Pretty in pink

Here are a few of my pink paperweights...

The one above is called a Swirl paperweight and it was made by John Deacons of Scotland in the 1990's. This is based on a traditional pattern made by the classic French factories of Baccarat, St Louis and Clichy from the mid 1800's.

This one is a miniature Strathearn paperweight from perhaps the 1970's. It was a gift from Lyndon :)

The style is called a close concentric as the concentric circles of glass canes are packed together closely. The Strathearn factory was in Scotland.

The one is from an American family company called Parabelle. The were based in Oregon, USA and made small editions of paperweights during the last part of the 20th century. This would be classified as an open concentric as the rings or canes are spaced out, but I don't know if the design had a name or not. I love Parabelle paperweights but they are very difficult to come across. They were well known for a cane they made in the shape of a pansy flower. I would love to add one to my collection. One day...

Still many more paperweights to show you all as I unpack them.

A fresh look

There hasn't been much renovating going on at Molly's Maison lately so I thought I would freshen up the mantelpiece. Above is another of my paperweights - this one is a contemporary weight by Peter Raos of Aukland, New Zealand, inspired by the artwork of Georgia O'Keefe.

The little vase is by Tasmanian ceramicist Sara Wright and the silver vase is Tord Boontje.

At the other end is another Reter Raos paperweight, this one inspried by Monet's garden. The tiny one is  from the 1980's by a company called Perthshire in Crieff, Scotland. They are no longer producing but I was lucky enough to go there in 1997. The very large green weight hidden by the candle is a Victoria era weight often called a 'dump'. They were made in glass factories producing domestic goods such as bottles and at the end of the week the left over glass was used to make paperweights - just for fun.

The iceberg flowers came from the garden. They are still doing really well. The clock was Lyndon's grandfather's and it's amazing how after a while you don't even hear the loud chime on the hour, even during the night.

Have a great week!

Pretty paperweights

I mentioned in my List of 7 (or 8) that I collect paperweights. I have done so since I was a teenager I think when my next door neighbour gave me a lovely Italian Murano paperweight. Since then my knowledge of these beautiful things has increased and my collection has grown dramatically.

As mentioned I have examples from all over the world but my absolute favourites are from a French factory called Clichy which is no longer in existence.

I have 4 Clichy paperweights which I have sourced from England (via ebay), USA (also ebay), a local antique store (thanks Dad) and an auction in Launceston (stressful!!). They all date from around 1850.

The colours of the glass are sooo pretty, like candy canes. Clichy paperweights are known for the Clichy 'rose', a special cane depicting a pink or white rose. It does come in other colours but they are much rarer. If you look in the two larger weights you'll see a pink rose in the centre of one and a white rose at the outer edge of the other.
The two smaller weights here are often refered to as "End of Day" weights or "Scramble" weights as they are a mix of lots of little bits and pieces collected at the end of the day in the glass factory and are mushed together into a weight. I love the character of them.

I just think they're so pretty - they appeal to my love of flowers, glass and my sweet tooth!

Have a loveky weekend!