Thursday, March 10, 2011

crown lynn. love, pure love.

i have to show off my new favourite! my new dinner set - isn't it glorious?! well, new to me at least - i believe it is actually from half a century ago.

my love for crown lynn only began about 18 months ago. tut tut. don't make my mistake - it will be gone by the time you realise you cant exist without it. my kids will be raised to love it, whether they want to or not. though, i doubt something born from this body could not love crown lynn unconditionally.

there is an incredible book, written by local collector, valerie monk, that i consider to be pure womens porn on the subject of crown lynn...so i wont go into detail. this amazing company was started in NZ in the 1800's. it was the depression that led to it expanding into crockery for armed services. some vases, some egg-cups, sigh. a silver lining to the period of the depression in God's own.. 

this set is called 'sonata'. i bought it off a friend of mine recently, who incidentally sold his house to Sir Tom Clark, the brains behind crown lynn. Sir TC bought it because he loved how they had displayed their g-i-g-a-n-t-i-c collection of his beloved babies in there.

say hello to my new baby, sonata.














p.s. the other day, whilst out on a serious charity-store binge, i came across this design. i had never seen it before, it was well priced, so obviously i had to make it mine. no choice. i have since discovered it was made by crown lynn for english pottery legend, alfred meakin. it is from the set called (i believe) 'parisian cafe' or 'parisian cafe scene'. interestingly, the bottom of the cup is stamped with the alfred meakin post war mark. that was 1945 onwards. yet, the saucer has the very standard 'made in new zealand' crown lynn stamp.


i have a special place in my heart for this little ensemble after my recent romp around paris with my bosom-buddy. love you mari day.
live long and prosper.
melissa-jade xxx

8 comments:

Mariella said...

Yes agreed, it is totally glorious. Indeed! x

melissa-jade gregan said...

thanks babe, isnt it cute? thanks so much for keeping up to date on your comments!! more up to date than my posting!! ha. yes, finally setlled on a background. what do you think love?

Liz said...

I love the linen pattern and the purdy pink roses! Is it hard to get in NZ op shops these days?

Btw I used your guide to Auckland that you did for designsponge when I went there in January. I really wanted to get a feel for what Auckland is about and it was a big help. Thank you!

Mariella said...

Yes you're new background is great! Where is it from?
x

Mariella said...

Oh just realised your background has changed again since I last checked! Where did the exposed brick one go? ( The black one shows the crown lynn up nicely though, in all its glory)
xxx

melissa-jade gregan said...

Oh Liz, that is great! where did you go?? which was your fave spot? i think it needs updating. if you come back again i would love to show you around!

mariella, you are so up-to-the-minute! they are both templates that come with 'blogspot'. i did like the brick one, but i couldn't get rid of the black background to the text and that was a deal-breaker. am enjoying this one for the meantime. think i need a new header though. will work on that...

The Wilsons said...

Love your writing style! Great post! What a brilliant find the 'parisian cafe' cup & saucer was! Well done!

Gillian R said...

I've found your post when searching for Crown Lynn Sonata pieces. I have one piece, a bowl, and I love it!! Will be searching for ever now to find more to keep it company. Lucky you on getting a whole set!