Vintage East German dollshouse furniture at Winter's Moon

Winter's Moon, which sells very beautiful pieces of pre-loved furniture in Chichester, has just got a small delivery of some very sweet miniature versions of their usual wares, from a stock of unused toys from the German Democratic Republic. You can see what they have below. 

But do also have a look here and here at a couple posts from a while back that I have just added new images to – all about midcentury dollhouses and the people who lovingly collect or make teeny tiny G-Plan units, sew cushions out of 1950s fabric and spend fortunes on miniature Eames chairs. I interviewed some of them for a piece I wrote for the Independent and loved these collectors' dedication, plus the houses are spectacular strangely compelling (and don't let the kids anywhere near them).

Miniature vintage wooden table, chairs and flower, £16

Miniature vintage wooden wine set, £7.50

Miniature vintage broom cupboard, £36

See lots more images of tiny houses by clicking on the image captions below.

call of the small

Modern Miniatures

Vintage Pat Albeck tray

Staying on the animal tip (see post below), I couldn't resist sharing this sweet vintage tiger tray, by the textile designer Pat Albeck. 

It would look beautiful mounted on a wall in child's bedroom (you'd need to use these sorts of plate hangers, rather than the hook-around ones). Or in the kitchen. or, of course, you could use it as an actual tray (but you'd have to use a tray very regularly to get the most out of it, I think...). There is just one of them, and it costs £16 (plus p&p) from Winter's Moon, a gorgeous shop that I spend far too long window shopping at.

The design is by Pat Albeck, whose career started in the 1950s and who is still going strong (she has a brilliant website with a photographic history of her work through the decades – some highlights below).

From left to right, Pat Albeck's designs from the fifties, sixties and seventies

Beautiful brights for a sick-day

It's a beautiful bright day out there. The dog and I had a nice stroll in the sunshiney park this morning, but now I'm feeling all flu-like, so thought I'd bring some of that brightness and cheer inside with today's selection of vibrant buys. Hope you like them...

1. Ooh, that dazzling sky sure lifts the soul. This quirky A4 digital mountain collage is £10 from Hello Dodo.

2. If you like the idea of wiling away a wintry afternoon crafting, a vintage tissue paper rose kit, £8 from Winter's Moon, will brighten up a dull corner.

3. This 70s-esque Geo Daisy Chain Cool Kokka fabric (in background) is from Japan and for sale priced, £18.99 per metre, from the always exciting online fabric store, Fancy Moon.

4. I fantasize about having a cosy, romantic candlelit hallway with this pineapple sconce, £99, exclusive to Caravan Style – the quirky shop owned by Emily Chalmers, author of Modern Vintage Style, a beautiful and inspiring book that would make a marvellous Christmas present for any homemakers who love flea market shopping.

5. This chirpy little Santa is a section of a rather wonderful idea by an inspring Australian illustrator who goes by the name of Draw! Pilgrim. See below for the full picture.

Isn't this set of 25 vintage matchboxes a sweet idea for an advent calendar? It costs under £3 ($3.50 Australian dollars) and you order it as a PDF from Pilgrim's online store, then print it in colour and get busy. Full instructions are provided for assembling it once it pops out of your printer.

Pilgrim's work thanks to wonderful vintage store, H is for Home. Check them both out!

Two vintage sales: London & Chichester

Vintage loving Londoners and Chichester dwellers, prick up your ears: there are some events coming up that you need to know about. One happens this weekend (London) and the other is in two weeks (Chichester) and, between them, are hosted by two of my favourite junk-not-junk online shops. Want to know more?

London

The OK Corral and Random Retail (run respectively by photographer with excellent taste in vintage things, Holly Jolliffe and her mum, the textile designer/maker Joy Jolliffe, who does a nice line in screen-printed textiles) are doing an open house Christmas sale this weekend at 14 Chaucer Road, Herne Hill, London SE24 0NU. Dates: 5 & 6 Nov, 10am-6pm and 11am-4pm.

Lucky me, as this is on my dog-walk route to my lovely local Brockwell Park – but it's also worth travelling for, there are several great pubs nearby serving good food (The Prince Regent and the Half Moon, which does excellent pizzas, are my favourites), and there's also the Brockwell Lido Cafe, which overlooks the pool in a rather civilised fashion. They do great coffees (though not often very quickly, though they are worth the wait). I'll be there, or chasing a lively Jack Russell in the park, so do give me a wave if you're there.

Chichester
Meanwhile... down south, Winter's Moon are holding the first of their Christmas fairs.

They will be opening the doors of their studio to sell everything you see online, as well as some exclusive extras that you'll only get if you go in person. The event happens on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 November, from 10am-4pm both days. Check out their blog for more details.

They're also at three further Christmas events in the same part of the world over the next few weeks: Goodwood, Petworth House and Farnham Maltings. It really is a stunning bit of England (I posted about it a while back) and well worth a day-trip if you're not a zillion miles away. Pallant House alone is worth the excursion; it's a pretty special gallery with a vast collection of beautiful and impressive art.

Fabulous formica table

What a very good idea: an old-school Formica table/desk, in that classic 1950s yellow, but newly made and customisable, according to your requirements.


Winter's Moon are the online shop behind it (they're based in gorgeous Chichester where they also exist in a non-virtual fashion, check out their visit-by-appointment details as well as finding out about their upcoming studio sale). They're also one of my favourite places to window shop digitally, they have some brilliant and brilliantly random bits and bobs – all very well edited.


The table has a birch ply top, bare solid European oak legs – unfinished – and it measures 108cm wide x 59cm deep x 74.5cm high. Rather brilliantly, if these dimensions don't suit you, Winter's Moon will organise getting you one made in a different size. Delivery is available nationwide for £20 (the legs  cunningly unscrew) and it costs £255. It's pretty pricey, but for a handcrafted new table I don't think it's bad, especially as Formica tables on  eBay are fewer and farther between, and getting more and more expensive (though there's a good yellow one, currently with no other bids, starting at for £44 and on sale in Norfolk).


My Formica kitchen worktop is exactly this shade of yellow. It was a DIY job, created using a cheap, back-to-front Wickes version (back-to-front so the square, rather than the more modern curved, edge was at the front) and covered – top and front edge – in faintly speckled Formica, bought here. Sadly Formica UK  no longer make the exact shade I bought, and their range is less vintage-looking that it was – but there are still a couple of nice retro styles worth checking out if you want to make your own worktop, or even your own table. Do send me snaps if you do.

Read more about Formica at the Classic Cafes blog, where you can also ogle pictures of some gorgeous tables covered in the stuff in their original settings.

Pretty paper lanternsfor the table

Paper lanterns that you can also send as greetings cards? 
How very clever.

For £9.50 (free p&p and everything), you get a pack of seven of these vintage-esque lovelies - and if you're not wrapping them around a glass holding a tealight for a cosy evening glow, you can leave them unfurled and write a message on the top or bottom, then post one to a friend, so loved ones can bask in stylish light too.

Oh I know, I only posted about Winter's Moon yesterday - but it really is my new favourite shop, you'll have to bear with me.