The good thing about many collectables is that it’s possible with a little care to actually use them as well as display them. A good example of this is Whitefriars glass particularly the Geoffrey Baxter textured range. Geoffrey joined the glass factoy in the early 1950s and after much experimentation developed this popular Textured range.
First introduced in the late 1960s this range has become very popular with collectors, it’s bold colours, striking shapes and sturdy vases set it apart from many other glass wares. One of the most popular and stunning pieces is the Banjo. This is an extremely large (and VERY heavy!) vase first introduced around 1966. This vase can be seen in many colours including the ever popular Tangerine and Kingfisher blue, see a nice example currently on eBay here.
You don’t see a Banjo that often, and when you do it’s always a good idea to carefully check the edges and the textured area as these are the places that little nibbles can often be found. Also a good idea is to hold it up the light, this can give you a better look over it to help spot for cracks or water staining (be careful they are very heavy!).
Due to their size and popularity they aren’t the cheapest of Baxter’s textured range. On eBay currently are some of the equally collectable and often more affordable pieces from the textured range, including the ever popular Bricklayer, the TV vase and the far more affordable Bark vase.
I’d advise checking all in the same way, that way you can be sure of what your buying.
If you saw the Troika Love plaque that finished recently on eBay but your pockets weren’t quite deep enough then don’t despair Troika made a range of plaques some more affordable than others!
Equally attractive and more affordable the Troika Stove plaque and Calculator plaque are just as collectable and often more obtainable to many people. The Calculator plaque is roughly 12″ by 9″ in dimension, still quite a substantial size for a piece of Troika. With buttons that stick out, reminiscence of a calculator, this plaque has an altogether different feel to the flowing geographical design of the Love Plaque or the Thames plaque.
Often when one unusual piece appears on eBay it can start a mini trend for a while as people with similar items spot it and decide to list their pieces. Currently there is a rather nice (and in perfect condition!) Calculator plaque and funnily enough another equally sized Calculator plaque!
Both slightly different designs, and different artists it once again depends on your collecting angle. I find lots of people like to have one of each model regardless of the artist, however more and more people are collecting a particular artist’s work. Whichever your angle, these plaques certainly make striking additions to any collections!
Troika plaques and tiles were some of the first things to be made by Troika, hence why they are highly sought after, especially those in perfect condition (due to the size of some of the plaques they can often have firing cracks or small nibbles to the edges).
There were many different designs moulded onto the plaques, including the Calculator plaque (looks like a calculator!), the Thames plaque (appears to be the River Thames running through it!), and the Love Plaque that depicts three stages of Love - Love, Marriage and finally wife rules! The Love plaque is an extremely large piece of Troika, roughly 15″ long. You can see quite a nice example currently on eBay (and in perfect condition): Troika Love Plaque.
Made when Troika where still in St Ives most examples display a variation of the Troika St Ives pottery mark and often include the Trident mark and an artist’s signature.
Quite often you will see a BS or SB artist mark on the back. BS represents Troika founder Benny Sirota and SB is for Stella Banjamin who worked at the pottery in the early days from around 1963 to 1967. It’s tricky to tell these two apart as they can look so similar, looking at the way they have been written through an eyeglass can sometimes help.
The Troika pottery produced such a wide range of wares, it’s nice to see that people are finding the plaques as interesting as the other pieces, I certainly like them!
I often get requests from people asking if I know where they can acquire more greenery for their PenDelfin stands - it’s one of those things you never seem to have enough of. 
Apart from asking at your local PenDelfin stockist to see if they have any spare (you never know), it’s one of those things you don’t appear to be able to buy separately.
However, for anyone desiring a little more, I have just spotted this on eBay PenDelfin Trees.
Should help fill some of the many holes PenDelfin provide on their display stands!
I’ve noticed several times recently that the odd Troika pottery coffin vase appears to have gone sky high recently on eBay. There appears to be nothing special about these vases (regardless of how they describe them) as they are all just standard Coffin vases from the Newlyn period.
Take this Troika vase
At present, you might normally see a Troika coffin retail for between £140-£170 depending on it’s design, decorator and condition. As I write this one’s already at £255 with 3 hours to go.
In the past I’ve seem them go for over £400, which is utter madness.