Markets are fun: Spitalfields Antique Market in London

 スピタルフィールズマーケットは東ロンドンの有名なインドアマーケットで、毎週木曜はアンティーク市。ロンドン価格なのでは、という先入観がありましたが、意外と買いやすい値段のものばかりであります。この日は日本の旅行雑誌の取材。

 In Spitalfields Market. A guy in charge of a furniture stall gets relaxed on his horse.

 気持ち悪いボトルストッパーが沢山。もしこんなの貰ったらいやだなあ。

 This screams PRETTY. If my kitchen got a clean slate, I'd start right from here.

店のおじさんに許可を貰い、人形を配置してみましたが、場違いなニワトリが気に入っています。

 Pretty much all of them had contents untouched. Nasty and vile? Or sweetened with age?

数年前に再開発されたマーケット。西側は金融系のビルが間際までそびえ立ち、東側はパキスタン・インドのレストランにロンドンの若者が集まるショップやカフェが混沌と存在。こぎれいになったけど中身はぐちゃぐちゃなこのマーケットは、その両者をかける橋のようなもの。

A street snap

The coolest of this summer. 

Bekonscot Model Village

ベコンスコット・モデル・ビレッジは、ベコンスフィールドという街にあるミニチュアランドです。ロンドンから車で40分くらいの所にあります。1929年に開園し、1930年代の街を模型で再現。とても細かい作りで、寄ってみたり引いてみたり、撮影に夢中になります。

ただ今、冬のメンテナンス時期に入っており、来年の2月に再オープン。オーバーオールを着た初老のおじさまたちが、一冬かけて丁寧に修理に当たっている、と想像するのも楽しいものです。

There are more than 200 buildings ( one of them is on permanent fire with smoke coming out from the top of the building), 3000 inhabitants, 1000 animals in those 6 model villages. Not only structurally speaking, a good old 30's feeling is in full swing in the air - we are looking at the "model" culture where communities function well. We should probably study it closely. 

Stoke-on-Trent ceramics: Moorland

Moorland's design are done by Jonathan Plant, he bought this factory in 1989 with a co-partner. Once this was Susie Cooper's studio, one of the first modern studio potters in 20's. 

 These are currant ranges with humorous phrases and local colloquialisms. They do Stokie (Stoke-on-Trent), Geordie (Newcastle), Yorkie (Yorkshire), Scouser (Liverpool), Pearly (London east end) and so on. Polly, put the kettle on!

 A retired bottle kiln. Soaring figures are seen high up in the sky still now, lots of them, disused. Some provides nest for pigeons. Incidentally, did you know that the officer of command of the RMS Titanic, Captain Edward John Smith,  was from Stoke-on-Trent?  His father was a potter.

Jonathan, a designer for Moorland ware.

His meticulous design works for mugs.

Tea Moment

I've been uploading a series of pottery pictures from Stoke-on-Trent in England and 

will continue on it but just wanted to have a tea break. I thought you might like a cup too. 

A cup of tea in Parlour at Sketch, Conduit St, London

Bea's of Bloomsbury, Theobalds Road, London

The Duke of Cambridge, St. Peter's St, London

Yumchaa, Soho, London

A small tea party in Cotswolds, England

Stoke-on-Trent ceramics: Portmeirion

Portmeirion is well known for Botanic Garden, the most successful tableware series for the company. It's been produced since 70's and still draws buyers. I don't feel the charm of it personally as it's too country. The late Susan William-Ellis, a pottery designer who also founded the company created all and these series above are wondrous. She studied under the sculptor Henry Moore.

Stoke-on-Trent: Oatcake

Traditionally, those pancakes  (called oatcake locally) were potter's portable lunch to take to work from home. In closed form this can be warmed on a top of kiln or stove without spilling the filling. You can still find small eateries in Stoke-on-Trent town with a sign board "Oatcake". I had a ham and cheese oatcake in a pottery museum. Love the napkin holder.

Stoke-on-Trent ceramics: Emma Bridgewater

Emma's husband, an artist ( he has published many watercolor books on architecture) Mathew Rice and their daughter Kitty. She was decorating a pot, a gift for her teacher.

I am a dot person ( not dotty!) than stripe person. Hence the picture contains a lots of dots.


Stamp work is done by nimble fingers in the factory. Some of those motifs have appeared more than often on Emma Bridgewater ceramic ware - if you are a fan you might recognize it..


Nimble fingers with a sharp object and a decisive mind make them all.

Next to the office there was a sort of "drawing room" with archives and frames. I put flowers in a mag among this sepia environment.

Stoke-on-Trent ceramics: Crown Dorset

An entrance to the factory. I cannot tell what exactly it is but a door stopper was a lovely feature there.

  Alice's tea party stuff. In a mass like this, cute teapots becomes a tad eccentric.


There are some pieces that I really liked in the show room.


But what I fancied most was this old trademark. Crown Dorset is one of the long established ceramic companies in Stoke-on-Trent. This was hung on a wall in the office...it has 60's feeling. Maybe early 70's, would you say?


Crown Dorset. Here again, flower motif is royally reproduced from a fraying old template book.

Stoke-on-Trent ceramics: Burleigh Ware

These are pix from a couple years ago taken in Stoke-on-Trent, long established pottery town in Staffordshire, England.



Pattern and logo mark on printing sheet before it's cut and pasted in places.
Pattern from old design books are still used.
Shelves full of company's records in the office. Pattern books, accounts, correspondences.

In a shop. Even light quality is English, softly defused.

The mold storage room. A entire floor is filled with shelves like this. Row after row, century's worth.

Discontinued pudding molds. We don't see such elaborate design pudding molds nowadays. Very Victorian. Puddings made in these molds would adorn the centre of a table decadently.

Ceramic oven. I heard the company was facing a liquidation last year. Hopefully they recovered from it, as it's too sad to see this oven gone cool forever.