Inspiration & Tips

Filter

How We Clean and Care for Glass Decanters

How We Clean and Care for Glass Decanters

April 8 2020
So far Lavish Shoestring handled about 20,000 decanters — as old as 1650s, as young as 5 years old, as cheap as £25 and as dear as £7,500. We washed them, researched, photographed, packed, shipped and, of course, used them at the table! So you are really in a good company when it comes to decanters and carafes.
Entertaining at Home – a Practical Guide in Pictures

Entertaining at Home – a Practical Guide in Pictures

April 8 2020
We love a fancy table at Lavish Shoestring, and not only on special occasions. Here is some traditional inspiration from our team.
Lavish Snippet: Apple Green & White Home Decor

Lavish Snippet: Apple Green & White Home Decor

December 12 2019
Blue & White tableware has been in vogue for the best part of the past 200+ years, and it is ...
CNN Traders Programme

Interviewed by CNN 🔔 The Story of Lavish Shoestring

July 1 2019
The cool kids of the old world!
Lavish Shoestring is the fun, friendly place for beautiful and unusual vintage homewares for everyday use. We believe vintage home decor is for everybody.
Tea Set vs Coffee Set – What's the Difference

Tea Set vs Coffee Set – What's the Difference

January 5 2019
At Lavish Shoestring we typically stock 500+ tea and coffee sets at any time, and our central office holds a tea party almost every week.
Happy Halloween from the Jack-o’-Lanterns of Lavish Shoestring!

Happy Halloween from the Jack-o’-Lanterns of Lavish Shoestring!

October 15 2018
The spooky day is upon us and we love it! The autumn brings beautiful colours and cool weather. F...
Make everyday tea time a more festive occasion!

Make everyday tea time a more festive occasion!

June 8 2018
Why not make every day tea time a bit more of a festive occasion! The couple above are looking qu...
The Greatest Showman

The Greatest Showman

July 31 2017
Lavish Shoestring in The Greatest Showman set designs.
Arts & Crafts Movement and Archibald Knox (1864-1933)

Arts & Crafts Movement and Archibald Knox (1864-1933)

May 8 2017
A major influence in the Arts & Crafts movement at the turn of the century was a revival of v...
How to Use and Care for Silver Plated Homewares

How to Use and Care for Silver Plated Homewares

April 18 2017
Silver and silver plated tableware is uncommon. I bought my first shiny silver plated tea set by Mappin & Webb 12 years ago. But silver tends to oxidise and turn black, or tarnish. My tea set got tarnished slightly within about five weeks. Here is how to polish, wash and care for silver plated items. Almost all of it applies to solid silver too.
Art Nouveau – a Short Introduction to the Main Design Schools

Art Nouveau – a Short Introduction to the Main Design Schools

April 8 2017
Art Nouveau movement owes much to William Morris (1834-1896). He fiercely challenged the aestheti...
Arts & Crafts and Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852)

Arts & Crafts and Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852)

March 7 2017
Arguably, Pugin is credited to be the spiritual father of the Arts & Craftsmovement. As he hi...
Arts & Crafts wallpaper pattern

Styles in Art and Design

March 3 2017
A style is like handwriting, it is unique. Each style has a defining set of features. When we look at any product, we can identify its style, and that allows us to unlock a lot of useful and cool information about the item. Some styles are well known and popular, Art Deco for example, others are relatively obscure. Often old styles become popular again — that’s called fashion.
Colourful monkeys

Colour Patterns Explained

March 1 2017
A list of popular ceramic and glass groups named after certain colour patterns or decorative techniques. For example, Blue & White — it can be a ceramic of any type, any shape, with any painted or printed pattern and from anywhere in the world. But this group is called Blue & White, because its main decoration is a blue and white colour palette.
How We Wash and Care for Old China Dishes

How We Wash and Care for Old China Dishes

February 2 2017
Since we started Lavish Shoestring our team handled more than 100,000 old plates. Most china we use on a daily basis is also old.
Blue & White Transfer Printed Pottery from Staffordshire, England

Blue & White Transfer Printed Pottery from Staffordshire, England

February 1 2017
Blue and white ceramics have been popular for hundreds of years, starting with the Chinese exports back in the 14th and 15th centuries. Transfer decorated blue and white was invented in the late 18th century and remained super popular ever since. This article explains briefly how it was made.
Body Shapes Explained

Body Shapes Explained

January 7 2017
When we talk about any item, we also mention its body shape. The names are given to help describe an item precisely with just a few words. Many shape names of 3D homewares come from geometry or the natural world, for example a “double gourd”. There is no right or wrong here, but there is an old accepted convention of a language that is both professional and understood by many.
Periodic table of materials

Materials in Antique & Vintage Homewares Explained

January 4 2017
Each item is made of something. That’s simple. But some materials used in vintage and antique homewares can be confusing. We explain in a simple form what each material is, how it looks and where it comes from.
Wine and cocktail glasses

How to Clean and Care for Old Wine Glasses 🍷

December 12 2016
A fancy dinner or an informal drinks party are both great occasions to showcase your great old glassware. Vintage and antique glasses are mostly hand made, typically of a good quality and have bottles of individual character. Also, most of them are not as precious as you may think, durable and are very easy to take care of.
Berlin Iron

Berlin Iron

October 11 2016
Berlin Iron is a term applied to a group of cast iron items that were produced in parts of 19th century Prussia and in the modern day Germany. The assortment ranged from small decorative items to furniture, while jewellery represented a very large portion of production.
Historical Periods Explained

Historical Periods Explained

October 2 2016
Most historical periods have names and they help to describe an item by providing a context — it is like a code name that contains the useful meaning behind it. Say “it’s a Georgian table” and it will immediately suggest certain shapes and styles, even though the period lasted more than a century. Different countries and regions have different periods, often named after a monarch, political or social events. For example, French Belle Epoque ran in parallel with English Victorian and Edwardian periods.
French Lacquer and Japanned Furniture of the 18th Century

French Lacquer and Japanned Furniture of the 18th Century

July 8 2016
Imported lacquer furniture from China and Japan proved to be extremely successful with the Europe...
Blue & White table setting

Blue & White Willow china

July 5 2016
I have always loved blue and white china. As a little girl I remember my mother telling me the story of the oriental princess as she helped me to eat with my first cutlery. Each spoonful revealed more of the picture and as the story continued I happily finished my eating. I never tired of the Willow story and the trick always worked!
Antique Bristol Blue Glass – a Brief History

Antique Bristol Blue Glass – a Brief History

June 8 2016
In 1651 the Iron Masters in the Forest of Dean, faced with problems in making the post in which t...
Types of Enamelling on Metal

Types of Enamelling on Metal

April 19 2016
The origins of enamelling on metal are quite old, although the essential technique has not change...
Inkwells – a Trip to the Pre Smartphone Era

Inkwells – a Trip to the Pre Smartphone Era

April 1 2016
In the 1950s US Post Office has scrapped the use of dip pens and inkwells in all its branches acr...
Beautiful antiques

What-is-What in the Lavish World 💯

March 1 2016
Lavish Shoestring lets you shop unusual homewares from the past 300+ years , all in one place. And this is a not-so-serious list of what-is-what in the lavish world. Not sure about a certain item function? Read on!
Antique Georgian glass decanters

Antique Glass Port and Sherry Decanters

February 5 2016
Port has long been known as the Englishman’s wine. Since the early 18th century Englishmen have manufactured it in Portugal and shipped home, and probably more than any other nation, they have drunk it in great quantities.
Arts & Crafts silver plated kettle

Arts & Crafts and Metalware Designs by Christopher Dresser

January 5 2016
Nowadays in the popular culture the name of Christopher Dresser (18034-1904) is often associated with his revolutionary metalware and especially silver plated tableware designs. However, Dresser originally was preoccupied with designs of ceramics, textiles, furniture and home interiors and only relatively later in his career he began contributing to the design field for which he is now particularly adored.
Blog News – Thomasina has taken over!

Blog News – Thomasina has taken over!

January 1 2016
Thomasina has taken over and now is in the driving seat of the Lavish Shoestring blog! As co-fou...
The popularity of using and collecting antique and vintage glass decanters

The popularity of using and collecting antique and vintage glass decanters

November 11 2015
The popularity of using as well as collecting decanters has increased over the last few years, al...
Antique English wine glasses

Antique Georgian Drinking Glasses 🍷 Wine, Sherry, Port, Punch and Everything in Between

October 5 2015
If you enjoy port, sherry, Madeira or any other dessert wine or aperitif, then read on about the traditional glassware used to serve these drinks. These are some of the classical antique English glasses from the Georgian to the early Victorian periods. You can easily find and add them to your drinks trolley.
A Brief History of Cartier

A Brief History of Cartier

September 8 2015
We are all very familiar with “les Must de Cartier” which was made famous at the start of 1972 th...
How to Spot a Bargain Antique and Why

How to Spot a Bargain Antique and Why

April 1 2015
Bargain antiques are still to be had and one does not need always to be an expert in order to buy...
We Packed it Well

We Packed it Well

March 8 2015
We just had to share this – another day in the office – and all this on it’s way to one VERY HAPP...
Candlesticks, Candelabras and Other Lighting

Candlesticks, Candelabras and Other Lighting

February 8 2015
Most candlesticks made before the 18th century were cast on one piece of solid brass. Very high c...