Shopping

A few months ago, I purchased some tea towels from one of my favorite shops on Etsy, Jane Ormes. Jane is a British artist who does wonderful silk screened prints and other items. I love the colors, whimsical animals and really, everything about them. Much too nice to actually use.

Near my house is a store called HomeGoods. It's one of those stores that you just pop in for one item and leave with a cartful of things that you didn't know you needed. And the selection is always changing so you have to snap things up when you see them or they will be gone for good. So, I was in HomeGoods last month roaming around and spotted something I HAD to have. It was a large enamelware pot with a pattern designed by a mid-century designer David Parsons. And then I spotted another, with a pattern designed by mid-century designer, Sylvia Chalmers. I couldn't grab the pots fast enough. I looked around some more and found a tin string dispenser and a clothespin bag, both in the pattern designed by David Parsons. I snatched them up. The items were produced by Wild & Wolf using designs in the archives of the Victoria & Albert (V & A) museum in England and even the boxes were nice. Not really knowing why I needed these things, or what I was going to use them for, I bought them and headed home. As I was unpacking my loot, I suddenly realized that they coordinated with Jane's tea towels perfectly.

Pot with "Kite Strings" design by David Parsons (shown with "Cat Trapped in Greenhouse" towel by Jane Ormes). The "Kite Strings" pattern dates from 1956.

Pot with "Palamas" design by Sylvia Chalmerss (shown with "Suspicious Birds" towel by Jane Ormes). The "Palamas" pattern dates from 1953.

So now, the pots display my tea towels. The string dispenser (in the Kite Strings Pattern) holds twine, and the clothespin bag (also in the Kite Strings pattern) hangs in my closet to hold accessories. I call that a successful day of shopping!