The reluctant anglophile
>> Thursday, July 24, 2008
I don't know why, but when I'm thrifting so many things that I'm drawn to turn out to be from England. I see a pretty cup and turn it over and lo and behold there it is. Made in England. No exception was this picnic set that had me immediately smitten. I was in the middle of weeks of clearing things out of the house, determined not to bring home anything that wasn't really necessary. Or at least really useful (and preferably pretty as well).
While I do love a picnic, I already have a picnic basket. That pie carrier I posted here. Except now I know it's a pie carrier and not a picnic basket so I could delude myself into thinking I still needed a picnic basket. Right?
So when I got it home and gave it a wash, I took an interest and looked up the name (Coracle) and found out a few things. Firstly, that Coracle made custom picnic baskets for posh shops such as Harrods of London, and that the cute apple green cups and plates were made of a material called Bandalasta and are quite collectable. The plates say "Made in England" but the cups also say Bandalasta in script font, which helps to date the set. Not that it matters but it's nice to know I have good taste in vintage picnic baskets. And all for $3.99!
It came with the pair of nice green lidded tins but I suspect they're not original to the set. But they're nice and clean and the green colour is perfect.
Once I had it cleaned up I decided it needed a few additions. I made four napkins from fat quarters of Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric - each fat quarter trimmed into a square. And also a green polka dot tablecloth from fabric I found at the Textile Museum sale. The napkins are nicely hemmed but I decided to just pink the ends of the tablecloth and leave the selvedge as finishing for the sides. Then, in the interests of being really obsessive I gathered up all my green Tupperware for exclusive use in the picnic basket. And now it's done!
Except someday I really should repair the leather clasp.. but a love of vintage always requires that little tolerance for the imperfect...
19 comments:
what a great find
i too love a picnic and bring my basket along. mine has a red theme going
That's an amazing find, and just lovely. I love the napkins and tablecloth, too. :)
I gravitate toward English things, too . . . especially television and movies.
Oh you lucky lucky duck!
Oh! That is a super lucky find! I love the addition of the linens too--perfect match!
wow this is fabulous. I love your coordinating fabric napkins - I hope you have some nice summer picnics and the ants stay away.
What a fabulous picnic set! My daughter loves everything English and dreams of living in England. I'll have to share your post with her.
Beautifull picnic set!! :)
Oh my this is just perfection in a basket! Love the added textiles and tupperware! t.x
That is an amazing find! Your additions make it perfect--it is so pretty!
Oh, this is so darn pretty! I just love those teal and aqual Amy Butler fabrics. I have been using them too!
~Emily
Looks like you found the deal of the day. Everything about that basket is great! I love it.
Such a great find.Bandaslasta is really collectable!
Over here I bet your set would have at least £20 if we could find it.
Great find! I never find anything remotely that good. You would've been crazy not to jump on it. Love the fabric you used for the napkins.
there should be no guilt related to this AMAZING picnic set. seriously, how cool? of course only you would have matching green tupperware that can be dedicated to picniking.
love the fun napkins to go with!
oh goodness! I love this, I've been looking for one of these lovely type of picnic things for years while I'm at thrift stores and rummage sales. good score!
aitor and i have been looking for a picnic set on this whole trip to house our surprising amount of eating gear - tea balls, can opener, marnie s. cutlery roll, travel mugs.
needless to say, we are deeply jealous.
That's a beautiful set. Anyone wanting one should get over here to England and go to car boot sales (flea markets) those sets are easy to come by still, and cheap too! Of course plane fare might make it expensive.
I have just recently purchased a wonderful Coracle wicker picnic basket( in PERFECT condition! ) from a local antique store ( vancouver, B.C. ) You will be interested to know that, although my set is twice the size as yours , I paid 30 times the price! However, I've searched the internet and found that a set like mine can command twice what I paid, so you really did get a fabulous bargain! And I'm happy for the price I paid. I just gave it to my husband to mark our 26th wedding anniversary, with promises of many romantic picnics to come!
How romantic, we love picnics too. Sounds like the perfect present, I bet your set is lovely. thanks for the comment!
Post a Comment