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Posts from the ‘United Kingdom’ Category

Portmeirion Tivoli

This beautifully graphic pattern consisting of bold geometric shapes is “Tivoli”, designed by Susan Williams-Ellis for Portmeirion in 1964. It was created on the  striking “Serif” shape like many others by Ellis in the 1960s. The name “Tivoli” is a reference to the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, which inspired Ellis to create this pattern.

The design came in 2 colour schemes – chocolate brown and turquoise, and an olive green and turquoise. Originally the design was created in brighter colours – pink/blue and violet/grey/red – but Ellis was persuaded to go with the more subtle colour schemes.

Pictured is a storage jar from the series with its original lid – often now seen with cork lids.

Only in production for a few years as apparently it was not as successful as some of the other designs from Portmerion in the same era – although hard to see why!

Portmeirion Tivoli

Portmeirion Tivoli

Portmeirion Tivoli

Portmeirion Tivoli

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Beswick Art Deco Vases

Beswick pottery operated in the U.K. from 1892 until 1969 when it was sold to Doulton, and the factory was eventually closed in 2002. Beswick is mainly known for its high quality porcelain figurines and collectables such as the Beatrix Potter characters, Disney characters, Horses and other animals.

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Midwinter Nurseryware – Jessie Tait

This charming and now very nostalgic looking design is Midwinter "Nurseryware" c1955. Its designer, the incomparable Jessie Tait.

The design is now incredibly rare, and pieces from the series pop up very rarely, but I was fortunate to find a few pieces from the series recently in an auction lot of pottery oddments.

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