We’re taking a look at utensils this week – those useful, kitchen tools from the humble wooden spoon to the wonderfully named kitchemajig.
No kitchen should be without a wooden spoon – preferably a few.
They come in a wide variety of sizes, have multiple uses, they don’t scratch pots & pans… and also develop a lovely character over years of use.
We keep ours in this lovely, old wooden rack…
… another potful next to the stove…
…and still more hanging from this ancient iron well hook.
It’s useful having them close at hand wherever we happen to be working in the kitchen. There’s always the perfect spoon for a particular job.
This one has such a wonderful patina that it’s now been retired from general use and sits happily on a shelf enjoying its life of leisure… with a pair of child’s antique wooden clogs for company!
Of course kitchen tools don’t stop with the wooden spoon… there are palette knives, ladles, forks, fish slices, whisks etc, etc, etc.
Some utensils are multi-functional like the aforementioned kitchemajig…
…others have very specific uses such as the tomato slicer, butter curler and pastry blender.
Do rolling pins count as utensils?
We think they probably do – made from wood, pottery, marble, or in the case of this Pyrex example, glass.
The heyday for utensils – well our favourite era at least – was the 1950s & 60s. Names such as Skyline, Prestige & Tala.
Chrome & stainless steel tools mounted on lovely painted wooden handles available in a rainbow of colours.
They’re a great way of adding a vintage touch to an otherwise contemporary kitchen. They look good in sets of the same colour…
…or mixed & matched.
We picked up this wonderful set recently – boxed and with its original hanging rack. One small problem though, someone was obviously in desperate need of the lipped, oval spoon… and removed it.
We’re now on a quest for a 50-year-old lipped spoon, in pristine condition, in the right colours – no easy task!
We’ve got boxes full of coffee services short of one cup, storage jars waiting for matching lids and cutlery sets missing the odd knife or teaspoon. It’s all a matter of keeping your eyes open and being patient.
We’re currently relishing reading through a huge pile of 1950s/60 Ideal Home magazines, they’re full of fantastic ads for furniture, fabrics and housewares, including the odd one for kitchen utensils…
…like these for Tala and Prestige.
By coincidence, just as we were writing this post, we sold this lovely Prestige set with their classic 1950s, diamond-patterned handles.
If you manage to find one that you love, a kitchen utensil is of those wonderful items that can give you a little bit of pleasure every time you use it – have you got a favourite?
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Since we launched the website back in March we have wondered what to do with the furniture that we’ve got in stock.
Furniture poses a slight problem – unlike standard packages the cost of getting it to different parts of the country, indeed the world, vary wildly. Therefore, it’s almost impossible to incorporate into a website where postage is calculated automatically at checkout.
We’d almost decided to abandon furniture altogether but we thought that would be a great shame as we already have some nice pieces available. Also, what would we do the next time we see a great chair at a great price?
So, after some thought, we’ve now decided to include these larger items on the website – available via courier or collection in person.
What’s all this got to do with Todmorden? Well, that’s where H is for Home is based!
‘T is for…’ is an opportunity to show you a bit of our town – and also suggest some of the shops & sights that might be of interest to someone making the journey to pick up that table, desk or chair.
Tod, as the town’s affectionately called, is a small Pennine town situated in the Calder Valley on the border between Lancashire & Yorkshire. In fact, the border used to follow the river which runs through the town centre – where the town hall now stands.
It’s officially been in Yorkshire since the 1880s, although not everyone agrees – and just to add to the confusion, it’s got a Lancashire postcode!
The town was heavily involved in the textile industry. The ready supply of running water was ideal for the cotton, wool and dye-work mills. The settlements of the area were originally linked by pack horse trails. Canal, rail & road links were later constructed in the 18th & 19th centuries.
The canal, rail, road and river all criss-cross the valley bottom to this day. It now has a varied mix of light industry from metal fabricators to mineral works. Farming in the surrounding fields and hills. Also service industries, retail etc.
A lot of people live & work in the valley – and an increasingly significant number commuting to either Manchester or Leeds, being more or less mid-way between the two cities.
There’s a wide variety of housing stock – workers’ terraces, stone cottages, converted mills, farms and some quite grand villas.
The valley is quite steep-sided, and in some areas the buildings appear to almost topple down on to each other. We recently discovered this Marrimekko Mokki fabric…
…we love it – it really captures the feeling!
So, what else might you be able to see & do if you make the trip? We’ve already spoken about the market in the M is for Market… post – remember, Thursday’s flea market day!
In terms of other interiors-related shops, there’s a nice little group in the Water Street area. We have a decent-sized antiques centre – Picture House Antiques. They have a few traders housed under one roof – traditional antiques, rustic bits & pieces, vintage & retro too.
Next door is The Bear Health Foods, housed in the old Industrial Cooperative building – a lovely health food/grocery shop with cafe upstairs.
Recently opened is Hogarth & Hunt, specialising in French country interiors.
Across the street is Makepiece…
…who sell ladies & childrens clothes, hand-spun and knitted using wool from the shop owner’s own rare breed sheep. Also handmade soaps, potions & lotions.
You can design & make your own greeting cards at Vanilla Pod. There is Water Street Gallery which showcases contemporary pieces of glass, ceramics, textiles and paintings.
Also, Lyall’s, a small second-hand bookshop, Todmorden Toy and Model Museum and a few charity shops close by.
Also on Water Street is Todmorden Fine Art, one of our absolute favourites and the location of many of our moments of weakness. The gallery specialises in Northern artists such as William Turner, Geoffrey Key & Peter Stanaway.
We have a large park, Centre Vale, in the town with a leisure centre and swimming pool. Swings & things if you’ve brought young kids… and wooded trails if you’ve brought the dog! There’s no shortage of hills, trees and water in the area generally – making it great walking country.
Seventytwo is a family-friendly cafe situated opposite the park – and there are plenty of other of places to sip a coffee in the centre of town.
There are a few villages & towns in the valley. Five minutes drive in either direction are Walsden and Hebden Bridge.
Walsden has a large garden centre, Gorden Riggs and Cottage Antiques which specialises in rustic country furniture – beautifully displayed in a two storey barn and courtyard.
And no mention can be made of Walsden without talking about Grandma Pollard’s – a famous fish & chip shop in these parts – people travel from far & wide to sample its delights!
Hebden Bridge is a lovely little town famous for its independent shops and cafes. It also has an antiques centre… as does Mytholmroyd, a further 5 minutes drive up the valley.
Back to that furniture -here are some of the items that we’ve recently put on the website…
…all available to collect from Todmorden!!!
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