Indulging my inner bibliophile

I come from a long line of unapologetic book hoarders. I was one too till I bought this house and sold all my precious tomes to Half Price Books before I moved...in an effort to simplify, simplify, simplify. I readily admit that I had every literature textbook I ever used in college, plus copies of out-of-adoption teachers' editions for every literature class I ever taught, not to mention the hundreds of novels, both hardback and paperback, I thought I could never let go, even though I rarely read fiction twice.

Since I started writing this blog, my taste in print has tended toward reference books, and I just bought five more a few days ago: Danish Modern by Andrew Hollingsworth, Collector's Encyclopedia of Metlox Potteries: Identification and Values by Carl Gibbs, Jr., Fifties Furniture by Leslie Pina, Blenko Catalogs: Then and Now by Leslie Pina and Blenko Glass: 1962-1971 Catalogs by Leslie Pina. Three of the five have already come in, and I just have to share some of the great images with you.

A must for any Metlox collector

 Freeform shapes: California Freeform, California Mobile, California Contempora

The fourth Freeform shape, Aztec

Navajo/Tempo shape

A feast for the eyes of any Danish Modern lover,
the cover showing a Niels Moller armchair and Arne Vodder coffee table

A unique sofa in burled walnut by Alfred Sjkot-Pedersen

Hans Wegner's CH318 table, Czech designed chairs
 and a Robsjohn-Gibbings chair

Rungstedlund sideboard and coffee table by Ole Wanscher

A Blenko collector's companion

Amazing blues

Spectacular decanters

Stunning simplicity

And the good news is that I still have two more books to look forward to...

The hunt begins

For several years I've collected Russel Wright Iroquois Casual in ripe apricot and avocado yellow, with a few American Modern pieces in chartreuse thrown in for good measure. I have service for 16, along with all the serving pieces I need. As much as I love my collection, the "thrill of the chase" has been over for a while. Then several weeks ago, I posted about mixing and matching solid colors from one manufacturer with a patterns by another company, and I've been fascinated with the idea ever since.

My daughter and SIL gave me several pieces of Russel Wright American Modern in granite gray for Christmas this year, and a plot started to hatch in my head. What if I got more granite gray RW, especially bowls, platters and casseroles, and started collecting Metlox Aztec to go with it? That little glimmer of a thought has become my newest obsession, and now I have tons of Russel Wright and Metlox eBay listings on my watch list.

The plot will undoubtedly thicken, and I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, here are pictures of the pieces of American Modern the kids got for me, as well as a great shot of several dramatic Aztec pieces, which came out in 1955 and is the third of four patterns in the Metlox Freeform line.

My new Russel Wright American Modern in granite gray

Metlox Aztec close-up
liveauctioneers.com

Metlox Aztec
liveauctioneers.com

Mid-century mix 'n' match

I've always been a bit of a Russel Wright purist. I collect Iroquois Casual dishes in avocado yellow and ripe apricot, and I’ve never been really tempted to stray much outside those parameters, except for the occasional piece of Russel Wright American Modern in chartreuse. I don’t have much of the AM, because it breaks so much more easily than the Iroquois Casual does, but the design of some of the pieces makes it hard to resist.

The other day, though, I happened upon some pictures of Metlox Free Form paired with American Modern chartreuse, as well as Red Wing Futura Northern Lights with Franciscan Starburst and Red Wing Town and Country paired with Iroquois Impromptu Vision. The combinations were so stunning that they made me want to start buying all kinds of cool dishes and mixing ‘n’ matching like a maniac. Naturally, the first stop in my tableware stream of consciousness was Metlox Contempora teamed with American Modern granite gray and coral…or maybe Iroquois Casual in ice blue. Or how about Red Wing Smart Set with American Modern granite gray or Iroquois Casual oyster or lemon yellow? Or Paul McCobb Contempri Eclipse with....what? I could go on like this all day, because the possibilities are truly endless.

What great combos can you come up with?

Metlox Free Form with Russel Wright American Modern in chartreuse
modish.net

More Free Form and AM
modish.net

Red Wing Futura Northern Lights with Franciscan Starburst
modish.net

Red Wing Town and Country with Iroquois Impromptu Vision
modish.net

Metlox Contempora
modish.net

A set of Russel Wright Iroquois Casual in ice blue that I sold