Hot design alert: Arabia of Finland.

Here is a tip for you based on our sales experience. Kitchenware and tableware marked Arabia of Finland is super hot. We sell nearly every piece we get right away. Arabia is a Finnish ceramics company founded in 1873 by Rorstrand and currently owned by housewares conglomerate Fiskars. The items that are the hottest are from the 1960's and 1970's and designed by the famous Finnish designer Kaj Franck.

“Kaj Franck (1911-1989) was one of the leading figures of Finnish design, the teacher of several generations of professional designers in Finland, and an influential figure in design and applied arts between 1940-1980. He was artistic director of the Wärtsilä Group (later Hackman Plc, present-day Iittala Group) and artistic director and teacher at the College of Applied Arts, the predecessor of the University of Art and Design Helsinki.The Design Forum Finland awards the yearly Kaj Franck Design Prize to a designer or team of designers working in the spirit of the late Kaj Franck. The Mint of Finland will release a collector coin with the theme “Kaj Franck and Industrial Art” in January 2011. The year of release will coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of his birth.”

 Courtesy Dcwdesign

Here are some examples we have had in stock and sold. We have about 5 items in stock here.

Courtesy Dcwdesign 

Lisa was out picking yesterday and found an Arabia of Finland item she had never seen before. This is a pair of cappuccino size cups and saucers with a cool biomorphic design on them. Lahja Pattern by Raija Uosikkinen designed them for Arabia Finland. We have never seen these before with saucers. 

Available here

Huge.... Saucer is 6 3/4" diameter x 1 1/4" deep. Cup is 4 3/8" in diameter x 3 5/8" deep x 5 1/4" wide.

Pflueger No. 4128 "Captain" Trolling Reel

Just got this in today and wanted to share it with you.

First, a brief history of the Pflueger Company. 

Founded in 1881 in Akron, Ohio, E. F. Pflueger’s Enterprise Manufacturing Company was not the first company to manufacture a fishing reel—that honor goes to the Meek Brothers, whose Kentucky reels predate 1840. But Pflueger was the first major commercial tackle company—its 1900 catalog, produced two years before James Heddon hung out his shingle to sell handmade wooden fishing lures, featured 126 pages of "Fish Bait and Anglers Specialties."

Pflueger’s company, which was taken over by his son and renamed E. A. Pflueger Company in 1906, was the first to commercially produce wooden fishing lures. In 1883, the elder Pflueger patented a luminous lure paint designed for night fisherman. A lure from that period, the Luminous Flying Helgramite, had wings and feathers, but was only made for about a year, making it a highly collectible antique fishing lure.
In the 1890s, Pflueger produced rubber decoys, the rubber Muskallonge Minnow (it had three single hooks and metal fins), and, in 1899, the Trory Minnow, which had three treble hooks, propellers at its head and tail, and yellow glass eyes.
Throughout the early part of the 20th century, Pflueger produced numerous minnows and bugs, some weighted, some designed to float. But the competition from Heddon and others proved too much for the company. Fortunately, lures were not its only source of revenue. Indeed, Pflueger reels would keep the company independent until well after the middle of the century.
The product that secured Pflueger’s reputation for reliability and dependable action while casting was the Baitcasting Reel, introduced in 1916. The brand for this new line of fishing reels was Four Brothers, who were E. A., Joseph, George, and Charles. Models included the Delite fly reel, in 40-, 60-, 80-, and 100-yard sizes. The reels’ plates were made of hard rubber and covered with either polished nickel or satin gun metal. Also available in that introductory year was a double-multiplying casting reel called the Medina, so named for the county west of Akron.
By 1924, Pflueger had largely dropped the Four Brothers name in favor of the model names themselves. The Regal, Elinor, and Pastime reels were still marketed as Four Brothers reels, but the Delite reel was now sold on its own. So were the Eclipse and Mohawk reels, which were salt-water models. Two other smaller salt-water reels, Sumco and Beacon, were introduced in 1927, and the Castwell came along in 1931 (it was introduced as the Comrade but that dull name was quickly changed).
Other antique and vintage Pflueger fishing reels sought by collectors include the Skilcast ("Blister Proof" is the guarantee on the side of the box), the Supreme, and an Orvis-like fly reel called Taxie. In the 1930s, Pflueger all but discontinued its line of lures, which is what helps make those lures so rare today. In 1954, Pflueger introduced its first spinning reel, and in 1966 the company was sold to Shakespeare. Today, reels, rods, and combos bearing the Pflueger name continue to be manufactured in South Carolina.

Courtesy Collectors Weekly 

The No. 4128 "Captain" is a 4 3/4" diameter spool, single action trolling reel with thumb stop. This one is full of braided copper line. These would have been mounted on a heavy duty, boat-rod style fishing pole. Montague was a very popular rod for this use. It would be used for Lake Trout or Salmon on the Great Lakes. I would grade condition as Fine on this reel. It includes original, correct box and can be purchased here

Winterfest 2015

Today is Winterfest 2015 and the 400 Block is packed with happy people. There is a ton of great stuff to do inside and out. Winterfest is put on each year by Wausau Events. Here is how they describe it:

"Located throughout downtown, our fourth annual Winter Fest offers a day of activities for the entire family, including: Horse-drawn wagon rides, art projects, cookie decorating, a snow sculpture slide, ice-skating, and more! Our detailed maps will show you where to find the fun.
You’ll surely be hungry, so join us for the Mac-N-Cheese Competition in the Great, featuring 5 local restaurants and live music throughout the day. (Proceeds go to Wausau Events, Inc. to continue great events all year!)"
Other participating organizations include The Center for Visual Arts and Wausau Curling  and Peoples State Bank, Wausau All of this cool stuff is happening right across the street from Hazel Home Art and Antiques.

Here is the popular snow slide that will be here until spring.

Cool Ice Carving demonstration.

Vintage Piper J-3 Cub airplane model. The Model T of airplanes.

The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem (fore and aft) seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time. The Cub's simplicity, affordability and popularity invokes comparisons to the Ford Model T automobile.
The aircraft's standard chrome yellow paint has come to be known as “Cub Yellow” or "Lock Haven Yellow" Courtesy Wiki

Cubs gather for their 75th anniversary at AirVenture 2012

Cubs gather for their 75th anniversary at AirVenture 2012

The model we have was scratch built and intended to be flown by radio control. It never had an engine put in it so it never got off the ground. Awesome display piece for cabin or lake house. Wingspan is 60" fuselage is 48" long. It is available for purchase here 

American Gothic 2014

More art like this here

The Oscar Peterson Trio featuring Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar.

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (1925-2007)

 Courtesy William Smith

 Courtesy Paul Hoeffler

Peterson redefined the jazz trio by bringing the musicianship of all three members to the highest level. The trio with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis was, in his own words, "the most stimulating" and productive setting for public performances as well as in studio recordings. In the early 1950s, Peterson began performing with Ray Brown and Charlie Smith as the Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward the drummer Smith was replaced by guitarist Irving Ashby, formerly of the Nat King Cole Trio. Ashby, who was a swing guitarist, was soon replaced by Kessel.^[13] Kessel tired of touring after a year, and was succeeded by Ellis. As Ellis was white, Peterson's trios were racially integrated, a controversial move at the time that was fraught with difficulties with segregationist whites and blacks.
Oscar Peterson at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival is widely regarded as the landmark album in Peterson's career, and one of the most influential trios in jazz.^{[citation needed]} Their last recording, On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio, recorded live at the Town Tavern in Toronto, captured a remarkable degree of emotional as well as musical understanding between three players.^[14] All three musicians were equal contributors involved in a highly sophisticated improvisational interplay. When Ellis left the group in 1958, Peterson and Brown believed they could not adequately replace Ellis. Ellis was replaced by drummer Ed Thigpen in 1959. Brown and Thigpen worked with Peterson on his albums Night Train and Canadiana Suite. Brown and Thigpen left in 1965 and were replaced by bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes (and later, drummer Bobby Durham). The trio performed together until 1970. In 1969 Peterson recorded Motions and Emotions, featuring orchestral arrangements of pop songs such as The Beatles' "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby". In the fall of 1970, Peterson's trio released the album Tristeza on Piano. Jones and Durham left in 1970.
In the 1970s Peterson formed another trio with guitarist Pass and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass. This trio emulated the success of the 1950s trio with Brown and Ellis, gave acclaimed performances at numerous festivals, and made best-selling recordings, most notably The Trio, which won the 1974 Grammy for Best Jazz Performance by a Group, and the 1978 double album recorded live in Paris. In 1974 Oscar added British drummer Martin Drew, and this quartet toured and recorded extensively worldwide. Pass said in a 1976 interview: "The only guys I've heard who come close to total mastery of their instruments are Art Tatum and Peterson."

From Wiki

The personnel changed several times over the years but Oscar always fronted an exceptional trio. The one we are interested in featured Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar. We are happy to offer an original oil on canvas from the 1950's. The painting is 18" x 24" and is signed T. Dole. It has no damage or in-painting and is available for purchase here

Cool Jazz Art

Courtesy here

These folks bought an African themed box and an old Fordson tractor grille.

Harlequin pattern china designed by Eva Zeisel. Sugar bowl with lid, creamer and gravy boat. Made by Hall Pottery.

One of the most popular mid-century modern designers was Eva Zeisel.  Her Harlequin pattern china just screams out modernism and has that Atomic Age decoration that collectors crave.

We have three fine pieces in stock for you right now. 

These pieces are available for purchase here

Eva Zeisel

Hungary (1906-2011)

 Eva Zeisel was continually intrigued by what she called her "playful search for beauty." A person of delightfully defiant spirit, the designer was just beginning her career when she declared war on the fashionable avant-garde. "I didn't accept the purism of modern design," she said. "In my definition, if it gave beauty to the eye, it was beauty."

Zeisel was born Eva Striker in Budapest in 1906. Her father ran a textile factory and her mother was an outspoken feminist and one of the first women to earn a doctorate at the University of Budapest. It was through her mother's urging that Zeisel switched from studying painting at the Budapest Royal Academy of Fine Arts to pursue the more practical career of ceramist. She apprenticed herself to a potter at a porcelain factory, an unusual path for an educated woman at that time. Zeisel persisted, graduated to journeyman status and became the first woman admitted to the local pottery guild. It was during this time that her work took on the sensuous, flowing and biomorphic forms that would continue throughout her career.

In 1932, Zeisel moved to Russia, explaining, "It was curiosity that moved me. I wanted to see what was behind the mountain." She found a job working for the Communist government as artistic director of the glass and ceramics industries. In May 1936, everything changed. "At 4:00am, there was a knock at the door, and so began a different life," she recalled. Accused of plotting to assassinate Stalin, Zeisel was sent to prison for 16 months, 12 of which were in solitary confinement. The accusations were fabricated and Zeisel never knew who was responsible for her release or how that joyous day came to be. "I hadn't seen any colors for a year and a half," said the designer.
Upon her release, she married Hans Zeisel. They lived in Vienna briefly, before the threat of Hitler made them leave for America. "I saw the Statue of Liberty and my fears came down. It was a very touching reception," said Zeisel of her October 1938 arrival. The next day she went to the magazine China and Glass and was immediately commissioned for ten ceramic miniatures for $100. She was also hired at New York's Pratt Institute, where she became the first person to teach ceramics as industrial design for mass production, rather than handicraft. Zeisel's work continued to gather acclaim, and in 1946, her all-white modern dinner service – a first by an American designer – was honored with an exhibition at MoMA. Her work is included in the permanent collections of museums worldwide, including MoMA, the Met and the V&A. In 2005, she was awarded the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York.

Courtesy of Design Within Reach

#midcenturymodern #mcm #zeisel