Kiwiana tea towels :-)

Beautiful Kiwiana tea towels :-)

Continuing on the kitchen topic from my last post: in papers today, i saw a little piece on Kiwiana range from "House of Baddeck" (never heard of this label before..?)

The teatowels are absolutely gorgeous and feature pavlova, liquorice allsorts, tomato sauce... so cute!

I would actually frame these (in simple IKEA frames) or simply hang them in the kitchen using wood pegs. I might actually do this in my kitchen and post pics later...:-)

The range also includes cushion covers and aprons. It is available inSmith and Caughey's (who are actually having a big sale now!)

Also available online at CheckoutNZ: http://www.checkoutnz.co.nz/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=CNZ&Category_Code=AUCK015

Retro kitchenware and retro kitchens

Campbell Live on TV3 featured retro kitchenware last night (found in Queenstown Salvation Army shop)!
:-)

It is so nice to see that the mainstream media is more open to secondhand/vintage lifestyle. It was also refreshing to see the presenter educating viewers about the difference between quality of retro (made in NZ or England) kitchenware and modern kitchenware mass produced in China , at lowest cost, in factories that probably have no consideration for environment, pollution, let alone the carbon footprint.

Here is the link -
http://www.3news.co.nz/TVShows/CampbellLive/Celebrity-chef-Richard-Till-talks-retro-bakeware/tabid/817/articleID/113709/cat/221/Default.aspx

The presenter was explaining how , for example, muffin trays made in 1950s/1950s in England or NZ were made to last, and to produce the best muffins ever! Their modern equivalents though, are not made to last, their materials are the cheapest: production cost comes before quality. And wait - retro muffin trays are avalable in charity shops for a few dollars!

It astounds me when i look at the terrible stuff available in stores here: plastic and ceramics, cheap crockery and cutlery from China, Taiwan etc. When you think about it, and take quality into consideration - they stop being cheap and start looking expensive. A cooking pot which chips after few months or a year, you throw it out, go to the Warehouse (yuck) and buy another one. I have cooking pots from 1950s and they are not chipped, are still perfect and will last for decades to come!

Even worse are cheap toasters and kettles made in the same places, and meant to last a few years before ending up in the rubbish. I have a friend who, i noticed, went trough 3 toasters since i knew her (2 years). She buys new, mass produced toaster and uses it until it dies. Then, she goes to the Warehouse, or Farmers, or another cheap store and buys another shiny and new toaster, which will meet the same fate eventually.

I have a Dualit toaster , that i paid NZ$450 for and i fully expect it to last another 20 years. While we were growing up, we had one Dualit toaster, and my parents still use it. I think it is 30+ years old. Just think about it! Imagine how much rubbish my parents did NOT throw in the landfill, by just purchasing ONE quality item!


The thing is retro stuff is so available and affordable, but people are not into it...it is not 'fashionable' . It is sad that our young people feel that they should go to the Warehouse to outfit their kitchen with brand new , shiny and disposable utensils... I just looked at Trademe and they have an entire category on Retro kitchenware, with some amazing stuff!

Category is under Antiques&Collectables, Art Deco and Retro ,Kitchenware. I found amazing muffin trays, fondues sets, pots, gorgeous retro dinner sets silver plated cutlery...and all this for a few dollars ...

Some pics:

Yet another design triumph :-)

I customized two 1970s mahogany coffee tables by decoupaging the tops with Vogue patterns and fashion illustrations of mod girls. They turned out GORGEOUS and sold as soon as they were put up for sale (and had dozens of watchers!).
It is so nice to see that people appreciate one-off designer pieces! :-)
Some of the pics of the gorgeous tables...