My New (Old) Teacup

On Sunday, I convinced Pat to take me to an antique show that I had randomly come across in the paper - I don't usually ever get the newspaper, but someone was giving them away for free at the grocery store this Saturday. Win-win!

The first thing we saw when we walked in was this display of tin ceilings by Brian Greer.

Sorry about the blurry photo, but it was the only one I took & I wanted to show it. While not antique, they do have a great vintage feel to them. I think they'd look amazing in a period house. Check out their website - there are tons of different patterns that may very well be finding their way into my sketchbooks soon!

Walking down the hall some more, the mood was set with this record player spinning some Gordon Lightfoot.

This table of old cameras caught my eye & made me want to start a collection:

Once inside the main room, I browsed through all the tables. There were a lot of toys, comic books & records. There was some glassware & tons of milk bottle (though none from the Georgian Bay Creamery like mine). I was really tempted by all the vintage papers & ephemera.

Also, I nearly died when I saw this mini sewing machine that actually works:

I recently saw one of these on a blog I follow (can't remember which one, but it was someone in Toronto). If it wasn't so expensive, I definitely would've picked it up! It's adorable!

What I did pick up was this teacup & saucer:

It caught my eye the first time I walked by the table it was on, despite being nestled next to an amazing hand-painted lunch set.

I love the branching pattern, the scalloped edges & the fluted shape. As you can sort of see above, the shape of the cup mimics the scalloped edges - that is, it isn't a smooth, round cup but a "bumpy" one. A unique shape immediately draws me to any sort of china!

But the pattern! Have you ever seen anything quite like it? A quick Etsy & Google search has me thinking that this little sucker is a little more rare than the $6 price tag initially led me to believe (though I did find one exactly the same on Etsy - except in a pale green instead of black. OH YES I WANT IT!).

Fine Bone Bell China, made in England - I couldn't find much information about this company. But looking at the pattern closely reveals that it's probably hand-painted.

Regardless of its value or rarity, this is my very first teacup (not counting my Christmas dishes). I'm sure it won't be the last either! How can I resist collecting them, especially when I already have a nice collection of teapots?

I've already used my cup once a day & I can confidently say that tea tastes much better out of a teacup than out of a mug!

Do you enjoy going to antique shows? What are the sorts of things that catch your eye?