Let it GLOW!

This week’s sale will have you all aglow!

Check back next week to see the sale of the week!

What’s New?

Summer’s winding down and autumn’s on the way. The changing of the seasons leaves us a bit melancholy, but we’ll do what we can to buck up and deal with it!

All of our gorgeous melamine plates, bowls and dishes are on sale for 20% off!

We LOVE Julia Reed and her newest book is simply amazing. Gorgeous recipes, beautiful images and funny stories. Julia does a lot of writing for Garden & Gun.

If you’re getting ready for some travelling, these great tote bags will take care of all of your needs. And you’re not likely to lose them.

These battery-operated tapers are the most perfect thing for those candelabras that are hard to reach, because you can turn these on and off with a remote control! And the “flame” even flickers.

The holidays are coming, and while it’s a bit early to be showing off our holiday goods, we couldn’t resist sharing these fun pinecones.

As always, if you’re interested in anything you’ve seen here, please call our man of all seasons, Eric.

Portobello: A Halcyon House Pop-Up

Our friend Meg, who has written the blog Pigtown*Design for the past ten years, and who is a lover of all things English, will be having a pop-up show at Halcyon House in mid-September. When Meg lived in England and Wales, she loved spending time poking around antiques fairs, car-boot sales and especially places like Portobello Road. Over the years, she has made trips back to the UK to shop for herself and her friends.

Meg shops for things she loves, figuring that if she loves them, others will as well. She has collected beautiful serving pieces from the late 1800’s, amazingly detailed mother-of-pearl handled silverware, and a great collection of individual English transfer-ware both in blue and white and polychrome, perfect for expanding your collections!

Please stay tuned for more details as we move closer to the date. And if there’s anything in particular that you’re looking for, do let Eric know.

The Regalia of the Races

The last Saturday in April is almost like Christmas to us. It’s the running of the annual Maryland Hunt Cup, often referred to as the most difficult timber race in the world. In fact, the winner of the Hunt Cup is automatically invited to race in England’s Grand National steeplechase the following year (it’s held in early April).

Much of the planning for spectators at the Hunt Cup is predicated on the weather forecast. If it’s warm and sunny, then shirts and ties, and sundresses and sandals prevail. If it’s cool and overcast, you will see lots of tweeds, cords, Barbour jackets and wellie boots. Regardless of the weather, you will be marked as a rank amateur if you’re wearing high heels, ladies!

We could take a lesson from some of the race-goers in England with their tweeds and hats. When you see pictures of past Hunt Cups, everyone’s dressed in tweeds, jackets and ties and skirts, including the grooms. This gal in her mustard skirt and jacket and purple tights, and the gents in their tweeds look perfect.One of the highlights of the day, other than the race, is the pre-race tailgating. Competition for the prettiest and most extravagant picnic is fierce. But we figure that our table has an edge that no one else’s does: We use Stiles’ father’s Hunt Cup Trophy for our floral centerpiece!

J. Fred Colwill won the Hunt Cup three times, in 1938, 1939 and 1940, on Blockade, and after the third win, the trophy was retired and a new one was struck. All of these years later, it is back at the Hunt Cup, but this time holding gorgeous flowers from Stiles’ and Jonathan’s garden. Of course, the food and drink for the picnic is equally important. Luckily, it’s been cool the past few years, so there’s not much danger of things spoiling. We always have fried chicken, and have found that the Royal Farm Stores (RoFo) has very good chicken. You can order it ahead of time for the race.

People are going to pick at the food all afternoon, so finger foods are best. Chips and dips, cheese and crackers, pretzels and goldfish are all good. If you bring a salad, like we did, wait and let everyone dress their own plate, otherwise, it will get soggy. Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto is an elegant finger-friendly dish.What you want to avoid is people balancing their plates and using knives and forks, all while standing and trying to look chic. Add a napkin and a drink to that and you have a recipe for disaster.

We always like to have some sweets, and bite size brownies are always good. You can add chocolate chips or After Eight mints, or even swirl some raspberry jam through the brownie batter, to up your game on these traditional favorites. It’s fun to also have some fruit, like strawberries or grapes.Now, the critical element: the drinks. We always have Southsides. We have always used the late Mr. Lee’s Mix if it’s available, home-made if it’s not. As an FYI, if you’re trying to reverse-engineer Mr. Lee’s mix, and think that there’s one critical element missing, you are right. Try grating the smallest bit of ginger into the mix and see what happens!

We aren’t big fans of serving our drinks in Ball jars, instead, we use old silver julep cups. But all the pictures of drinks in julep cups were… juleps!Have some soft drinks and plenty of bottled water in a cooler, especially if it’s warm out. You don’t want to be responsible for over-serving your guests. That’s being a bad host.

Be sure to stop by and see our friend Sam Robinson who will have his paints and easel set up near the finish line. Sam’s a plein-air painter, and will be painting sketches of the day. It’s fun to watch him work and see how he interprets the scene before him.

See you at the race!

Reprinted from Baltimore Fishbowl, April 25, 2015

Home Plate!

Just in time for summer, Halcyon House has a new line of melamine plates. You might remember the tacky old melamine, but the new wave of melamine looks exactly like the gorgeous Portugese or Provençal pottery, but without the weight and chance of breakage.

Come on by and check out the entire collection!

It’s All About the Green!

In celebration of the beginning of spring, and of course, St. Patrick’s Day, we have chosen a selection of green items at Halcyon House! The shades range from the softest spring green to the deepest malachite green. Take a look!For more information, call our Eric, and he’ll take care of you. Your friends will be green with envy when they see your new greenery!

Valentines Day!

Just a little reminder that Valentine’s Day is on Sunday. Of course, Halcyon House Antiques is the PERFECT place to come find a gift for the one you love… even if it’s you!

In addition to candy, we have jewelry, something that you can never have enough of!

Or maybe a gorgeous scarf?

And for the gentlemen, might we suggest a great magnifying glass, or perhaps some wonderful French steak knives?

If you see anything here that interests you, please contact our own Cupid, Eric.

Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL?

Although the Ravens aren’t in the game this year, the Superbowl is still taking place on Sunday. It’s Superbowl 50, as they’ve ditched the Roman numerals. FYI 50=L.

Almost everyone does something for Superbowl, whether it’s watching the game with the intensity of 1000 suns, or only paying attention to the commercials. The other thing everyone does is EAT! Luckily, Halcyon House is here to help you with your serving needs… sorry that we can’t do anything about the food.

Whether you want to go classic with these beautiful ceramic serving pieces from TerraFirma, made by hand in New York City.

If you happen to have a rowdier crowd at your house, perhaps some unbreakable melamine pieces would work for you. These look like beautiful Provençal pieces, but they are actually lightweight melamine. Did I mention they’re unbreakable?

For your Superbowl libations, we suggest this terrific optical glass barware. Also unbreakable.

It’s not that we’re suggesting your party is going to get wild and crazy, but that we know that things happen! Nothing brings a party down like broken dishes.

As always, if you’re interested in anything you see, please contact our MVP Eric and may the best team win!

Vignettes

Do you know what a vignette is? Here’s what vocabulary.com has to say about it.

At Halcyon House, we specialize in gorgeous vignettes, and they are often commented upon. Jonathan, Stiles and Eric are all responsible for arranging them, all to highlight a piece that we’re featuring for your perusal.

Here are a few of our recent scenes.

Grab a drink!

The afternoon sun casting shadows.

Ohhh, more drinks!

This room is an homage to Baltimore’s own Billy Baldwin.

Bright colors to ward off the winter chill.

As always, the fireplaces look gorgeous.

There are take-away lessons in each of these vignettes that you can use in your own home.