The Summer Edition
French brocante, the new V&A East Storehouse & more...
Happy Summer Solstice & welcome to this week’s edition of Love Vintage Etc. with a fresh vintage collection, a visit to the brand new V&A East Storehouse, a look inside Emily Scott’s new cookery book Home Shores and more things to see and do.
French Brocante
As I write this I’m planning my route through France, down to northern Spain. I’m away for two weeks and excited to visit a town I’ve recently read about - just over the border in Catalunya. Apparently it’s the place to shop for vintage and antiques.
A holiday recharge and the chance to discover new places with the thrill of coming across a local flea market, is my ideal vacances. Vintage shopping in France and Spain is always high on the agenda and with that in mind I’ve put together a collection of brocante finds, available online from the links in the photo captions.
The painting above with a jug of roses, pears and basket of oranges has a lovely colour-pop palette and dates to the 1940s. Painted in oils on board the artwork measures 38cm x 25cm. Vintage French, signed.
Top left: the perfect fish-shaped platter for any dinner party or barbecue. Vintage French, measures 26cm x22cm x 4.5cm deep.
Top right: The Art Deco ceramic tile with stencilled rose design would make a pretty stand for perfumes or soap in the bathroom or olive oil in the kitchen. Measures 15.2cm x 15.2cm and dates to the 1930s.
Below: An elegantly shaped antique French Creil & Montereau white ironstone water jug. Dates to the 1900s and measures 21cm tall x 8cm in diameter at the opening.
I’ll be diving straight in with an edit of my adventures in France and Spain with recommendations on where to stay and where to shop for vintage, in my next post.
Home Shores
The exciting new book Homes Shores by Cornish chef Emily Scott focuses on simple fish recipes to cook at home. It also includes salads, slaws and some amazing accompaniments such as orange and raspberry dressing and nasturtium flower butter. From starters to shellfish and whole baked fish the book is beautifully written by Emily and photographed by Matt Russell. With thoughtful, delicious recipes and a forward on sustainability and the Cleaner Seas Project, Home Shores is available here. Check out Emily’s Substack Shore to Shore for recipes and stories from her kitchen.
Seaside inspired recommendations…
I’m such a sucker when it comes to ceramics: vintage, handcrafted, sixties studio pottery… pretty much all types and eras. And these Villa Bologna hand decorated fish plates, below right, serve up just the right amount of summer fun and handmade style.
The pretty shell soap dish from Parisian perfumer Bienaimé is available via their website along with their signature soaps and fragrances. Continuing the seaside theme this fish necklace by Anni Lu is spot on for summer - gold plated with lovely details - the whole collection is perfect for beach and beyond.
Things to see, read & visit…
The brand new V&A East Storehouse is not one, but two free cultural destinations - Storehouse and Museum - and yesterday I cycled over to east London to see the much anticipated spaces and discovered some fascinating objects on display.
In the detail: Storehouse was designed by New York-based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with input from UK architects Austin-Smith Lord, and involved transforming a section of the media centre originally used for the 2012 London Olympics. Images: Michelle Mason
What I didn’t expect was the size of the space. It’s vast; spanning across three floors and reaching a height of over 20 metres and my two hour visit hardly touched the surface of the treasures within. I loved the gilded 500-year-old Spanish Torrijos ceiling, one of six large architectural fragments embedded within the building’s structure and was captivated by the largest Picasso artwork in the world, an 11m wide stage cloth designed for the Ballets Russes production Le Train Bleu, in 1924.
Whatever you're interested in - film, fashion, music, interior design, painting, ceramics or architecture you can pre-book a one-to-one session with any object held at Storehouse. You can get up close to a 1954 silk taffeta dress designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga, an original Clarice Cliff teapot or a carved 4th century Egyptian hand. Items from the collection are available to view via the free Order an Object service, book in advance here. Or simply enjoy the space and curated displays at your own pace, including the in-house E5 Bakehouse café and the genius pull-out display panels with antique fabrics, followed by a stroll to the vibrant Hackney Wick.
V&A East Storehouse Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London, E20 3AX. Free to enter, open daily 10am-6pm.
To coincide with Pride in London (5th July) Queer Revelations is an online exhibition showcasing the voices of Sir John Soane Museum staff. Contributors explore forgotten stories, museum objects and exhibition records. The story collection illuminates the way queer histories have been presented at the Soane. Online only, free to explore and a great read.
Playtime
Last weekend I visited the Play Pavillion - an immersive public art installation incorporating LEGO bricks. The vibrant curved structure, designed by Sir Peter Cook and nestled amongst the trees by the Serpentine gallery, encourages exploration of play as a spatial experience. If you have children to entertain during the school holidays or have loved lego since childhood you’ll love the undulating forms and scale of the pavilion. Free to visit and open until August 10th.
Thank you, as always, for reading. Your support means a great deal and I’d love you to click on the little ♡ or restack symbol as it really helps to spread the word. Until next time, love Michelle x
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