Colourful and sculptural. 1970s Carltonware.

Back to the pottery. And what better way than with a zing of colour from the 1970s.

These artful creations are by Carltonware and they probably date from the 1970s. In Acid green, lemon yellow and bright red, this tableware looks wonderfully sculptural with those stacked ring shapes. There are two vinegar or oil bottles, the small red item is a candle holder, the round top item is a pepper pot and the tallest pot is a vase.

Even if you didn't want to use them on a table setting, I think they look so good together as a group, you could simply put them out on display and enjoy them as little works of art.

The talent of Charley Harper

I recently did a blog-post on the illustrations from a Mary Blair children's song book, remember this: Mary Blair book ?

Well, I was lucky enough to get hold of a copy of another superbly illustrated children's book and I couldn't resist sharing it with you too.

The book, a children's introduction to biology, was published in 1962 and it features the illustrations of the brilliant Charles Harper

The book is jam-packed with illustrations – these six scans are only a small sample. There's no need for too many words from me on the superb quality of the work, the pictures speak for themselves, but it's worth remembering that they were all produced long before the use of computers in illustration.