There’s nothing like a deadline to galvanise you into action. In less than a month I will be selling my stock in brand new {super-smart} premises. The pressure is very much ON.
Buying and selling vintage is not like browsing a catalogue and placing an order. You can’t visit a showroom and choose a job lot of stock. There is no ‘wholesale’ option. Rather, the process depends purely and simply on chance, and a bit of good fortune. Not only that, but, ‘the value of vintage is on the rise’ according to The Sunday Times Style {18 May 2014}. Which means it’s getting harder to come by. See what I mean about pressure?
Luckily, the buying crusade got off to a dazzling start this weekend. I visited one of my favourite un-tapped locations. Wall-to-wall vintage, with some truly outstanding gems, it wasn’t just the sun that was shining at the end of the day. With the car loaded to the brim full of magnificent buys I felt more than a little relieved that we’d be in business for opening day.
Highlights included….
A wash of pale green and blue vintage ironstone to add to the existing collection. I love their thick, rounded edges, pure pastel colours and simple, timeless silhouettes.

An assortment of vintage blue and green ironstone crockery
These vintage Dutch bulb crates were originally used for storing and transporting bulbs in the famous horticultural area around the south-west of Amsterdam. With solid wood construction and a metal mesh base {essential for allowing air to circulate around the bulbs and prevent them rotting}, they are stackable and versatile. Each one is entirely unique, stenciled with the grower’s name, and with their own little bit of history attached. Up-end them and you have a ready-made memo board. On their own they’re a genuinely beautiful storage option.

Vintage Dutch bulb crates
10 green bottles. Well, several. At least. Almost everyone who sells these bottles seems to be fanatical about finding them. I love hearing their stories. They scour old municipal dumps, fields and beaches to dig them out – that’s commitment. My last good find was a haul of apothecary bottles, this outing seemed to turn up sauce and condiment bottles instead. As with all good, collectable vintage, they’re becoming scarce.

Vintage glass apothecary and condiment bottles
Vintage {quite possibly antique} hinged gentlemen’s shoe lasts inscribed with ‘Faulkner & Son, London & Cambridge’. How classy would these be as a Father’s Day gift?

Faulkner & Son, London & Cambridge, vintage hinged Shoe Lasts
An assortment of filthy, but fabulous, vintage cutlery. A bit of a scrub and they’ll be good as {in fact, make that better than} new.

Assorted vintage cutlery
A variety of pretty, patterned blue and white platters. What every lovingly-made supper dreams of being served up on!

Blue and white platters including 2 Adderley Bone China ‘Blue Chelsea’ cake plates
And a final bit of sunshine. Yellow makes an occasional appearance in my collections, and these sunny finds seemed just about right for the start of summer.

Johnson Bros. ‘Pareek’ milk jug

Vintage Art Deco style yellow coffee pot
There was more, but I’ll save it for another day. See you soon…
Tags: Adderley Blue Chelsea, Art deco coffee pot, buy vintage, Johnson Bros. Pareek, vintage cutlery, vintage Dutch bulb crates, vintage glass bottles, vintage ironstone, vintage shoe lasts