Wooden donkey

roddy&ginger - new products

2011-05-02T18:58:00.000+01:00

I'm a big fan of roddy&ginger's work and was excited to see their new designs, including this one of a hot-air balloon. I'm eight months pregnant and have been learning lots of relaxation techniques to help me through the birth, one of which involves visualising balloons floating away, so this design seems made just for me! (And it would look so nice on our grey sofa...) Cushions cost £26 and a print of the same design £35. Both are available from their online shop.

Herzensart by Sandra Monat

2011-02-02T12:33:00.003Z

I just discovered a wonderful site called Herzensart, set up by the talented designer and handcrafter Sandra Monat. She works from her study in Bonn, Germany where she produces one-of-a-kind soft toys, as well as printed stationery and some wonderful melamine ware for children, much of which is available to buy in her online shop. Her site is definitely worth a visit!

Lots more items added to the sale!

2011-01-28T12:27:00.000Z

I'm not sure about you but I'm pretty glad January is almost over, and to celebrate I've added lots more items to the Wooden donkey sale. This is our biggest sale ever, with vintage wooden puzzles now just £13 and Carlton ware money boxes at £28, so please do take a look and pick up a bargain! www.woodendonkey.bigcartel.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Alice Melvin

2011-01-21T21:02:00.000Z

I'm lucky to have lots of talented creative people visiting my shop and one such person is Alice Melvin. I love her style of illustration and couldn't resist buying a few things from her shop this evening. Her 'Cut out & make' range of greeting cards are so much fun and the 'Cut out and sew' owl puppets are very cute indeed. Definitely worth a visit!

January Sales!

2011-01-07T20:52:00.000Z

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoyed the snowy festive season. It's back to work time, but to cheer you up, I've launched the Wooden donkey winter sale. There are lots of great reductions, so please take a look. I've also added a few new items, including these great vintage coasters.

Christmas present shopping

2010-12-11T16:59:00.009Z

Still stuck for Christmas present ideas? At Wooden donkey we have lots of unique vintage treasures that make the perfect present. From the top: Set of six Worcester ware table mats £30; Cathrineholm coffeepot £50; Toy car £8, Owl moneybox £18; Soldier money box £25; Psychedelic storage tin £15, Set of six mod flower coasters £15 (three colour options available); Vintage Christmas Houze glass pin tray £22. I've also updated the shop today with some new finds, so hop on over!

New Creepy Tree cards

2010-11-16T13:11:00.001Z

Creepy tree have some great new greeting card designs with a very retro feel. They cost £2.00 each (+P&P) and you can order online.

Shop update!

2010-10-28T16:36:00.001+01:00

Some new treasures added to the shop today and more to follow shortly!

Site hosting problems

2010-10-18T23:14:00.001+01:00

Oopsy - we're having a few problems with our website hosting @ www.woodendonkey.com but fear not - we should be back up and running in no time and in fact our Bigcartel shop is still working fine so there is no problem with placing orders. Until we sort out the problem, we don't have any email access, so if you need to get in touch, please use the contact form in our shop. Thank you so much!

Shop update and the big move!

2010-08-01T23:18:00.001+01:00

Well it's busy busy busy in the Wooden donkey house at the moment. We are packing up to move house very shortly. With this in mind, I wanted to let you know that the shop will be closed for a month from Monday the 9th August. If you want to make any purchases, you've got till the end of this week! I've just updated the shop so there are lots of new, interesting items to browse, including this vintage tray which comes with a set of matching coasters. Click here to visit the shop.

Summer sale and shop update!

2010-07-09T13:16:00.003+01:00

Just a quick post to let you know that I've just launched the Wooden donkey summer sale and I've added lots of new things to the shop today. Have a lovely sunny weekend everyone!

Mid-century Altenkunstadt decanters

2010-06-23T15:35:00.014+01:00

For a few years now I've been collecting a series of porcelain decanters which were made in West Germany during the 1960s* by a German factory called "Altenkunstadt". I've been surprised by how unknown they seem to be, but this has at least given me chance to gather quite a few! Although I'm sure there are more out there that I haven't discovered yet, I feel now is the time to share my collection with you. Pictured are three of my favourites.

As well as several other figural bottles, I also have one decorated with birds in a cage, one showing a bar scene and one showing a lady peeping out of a shower! My husband doesn't like them and thinks I'm potty for loving them so much, but I think they are fabulous. I will try to photograph them all, and then add the images to a special Flickr set, which I've set up here.

Altenkunstadt made other things as well as porcelain bottles, such as vases (some of which were designed by Cari Zalloni) and candlesticks like the one shown, which was decorated by a German illustrator called Susanne Dölker. I wonder if she also decorated the decanters. Jutta Lamprecht also produced illustrations for the company. The decanters were distributed in the US by Raymor, and they still have the Raymor sticker on the base. Some came with bath salts inside, others perhaps with alcohol? If anyone out there can tell me any more about these pieces I'd love to hear from you!

*Thank you so much to Larry, who has confirmed that he bought one in Germany in 1962/63, which gives me some concrete evidence of when they were produced!

Shop update!

2010-06-14T17:19:00.000+01:00

I'm long over due for a shop update, but finally it's here and there is a bit of a seaside-y theme going on. There are beach puzzles and fishy tiles and wall plaques. Ok, so you don't see many elephants or tigers on beaches, but just humour me for now... This vintage Galt puzzle is available for £20.

Papery goodness

2010-05-06T17:58:00.002+01:00

I picked this up recently and am thinking about framing it. It's a vintage advertising leaflet in Dutch. The words translates as "Do it Yourself. Do it this way!" I love the little figures and the colours are still very vibrant. Inside are more classic illustrations:

And I'm not much of a knitter but couldn't resist this little knitting pamphlet from 1955:

So cute! Last but not least I found this old light metre manual from the late 1950s and fell in love with the wonderful graphic design on the cover. The info inside is pretty interesting too! So it's been a good week for papery finds.

Bank holiday special - 20% off!

2010-05-02T09:50:00.002+01:00

I was planning to go to Chiswick car boot sale today but as it's pouring with rain outside, maybe it can wait for another day. To cheer us up on this rainy bank holiday, I'm offering a whopping 20% off everything in the shop. Just remember to enter the code RAIN at checkout. The offer will run for a whole week (until the 10th May).

Shop update

2010-04-18T19:42:00.000+01:00

Lots of new finds in the shop today, including this lovely Kenneth Townsend glass dish which is part of the London scenes series he did for Chance glass. Click here to hop on over and take a look...

Spring sale @ Wooden donkey

2010-03-13T13:03:00.003Z

We're having a spring sale at Wooden donkey to make way for new finds, so hop over there and pick up a bargain! Included is this vintage Walls ice cream sign (was £120, now £100!) from an old café, featuring brilliant ice cream names like "Choc Top Woppa" and "Big Wiz".

10% off for this weekend only!

2010-03-05T19:42:00.000Z

Spring is on its way and its time to freshen up my shop, so I've been fiddled around with the site colours (it actually looks a lot more like this blog now!). Hop on over and take a look and then let me know what you think. If you prefer it as it was, I can always change it back... And as I'm in such a good mood today, I've decided to give you all 10% off everything in my shop for the whole weekend! To get your 10% off, just enter "Splendid" at checkout when prompted. (The offer will end on Monday at 8pm.) Have a lovely weekend all!

Arrival of our new dining chairs

2010-03-05T16:00:00.001Z

I'm very excited by the arrival of our new dining chairs today. I've been looking out for some for a while now and when these came up on the lovely vintage site Winter's Moon we knew they would be perfect. I keep going and having another look at them and a sit on them (and yes they are very comfy too!). Now to find a table to go with them...

Shop update

2010-02-26T17:13:00.001Z

Well after a huge pause in my shop updates, I've finally got round to adding some more stock to the site, with more to follow this weekend. Today's featured item is this great set of vintage owl coasters, illustrated by Pat Albeck. They're in the shop now! Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T23:05:00.003Z

I couldn't let Valentine's Day go by without sharing these amazing vintage cards I recently bought. I love the stained glass effect. I think these are probably from the around the 1930s. They each fold in half and the middle of the top half pops up, but I'm not going to fold them because I'm too scared of damaging the print!

Sagaform retro range

2010-01-27T13:56:00.003Z

On one of my many strolls around the internet yesterday I discovered the new Sagaform retro range by Swedish designer Lotta Odelius. It's beautiful! These days everything has to be vintage for me, so it takes something truly special to make me sit up and take notice if it's new. Illustrated Living are stocking it in the UK and Huset in the US (both great sites for having a mooch around anyway).

Sägen Butik

2009-12-28T15:07:00.003Z

I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas break. I wanted to share a recent discovery with you: Sägen Butik a wonderful site selling stunning jewellery made from old pieces of porcelain by site owner Elin. I recently bought a couple of rings and I am so pleased with them - they are beautifully made. The site also stocks some nice fairtrade accessories.

Columbia Road Shops

2009-12-17T00:35:00.005Z

In the run up to Christmas the independent shops of Columbia Road in East London have been opening for late night shopping on Wednesday evenings (they're normally only open on a Sunday when the flower market is in full swing). I went along with a friend this evening (my second trip of the month) and came away feeling all inspired. The shops are packed with vintage treasures, handmade treats and beautiful art from exciting, edgy young artists - so basically all the things I love!

One of my favourite shops on Columbia Road is Elphick's, which stocks some fantastic art, including "Pink bird" (shown above), by shop owner Sharon Elphick. Luckily for those who aren't near London, you can also shop online. The shops will be open again next Wednesday eve (5-9pm). I'd definitely recommend a trip if you can make it.

Ho, ho, ho

2009-11-30T18:06:00.001Z

Well December is almost upon us, and I've been busy turning Wooden donkey into Santa's grotto. I've already added some lovely new treasures (including the fab glass dish above) and I've got lots, lots more to add this week, so make sure you check back often. Please don't leave it too late - get your orders in early in time for Christmas!

Ruth Green Design & Jenny Duff placemats

2009-11-18T12:17:00.007Z

On Sunday I went to the Midcentury Modern Show in Dulwich and saw lots of eye-wateringly lovely things. I particularly liked Ruth Green's wonderful prints (left: "Tick tock"; right: "We live here"). I bought a few postcards but when I got home I couldn't help regretting not buying a print, so thank goodness Ruth Green sells online too. You can also buy her lovely work over at Boxbird.

I also loved the Jenny Duff placemats and coasters at the Midcentury Modern Show, particularly those designed by Gillian Blease. Such wonderful colours and designs.

Vintage Christmas card

2009-11-11T21:07:00.004Z

I've been to the Country Living Christmas Fair in Islington today with my mum and my mother in law and it made my day to find a few stalls selling vintage finds. I spotted this card and fell in love with it straight away. I can't see me being able to let it go, so I thought I'd share it with you here instead. I bought it from Acorn & Will and yes they do have a website with more lovely vintage (and handmade) cards and treasures.

Handmade heaven

2009-11-04T15:52:00.002Z

My friend Steph is a talented glass artist. You can see some of her lovely creations in her online shop. My favourites are the rainbow latticeware bowls (shown here), "A day at the beach" square fused glass bowl and some of her beautiful framed artwork, but it's all eye candy!

Shop update and blog changes

2009-11-01T19:18:00.002Z

I've been doing some work on my blog this weekend. The sidebar was looking a bit sparse, so check out some of the links I've added. More to follow! There are new items in the shop too, including these fantastic old school abacuses from the fifties (I've got two available). They're quite big so they make a great display piece. The way the colours run from purple through to red, orange and yellow is so pleasing on the eye. I have one myself and never get tired of looking at it. It's almost sculptural.

Sourcing spree

2009-10-30T15:13:00.001Z

Oh dear. I've gone a bit mad sourcing new items for Wooden donkey. Our house is looking slightly swamped at the moment. I was photographing the finds in our bedroom the other day and Simon (my husband) walked in and said "Oh no! You're not taking over the bedroom too now are you?!" Poor Simon. I think he thinks we won't have any space left to live in soon. So sell, sell, sell I must! Keep an eye out for lots of new goodies arriving in the shop this week.

Creepy Tree

2009-10-19T11:11:00.002+01:00

While establishing my shop, I've soley been posting about site news and shop updates, but now I'm properly up and running I'm going to start sharing some of my favourite site with you. I want to start with Creepy Tree, a brilliant site selling some of the coolest, funniest, quirkiest card designs I've ever seen. I discovered Creepy Tree last week when some friends sent me one of their cards, featuring a moustached guy. Every time I look at it, it makes me laugh. Check out the site. Brilliant!

1960s Carlton ware horse moneybox

2009-10-18T12:22:00.003+01:00

In case anyone has had their eye on the Carlton ware horse money box in my shop, I just wanted to let you know that I have finished cleaning it up and it is now available to buy and looking great! The moneybox had obviously been left in a room (by the previous owner) while somebody was decorating and it had been splattered with tiny flecks of white paint, but with some careful cleaning these have come off and it looks lovely once again. (I haven't rephotographed it but the flecks you can see are gone). This is one of my favourite of the Carlton ware money box designs. I just love the colour combination, so perfectly 60s.

And another mini update!

2009-10-12T15:51:00.003+01:00

Yet a few more goodies in the shop today, including an interesting Kenneth Townsend dish, some lovely coasters and a Bournvita cup like the one I wrote about recently. I'm going to have to remove some of my sold items from the shop listings soon but I don't want to let them go :( I've started a Shop archive set on Flickr to keep a record of all my sold items. If there is anything you're gutted you missed out on, let me know and I'll see if I can track down another for you.

Shop update!

2009-10-09T16:41:00.002+01:00

There are a few new vintage items in the Wooden donkey shop today, including this soldier egg cup, a personal favourite of mine. He combines too of my favourite things - toy soldiers and things with moustaches on them. I've also set up an Etsy shop to promote Wooden donkey. You can see a few extra items there. I'm happy to combine shipping if you want to buy items from both shops:

Vintage French card game

2009-10-02T18:07:00.002+01:00

Well I'm back from lovely Scotland and excited about my next shop update. I've added a few things this evening and am planning on adding more tomorrow, so make sure you check back in over the weekend. This is such a cute vintage card game from the 1970s. I don't know how anyone could not fall in love with it. The little fuzzy felt illustrations are so charming. It's available in my shop now!

Little break

2009-09-16T12:42:00.002+01:00

We're off to Scotland for a little break tomorrow (hurrah!). Just wanted to let you know that any orders placed between now and the 27th September will be posted on or after the 28th September, which probably won't make a huge amount of difference anyway as the ongoing postal strikes here are holding up deliveries.

I've added a couple of new things to the shop, including the cute egg cup pictured, but not as many as I was hoping to add (why does packing for hols always take so long?!). I will try and add a few more tonight if I have time.

My sleepy Bournvita mug

2009-09-08T11:00:00.002+01:00

I just wanted to share this with you - one of my first vintage purchases. I first saw one at my friend Ruth's home and instantly fell in love with it, but it took me a while to track one down. This cute Melamine cup was made during the 1950s for Cadbury's to promote their bedtime milky drink "Bournvita" (which is still available to buy today). The image of a mug with a sleepy face wearing a nightcap had been used in their adverts for some time before this piece was produced. The cap cleverly doubles up as a coaster when you turn it upside down and I just love the serene facial expression, so dreamy.

Shop update!

2009-09-02T23:06:00.001+01:00

A few new treasures for you in the Wooden donkey shop, including this vintage flower mug, made by Staffordshire Potteries Ltd., which I think is very Orla Kiely. If you search for "Staffordshire mug" on Flickr, you'll see some more of the amazing designs they produced during the 1960s and 70s.

Shop update!

2009-08-26T20:01:00.002+01:00

Just to let you know I've been busy adding new items to my shop today. Hope you like the new arrivals! My favourite is this toy soldier cushion. He is even more charming in real life. http://www.woodendonkey.bigcartel.com/

Vintage British lion tea towel

2009-08-26T17:38:00.001+01:00

Recently I've encountered a number of vintage tea towels so beautifully printed and with such stunning designs that each one is like a little work of art. This one is no exception, and if I don't sell it soon, I'll be in danger of keeping it and starting my own collection, so in the shop it must go. I just hope it goes to a collector who will fully appreciate its loveliness. I think it would look great framed.

International postage is here!

2009-08-18T19:04:00.001+01:00

I have at last got round to adding worldwide shipping to the site, so international customers can now place an order without having to contact me first. I hope it will run smoothly but if you experience any problems, please let me know. For more info, please see the Ordering from us page in our shop.

My vintage coasters

2009-08-15T19:18:00.002+01:00

Sorry there have been no shop updates or blogs this week. I've had a busy one with weddings and visitors. I still haven't got round to adding international shipping to my site yet either, but I will do soon - promise! -and you'll hear about it here when I'm finished. In the meantime I wanted to share my collection of vintage coasters with you. As I'm sure I said in an earlier post, I'm a big fan of coasters. Each one is like a little work of art. I've put together this montage to show you what I mean. If you're thinking about starting your own collection, I do actually have some more to sell and I'll be adding them to the shop in the near future.

Shop update

2009-08-05T19:25:00.001+01:00

A few more new items in the shop for you today, including this tin from the 1970s, which I think is brilliant. The illustration of customers milling about in a shop and the shopkeeper waiting at the counter is just soooooo seventies (as is the colour combination of orange and brown). It's like a little piece of social history too, recording the switch from old money (pounds, shilling and old pence) to the modern system (with no shillings and 100 pence in the pound).

Wooden donkey is going global!

2009-07-31T14:14:00.000+01:00

I received my first international order today and it got me thinking: it's about time I made it easier for international customers to place an order, so over the next week I'm going to update the site, adding international shipping options, so you'll no longer need to email me to place an order (although it's always nice to hear from customers!). I'll let you know here when it's all done.

Vintage wooden block people framed art

2009-07-29T17:48:00.002+01:00

I have lots of odd vintage finds that I've put to one side to be framed, and this is the first piece I've finally got round to doing. They're actually wooden toy blocks with figures printed on top. I thought the colours and illustrations were fab and they were crying out to be framed. Hope you like the finished look.

We're now on Facebook!

2009-07-29T12:49:00.001+01:00

You can now become a fan of Wooden donkey on Facebook. Click here to visit the page.

Wooden egg cup offer

2009-07-24T16:57:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to welcome Heidi, here, to our shop, and she marks the start of a special offer: all wooden egg cups now qualify for 75p postage (instead of the usual £3). You can see all 4 egg cups currently available in the Wooden objects section of the shop: http://www.woodendonkey.bigcartel.com/category/wooden-objects

Vintage first-aid box

2009-07-21T11:13:00.001+01:00

There's something lovely about the red cross that signals "first-aid". Maybe it's comforting because we associate it with our mummies and daddies cleaning up scuffed knees and kissing them better. Whatever the reason, I can't resist an old first-aid box. This one is available here.

Vintage coasters

2009-07-17T17:37:00.001+01:00

I am something of a hoarder when it comes to vintage coasters. They're a great thing to collect because they come in so many stunning mid-century designs and they don't take up too much space in your house! I have several sets of these beauties for sale in my shop, if you want to start your own collection!

Join our mailing list

2009-07-17T10:39:00.001+01:00

You can join our mailing list via the site homepage. I will only be sending out occasional emails with special offers and important news, so you don't need to worry about being bombarded with messages (and I won't give your email addresses out to anybody else - I promise!). Just add your name and email address using the form on the left of the home page.

Shop update!

2009-07-16T18:10:00.002+01:00

Thanks for your patience everyone! We are now back online and unpacked (well nearly) and ready to go again. I've started adding new items to the shop (including these guys pictured) and you can expect to see more over the next few days. (Remember - the 9 most recently added items appear on the home page, so you can check to see what's new very easily!)

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr BT

2009-07-03T12:12:00.001+01:00

Sorry for the lack of shop updates over the last couple of weeks. You may think we're too busy watching Wimbledon to do any work, but that's not the case. We have just moved house and BT seem to be incapable of sorting out our Internet connection (they've messed our order up 3 times!!) so until that's sorted there's not much we can do. I've got so many lovely things to go in the shop too, which is frustrating. I will do an extra big update as soon as we're up and running. Now back to that unpacking...

La Gardo Tackett decanter

2009-06-06T18:17:00.001+01:00

Friends of mine will not be surprised to see this decanter in my shop, as for sometime now I've had an odd love-hate relationship with the humble moustache. The moustache on this piece is far from humble though!
I believe this piece was designed by La Gardo Tackett, a California-based ceramics designer who produced a modernist utilitarian ware line for Schmid International in the late 1950s/early 1960s. His work is highly sought after today.

1960s plate

2009-06-03T17:26:00.002+01:00

A friend of mine pointed out that the shop was looking very nice but there are an awful lot of toys in it. I have a thing about vintage toys and I think a few about the place can add that hint of quirk I'm always talking about. However, my friend is right and it's about time I started listing a few more practical items - and I've got plenty to add. This plate has masses of vintage appeal and wouldn't your cupcakes look great presented on it?

1970s Sparklets ice bucket

2009-05-30T09:56:00.001+01:00

This ice bucket, which I've just added to the shop, is fabulous and chic. It looks so shiny and new it's almost hard to believe it's actual a relic from the 1970s! Orange is so retro at the moment too, so it manages to look both contemporary and vintage at the same time. A mid-century modern masterpiece.

Site layout changes

2009-05-30T02:29:00.002+01:00

It gets boring seeing the same products on the homepage every time you visit a site, so I've decided to make a slight alteration: the store homepage will now feature the nine most recently added items. If anyone has any other suggestions as to how the shop could be improved, feel free to say!

Vintage bowling pin people

2009-05-28T23:10:00.002+01:00

I'm a sucker for anything made of wood and anything with a moustache on it, so you can see how I ended up with this troupe. They make me laugh every time I see them. If you love them as much as me, and want to take them home, click here.

Shop update

2009-05-18T21:54:00.001+01:00

This week I've been busy adding lots of new finds to the shop. Here are a few highlights. Hmmmm. Don't they look lovely together? My hoarding tendency is kicking in... If you see something you like here - get in there quickly before I change my mind!

Welcome to the wooden donkey blog!

2009-04-25T15:05:00.001+01:00

Drum roll please, as this is my first ever post on the wooden donkey blog! I've been hunting high and low for vintage treasures for the past few years and after at a lot of faffing, I've finally got round to setting up a shop. And here it is: http://www.woodendonkey.com/

I wanted to keep a blog so I can offer customers - or anyone interested in vintage - some more information about my finds. Feel free to ask questions/make comments along the way. Please add me and the shop to your favourites!

I'd also like to share a few treasures from my own private collection with you here too, so look out for those. There will be extra pictures on Flickr too.

Thanks for your support!