I love tea towels though I never thought to wonder at their history. This is one fascinating and gorgeous rabbit hole, Jolene! I enjoyed the detail about Van Gogh painting on them when he couldn’t afford canvases. Now all we can afford is tea towels (and coffee mugs) with copies of his masterpieces on them!
It’s always great fun to spend time in Jolene’s Wonderland! 🤗💕
The tea towel rabbit hole has my interest, thanks…I think?
I have a collection from places I’ve visited: Paris, Glacier National Park, various Maine islands and more. Maybe it’s blasphemy to actually use them to dry dishes and whatnot, but each time I do I get to relive the vacation memories…
Ahhhh I loved this, Jolene! I am also a big fan of tea towels (love to find fun vintage ones in thrift stores!) and of Vera!! Back when I was a vintage & antique dealer, I found a set of incredible stretched canvas screenprints with the Vera signature and ladybug on them, I think they must have been for a store display at one time, and I went back and forth on selling them. I did end up passing them on but it's one of those finds that I always think about! I have a lot of Vera scarves though to make up for it.
I never knew the bit about Van Gogh and omg that is so lovely. Will be thinking about that for a while! xoxo
You have inspired me, Jolene, to take stock and organize my kitchen towel drawer! I like the way you have displayed yours, and I even see Mary's little towel peaking through. The dish caught my eye, too!❤️
I have such a wonderful selection of tea towels from my daughter, who lives in NZ. I try not to use them as much but since she has lived there for 20 years(and won't be moving back to the States any time soon) she says"Use 'em, Mum"!
What a glorious post….I feel like we had tea with Isaac Mizrahi….I loved that post so much! We should go see his cabaret show at the Carlyle! Also….VERA😭😭😭
I'm definitely feeling the daffodil cake and plan to give it a try. Right now I'm hung up on what's called Sunshine Cake from the Epicurious website. I found it several years ago and made it on repeat, then it fell off the radar and this month, not sure what sparked it but there I was, looking up the recipe. It's the easiest cake I've every made and a wonderful base to be creative. It doesn't rise very much but it holds its own in a pinch. Can be made in under 30 minutes. I use less sugar than it calls for and it still comes up great. Always love your posts. Food, history + knowledge....
I adore tea towels - they are brilliant functional story tellers. What I didn’t know was that there was a book about them which is now in my list. Lovely post Jolene 💕
Another lovely and heartwarming post. Jolene. I enjoyed the part about tea towels because I've looked for and bought those with sentimental meaning - a map of the state I was from or lived in, wild animals such as wolves and moose we saw in Wyoming on a trip with my son, and a photograph of the family. Now I have one of colorful fruits and vegetables that came from my mother's kitchen which I adopted when she died two years ago. The other has big, bright, yellow lemons that a friend gave me when my mother died because my mother's favorite color was yellow and we had lemon trees in the yard. Not as artistic as Van Gogh but they still bring beauty and joy. And they're priceless in another way.
So many great visuals and stories here, especially loved the Daffodil cake. Always a pleasure to read your Substack, but reading this week with a few Thin Mints (from the freezer) was the best!
This post was like a warm hug. Loved it and cant wait to try the cake. I truly think fresh flowers are the easiest way to create a little cheer in your home. I have them in my closet even!
Thin Mints have always been my favorite as well. But now more about VERA🐞. So many memories are flooding in from Vera company picnics, to visiting my father at the office, to working there when I was very young and getting fired because I kept falling asleep 😂. I have a Vera tray and Vera dessert plates I'd love to show you. If I can't figure out how to post them here, I'll text them to you.🥰 Much love to you Jo ❤️🌼🌸
I love tea towels though I never thought to wonder at their history. This is one fascinating and gorgeous rabbit hole, Jolene! I enjoyed the detail about Van Gogh painting on them when he couldn’t afford canvases. Now all we can afford is tea towels (and coffee mugs) with copies of his masterpieces on them!
It’s always great fun to spend time in Jolene’s Wonderland! 🤗💕
The tea towel rabbit hole has my interest, thanks…I think?
I have a collection from places I’ve visited: Paris, Glacier National Park, various Maine islands and more. Maybe it’s blasphemy to actually use them to dry dishes and whatnot, but each time I do I get to relive the vacation memories…
Ahhhh I loved this, Jolene! I am also a big fan of tea towels (love to find fun vintage ones in thrift stores!) and of Vera!! Back when I was a vintage & antique dealer, I found a set of incredible stretched canvas screenprints with the Vera signature and ladybug on them, I think they must have been for a store display at one time, and I went back and forth on selling them. I did end up passing them on but it's one of those finds that I always think about! I have a lot of Vera scarves though to make up for it.
I never knew the bit about Van Gogh and omg that is so lovely. Will be thinking about that for a while! xoxo
You have inspired me, Jolene, to take stock and organize my kitchen towel drawer! I like the way you have displayed yours, and I even see Mary's little towel peaking through. The dish caught my eye, too!❤️
I have such a wonderful selection of tea towels from my daughter, who lives in NZ. I try not to use them as much but since she has lived there for 20 years(and won't be moving back to the States any time soon) she says"Use 'em, Mum"!
What a glorious post….I feel like we had tea with Isaac Mizrahi….I loved that post so much! We should go see his cabaret show at the Carlyle! Also….VERA😭😭😭
I'm definitely feeling the daffodil cake and plan to give it a try. Right now I'm hung up on what's called Sunshine Cake from the Epicurious website. I found it several years ago and made it on repeat, then it fell off the radar and this month, not sure what sparked it but there I was, looking up the recipe. It's the easiest cake I've every made and a wonderful base to be creative. It doesn't rise very much but it holds its own in a pinch. Can be made in under 30 minutes. I use less sugar than it calls for and it still comes up great. Always love your posts. Food, history + knowledge....
I adore tea towels - they are brilliant functional story tellers. What I didn’t know was that there was a book about them which is now in my list. Lovely post Jolene 💕
Another lovely and heartwarming post. Jolene. I enjoyed the part about tea towels because I've looked for and bought those with sentimental meaning - a map of the state I was from or lived in, wild animals such as wolves and moose we saw in Wyoming on a trip with my son, and a photograph of the family. Now I have one of colorful fruits and vegetables that came from my mother's kitchen which I adopted when she died two years ago. The other has big, bright, yellow lemons that a friend gave me when my mother died because my mother's favorite color was yellow and we had lemon trees in the yard. Not as artistic as Van Gogh but they still bring beauty and joy. And they're priceless in another way.
So many great visuals and stories here, especially loved the Daffodil cake. Always a pleasure to read your Substack, but reading this week with a few Thin Mints (from the freezer) was the best!
Daffodils are toxic?! There’s something so poetic in that!
daffodils might just be the happiest flower!
Oh tea towels ❤️
My fave gift to give (and get!)
I love how all the gems of information tie together so beautifully.
This post was like a warm hug. Loved it and cant wait to try the cake. I truly think fresh flowers are the easiest way to create a little cheer in your home. I have them in my closet even!
Thin Mints have always been my favorite as well. But now more about VERA🐞. So many memories are flooding in from Vera company picnics, to visiting my father at the office, to working there when I was very young and getting fired because I kept falling asleep 😂. I have a Vera tray and Vera dessert plates I'd love to show you. If I can't figure out how to post them here, I'll text them to you.🥰 Much love to you Jo ❤️🌼🌸