Carrying over from my tea theme last week, I thought I'd share with you a little purchase I made recently and get your thoughts... I was poking through an op shop hoping to find some vintage pillowslips to make more little dresses like this one when something else caught my eye. Buried amongst the plastic turner-upperers, rusty egg-beaters and mismatching cutlery... I found a little box of collector teaspoons.
The little box was more a big box, really, and was filled to the brim with collector teaspoons (most still in their plastic velvet-lined cases). Pawing through the box, I was immediately intrigued. Who had owned these spoons, and what was their story? I mean, this was somebody's life represented in teaspoons! There were tens of them. I could see where they had travelled, what events they had lived through.... and, sadly, I was to witness the ultimate resting place of the spoons on a dusty shelf in an op shop, unwanted and unloved.
But you know me better than that. Do you think I could leave these spoons on the shelf? I think not! Let it be said, I am not a collector of teaspoons myself but something about these spoons was calling me to adopt and bring them home with me. I decided to restrain myself to four spoons. The last thing I want is a house full of (more) junk, and I wagered that if nothing else, they would be cute for Fern's little tea parties in the cubby.
And it took me ages to decide. Way too long, really. I fiffed and I faffed until finally I reminded myself that at 0.50c each, I could hardly go wrong and could always come back for more! So, this is what I came up with:
I chose two spoons with pretty flowers, and a commemorative spoon of Halley's Comet from 1984 which seemed fun and hey - could be worth something one day! These, I have passed on to Fern.
But my piece de resistance, and the only one to make it into my own cutlery drawer and the one guaranteed to have pride of place at any high-tea I decide to hold in the future:
Do you love it? It's got 'England' engraved on the front, and a crown with little red stone held inside. The spoon is about 20 years old and they are not in circulation anymore. I know, because I spent a happy hour on google looking it up. It is so deliciously kitch and I.love.it. Here it is with the vintage china teacup and saucer I brought home in my backpack from an op shop in Brighton Beach 4 years ago. In England, beautiful and vintage teaware is literally everywhere, and I kick myself to this day that I only brought home one piece!
So tell me. Cool..... or kitch?
x