Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  We had a nice dinner of crab cakes and agurksalat (cucumber salad) with a bottle of Duval-Leroy Blanc de Chardonnay 1998 (the same year my partner and I met!).  The glasses are from the Aarne line by Iittala.

And for dessert we had some fantastic nibblies from a French bakery near us, with some Port and espresso.

I noticed that the Millesgården plates by Rörstrand have a different mark on the bottom than the cups and saucers - they also say "Diamant."  The color of the porcelain was also slightly yellower in the plates.  Hmm.

1967 Porsgrund Bowl

This bowl, dated 1967, belonged to my grandma.  It has great vibrant colors that would be at home with many of the traditional Mediterranean ceramics.  I don't know the pattern name, but it is similar to the Telemark pattern, which is apparently exclusive to the US market (and our local Scandinavian shop says it's being discontinued).

Figgjo Flint Saga Pitcher

 

Bing and Grøndahl Drop Ornament

The Bing and Grøndahl ornament from 1986, and a wooden Viking ship ornament.

Lisa Larson Lion

I gave this to my partner for Christmas.  The bottom is unmarked, but I have seen others that are stamped in the clay "L Larson Gustavsberg" and/or with a Gustavsberg sticker.

Emerging from Christmas

My partner surprised me with the Figgjo book ("Formet av Entusiasme Gjennom 60 År: 1941-2001" (literal translation, hmmm: "Shaped by the Enthusiasm over 60 Years")), ordered by emailing the company store in Figgjo, Norway where we were last spring (quite resourceful of him, I thought).  Our friend Lisa gave us our first piece in the Tor Viking pattern by Figgjo Flint, a fun casserole.  The marks are under the lid, and the clay on the body is quite different so that it can be oven-safe.

Our Christmas china is the Winter Greetings pattern by Lenox (not Scandinavian!?) that we bought about 10 years ago.  And our festive Christmas tablecloth this year is a Marimekko pattern called Taikamylly from Crate and Barrel.

Wooden Christmas

Nisse Ornament

I may be cheating, because I don't know if this is actually Scandinavian, but it looks like it so that should count for something.

Bing and Grøndahl Drop Ornament

The 2002 Bing and Grøndahl ornament.

Porsgrund Coffee Mugs

More snow today!  We had some post-shoveling hot cocoa.  The Porsgrund mugs in the Farmers Rose pattern were my grandma's.

It's Christmas week, so things will probably be different.  This is my favorite of the wrapping paper from Ikea this year.

Figgjo Flint Saga Dish

Christmas Kjenge

Porsgrund Nisse Mugs

 

My mom gave us these Porsgrund mugs with nisser on them.  The little guy on the handle says "God Jul."

Small Elle of Norway Vase

This little Elle of Norway vase looks like it was made in a hurry.  The design is very simple - just two colors - and the lines look like they were applied quickly without too much concern for aesthetics (even the marks on the bottom look like they were applied in haste).  Oftentimes, companies would make smaller pieces specifically for the tourist trade - the smaller the souvenir, the easier it was to pack.  That could account for the unrefined look.

Porsgrund Compote

This old Porsgrund footed bowl was an antique show find.

Rolf Berg Tomte Ornament

Stavangerflint Apotek Plate

My grandpa was a pharmacist and my grandma's father was from Stavanger (Rennesøy to be precise), so this Stavangerflint plate showing a drug store was a doubly-important souvenir.  The back shows that it was made for a pharmaceutical company:  "Med vennlig hilsen fra Marwell Hauge Farmasøytisk A/S" ("Best wishes from Marwell Hauge Pharmaceuticals").  The artist was Kari Nyquist.

Christmas Decorations

We put the Marimekko Kanteleen Kutsu cards in little frames and used the sticky 3M hooks to hang them on the wall (we really wanted some of the fabric, but the cards are a bit more affordable!).  Some of Christmas-themed Rolf Berg tomten are on the sideboard.

Lisa Larson Tomte

This was a gift from my mom.  We had him for several years before we really became aware of (and obsessed with collecting) Lisa Larson.

Some non-keramikk pictures on a snowy day.

We walked to our nearby garden shop to get our Christmas tree this morning.  They're predicting 1 to 2 feet of snow, so it's a perfect day to say in and decorate.

Porsgrund Troll Plate

My plate when I was young.  Marked Porsgrund, 1967.

Royal Copenhagen Baca Dish

A small dish that is part of the Baca line by Royal Copenhagen, designed by Nils Thorsson.

Elle Norsk Vase

This is one of the few pieces of Elle pottery that I have seen with something other than an abstract design.  The vase has two women, with trees and a house on the back.  It also has part of its original Elle Norsk sticker!  The signature on the bottom looks like AF - I'd love to know who these artists were.

Porsgrund Trivet

This Porsgrund trivet was my grandma's.  It has a poem by John Herman Wessel about sandwiches and love... I think some of the meaning is lost in the online translations, though.