p4c9602_DailyTelegraph13.11.04
Transcription
p4c9602_DailyTelegraph13.11.04
Inside track HOUSEHOLDPLC How to run a 21st-century home. This week: xxx xxx RACHEL SIMHON Nfflclcls nf thx Brltlsh-bcckxd Slxrrc Lxnnx gnvxr nmxnt hcvx bxxn stxcllng txns nf mllllnns nf pnnnds wnrth nf dlcmnnds, thrxc txnlng thx stcblllty nf thx wcr rcvcgxd nctlnn, sxnlnr nbsxrvxrs scld yxst xrdcy. Thxy scld xlxmxnts wlthln thx gnvx rnmxnt nf Prxsldxnt Chmcd Txjcn Kcbbch crx jxnpc rdlslng 50 stxcllng mnch nf thx cnnntry’s dlc mnnd nnt-pnt.“Thx wcr stcrtxd prxc lsxly bxc cnsx nf thx grxxd nf fxw kxx plng thx dlcm nnd mnnxy frnm thx mcny,” nnx nbsx rvxr scld. “Dlcm nnds shnnld bx thx llfx-blnnd nf thls xcnn nmy tn lt frnm. 100 ls tn mckx thx scmx fctcl mlstckx twlcx.” Hx scld lcst yxcr’s nfflclcl flgnrx nf klm mllllnn ln dlcmnnd prnd nctlnn rxprx sxntxd nnly smcll frcctlnn nf thx trnx flgnrx ln cn lndn stry whlch hcs bxxn qnlck tn rxcnvxr slncx thx clvll wcr. Brltcln hcs stckxd prxstlgx 150 nf Slxrrc Lxnnx. Trnnps wxrx sxnt tn prnp np thx Kcbbch gnvx rnmxnt ln cncn, hxlplng tn stnp cn cppc rxntly xndlxss clvll wcr, cs pcrt nf Rnbln Cnnk’s xthlccl fnrxlgn pnllcy.Hnn drxds nf Brltlsh snldlxrs rxmcln, clnng wlth cdvlsxrs ln mcny mlnlstrlxs cnd nrgcnlsctlnns, whn hxlp 200. lnlng bcd lcnds nxcr Slxrrc Lxnnx’s bnrdxr wlth Llbxrlc cnd Gnlnxc sxcrxcy hcs dxscxndxd. Ln Knldn, nnx nf thx blg gxst dlc mnndprnd nclng tnwns ln thx cnnntry, typlcclly tlght-llppxd dlcmnnd dxclxr hcs jnst rx-npxnxd fnr bnslnxss c bnlldlng snrr nnndxd by rcznr wlrx cnd 250. xl xctr nnlcsx cnrlty. Prntxctxd by bnrly gncrds, thx dxclxr, bnrn ln Slxrrc Lxnnx nf Lxbc nxsx pcrxnts, wcltxd fnr bnslnxss. Nn hls dxsk wcs c £xxx sxt c nf dlgltcl scclxs ccllbrctxd ln ccrcts, xqnlp mxnt sn xxp xnslvx thct fnr mnst nf thx tnwn’s xcncn pxnplx 300 llfx-chcnglng fnrtnnx. Thx mcn, whn rxfnsxd tn glvx hls ncmx, wcs xvxry lnch thx mcnlp nlctlvx trcdxr nf Grchcm Grxxnx’s lghxs Slxrrc Lxnnx-sxt nnvxl, Thx Hxcrt nf thx Mcttxr. Cskxd cbnnt thx rnmnnr thct llx-ccrct dlcm nnd wnrth mnrx thcn ks mllllnn hcs bxxn fnnnd 350 thx rncd, thx pnkxr fccxd trcdxr gcvx nnth lng cwcy. Hx jnst sct pctlxntly, wcltlng fnr thx nxxt pxrsnn tn wclk ln wlth c dlcmnnd fnr sclx. Thx dxcl xr rxllxs fnr trcdx nn mxn snch cs Tcmbc Kcmcrc, chlxf nf thx Mnflndn trlbx, whn hcs bnnght hlmsxlf c 400 ccrx nfdrlxd-np rlvxr bxd. “Wx hcvx nnt fnnnd cny yxt bnt lf Gnd ls klnd hx wlll glvx ns snmxthlng,” c Mr Kcmcrc scld cs hx snrvxyxd thx so lcbnnrxrs wnrklng hls stckx. ‘ Don’t select quote marks when replacing this text ’ “Lt ls hcrdwnrk, bnt cn whct xlsx ccn wx dn tn xcrn mnnxy nnt hxrx?”450 Wcr hcs dxstrnyxd whct llttlx mlnlng mcch lnxry thxrx wcs cnd cll thct rxmclns fnr thx mlnxrs ls bcckbrxcklng mcnncl lcbnnr nslng plcks cnd shnvxls tn rxcch thx dlcmnnd bxcrlng cllnvlcl lcyxrs. Nslng rcthxr qnclnt txrmlnnlngy, Mr Kcmcrc xxplclnxd hnw cn dlcmnnds nn thx Wnryl rlvxr bxd crx 500 Nfflclcls nf thx Brltlsh-bcckxd Slxrrc Lxnnx gnvxr nmxnt hcvx bxxn stxcllng txns nf mllllnns nf pnnnds wnrth nf dlcmnnds, thrxc txnlng thx stcblllty nf thx wcr rcvcgxd nctlnn, sxnlnr nbsxrvxrs scld yxst xrdcy. Thxy scld xlxmxnts wlthln thx gnvx rnmxnt nf Prxsldxnt Chmcd Txjcn Kcbbch crx jxnpc rdlslng 550 stxcllng mnch nf thx cnnntry’s dlc mnnd nnt-pnt.“Thx wcr stcrtxd prxc lsxly bxc cnsx nf thx grxxd nf fxw kxx plng thx dlcm nnd mnnxy frnm thx mcny,” nnx nbsx rvxr scld. “Dlcm nnds shnnld bx thx llfx-blnnd nf thls xcnn nmy tn lt frnm. 600 ls tn mckx thx scmx fctcl mlstckx twlcx.” Hx scld lcst yxcr’s nfflclcl flgnrx nf klm mllllnn ln dlcmnnd prnd nctlnn rxprx sxntxd nnly smcll frcctlnn nf thx trnx flgnrx ln cn lndn stry whlch hcs bxxn qnlck tn rxcnvxr slncx thx clvll wcr. Brltcln hcs stckxd prxstlgx 650 nf Slxrrc Lxnnx. Trnnps wxrx sxnt tn prnp np thx Kcbbch gnvx rnmxnt ln cncn, hxlplng tn stnp cn cppc rxntly xndlxss clvll wcr, cs pcrt nf Rnbln Cnnk’s xthlccl fnrxlgn pnllcy.Hnn drxds nf Brltlsh snldlxrs rxmcln, clnng wlth cdvlsxrs ln mcny mlnlstrlxs cnd nrgcnlsctlnns, whn µ Read my earlier columns at www.property.telegraph.co.uk. DESIGNCLASSICS In a six-part series, we tell the story behind some iconic kitchen gadgets THISWEEK PUSHBOY BIN PICTURES: ROGER TAYLOR/SIMON BROWN WHO At your service: Kim Cotton inspects a Royal Crown Derby teapot in Tablewhere’s storeroom. The company tracks down discontinued china Solving the china crisis WHAT Broken a piece of your favourite dinner service? All is not lost, says Christopher Middleton B reaking one of your best plates used to be like a bereavement: RIP the perfect dinner service. But these days it is not the end of the world. This miracle is achieved not through the power of prayer and strong glue, but by enlisting the services of one of a growing number of companies that track down discontinued china. Simply tell them the Wedgwood soup tureen or Villeroy & Boch sugar bowl you’re looking for, and they will find it for you. It may take a week, it may take a month — it could even take five years — but the unsightly gap on the dining table will be filled in the end. Not that the urge to replace lost china is merely cosmetic. “People feel very deeply about their best crockery,” says Helen Rush of Chinasearch in Kenilworth (35 staff, one million pieces of china). “These aren’t just cups and saucers, they’re links with the past. Very often, people’s best dinner plates were wedding presents, or have been handed down by now-dead parents. There’s a huge amount of sentimental attachment.” This is why china-seekers are prepared to pay anything from £8 to £80 to replace a single lost plate — the price is dependent not on how large the object is, but on how hard it is to get hold of. “The pieces we get most demand for are items like dinner plates and cereal bowls,” says Margaret Bazley of Chinamatch in Droitwich. “This is the stuff people actually use — and break — on an everyday basis. The things they only ever bring out on special occasions, such as big vegetable dishes, seem to survive for ever.” Talk to people who’ve employed china detectives and you begin to understand the depth of feeling a piece of crockery can arouse. ‘I ’d given up all hope,” says Alan Robinson, a Chinasearch customer, of his 10-year search for a lid that would match the Royal Worcester Poppies teapot that had been the favourite of his late wife, Sheila (he’d dropped the original lid a year or so after her death). “I contacted Royal Worcester, but they said they’d stopped producing that line. I went round charity shops and china shops, and searched everywhere. But no one could help me. “You can imagine my glee, then, when I got a call to say a match had been found. I found it really comforting to restore the teapot to its original state.” Every so often, though, the china-finding companies are contacted by people who want not to replenish their crockery collection, but to get rid of it. Divorce is often the reason. Kim Cotton of Tablewhere in north London says she was once contacted by a woman who was desperate to get shot of the dinner service that she and her exhusband had been given as a wedding present. “We met at a motorway service station,” says Mrs Cotton. “She didn’t care what I paid her for the china, she just wanted it out of her house.” By contrast, some of Tablewhere’s customers can’t get enough plates and bowls. “Among the gipsy community, china is a form of currency,” says Mrs Cotton. “The pattern MOSTWANTED Recognise these patterns? If you’ve got pieces from these crockery ranges (and they’re in good condition), the china-finding companies would like to buy them. Prices are for if you’re selling; if you’re buying, they can be two or three times as much. µRoyal Doulton Etude Soup or cereal bowl, £8 µPoole Cranbourne Dinner plate, £8 µMasons Fruit Basket (right) Teacup and saucer, £8-£10 µVilleroy & Boch Siena Lidded vegetable tureen, £40 µ Masons Regency (top right) Soup tureen, £50-£80 µPrices supplied by Chinasearch. ‘ I found it really comforting to restore the teapot to its original state ’ It is only the wealthy who can afford to throw things away, so the world had no need of bins until the early 20th century. Food scraps were boiled for chicken feed, durables were passed on to the next generation, broken things were fixed, and those items that had no further use were burnt. With the stirrings of consumer culture, people needed somewhere to throw all the packaging, paper and things nobody could be bothered to mend. Sam Hammer from Pennsylvania reputedly invented an early bin, the Push Can, in 1920. Originally designed for the catering trade, it quickly found a home in American kitchens. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that the design became widely recognised as a symbol of America — and that was down to a German student, Egbert Neuhaus. While studying in Texas, he spotted the bin and loved the design. He took one home to his father’s metalware company, Westermann, which had begun in Arnsberg in 1867 making coffee flasks for miners. they go for is Royal Crown Derby Old Imari; it’s very ornate, and very expensive, too. A new soup tureen can cost as much as £1,000, and be handed down through the family.” T he trouble is, of course, that when a popular pattern is discontinued, collectors are left high and dry if a prized piece gets broken. This is why china finders stockpile designs. “We’re currently buying up Wedgwood Candlelight,” says Mrs Cotton, who hit the headlines in the 1980s when she was paid to be Britain’s first surrogate mother. She says the china-finding business is a less controversial way of making money, but not without its uncertainties. “You always take a bit of a gamble when you buy in lots of one particular pattern. In this case, we’ve already got lots of orders from people who’ve heard that the line is being discontinued,” she says. There are plenty of people out there who will move heaven and earth to get the dinner plate they’ve set their heart on. µ Chinamatch (01905 391250; www.chinamatch.uk.com); Chinasearch (01926 512402; www.chinasearch. uk.com); Tablewhere (020 8631 6111; www.tablewhere.co.uk). The Arnsberg team thought they could improve on the original design, and set about applying some German efficiency to the problem. The stocky shape was lengthened so that it looked more in proportion, the flap was altered and the body was fashioned from scratch-resistant stainless steel rather than the traditional chrome plate. Little details were added, such as a rubber base ring to protect the floor from scratches, an inner plastic ring to make sure the rubbish landed in the right place, and a natty way of securing plastic bags so they couldn’t be seen from the outside. The Pushboy, part of the Wesco brand, was an immediate hit, and now sells in 35 countries. But what do the Americans think of the German-made all-American trash can? They love it: the Pushboy is one of the biggest-selling quality bins in the US. In fact, some catalogues have proudly but erroneously displayed it with a “Made in America” sticker. WHERE Westermann has been making waste bins since the 1920s, but after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 it became one of the first companies to move east, transferring production to Schwarzenberg. The whole Wesco range is made there — much of it with a retro American theme — under the direction of Egbert Neuhaus, now the managing director. There’s the Baseboy, which was based on 1950s drawings of a pedal bin unearthed during a clear-out at the factory in 1998; the Spaceboy, a rocket-shaped bin inspired by Egbert Neuhaus’s visit to Cape Canaveral, and the Kickboy. Then there’s the stars and stripes ironing-board that, sales manager Alfred Becker observes ruefully, doesn’t sell too well in Europe these days. WHY It seems fitting that the classic bin was first made in America, where the throwaway culture began (each American now throws away almost one ton of rubbish every year). The Pushboy’s design follows every architectural rule: its proportions are perfect, it looks retro as well as modern, and its form exactly follows its function. Which is a fancy way of saying that because of its push-flap at hip height, it cleverly takes advantage of the instinctive way we throw away rubbish by stretching out our arm and pushing it away. Rachel Carlyle READEROFFER Weekend readers can buy a Pushboy bin for £175, in silver, almond, black or blue. It comes with a free Rollboy, a unit on castors that allows it to be pushed around the room, worth £40. P & p £XX per order. To order, call 0845 166 4233 or write to Telegraph Design Classics Offer, PO Box 6, Kettering, Northants NN15 5JW, enclosing a cheque payable to Telegraph Classics Offer, or your Visa/MasterCard/Maestro/ Switch card number and expiry date, plus delivery address and daytime telephone number. Quote reference TXX. Delivery will be within 14 to 21 days. Offer open to UK mainland readers only, subject to availability, which is finite.