After posting the other day about
animal decor and about
Roselane Pottery's Aqua Marine pattern (and probably inspired by
the post yesterday about Tim and Karin Alonzo's collection), I've decided that I want a Blenko fish. Or two.
I realize that sounds dangerously like a collection waiting to happen, and it may be. I've been thinking for some time that I need to update the pieces in my living room built-ins. What I have there now is an eclectic mix of old and new items, mainly vintage pewter pieces and some pieces of late 1990s/early 2000s Haeger pottery. Some of the pieces of Haeger are very large, and I still love the shapes of them, but I bought them several years ago when my home was decorated in a monochromatic color scheme in shades of red, from the darkest oxblood to the brightest tomato. It's evolved, as houses tend to do, into something quite different. Maybe it's time for the built-ins to have a new, more colorful look.
I don't actually think I want to go "all fish, all the time," but Blenko has definitely been on my mind lately, and I see some new pieces in my immediate future. It doesn't cost a thing to start looking, right?
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| My built-ins as they are now with dark red (oxblood) pottery |
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| blenkoproject.org |
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| vmglasshouse.com |
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| antiquehelper.com |
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| retroartglass.com |
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| blenkoarchives.org |
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| blenkomuseum.org |
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| vmartglass.com |
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| modcats.com |
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| beachdecorshop.com |
Several of you mentioned that you'd like to be able to recognize good glass items. If you're interested in Blenko, I'd recommend your reading Blenko Glass: 1962-1971 Catalogs and Blenko Catalogs: Then and Now, both by Leslie Piña. That's as authoritative a source as you can find.
See, I didn't know Blenko made fishes!
ReplyDeleteI do think if we always kept our collections static, they would get a little boring, so I plan on rotating a few things myself.
And by golly, I can't shake my love for earth tone handmade mid century pottery created by unknown artists, so I will have to start rotating what's on display if I get more lol...
Oh boy, now I want a Blenko fish! I do think your built in would look fantastic with some pops of color. Update us as you add new pieces!
ReplyDeleteLOVE THEM - of course all I can think is that I'd break one instantly - they look fragile.
ReplyDelete@1950sarh: I love that kind of pottery too. I think that's one reason fat lava appeals to me.
ReplyDelete@Rhan: Aren't the just the cutest things ever? And "cute" usually isn't in my vocabulary. I can't figure out why I like them so much, but I do.
ReplyDelete@DearHelenHartman: The glass is deceptively thick. We haven't had a single Blenko mishap since we opened the store, and that stuff gets moved around a lot. Now the Oiva Toikka birds are another thing altogether. I'm much more careful with them, although they're a lot heftier than they look.
ReplyDeletea not-know-much like me would easily confuse such classics with a home goods version...:(
ReplyDelete