70's ART GLASS..but it's SO PRETTY!

Well some of it is, anyway.....just another collecting phase, which goes alongside all the rest!

70's ART GLASS

After finding a selection of Italian Murano Glass ashtrays from the 70's I did some research as I found that whole era quite fascinating. Remembering as a child I'd bought my mother a Mdina glass vase for Christmas because I absolutely LOVED the colours... this WAS in the 70's.
My collection ranges from these 'dishes' to an array of bubble bud vases and a few larger chunky pieces that epitomized this particular design vogue. They all look lovely on my sunny windowsill, although I am limiting that area to blues and greens only as I'm not that fond of red glass, a bit imposing and sinister.

MURANO  

Hand made using very simple, chunky designs but having that little extra wow factor.

I only have a a few examples of their special layer technique which layers two or more colours visible in the glass for certain angles, as seen the red/green dish (although we all know these are ashtrays!)

The lovely bubble dish is a perfect example, capturing tiny air bubbles during the molten glass stage, either in specific patterns or just random which are set in the glass as it cools and solidifies.

A couple of blue/white swirl dishes, these come in a wide range of colours and are produced by adding a blob of opaque white glass during the molten stage then blowing and twisting to create a swirl pattern. 

There are so many beautiful examples always coming up on eBay but I must resist and only buy from local charity shops with a upper price limit of £5...that is the law unto myself which I must obey ( everyone must have their own limitations and that is mine!!)

WHITEFRIARS ~ English glassware - famed for their knobbly glass vases in strange colours and odd shapes, although I'm not actually a fan I have found a couple of sage teardrop vases, a colour only produced for one year in 1974, don't now why, I think it's lovely but as they had to go with the flow it can't have been very popular at that time.

UNIDENTIFIED PIECES

When I can't find out about the item I get a tad frustrated so if anyone has any ideas who made these odd bits please let me know.

The first one is a heavy hand blown Hyacinth vase in deep peacock blue, dimple on base showing where it had been finished off with a grinder and polished. The second is a thick, chunky vase in bluey green, shriekingly 70's. The last vase was a birthday present from my daughter..I fell in love immediately and it looks stunning on my sunny windowsill.

A PICTORIAL SUMMERY - Making things through the ages

 SEWING IN THE 1960's

 

KNITTING IN THE 60's

SEWING IN THE 1970's

SEWING IN THE 1980's

'Make Do and Mend'...or just 'Make It' - ZIPS

ZIPS
From the 1950's and 1980's..in all sizes and colours, Nylon teeth were mainly for dresses and the hardy metal tooth versions used for coats and jeans.

'Make Do and Mend'...or just 'Make It' - NEEDLES & PINS

THE QUESTION IS....WHERE DO THEY ALL GO?

NEEDLES

Above is a small selection of early needle packets from the turn of the century, except the 'Lighthouse' packet which has a 1930's Art Deco design. 

The company of John James & Sons merged with Henry Milward & Sons in 1912 and still manufactures needles today. The rival company Morris & Yeomans was in business from 1870 to 1940, all three companies were based in Redditch. A town famous for this export which is now home to the Forge Mill Needle Museum ( it can't be a very large building!) 

The novelist Charles Dickens mentioned his visit in his journal 'Households words'

“We have been to Redditch, that remarkable little....town, to see needles made....because our English needles of today are spreading all over the known world, wherever exchange of commodities is going on. We are allowed to go over the Victoria Works, the manufactory of Mr John James.  That so many (needles) should go forth into the world from one house is wonderful enough....but the making ready for sale exhibits a miracle of dexterity”

 The 60's type face on these 'HALLS' needles is reminiscent to the 'RIZLA' logo, perhaps created by the same designer?

 PINS
Just a couple of examples of pin packets, Marvellous Plated Pins dates from the late 20's to 30's and here we have a lovely unopened pack of Newey's pins from the 70's 

'Make Do and Mend'...or just 'Make It' - OTHER WEIRD SHIT

LINGERIE GUARDS

To be fastened on the underside of a summer /evening dress shoulder strap, these ingenious devices ( a press-stud attached to a bit of ribbon with tiny safety pins that anchor you bra strap so it won’t slip down and show, goodness gracious, heaven forbid, the shame!! yeah that was in the days when women cared, now they have see-through straps and boldly flash their thong tops to all and sundry ....I may sound like a prude but really Ladies, one has to have a bit of mystery, these men-folk seek a prize ~ not a strumpet.
 

               PICKABY - dated from the time of decimalisation as there are two prices, 1969-72


BRASSIER MENDING KIT
Self explanatory 
( 1940's- 50's)

WITCH - AUTOMATIC NEEDLE THREADER

This is a 1950's device and apparently really does work, very useful by taking the trauma out of sewing!

'Make Do and Mend'...or just 'Make It' - MENDING CARDS

MENDING CARDS

I was particularly pleased to have found some WW2 mending cards with the motto ‘Mending Saves Coupon Spending’. These were used to darn up the holes in woolen jumpers and socks and sold in handy sized cards with a large selection of coloured wool threaded through chunky, large eyed darning needles. Still on sale until quite recently, possibly the 80’s ( showing my age here!), you may even find them lurking at the back of an old style haberdashers/sewing shop now. Lets hope the recent revival of 'making things' will help stop all these invaluable sewing suppliers shutting down for good, it's a knock on effect from the world wide recession, similar to the war effort of making do with what you've got, make it or mend it.

..And I won't even mention anything about how they should teach these skills in schools....at the time I HATED Needlework class and dropped it as soon as possible, I couldn't see the point of making an apron with a patch pocket.  But I had grudgingly learnt some basic sewing skills and was more than able, in my late teens and early twenties, to make and adapt lots of wild and whacky creations to wear on my Singer hand sewing machine.

'Make Do and Mend'...or just 'Make It' - HOSIERY

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT..

HOSE MENDING 

After finding quite a lot of these strange things called Hosiery Mending Cards, I became acutely aware just how throw-away we have become in this day and age, once our tights have a ladder we just chuck them in the bin and crack open a chain store multi-pack. But not that long ago ladies kept an array of different coloured thread made of either silk, cotton or nylon for the sole purpose of prolonging the life of their precious hosiery. A valued addition in their sewing box ( or even carried in their handbags) this was specifically used for mending a hole or run in ladies stockings and later tights / panty-hose (I love that phrase!) with a fine needle and delicate stitches.

Of course nowadays the remedy is a dab of nail varnish on the run...OK so you have a shiny spot on your leg in a peculiar colour but it does the same job a lot more easily than getting all this kit and malarkey out!

Makers include ‘Glista’, Stancraft, Coats and Clarks ‘Filosheen’ and Nylusta
I'm not sure when the need for these mending card ended, my latest card must be the free gift from 'My Weekly' magazine ( a publication aimed at the elderly) dated from I guess the mid 70's complete with match-like things with wax on?...but I may be wrong.

'Make Do and Mend'...or just 'Make It' - NEWEY

VINTAGE SEWING AND KNITTING THINGS....my new collection


Being fascinated by all things vintage I’ve begun downsizing the scale of the things I collect. Having had a good old rummage through other peoples donated sewing boxes to find odd and unusual bits and bobs from ages past. It began with a selection of cards containing Hooks & Eyes and ‘snap fasteners’ (which I’d always known as Press-studs) Progressing to sewing & knitting patterns of groovy outfits, mainly for the cover images but I’m sure they can all be made still.

                                                                           NEWEY

Very productive British company producing all your sewing needs, here is a selection of Newey Hook & Eyes and Snap Fasteners through the ages. What I noticed about this collection is that the Newey logo seems to change as often as ladies fashions! 

Quick quiz....How many different Newey logos have there been? 

These are the oldest examples I have but the company have been around since Victorian times, starting with the 1930’s cards, a classic Art Deco type face then gradually changing, the late 40’s to 50’s the cards show a picture of mother and child, the logo alters but the image and colours stay the same over the decade.

In the swinging 60’s to early 70’s there is a Mary Quant influence with stylised flowers, then a complete overhaul to stark black and yellow cards for the mid to late 70’s, 80's

Funny how Newey's only produced coloured snap fasteners in the 30's ( I may be wrong though) but if you are familiar with clothes of that period then you'll notice that they were fastened with these devices rather than zips. Most of the later ones only came in silver or black but had a variety of sizes.

I have a couple more non-Newey cards, one showing a 40’s lady on the back, unfortunately I only have the bottom half of this card so I don’t know the maker only that it was made in Czechoslovakia. This proves there were other manufacturers but maybe not as successful as Newey's!