Good Things by David

My wonderful cream and green enamelware canisters from the early 1930s deserve to be recorded and displayed as reference for every collector out there.  What I try to do here on the blog is not only share ideas and creations, but I also hope to guide people in the right direction with correct information about a particular subject.  Nothing is more frustrating than doing an online search and coming up empty about the things I like to collect.     After opening a dialogue with several individuals here and abroad, I came to realize that no one had really written about the canisters that I love having in my colonial home.  Little did I know when I was able to acquire these, that it would lead to a new bounty of information about a particular company specializing in steel objects for the home.     Vintage Cream & Green Enamelware Canisters If you were to quickly glance at these cream and green enamelware canisters sitting on my large kitchen island, yo...

Vintage kitchen towels or tea towels have such special appeal to those of us who collect a variety of household textiles.  The term "tea towel" is what we often associate with the variety of toweling that was spun from linen and used in kitchens throughout the decades for drying delicate items such as glass and china. Tea towels or kitchen towels made from either 100% linen or a cotton-linen blend are easily recognizable by touch and by their look.  These are not the type of super-absorbent cotton towels (think bar mops and other terry-cloth towels) used in today's kitchens to wipe up spills and clean the counters. If you're lucky enough to find new-old stock with the sizing still intact, you will see how wonderfully attractive they were presented to the consumer with their bright colors, crisp texture and natural weaving.  Even better is when you find towels with their original tags. Pricing varies from under $10 to over $30 for one towel, depending on the ...

There is nothing like setting a table with antique or vintage silverware.  It has become the standard at home to set our table with a mix of vintage and antique silver, along with china patterns from a bygone era.  Although I do own complete sets of silverware patterns, I normally prefer to blend designs so that I create a little bit of visual interest at the table. While in Los Angeles over the Christmas holiday, I was able to visit some of my favorite antique stores.  This time around I was determined to only look for silverware because I didn't want to bring back anything large or bulky. I hit the mother lode at the Orange County Antique Mall on Glassel St.. It's an area known for having several stores which specialize in vintage and antique items.  The silverware is spectacular there! This small stockpile of luncheon knives (or dessert knives) is great for weekend brunches.  Having a set of these means that I can still use knives for smaller pl...

I have a penchant for mixing bowls, all types of mixing bowls.  Bowls are a must in any home because they are practical and helpful with a number of tasks in the kitchen.  From holding items for your mise en place and mixing batters, to serving portions at the table and storing leftovers, a good set of mixing bowls will always be welcomed in the kitchen. Vintage enamelware bowls have slowly started to make their way into my home, because I find them to be charming and a perfect fit with the other vintage kitchen items that I love to collect.  I first took notice of them while visiting flea markets eons ago, but I never really inspected such pieces up close.  They were "filed away" in my memory under a future maybe/maybe not. To put it simply, it didn't take long for me to get the first set of vintage enamelware bowls into the kitchen before they started to multiply.  It was instant attraction.  Enamelware began to be manufactured in thi...