing is really lovely. It's stamped with the Tala brand and probably dates from the 1930-40's.

It has a little compartment behind a sliding panel on the back for storing.....

 

......nutmegs!

It lives on the knife rack next to our cooker and gets used regularly. Especially in sweet potato mash and buttered leeks!

I love things that are interesting, beautiful and functional. Don't you?

K x

One great shade of grey

I love the dark grey wall in our conservatory.

For the first few months of its life it made a fantastic backdrop for simply arranged flowers, mostly brought in from the garden and dropped into an assortment of jugs, jars and other useful receptacles. 

It also worked well with Christmas greenery.

I'm really looking forward to fresh little posies of Spring flowers taking their place in the coming weeks.

K x