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 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

Friday Find

No 2 - First Aid cabinet

This week's Friday Find is part of my cupboard collection.

I have a bit of a thing about cupboards. Expect to see more as the weeks go by.

I found this lovely wooden First Aid cabinet on a car boot stall in Chesterfield back in the early 1990's.

I asked the chap how much he wanted for it and he said "Fifty."

I said I thought that was too much, and he said "OK, forty pence."

I gave him the full fifty.

K x

Friday Find

I was rubbish at blogging in 2012.

I plan to be better at it in 2013. Let's see.

I figured a routine could help, so here's the first of my Friday Finds. Images of the things that clutter my house and make me happy. Things I might use, or may not want to part with. Treasure I've collected over many years. Muck hoarders. Things of beauty. The stuff of life...

No 1 - vintage button cards

Gran's chair

After many years of treasuring and determinedly hanging on to my great grandmother's chair it has finally found its place.

It's a funny little chair, very low to the ground. What's known as a nursing chair, I think. It used to sit by the fire in her kitchen and was the perfect cosy spot, in the corner behind the kitchen table, next to the toasting fork and below the cat's head string dispenser. 

I can't bring myself to remove the layers of its history. The varnish on the arms is dulled and worn from years of use. The original layer of striped canvas is beautiful, and the golden 50's fabric is in great condition.

 

Knowing that my Gran stitched the shot silk cover together, however badly, makes it impossible to undo. I think I must have inherited my sewing skills from her!

In my old house it was in the living room, under a ceiling that was 10 feet high, and when I sat in it I felt like Mrs Pepperpot!

For the last year it's been in the garage, getting damp and feeling unloved. And now! Our gorgeous new garden room has given it the home it deserves.

Vintage cushion covers from a charity shop fit perfectly and it's great to see it back in use. 

Rain, rain, go away...

They say cows lie down when it's going to rain.

Well, by my reckoning they can't be doing much standing up at the moment.

Here's some to bring you hope!

Though I think these could be bulls and they might not have the same powers.

So, Kettle of Fish passed the 300 'likes' mark on Facebook and I want to celebrate and say thank you with a giveaway.

This is what's up for grabs. . . . .

A lovely little calico shoulder bag like this, with a subtle print of a vintage French postcard and one or two vintage cloth-covered buttons AND a tape measure bookmark.

To be in with a chance of making them yours, please comment below with details of what you'd use the bag for! 


Please comment by the end of Saturday 7th July 2012. All comments qualify for the draw. A winner will be randomly selected from the beautiful hat on Sunday 8th July.

Vintage bunnies

I'm a bit of a hoarder. I like to have things around me that are beautiful to look at, to pick up and handle, to use and to treasure. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I'm also lucky that the future Mr Kettle loves the stuff that came with me!


My collections influence our home and my work.

This handsome ceramic rabbit inspired the Easter bunnies that are in my Folksy shop now. He was a birthday present from a friend at college almost 26 years ago and has only suffered minor ear damage in all that time! 


He was the start of a mini collection but is still my favourite by far.