Andrew Fussell Sterling Silver 2 oz Jigger 1965

Hmmm, well I just woke up from a 5 month nap of sorts - I have had lots of stuff happening lately that seems to have made blogging a low priority. But one of my new years resolution was to get back on the blog horse, so here goes...

I found this hand hammered sterling silver 2 ounce jigger at a recent farm auction hidden in a box of random stuff I managed to catch for $1.00. It's made by Andrew Russell (1904-1983), from 1965, out of Toronto. Russell was born in Germany, and moved to Canada at 22. He learned his craft in Toronto night schools and later taught jewelery making in night classes.

I love that the arms on this are crooked, but they get a bit in the way when I have been mixing drinks with it. It looks great on the bar though!

1950's GE General Electric Boat Spotlight

We scored this nice streamlined GE boat lamp for $2. It needs to be rewired, but then I might use it in the record room I'm building in the basement.

1940's vintage Gas Can

$2 from last week's garage sales

Metal Bamboo Garden table & chairs set made by Hauser International

My parents are awesome. This is the set my Dad bought for the backyard in 1975, made in Canada by Hauser International. Back in the day these set were really popular. I need to try to pick up some lounge chair as more side tables for our backyard remodel. Hauser should reissue them because their new stuff blows! It's all trying to hard, with all those grandma scrolls...get back to basics! This set has great lines and looks fresh 35 years later. I have a 5th chair in the basement. We've been trying to have as many meals in the backyard as possible before the bugs take over.

Dentsply International Dentist Dental Assistant Chair

We copped this cool dental chair for $5 on the last day of school outside of Pembroke. Overall condition is pretty good but the lever action on the seat seems pooched. I think I may make it my new desk chair

The Dump - Wood school chair and metal task stool

I haven't posted in almost two months! Yikes, time to get my act together. Sonya and I both just finished a year-long college course and are now official Personal Support Workers.  Between exams, job searching and then having a big equipment failure (Xplornet you suck, thanks Rogers Hub!) 2peas has been the forgotten foster child. We have killed it so far this garage sale season and I have much to post and update. 

I love the local Dump, there's always some sort of random crap that can be rummaged through, and they have the New-To-You trailer where folks drop off stuff they no longer want. I'm off to there this morning, and will update this post later with some more pics and todays booty. 

 

Wooden school chair, the back finish is a bit worn, but otherwise in fine shape. There's something so pleasing about any school chair. 

Anything furniture made of metal always comes home, and this task stool is great. I love the beaten top, chipped white paint and splayed legs.

White Wrought Iron Hoop Garden Chairs

We got these nice hoop chairs over the weekend for $5 apiece. They're different from the usual ones we have. I love the bent legs on these, the webbing is in pretty good shape, they could use a bit of paint touch-up but they'll be great in the garden this summer. Thanks Value Village!

Cool 1970's desk lamps

Who doesn't need another cool desk lamp? That's what I always seem to say when I buy one. I hardly ever use my desk at all these days (thanks laptop), but I find these things irresistible. I scored these three lamps in successive weeks at one of our local spots. This first one needs a new bulb (I guess) so I haven't managed to get it to work just yet.

 

We're going to putting this one up for sale in our new Etsy Store. It's made by Well-Lite in Hong Kong. The label on the bottom looks 80's, but I'm not so sure.

This is the only one we'll probably keep. It's all metal and really heavy and has this cool faux wood finish. It also telescopes up to ridiculous heights.

Midcentury Steel & Teak Tea Set

 

Another tea set! This was a $19.99 eBay purchase. I think it's actually meant for coffee rather than tea.

Pair of Metal Emeco Navy style chairs - Canadian made by Simmons Limited, Montreal

Yesterday was a great day! This darling pair of chairs came from a 'secret spot' from down around the way from us for $1. I love Canadian metal office furniture. Canadians seem to have taken the time to elevate small details of the design that really make a piece sing out. These steel chairs made by Simmons Limited of Montreal are no exception. The chair style seems to be very reminiscent of the aluminum Emeco Navy chair. But I think these chairs are so much cooler. They're more refined. The legs struts have a beautiful inner curve to them that really compliment finer gauge of the steel tubing that was used. The Emeco chairs look brutish by comparison. I also love their institutional paint jobs, peach & pale yellow. We'll probably take them to some chair bodyshop and have them sandblasted and repainted something else (any suggestions?). The seat pads will be an easy re-do and then they'll be sweeeet, and cheap. This guy wants $979.00 (per chair!) for something similar.

I would ballpark these chairs for being made around 1959. Simmons would go on to become a major international mattress company with their 'Beautyrest' line of products (below is a 1959 article).

Simmons has brought Canadian homes, hospitals, hotels and institutions a beauty and comfort never before known. The products made by the company cover the familiar range of merchandise for which it is famous, such as mattresses, beds, springs, pillows, cribs, Hide-a-Beds, sofas, chairs, and other dual purpose furniture. Nowadays it also includes an impressive range of metal furniture, for hotels, motels, hospitals and institutions, and furnishings for ships (berths, bunks) and for lumber and mining camps. Indeed, Simmons is the pioneer manufacturer of metal bedroom furniture in Canada. Every detail, no matter how small, receives careful supervision and inspection. The Simmons' products combine the strength and durability of steel with the beauty and distinctive charm of the furniture makers' art. It is a simple job to keep Simmons' metal furniture lustrous for years because it has no cracks or crevices, and metal in itself gives protection against mice, vermin, warping and twisting. 

I need more of this furniture in my life.

Mosaic tile metal art Tray

Trays, tea sets, salt & pepper shakers, all of them call out the siren song to Sonya. They find her and she cannot resist them. I would estimate we have in excess of 20 various trays at the moment. This one has a nice mix of metal & other tiles and has a metal underside and rim. We thought it was one-of-a-kind, but then we saw another that a friend scored 2 years ago at a garage sale. We got this one with a huge haul at a great farm sale on the Opeongo Rd. during the summer. The garage sales out here are sick, we killed it this year. I do not miss the city.

Harter Metal Furniture desk task chair, made by Jan Kuypers?

We picked this up at the Pembroke Value Village for $5.00. I have a major love/hate relationship with VV. For the most part it's all overpriced used Gap jeans, and I always get the feeling that the best stuff never hits the floor to begin with. But sometimes, either people are clueless of lazy and they put good stuff out.

Like this chair, it's made by Harter Metal Furniture Ltd., of Guelph Ontario. Harter's still in business today, and they have made some iconic pieces through their history. Jan Kuypers did a long stint working with Harter, and I believe he may be responsible for the great lines on this little task chair. I love the little ant arms that stick out, and the minimalism of the frame. It's got a nice metal back rest and it's super comfortable to sit it. I think it's one of our best finds since moving here. I have grand plans to respray the metal with another colour (any suggestions?, I'm thinking maybe teal, maybe flat black), and I'll get our resident upholstery expert, Sonya, to swap out the split brown vinyl for something more fun, maybe a suede, or some graphic print. For now, it's 'resting' in our basement. 

Emeco style, Canadian made metal desk/lounge chair, with arms

We found this nice metal desk chair, which is Canadian made, by H.H. Popham and Co. of Kingston and Ottawa, Canada, at the annual Fireman's May long weekend sale in Golden Lake for $1. It sold a couple of days ago via Craigslist, to an architect student from Ottawa. She said she saw my ad online because I referenced 'Emeco'. Emeco sell a similar 'Navy Upholstered' chair to this one, for $895 on their website.  We always buy all the metal furniture we see. It seems Canada has a good reputation for the industrial furniture of the 50's-60's.