Anyone for coffee? Portmeirion Totem from the 1960s.

As a follow-up to the last blog-post, here are the coffee pots from the Portmeirion Totem range, designed by Susan Williams-Ellis in the 1960s.

I don't think people use coffee pots as much as they once did but the shape and surface texture on these pots make them worth keeping, even if it's only to have on display.

Textured surfaces from the 1960s. Portmeirion Totem.

Some time ago, I did a blog-post on a range of Portmeirion pottery with a wonderful printed design called Tivoli, remember this: Tivoli

Here is some more Portmeirion but this time the pottery is decorated with a series graphic motifs in raised relief and very pleasing it is too.

Designed by Susan Williams-Ellis, the range is Totem, it was first produced in 1963. The range was available in several colours including blue, green and white and was very popular.

The brown items shown here are from a coffee set. The set also had a very distinctive tall coffee pot (I hope to do a blog-post showing that soon).

Printed surfaces or textured? I'm not sure which I prefer. So as I can't decide, it's nice to have both in the collection. Susan Williams-Ellis designed other interesting surface designs for Portmeirion and I'll be doing further blog-posts on those in the near future. In the meantime, there's lots more information on Portmeirion here: Portmeirion pottery

Schmider fish 1950s. Love those lips.

Don't you just love those lips.

Here's a quirky item from the mid-1950s. A wonderful spotty fish with green fins and bright red lips.

I think it was originally designed to be used as an ashtray and was made by Schmider, West Germany.

According to Petra on Pottery, this is a design by Anneliese Beckh, Schmiders main designer between 1950 and 1983.

I don't often come across Schmider pottery but I did do a posting on a couple of items from the Tigris range some time ago: Tigris cats

Mdina bottle vase and stopper.

Some time ago I did a blogpost on a couple of Mdina vases. Remember this: Mdina vases

I said then that I'd try to show some more Mdina. Well, better late than never.

This Mdina bottle vase and stopper has been in the Potshots collection for a quite a while now so, as I was photographing some items of glassware the other day, I decided to do a quick shot of it for the blog-site. I'm glad I did because the shot turned out quite well. It's probably because the colours in the glass are so good and the shape is so well proportioned. I specially like the flattened out top on the neck of the vase. And those swirls of colour in the body of the glass.

I would guess the vase dates from the 1970s.

Looking after the pennies, 1950s style.

If, like me, you're a bit low on funds at this time of year, you may have made a resolution to do some saving up. And to save up, you'll be needing a suitable piggy bank. Luckily for me I have not one but two and they're a couple of beauties.

I can think of no finer way to store-up the surplus small change than with one of these Hornsea Pottery penny piggy banks. Designed in the mid 1950s, almost certainly by John Clappison, they are in a simplified, stylised shape with short legs and long snouts. I particularly like the cylinder-shaped bodies that end in a curly tail.

You can see some more good-looking pottery piggy banks here: The Piggy bank page