New Elle Bowl

Found this pretty Elle bowl today, along with a big Elle mixing bowl that was more than I wanted to spend!

The bottom is marked 703/R21.

Elle Pottery Vase

My partner gave me this Elle vase for Christmas.  The designer and artist were Harald Lahn.

Elle Square Bowl

A square bowl by Elle.  The shape number is 658, and the decoration number is M3.

Elle Vase

Small Elle pottery vase (and cats).  The artist was Birgitte Skyttern, the shape of this vase is 929.

One of the best things about Elle pottery is how "Elle" is written on the bottom.  If you're not familiar with the company, the name isn't always easy to read, so if you use some creative eBay searches you can usually find pieces that are listed wrong.  For example, pieces with this signature are sometimes listed as E''E. 

Now I've given away one of my secrets...

Elle Oval Dish

I love the monochromatic glazes on this Elle dish, with just a little touch of yellow along the outer rim. 

I was looking at this dish recently and thought that those rock formations looked familiar.  Then I realized they're pretty similar to the two rocky islands on this other plate, also designed by Harald Lahn.  I wonder if this was the view from Harald's favorite spot on the shore... now I'd love to find them in the real world!

Elle Bowl

I love the deep blue glaze on this one.  The mark on the bottom of this bowl is different than most of mine - it looks like it was put on with a wax-resist method instead of painted on.  I believe it was designed by Birgette Skyttern based on "BS39."  The shape is 703B - I have round bowls that are shape 703, so I'm guessing this is just one of those but they squished the sides in to make it triangular and added the B to the number.

Elle Plates

I recently got these four Elle plates, all shape number 550 but with different decos.

I love this one, designed by Birgitte Skyttern.

These two (above and below) have the same pattern but different colors, and are by Harald Lahn.

Elle Bowl

There is something about the design on this bowl that reminds me of a Ukrainian egg, even though it is all black and white.

Today is Mother's Day in the US, and I've made a banana cream pie for dessert with my parents.

Elle Norway Plate 2

Another Elle plate - same shape number, design, designer, and decorator as the previous post, just different colors.

Elle Norway Plate

Sometimes it looks like the quality of the decorations on the front are reflected in the penmanship of the marks on the back...

Elle Norway Tray

This is the third of my Elle pieces with this stylized floral pattern, although I think the argument could be made that they are butterflies based on this tray.  Unlike the other two, this one is completely unmarked on the back, but I'm fairly confident that it is Elle.

Elle Norway Plate

Another of my plates with the stylized flowers designed by MI (or M1?). This one is larger than yesterday's and had a different painter - I like the work of "S" on this plate a little bit more!  

Elle Norway Plate

I have a few plates with this simple floral design, and I really like them. Based on my understanding of the back markings, the shape number for this size plate is 550; the original designer is "MI" (their initials?); and the person who actually painted this piece is "P."  I saw another example of this plate and design with identical markings but a different painter, and both places had the number 2113, so I wonder if that is the number of this particular design-?

I have two other examples in yellow that I'll post in the coming days.

Elle Plate

I found another piece with a scenic design by Arvid Furuheim similar to the vase I have by him.

New Elle Vase

We got a new little Elle vase today, designed by Birgitte Skyttern.  ...and enjoyed an aquavit and tonic after work.  I can't wait for some really hot weather - they'll taste even better then!

Elle Fisherman Plate

We found this funky-shaped plate on eBay.  The artist is Harald Lahn ("HL").

Elle Egg-shaped Dish

Another piece of Elle pottery from my cousin Nancy.  Thanks to some information from a commentor, I'm guessing this was designed by Arvid Furheim.

Elle Norsk Bottle Vase

My cousin Nancy gave me this Elle vase for Christmas.  I have another vase in this same shape and both have the numbers 927 BS, so I assume that is the shape number.  The artist's initial here is "S."

The Elle Keramikk AS studio/factory was located in Drøbak, Norway between 1942 and 1967.  I know three of the decorators were Reidar Finsrud, Gun von Wittrock (married name Gunvor Norem), and Einar Basteson, but I haven't been able to match the signatures on any of my pieces of Elle to these names.

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.

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.