Photography

Understanding Light and Shadows The key to creating striking black and white photos lies in how you control and manipulate light. In black and white photography, there are no colours to distract from the interplay of light and shadows. To achieve a high-contrast image, you’ll need to understand how lightRead More →

Bovril

Origins and Early Years Bovril is a meat extract that was first developed by Scottish entrepreneur John Lawson Johnston in the late 19th century. He created the product as a means of providing a concentrated, nutritious food for soldiers in the British army. The name “Bovril” is a combination ofRead More →

Books

Introduction For Centuries books have been a source of information and imagination. There are some well known authors across the genres who have produced works in the non-fiction and fiction areas. It wasn’t until I started the Wildcard Curiosities business, that I realised how frequent I come across books. FromRead More →

Upcycling

Introduction Looking back at previous blogs and social media activity for Wildcard Curiosities. I refer to Gareth Norman Makes who is a local artist and restorer. I decided to do this blog to provide more of an insight into who Gareth is and what he does. I hope to createRead More →

Vintage Glass Bottles

Introduction During the summer of 2022 I was sorting out some stock. I found some vintage glass bottles in a box, that was part of a miscellaneous lot from auction. After some research, although nice bottles they did not state a name. Unfortunately they were not really for resale asRead More →

Casdon

History Of Casdon Thomas Cassidy started with a shed in his mother’s back garden in Blackpool in 1945. In his spare time he would make moulds for small toys. Cassidy wanted to start his own toy business and in 1946 he left his job as a toolmaker to pursue thisRead More →

Wicked Witch

Introduction Pelham Puppets are wooden Marionette puppets. This type of puppet can be difficult to control and can become easily tangled. With a bit of practise they can be really fun to recreate/invent stories with. The wooden cross the strings are attached to is the control. With your left handRead More →

Vintage Wedgwood

What Is Wedgwood? Wedgwood is a fine china and porcelain company founded in May 1759 by potter Josiah Wedgwood. The company makes luxury pottery and are extremely popular worldwide. They quickly grew to become one of the largest companies of Staffordshire Pottery. Wedgwood in more recent times made stoneware andRead More →

Ronson

Introduction In 2020 1.3 Billion people world wide were reported to be still using tobacco products. However the tobacco industry has taken quite a hard hit in the last decade or so. The growth to be heathier and the advance in the understanding of the impact of smoking has causedRead More →