Friday 21 April 2017

Is there honey still for tea?

No chocolate eggs or bunnies for us last Sunday. Nor did we join in an Easter egg hunt. No, we were going on a different hunt altogether. And yes, you have got it quite right: we went on another flea market treasure hunt!

It was quite chilly, so I was glad I didn't put away all the long-sleeved stuff.



I've had this burgundy Merry Finn dress, sprinkled with tiny pink diamonds, for a while now, but it was waiting for the perfect occasion to wear it. It's got a flower border pattern, which is repeated on the breast pocket and collar. Its slippery polyester fabric has an equally slippery lining, so that I was making swish-swish sounds with every move. And look: it's got pockets too! I actually only discovered them during our photo shoot!

For contrast, I added a light blue cardigan (with red and mid blue accents at the cuffs) and light blue plastic beads and ring.



The jacket I chose for the occasion is a 1980s does 1930s Sears number, to which I pinned a gold tone brooch set with a turquoise stone.
The blue scarf striped with a multitude of colours came from a cheap High Street shop (Zeeman, for my Belgian and Dutch readers) and I have it in pink as well.

The flea market is a firm favourite, the quality of the stalls much better than those in Antwerp.
Still, it didn't have its usual capacity, which was probably due to the Easter break.



Upon entering, we almost walked into this flamingo, which instantly made me think of Melanie!
It was too big to take home with us, though, not to mention far too expensive, as was the majority of the objects displayed on this stall. Most of it was still there when we walked past on our way out ...


It didn't take us long to make our first purchases, all from the same delightful stall: a brooch with an intriguing stone, a vintage string of beads and a pocket watch chain. The enamel goose brooch came from a different stall.








We also found this cute trio of poodles - mum with her two puppies attached by little chains - on the first stall.

We have a glass Bambi ornament in the same vein.

I'm guessing both ornaments date from the 1950s.












We halted in front of this contraption (bottom left), which I recognized to be a Teasmade. Having come across similar ones in several books on vintage, it was the first time I saw one "in the wild".


Belgium isn't a nation of tea drinkers, and I was raised on coffee from a tender age.

In fact, I only had my first taste of tea when on a school holiday in Austria, aged 11, and I thought it tasted disgusting.

Later, I learned to appreciate tea, especially upon discovering there was more than one variety!
After all, you cannot call yourself an Anglophile and not like tea!


Among the usual jumble of stalls selling heaps of clothing, crates of books and records, not to mention those stalls consisiting of nothing but cartons containing a lifetime of accumulated junk, there are those whose display halts you in your tracks.

We were tempted by a cheerful stall full of vintage crockery, part of which you can see in the above collage on the bottom right.



We bought this French coffee pot complete with a removable filter for brewing coffee. Not only does it look great against the blue walls of our kitchen, it produces seriously strong coffee, as we were about to find out the next morning.








From the same stall came this French, green enamel salt container which, knowing us, we will use for something else entirely. It is joining the other green enamel kitchenware we already have.













Then it was time for lunch, which for once didn't consist of a picnic. We splashed out and had coffee and a roll in the cafeteria, which is situated smack dab in the middle of the flea market, so that you can watch proceedings while you eat.

It was also in view of the aforementioned Teasmade. As I've finally succumbed to a smartphone, I started Googling the damn thing and found out that it was a 1950s one, produced by Goblin. I also almost choked on my roll when I saw the prices it was going for.


After lunch, we casually sauntered by the Teasmade stall, acted as if we had no idea what it was, patiently listened to the seller's explanation and eventually asked for the price. It turned out to be so much less than what I'd seen online, that we said we'd take it there and then. This is quite unusual for us, as we have an agreement not to buy anything unless we know the perfect place to put it. Oh, well, you only live once, I suppose.

 As it was, it didn't take long to find the perfect place.



Back at home, we proceeded to clean it up, as it - especially the kettle - was quite dirty. It came up a treat, though. Not only that, it is in full working order.

And we found it mentioned in our Collecting the 1950s book!

Although they are meant to be kept by the bedside, to wake you up in the morning with a cup of tea, the thing makes quite a racket, which goes on for about 10 minutes until it comes to the boil. The pressure of the steam then forces the boiling water along the chrome tube at the top and into the tea pot. After the kettle has emptied the platform it stands on rises and cuts off the current, at the same time switching on the alarm and the lights.

I can foresee this becoming quite the party trick!



Goblin manufactured their first Teasmade in 1937. It was made of plywood and had an actual lampshade. Due to the outbreak of war, however, production was halted and only resumed in 1947.



From 1949 until 1955, they produced the D21 model, which in design was the predecessor of our Teasmade. This one, however, had a plywood body and an accompanying wooden tray.



From 1955 until 1960, it was replaced by the D25 model, which was made from cream urea plastic (a kind of Bakelite), with an orange Goblin figure on the front. Sounds like ours, then. But some more Googling revealed it to be the D25b model, which was produced in 1960, the only differences being purely cosmetic, like the colour of the clock's face and hands.


If you are interested, you should check this fabulous website run by two Teasmade collectors, from which I gleaned my information as well as the fabulous ads.

Now, all this writing about coffee and tea has made me quite thirsty. Shall I put the kettle on?



28 comments:

  1. It's my flamingo! Bet it was still cheaper than the metal one we saw at a National Trust property.

    I LOVE the Teasmade! I am such a tea fiend, absolutely hate both the smell and taste of coffee, so I rather like the idea of having a cup of tea ready upon waking xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess you're right, and that the NT flamingo was even more expensive. I don't know what it is, but I keep seeing flamingoes everywhere. Not real ones, mind you! I love both coffee and tea, but Jos is a real coffee fiend. xxx

      Delete
  2. My friend has had a teasmade for years and uses it everyday. I've got one it's called Philip haha.
    I'm seriously worried about the amount of stuff we both collect Ann, I may have to move out soon there'll be no room for me xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean! There'll be no room for me soon at Dove Cottage either. I could never be a minimalist! xxx

      Delete
  3. Now I know what my life has been lacking-a Teasmade!
    *Scurries off to go look at listings on ebay*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm wondering how I could have lived without a Teasmade all these years! Been thinking of you, hope all went well ... xxx

      Delete
  4. You got some great things, the orange brooch is gorgeous. I love the poodles, obviously! The salt container is just my kind of thing too. You suit the Merry Finn dress, lovely :) xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. My parents had a Goblin teasmade back in the day...I can still hear it spitting and hissing away. Yours looks lovely placed in the kitchen and I'd have bought that salt cellar too, in a heartbeat. I bet Vix will have poodle envy! Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It turns out Vix has exactly the same poodles! I could have guessed ... Spitting and hissing are exactly the right words for it, and the alarm nearly made Phoebe jump out of her skin, the poor mite! xxx

      Delete
  6. oh yes - coffee please :-)
    that teasmade is a total burner! so cool and stylish and it works! gorgeous find!
    you look fab in the berry tones of your dress and jacket - your colors! 80s does 30/40s is a great way for me to wear my beloved early midcentury style without the fear of ruining fragile, over 70 years old clothes :-)
    happy weekend! xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Beate. Always welcome for coffee or tea at Dove Cottage. They did some great 30s/40s impersonations back in the 80s. xxx

      Delete
  7. My favourite kind of hunt ;) You did well with the teasmaid. I always wanted one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm very pleased with it myself, as it's such a great design and it's a bonus it's still in working order after almost sixty years. I don't think today's machines will last that long ... xxx

      Delete
  8. Snap! I've got those poodles, the same scarves (in pink and turquoise) and the salt cellar (in white!) Haven't we got great taste?!
    Love the Merry Finn dress, it looks fab in both shots!
    How funny that you'd never come across a Goblin teasmaid before, I think most us grew up with them. My Grandma's made a terrible racket, I think she was awake ages before the tea was ready with all that clunking!! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that we have great taste! As for the Teasmade, as far as I know, they were never sold in Belgium, so they weren't around when I was growing up. Although it'd be nice to wake up to a cup of tea, I really could do without the noise it makes. It's bad enough that Phoebe is snoring and always insists on sleeping on our bed ... xxx

      Delete
  9. such a lovely dress, and it swishes when you walk, which is a really great quality! and it has pockets (doubled fabulousness!)
    And I'm amazed by this Teasmaid, I've never seen one of them, probably because we're a heavy coffee drinkers country. There were some fashionable automatic coffee machines in the 70's and, nowadays, publicity tries to sell those posh espresso machines in a country where everybody already has an italian coffee maker (which is perfect yet!) nonsense!
    I love that Teasmaid's futuristic & modern personality, and the french cofee pot, it looks so cute!. Great purchases!
    besos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Monica. I love a "swishing" dress! Belgium is a country of coffee drinkers too, so I'd never seen one before, although I was aware of their existence. We do have quite a collection of vintage coffee pots ... xxx

      Delete
  10. Yes pop the kettle on, I'll have a tea please.
    What I like most about it is the little orange Goblin, but that's just the designer in me. It would be nice not to have to get out of bed to make tea in the morning. But I'd still have to get up to feed my hungry and insistent cats! Oh well...
    I really like your yellow coffee pot, it's such a cheery colour!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the Goblin too, and I've read that the Goblin logo was dropped from about 1964. It really wouldn't be the same without the logo, I think. xxx

      Delete
  11. Flamingoes always make me think of Melanie too.

    I love Teasmades. I've dropped hints at my husband for years whenever Christmas/my birthday has rolled round. I should drop a few more again. Then I can have a cuppa before I have to get up to feed the cats. Your one is a beauty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As Teasmades are making a revival, I'd keep dropping hints if I were you ;-) xxx

      Delete
  12. Ann - I loved your outfit and how beautifully the blue of the cardigan complimented the colour of the dress.

    What lovely finds you made at the flea market and the teas maid is fabulous. My mum got one when she retired in 1982 and after many years gave it to me. Like you, I found it very noisy and soon gave it up. I'm sorry now and I have seen some since in charity shops but none as old as yours. Unfortunately I no longer have the space to have it by my bedside.

    I have fallen in love with the sugar bowl and jug you have on the tray with your teas maid!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Veronica! The sugar bowl and jug were charity shop finds, but unfortunately that's all there was, as I would have like some cups and saucers. I'm keeping a photo on my smartphone in case I ever come across something similar. I put them on the tray as they're exactly the same colour, and their design goes well with the Teasmade's ... xxx

      Delete
  13. It's a beautiful dress, and the scarf goes so well with your jacket! I have never heard of Teasmade, thank you for a wonderful piece of information. It looks positively Hercule Poirot to me, he would probably enjoy a cup of tisane coming from Teasmade! (We're big fans of Dadid Suchet's interpretation of the character!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, and you are right: it really does have a hint of Hercule Poirot! xxx

      Delete
  14. Oh I love that teasmade! Never had one but they were very popular when I was a kid.
    Your frock is a beauty, and the flea market looks like somewhere I could happily browse and rummage for ages! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Curtise! I'm sure you would have enjoyed that flea market. We always spent hours browsing there ... xxx

      Delete