For years I have been using these wonderful tea towels at my mother-in-law’s house. The illustrations I think were done by an Italian illustrator called Milvia and the towels given as a promotional gift by a company selling household goods, (sorry…, but I can’t be more specific than that). Milvia I suspect is the illustrators name and not the name of the company who produced the towels. I also have no idea how old they are, I think they’ve been drying pots for quite some time. My “Milvia” searches on the web have so far come up with nothing.
Although these towels are a bit of a mystery I really love them, the colours and illustrations are great and the handwritten typeface is superb.
Venerdì… giardinaggio, translated means “Friday… gardening”, such a wonderful dress and hat with a gorgeous balcony in flower.
Lunedì… bucato, translated means “Monday… washing”, it’s a shame that this towel is in bad condition as the face is lovely.
Domenica… trattoria, translated means “Sunday… restaurant”, I just love the headscarf and shoes!
Obviously I have now re-valued them and have stopped using them to dry the dishes. I am also on the hunt for the other four days of the week!
For more heavenly tea towels to buy, catch up with this great site, to dry for.
Zucchi near Milano is still in business, but no longer makes these towels. I have all 7 days, plus hours of the day. Read somewhere they were sold at Saks 5th Ave.
ReplyDeleteA dog walking Milvia towel sold recently on ebay - so the hunt is on for more!
http://www.zucchi.it/
Nikki
vintagedyetopia.com
Dear Nikki
ReplyDeleteI only saw your comment today!... 5th February, sorry it slipped through the net. Thank you so much for your information. I have since found another day of the week which I will be posting soon, they are so wonderful. I am definately hooked and hunting for more.
Thanks again.
Hi Dawn, I am a Milvia fan too and am just lacking the Domenica Trattoria towel in the DOW series. I can't find anything about the designer Milvia. If you know any information about her (I am assuming she is female but perhaps erroneously), please let me know. Thanks so much! Cindy :)
ReplyDeleteDear Cindy
ReplyDeleteI own Domenica, Lunedi, Mercoledi (see my new post) and Venerdi in the DOW series. I would love to see Martedi, Giovedi, and Sabato if you have any images to send me... then I would know what I am looking for!
Seeing as I found all four at my mother-in-laws house there is still a slight chance they might come to light.
I know of another collection the "hours in the day" by Milvia, but I'm afraid I don't have any images or tea towels yet. I can't find any concrete information about Milvia, but I know now that the towels were produced by the Italian firm Zucchi but I am still searching. I will let you know if I find any info. In the meantime thanks for writing.
Bye
DAWN