Become a lady for the day with this Flutters & Fancies cake stand from John Lewis.
It's lovely and delicate and deserves to be stacked with finger-sized cucumber sandwiches and fondant fancies immediately. The mis-matched design shows a vintage chic and the two designs sit well together. If you want to go all the way, there's also a tea pot and tea towels in the same range.
Get yours online or in a branch from John Lewis for £22.50.
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, Heal’s has gone all out with the promotion of 1950s-inspired products, many of which we’ve mentioned here before. One that is new to us, and definitely worth looking at, is the John Jenkins Studio Desk, created exclusively for Heal’s.
The desk is made from a combination of oak and walnut veneer and features a drop-down work surface. The rest of the unit provide a good amount of storage space, although if that isn’t enough for you, there are other office units in the same range.
The desk costs £895 from Heal’s.
A cosy blanket is always useful, whether for wrapping around yourself to keep warm or to lay out your picnic on in summer.
This Battersea Blanket by Mary Penny is more stylish than the traditional tartan blanket and being designed by a graduate of the Royal College of Art, is perhaps closer to a piece of art than your usual bedding. The iconic London landmark Battersea Power Station has been woven into the blanket in bold colours against a subdued background on one side, with the colours reversed on the other . It measures 140cm by 190cm and is made from 100% Lambswool.
Buy from Thorsten Van Elten for £215.
As you would probably guess by how often we feature such items, we really like vintage-style teacups, coffee pots and mugs. And so it seems does the designer of this Vintage Tea and Coffee Pots Wrapping Paper.
The design consists of images of enamel pots and mid-century patterned cups, printed on matt paper. Interspersed with these images are tea spoons with silver detailing. As the seller says, it is nice enough to hang as a poster in your kitchen.
The wrapping paper costs AUS $4.95 from Lark Made.
Do a search for Festival of Britain on eBay, you'll be amazed at what you find. Everything from stamps and coins through to glasses and teapots, most of it for not a lot of cash. Why an I telling you this? Well, this year is the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, a celebration of post-war Britain and all it offered. Lots of reproduction material is likely to hit the market, but something like this original Design In The Festival book is far more interesting – and not too expensive.
It's an original publication produced by the Council of Industrial Design and according to the seller, one of the 'scarcer publications' of the event. Certain to appeal to midcentury fans, it is a fully illustrated review of British goods including sections on furniture, textiles, ceramics, electrical appliances, motor cars and cameras. Also numerous pages of contemporary advertisements, many in full colour.
132 pages including covers and in 'generally very good clean condition', the book is up now at £14.95.
Find out more at the eBay website
Ever dreamt of owning a Porsche Speedster, a Mercedes 300SL, a Jaguar E-Type or a vintage Jeep? Well, that dream might be a little nearer with Pocket Classics.
From the name, you might expect these to be toy cars for your desk. Oh no – these are working replicas of classic cars, but at half scale. Take your pick from the four models mentioned above (none of them branded for legal reasons), each one faithfully recreated with a composite GRP body shell, steel chassis, twin rear hydraulic disk brakes, and semi automatic gearbox. There's also working headlights, indicators and horn, with a top speed of 46mph.
All cars are built to order, but it's worth noting that they are toys. So not road legal. Which means the £9,995 price of each one will undoubtedly make it the most expensive toy you ever buy. See the website for images of the other models on offer.
