Soholm dish. Blue Series, Einar Johansen. Simple but nice.

A simple but pleasing little serving dish or trinket tray by Soholm, Denmark.

The dish is from the Blue Series, designed by Einar Johansen, It probably dates from the 1960s or early 1970s. The glaze contrasts are specially nice - a rich glossy dark blue with tones of earthy brown on the inside, the outer walls in a semi-matt black, almost leather-like, finish. The inner base of the dish is indented with a simple triangular repeat pattern. All of which, makes this item pleasing on the eye, and to the touch.

Simple but nice.

Bird cruet. John Clappison. 1966.

What could be nicer than having breakfast with this delightful salt and pepper set sitting on the table? The intense blue colour, the stylish, modern shape, and the graphic illustrated bird design – it's a real joy.

This is the work of designer John Clappison and believe-it-or-not, this bird cruet set dates from 1966. The set is from a range produced at the time by Hornsea pottery. Other animal cruets in the range are owls, cats and fish. One of the birds (the salt) has a single hole at the front of its beak, the other (the pepper) has three small holes. The sets were all printed in black onto either brown, green or blue backgrounds. I like the blue.

Some time ago, I did a blog-post on the owl cruets from this range. Remember this: Owl cruets.

The more I look at these pieces, the more I can't help thinking that, in a way, the work has a Scandinavian feel to it. I wasn't surprised, therefore, to learn that John Clappison had been to Sweden in 1962. He visited the Gustavberg factory where he met Stig Lindberg at his studio. John also met Gunnar Nylund during this period. In earlier years, John Clappison had met Nils Thorsson at the Royal Copenhagen factory. John had also discovered the work of Nils Kähler at Kähler Keramic. John says that Kähler's work had a big influence on him at the time.

Who knows? perhaps some of that Scandinavian freedom of expression was in the back of the mind of John Clappison when he produced these little gems.

Teak, metal, modern design, it must be Danish.

There's something very pleasing about items made from teak and black metal, it's a common combination of materials in mid-century modern design. So I was very pleased to add this small 3-legged candle holder to the Potshots collection this week.

I'm afraid that I don't know a lot about it, though. I would guess it is from the late 1950s or early 1960s. I don't know who made it or where it comes from but would think it's likely to be Danish. Although the candle holder does not have a maker's mark, it has Denmark written all over it. The simple and elegant design, the modern shape and the use of such materials, all indicate that it is probably from Denmark. If you do know for sure, I'd love to hear from you.

The tops of the candle holders are a bit blackened now but they look to be in a brass coloured metal. A nice object. Would look great with some very tall candles.

Cathrineholm Lotus enamelware.

You don't have to hide away your pots and pans in cupboards when they look this good.

If you can find vintage enamelware in good enough condition, and at a sensible price, it's worth picking up. The problem is, it seems to be getting harder to do that, these days. Enamelled metal pots, pans and bowls, like these, look really good displayed on an open kitchen shelf. It's no wonder keen collectors are now snapping up all the best pieces. This type of enamelware is well-made and comes in some fabulous colours and designs.

Most of the examples shown here are in the popular and very beautiful Lotus pattern produced by Cathrineholm, Norway in the 1950s and 1960s. Often the Lotus pattern is attributed to designer Grete Prytz Kittelsen (1917 – 2010), but there seems to be some doubt as to whether she was the actual designer.

Whoever the designer was, I'm a big fan. And so is MidCenturyMama, she has some great photos of her Cathrineholm collection, here: Cathrineholm lovers

Vintage Boda bowl. Colourful handmade glass from Sweden

I found a smart little bowl at the weekend. This small glass bowl is beautifully decorated with a swirl of white, yellow, and red colouring.

I wouldn't think the bowl has much age to it but it is good looking enough to deserve a place on the Potshots shelf. There's a small silver sticker for Boda, Sweden and the base is engraved Boda. There is also a signature on the base that looks like 'Ulrica'. Could this be for Ulrica Hydman-Vallien perhaps? I hope so.

More information on Ulrica Hydman-Vallien: Ulrica and Boda glass