On Teacups, Collecting and Small Spaces

For as long as I can remember I have been an anti-collector. What that means is that I am so afraid of clutter that even when I find things I like I pass them up in lieu of the potential of making my space overcrowded. I think this comes from having lived in a lot of small spaces combined while finding it hard to relax unless my home is fairly neat. Not necessarily clean (don't look at the floors), but organized.

I still feel this way. But I also have learned that moderation is key, and it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Unless I move into an enormous home with 30 curio cabinets, you'll never find my home filled with collections, but rather with specific individual pieces here and there throughout the rooms. Lately I've been pining for more space to house all the treasures I fall in love with.

It's not limited to teacups, I found some turn of the century pieces that I'd love to keep, like an Art Nouveau vanity mirror set, some beautiful antique linens, and some silver pieces, but I just don't have space for it all.

Here are some of the pieces I have acquired recently...

Colclough, England, soft blue with pink, yellow, and blue pansies.

Edelstein Bavaria. I think this flower is a fuschia, but it's a guess. It looks more like a combination of about 3 different flowers.

Nippon with hand painted moriage and orange lotus blossoms.

 Coalport, England, "Indian Tree" pattern.

A Bavarian lusterware set in pretty purples, blues and hints of pink, with black handles. Love the Art Deco look of this set.

 

 The Van Bergh Teapot and sugar bowl set. How formal and proud do they look? At least until the cat knocks them over.

Vintage Melamine

In a bit of a departure from vintage teacups, I have been focusing on vintage melamine kitchenware over the past week or so. First of all, my shop needed some color, badly. Secondly, it's a popular product among collectors for its fun, kitschy look and its durability.

I was also pretty excited to be featured in a blog post on another vintage blog!

Melamine Melange, by Pillowsophi Vintage

Here are a few things I currently have in my shop:

 

I may have gone a little overboard with the lemons.

Painting, my other passion

Since I have to take occasional breaks from blogging and selling, I thought I'd write a bit about what I do when I'm not drooling over vintage items. As a painter I work in my studio, give private painting lessons, and participate in shows a few times a year. This past Friday I was part of a two person show that came together very quickly, so I was MIA for several days while we prepared for that. It went very well, and I was happy with how it turned out. Most often I paint every day objects, people, and animals using an impressionist approach with a modern edge. Since most recently I have been holed up in my studio giving lessons (which I LOVE), I have been painting still lives. Sometimes I'll even throw in some vintage items to the setup for added interest. Below are a few paintings from my last show. Now that I can breathe a bit more, it's back to teacups and vintage linens.