Midwinter Cassandra 1957

Graphics and surface pattern design have always been a fascination for me. And you can find some amazing designs on ceramics.

So to kick off this little run of non-Hornsea pottery, I thought I'd show a couple of examples of pottery that feature interesting printed designs. This plate by Midwinter pottery is a good one to start with. It features the Cassandra pattern, designed in 1957. The range is transfer printed with an elegant two-colour abstract design with a hint of leaf motif.

I like the Cassandra range. The design seems to me to be so typical of the era. It's cleverly drawn, too. The black outline on the design is made from one continuous line.

I'll try to show some more Midwinter soon.

Multicoloured slipware from 1961

More slip decorated pottery, and more Hornsea Pottery. (I promise to find some non- Hornsea pottery to show you after these).

These funky vases feature a whirly, swirly design in bands of contrasting colours. Known (for obvious reasons) as multicoloured slipware vases, they were made by Hornsea in 1961.

I think there were four vases produced in this range with slight variations in size and shape. I like them because as a result of the hand-made application of the design, each pot is unique, an individual creation, and no two pots are alike.

OK, no more Hornsea for a while.

Studio slipware pin dishes from the 1950s

I don't really have much need for a handy supply of pins but if I did, I'd keep them in a dish like this.

These Stripe-tastic pin dishes were made between 1954 and 1957. Known as studio slipware the dishes were made by (you've guessed it) Hornsea Pottery.

The flared black and white stripe design is hand-applied in coloured slip. The softly-curved rectangular dishes are nice, they stand on a base with four small feet.

There's more Hornsea studio slipware on Potshots here: Studio slipware

Hornsea Rainbow salt and peper set. 1960s

More Hornsea Pottery from the Rainbow range. Again made between 1961 and 1963, this is a salt and pepper set. I think there were five different shapes of Rainbow salt and pepper sets and I have a feeling that this shape was called Roulette. If I find any more of the shapes, I'll let you know.

A Rainbow for Summer, 1960s style.

Although only small - the largest is only three and a half inches (9cm) high - these mini vases are certainly big on 1960s style.

Made by Hornsea Pottery between 1961 and 1963, these colourful little pots are from the Rainbow range. The fluted yellow bodies are decorated in hand applied horizontal bands in black, red, grey and pale blue.

I particularly like the shape of the two vases shown in the close-up photos, they seem to have a sort of Japanese feel about them.

Perhaps the bright yellow colour would be a bit tricky to fit into today's colour schemes, but a display of Rainbow pots wouldn't half add a splash of colour to a room.

Kitty number two. The Hornsea Marion Campbell cat.

Kitty number two.

Again a stylised cat with an elongated neck and nicely painted features.

This time, I can give some background information. This cat (is it a Siamese?) was designed by Marion Campbell for Hornsea Pottery. It was made in 1961 or 1962 and is one of a set of five similar cats in different sizes. This version is the second-largest of the series and is about seven and a half inches (19cm) high.

Aren't those exaggerated cat eyes fabulous?