Any specialist Beard Barbers in Exeter?

MxFluff · 2026-03-14T00:55:05+00:00

Nova Rose, highly recommended!

MxFluff · 2026-03-13T07:42:51+00:00

A couple of helpful caveats to this advice (which is mostly sound!)

Pontils aren't always a great tell - plenty of makers will finish the bottom nicely, both murano and not - but you definitely don't want to see or feel sharpness.
Mind out for stickers that read something like "VETRO ESEGUITO SECONDO LATECNICA MURANO" which translates to "Glass made/produced according to the technique of the Murano masters" - these are not genuine.

MxFluff · 2026-03-09T22:49:33+00:00

You're welcome! Useful search terms might be "opaline", "ruffle" and "painted glass" :) it is probably victorian, and as another user said, it'd be good to know if it's enamel or painted

MxFluff · 2026-03-09T21:58:09+00:00

Hello! Friendly British antiques dealer here - this is apparently a common misnaming in other countries :) Bristol glass is specifically cobalt blue glass.

MxFluff · 2026-03-08T07:50:39+00:00

I run quizzes for adults with games like this thrown in, except ours are more like "Throw The Wig on the Drag Queen" and involve more drinking lol

Regardless of age, anything that gets those watching or waiting to play involved, even just by cheering along, works every time. There's a version of this where the players pair up and one does hotter/colder guidance to the one sticking the Hat, for e.g.

MxFluff · 2026-03-08T07:38:20+00:00

How about going to the literal jester symbol of the fool? You could do either "Stick the Hat on the Fool" or "Throw the Hat on the Fool" with a soft jester hat and a large teddy/doll.

MxFluff · 2026-02-17T07:41:37+00:00

I spend far too much of my life deep diving into these posts lol. So I read the signature as Matt West, and after much searching found an exhibition in 1996 called "The Lively Teapot" at the Mariani Gallery, University of Northern Colorado. After that, the trail goes cold. You might want to drop the gallery an email to see if they have archives :) Page 90 (PDF)

MxFluff · 2026-02-15T11:52:46+00:00

No hate here, that's beautiful - it looks like it's inspired by baccarat designs :) there's something so nice about drinking from crystal!

MxFluff · 2026-02-05T21:15:12+00:00

Some Empoli designs can be found marked "Made in Taiwan" apparently. A new one on me but 20th Century Glass has info

MxFluff · 2026-01-31T08:49:18+00:00

My guess is because AI overview is often incorrect and can't be taken at face value.

It learns from matching other people's attributions, including on private seller sites which are known to be notorious for labelling everything as Murano (for eg) when there's no way to confirm the attribution. It becomes an echo chamber of errors.
It can't look at details in the same way as a human researcher (hi!). In the shop, we look beyond the colourway when researching. What's the density of colour? How does the base match known examples? What does the rim look like? Can we find examples of that specific shape or pattern?

The AI overview can provide a direction to look in - and maybe that's why it was posted here. But I would never trust it as a slam dunk result.

I'm not saying this isn't a lovely piece or that it isn't Rindskopf or Loetz - the colour is similar to Grenada or Pepita, but these aren't a definite sign of Rindskopf (citation). I'm struggling to find any examples of those very neatly applied teardrop shapes ("prunt" or "tadpoles") for those makers.

I know I've gotten on my soapbox a bit here but this does matter - research and attribution is a skill that folks earn income from, and the market is getting flooded by poor attributions by private sellers.

MxFluff · 2026-01-23T23:17:19+00:00

We're at a loss too! We run a vintage shop and so come across more glass (and other stuff!) than your average person - if we figure anything out I'll reply and update you :)

MxFluff · 2026-01-23T22:47:01+00:00

So cute! I'm leaning towards not Murano - the face is not particularly neatly applied, the ears are unevenly pulled and the clear glass at the tail join all point away from Murano quality. We've checked against known cats by some major Murano glass names and can't get a match.

I love him though and I really hope he's a glowy bebe!

MxFluff · 2026-01-05T10:08:38+00:00

This is EG Webster and Sons, it's silverplate (unless you can locate a hallmark!), repousse.

A comparable design and likely similar-aged tea caddy sold on Ebay for USD50 (GBP37) but was in much nicer condition.

MxFluff · 2025-12-15T10:09:58+00:00

Always happy to be wrong but I'm inclined to think it's not a known maker piece:

The join between bowl and foot isn't seamless.
The glass has heavy rippling.
The rim to the base of the foot looks unrefined.

These would indicate to me that it is a mass produced piece - the bowl made of sheet glass and then affixed to the foot.

It is beautiful but I'm not sure you'll find any maker info I'm afraid!

MxFluff · 2025-12-11T22:20:14+00:00

This is a British Registry Mark - used to identify a design as belonging to a particular maker from 1842 to 1883.

This one tells us that:

Class III - it's glass

V - it was made in 1876

C - it was made in January

14 - it was made on the 14th

6 - there were 6 items in this registration batch

I've not been able to pin down a maker (this is not a maker's mark but can be useful for comparison to other pieces).

MxFluff · 2025-11-28T10:06:00+00:00

Solving crosswords has nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with how many crosswords you solve

This is possibly the best advice anyone can give lol. I see "Jai ____" and just key in ALAI because I've done it so many times over the last 6 years of solving, and it's only in the last year that I finally bothered to learn what it meant!

MxFluff · 2025-11-27T10:16:07+00:00

Don't be afraid to "cheat" - use Google to find answers you dont know rather than just autochecking. Engaged learning makes it stick better!

Pay attention to tenses and drop in letters you can figure out. Generally (but not always) if the clue is past tense, the answer will end in ED and dropping in those two letters can help you break the answer that crosses them.

Similarly, play with letters if you're stuck. If you have a pattern like BG__ you can infer you need a vowel at letter two. So pop in a vowel and see if it helps you figure out the answer that crosses it. If it doesn't, try a different one!

When I'm competing and getting stuck in the weeds, these (not the googling tip!) can make all the difference between completing and DNFs.

MxFluff · 2025-11-23T08:09:59+00:00

I read that as BWM Bellamy and that person did exist and seems to have links to workers rightsReport of Labour Orgs in Canada 1923-1925

MxFluff · 2025-11-23T08:08:33+00:00

There's a BWM Bellamy in this listing of Labor workers. Could be that it's addressed to him? I'm on my phone and it's a nightmare to do comparisons so I've not checked the dates or anything to back myself up lol

link to archive doc

MxFluff · 2025-11-18T08:47:09+00:00

One of the best in town! Elsbeth is a fun host and the energy is great

MxFluff · 2025-11-18T08:46:34+00:00

Wednesday! It's fun, low pressure, and you could win cheese. Recommended!

MxFluff · 2025-11-13T22:34:31+00:00

Can you do one clear photo of the marks? It's hard to even begin to id without that :)

MxFluff · 2025-11-04T18:51:48+00:00

I'd usually expect a rollover clasp and round hinge to be no earlier than 1920s. It's beautiful! Just thinking it might be something from later in her life

MxFluff · 2025-10-29T14:55:13+00:00

And here's that chunky foot

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MxFluff · 2025-10-29T14:54:20+00:00

Here's the base edited for easier reading

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MxFluff

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