Ercol Originals in black

Although I suspect it could be a fake, I still count myself very lucky to own something that looks a lot like a vintage Ercol daybed, and am a huge fan of this UK company's other classic pieces. So I'm particularly thrilled to see that not only has Ercol re-released some of their 1950's Originals in recent years, they've also done some reinvention, producing them in a gorgeous new matt black finish.

And as if that wasn't enough gorgeousness, Ercol also has produced a special edition of the Love Seat in Ercol blue, with the ash emerging from a twilight fade. Just beautiful.

Casamento - new website

The Casamento shop in Bree Street Cape Town may have closed down (see the pics I took of the store here), but the studio is still hard at work, reviving the most amazing vintage furniture for your pleasure and mine.

And now Casamento has a brand new website , where you can see what's available, what's been sold and what's in the studio awaiting revival.

Guest blog: West German Ceramics

We're thrilled to welcome to Elle Deco's guest spot today, Adelle and Justin from vintage online store, H is for Home. They've written a fabulous post for us about a growing trend in the vintage market, and one of their passions.

Thanks so much for asking us to contribute to the Elle Deco blog. We're taking a look at mid-twentieth century West German pottery.

After a period of time being generally 'out of fashion' these amazing ceramics are being appreciated once more for their style and eccentricity. They are now regularly seen gracing the pages of design and interior magazines.

The range of colours, shapes, textures and sizes is mind-boggling!

Some pieces are hand-thrown, others are mass-produced, stock shapes. However, as with the Poole 'Delphis' Pottery range, even these stock shapes can be transformed by the textures and the individual glazes in every colour imaginable. Pieces range in size from a mere three inches to well over twenty inches tall for the larger floor vases.

Impressed 'thumbnail' detailing

Frothing lava glaze

Incised decoration

No rules with colour combinations!

Typical base markings

A number of factories produced these characteristic ceramics - Baykeramik, Carstens, Dumler & Breiden, Jopeko, Roth, Ruscha and Scheurich to name but a few. Much has still to be learned about which company produced what. Some factories produced pieces with distinctive base markings such as the crossed swords of Dumler & Breiden, however the majority of pieces simply have serial number markings (often accompanied by 'German' or 'W. Germany'). You may be lucky enough to find a piece with the original paper label, otherwise you're in for a bit of detective work.

There hasn't been a great deal published on West German ceramics from this period, however Fat Lava, by Mark Hill (from Amazon UK)is a good starting point - it outlines the main factories and is packed with good quality colour photos.

In fact, the book was written to accompany an exhibition of German pottery from this period held at King's Lynn Arts Centre in 2006.

Another breathtaking fat lava exhibition that recently took place was of Marieke van Diemen's collection at Boymans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.

Other places to find out more are GinFor's Odditiques, Outernational, fat-lava.com and An Seta Pottery.

If you need any help in identifying pieces that you find, try the nice and very knowledgeable folks at 20th Century Pottery Art & Collectibles.

The pots work well displayed in groups of either similar or contrasting colours. The larger floor vases look great as stand-alone pieces.

Our particular favourites are the fiery oranges and reds, particularly ones with the bubbling lava glazes. We've built up quite a collection, but good examples are getting harder to find and prices are rising steadily.

In addition to vases, examples of West German pottery can be found in the form of lamp bases and shades, wall plaques, plates and bowls.

Bright colours & sculptural forms are much sought after

Trio of small, red and brown West German vases, 4-6 inches tall

Trio of incised vases - classic 50s shapes

Blue vase with original Scheurich paper label

Huge floor vases

Provides striking accent colours

We hope you've enjoyed looking at some of our collection. Have a look at the West German Pottery Collectors group on Flickr to see some more examples from us and other members. If this blog has inspired you to start your own collection, then happy hunting!

Report From NYC: BROOKLYNrehab

I checked in to BROOKLYNrehab yesterday. No, I don’t have a drinking problem - more likely a shopping addiction. BROOKLYNrehab is Alyssa Zygmunt’s clever collection of vintage finds on sale on etsy.com. Alyssa is an industrial designer turned fashion designer who fuels her passion for quirky collecting by scouring vintage stores around Brooklyn and beyond.

These are some of her latest finds. Better check these out quickly because things have been selling fast lately.

This etched antelope glass is only five bucks. Yep, you heard right, $5.

These 50s salt and pepper cellars and pair of small plates are sold as a set and are in perfect condition.

"New York is full of secret spots containing lost treasures," says Alyssa. "You just have to be willing to look. Sometimes the trip is a bust and other times you find a stampede of wild horses captured in ceramic." These miniature horses, made of slip cast porcelain glazed in a glossy white, go perfectly with the gnome, above. And there are others in her porcelain menagerie.

Alyssa hunts for treasure at flea markets, library and school inventory sales, prop stores, and estate sales. She recommends Roulette on Havemeyer Street (see apartment therapy) and Ugly Luggage on Bedford Avenue (see New York magazine), both in Williamsburg. She often draws inspiration from the window displays at ABC Carpet and Home in Manhattan. Then she comes up with whimsical vignettes such as these, below.

Besides having an eagle eye for reusable cast-offs, Alyssa is adept at making her own pieces and is currently experimenting with ceramics. She originally made the porcelain gnome at the beginning of this post as table decorations for a friend's wedding. And now she has cast buttons made into rings and this magnificent mushroom, which can be used as a bud vase or a sculpture.

I liked its combination of delicacy and earthiness so much that I snapped one up immediately. Like any good addict, I will be checking her etsy pages often for new arrivals.

Tradera temptation

Gosh, doesn't time fly? Especially at the Swedish eBay site, Tradera (thanks so much to Janne for this link). Fortunately, all the amazing things for sale are listed in Swedish, so I'm not too tempted to buy it all.

Take a look at the treasures I unearthed in a couple of lost hours...

Love the Domino plate by Stig Lindberg...

And how did I resist this Gustavberg dish (possibly also by Stig Lindberg).

Such a sweet double teapot by Gunnar Nylund.

And even though this might be an ashtray, this Uppsala Ekeby dish caught my eye too.

Now it's over to you. Isn't there a long weekend coming up? Go on, spend it over at Tradera.