ROYAL TUDOR WARE

Also known as Royal Tudor, est. 1828 – Staffordshire England The birth of the famous English porcelain happened in the city of Stroke-on-Trent, commonly known as ëthe Potteriesí, the well-known home of the pottery industry in England since the 18th century. Thanks to its rich heritage, Tudor England porcelain has tied together all the skills, […]

DALA HORSE

The History of the Dala Horse The image of the horse goes back thousands of years. The magic and mystique surrounding the horse inspired people to recreate their image in cave and rock paintings. Horses were highly valued and became a symbol of strength and courage. They arrived in Sweden 4000 years ago and were […]

CAT GOT OUR TONGUE

The Strange History Behind Kattenshoet, Belgium’s Cat Throwing Festival At the moment, the best place in Belgium to be a cat might be Ypres, where every three years a large folkloric parade is held in the animal’s honor. However, a peculiar part of the activities, the flinging of plush cats from the city’s bell tower, […]

VILLEROY & BOCH

Villeroy & Boch is a trusted international lifestyle brand, offering sophisticated tabletop and home dÈcor products that showcase European design and expertise in ceramic production. Family-owned since 1748, 2018 marked the company’s 270th anniversary as one of the largest producers of premium porcelain and ceramic products worldwide. From the tiles in New York’s Holland Tunnel […]

ULM CERAMICS

Hand-built work made by ceramicists who approach clay as a tool for engineering silhouettes. Not pottery at all, but architecture The Ulmer Keramik (UK) manufacture, based in Ulm , later Neu-Ulm, began producing items such as tableware, tiles and promotional items from ceramic in 1947. The plant was closed in 1991.The manufactory was founded by […]

SPLENDID SEIFFEN

Many of Germany’s traditional handcrafted wooded toys and decorations come from Seiffen. The history of wooden toymaking in the Ore Mountains is closely bound to regional circumstances. The Ore Mountains are located in Central Europe on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. For many centuries it was a countryside in which the local […]

WAGNER & APEL

Deep within the children’s section of the local library, is an old dusty copy of classic fairy tales. Behind the faded cover lives stories of heroism, nobility, and true love; stories that eagerly fill the minds of young dreamers everywhere. However, dwelling amongst the “once upon a times” and “happily ever afters” is a far […]

FRAU TRUDE

Once upon a time there was a small girl who was strong willed and forward, and whenever her parents said anything to her, she disobeyed them. How could anything go well with her? One day she said to her parents: “I have heard so much about Frau Trude. Someday I want to go to her […]

RUSSIAN DOLLS

It is difficult to believe that the nesting doll, what some might consider the embodiment of Russian culture, was just born some 100 years ago. Nesting doll history began in the 1890s. The smoke and noise of Russia’s industrial revolution inspired a romantic notion: Was the key to peace and harmony a simpler way of […]

THE VIKINGS

The Vikings came from three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The name ‘Viking’ comes from a language called ‘Old Norse’ and means ‘a pirate raid’. People who went off raiding in ships were said to be ‘going Viking’. Historically, the Viking era began with the attack on Lindisfarne monastery in AD 793, and […]