More charming finds to share

I know I could have posted all this great fun stuff at once last night, but I was tired and my long weekend had finally run its course, which means now I have tons more great stuff to show off!  First, some phones of the non-mobile variety:

Ugh, in the crummy dim light of my house I didn't notice how much more of a scrub this needed!

This is two of three that picked up at the Goodwill pound store on the same day, from the same bin.  It took me awhile to untangle all the cords.  I almost threw the beigy one back before I turned over the hand set and noticed the rotary dial.  Isn't nostalgia funny?  I actually have a rotary phone, albiet disconnected, hanging on my kitchen wall from the old folks who lived here before me.  I haven't yet been able to bring myself to take it down!  If I still had to use it, I would find it wildly annoying to wait for the dial to spin back around every time before dialing the next number, but since I don't have to, it's oddly satisfying.  The resistance as you dial it, and the otherwise unmatched sound it makes as it slides back around feel so purposeful.  Sometimes when I'm in the kitchen on my handy little Virgin Mobile phone (not product placement, but I do love Virgin - such a good deal, and I have the biggest, weirdest crush on Richard Branson!), I'll be idly dialing away on the big old thing.  If it were an awesome color I'd definitely want to keep it forever, but I've started toying with the idea of taking it down, possibly to paint it red, or blue.  Or yellow!  I need to figure out how to take it apart and paint it, but keep the numbers and whatnot... project.

Next up, a couple more small appliances to go with the awesome green iron I posted yesterday:

Crusha!

This thing is seriously sexy.  And yes, that's the original box next to it.  It's practically brand new!  It's the wall-mount kind, far more rocket-shippy than the counter top varieties, and this one's extra special - black and gold instead of the usual chrome finish.  I found it at a little resale shop that I've found by accident twice, and can never find on purpose.  I don't even know what it's called, but I know it's in South County, and this is not the only really nifty bit of vintage I've found there.

Oh yeah, mirror finish, baby!

Speaking of practically new condition - can you believe the finish on this awesome vintage Sunbeam toaster?  I couldn't, when I spotted it at the Salvation Army on Cherokee Street.  It's a later model - probably from the 70s, which I know from perusing this site dedicated solely to vintage Sunbeam automatic toasters.  These things are amazing - there's nothing to push down.  You just put your bread in the slot, and the weight of it lowers the mechanism and turns on the coils.  When the toast reaches it's optimum toastiness based on the setting you choose, the heat turns off and the toast slowly and calmly raises back up.  It's that mid-century futuristic awesomeness we all love!  This one still works like a charm, although it needs an adjustment.  It's idea of optimum toastiness was a little blacker than mine.  There's a "fixing your toaster" section on the website I linked to above that I'm guessing might help out with that, but I haven't perused that far yet.


While we're being retro-futuristic, how about these awesome silver shoes?:

There's barely even a scuff on the soles of these things.  They clearly never made it out of the house.

Not for you?  how about a groovy full-length oxblood leather coat, or the cool mid-century rope-seated valet chair on which it is displayed?:

The chair is in really nice shape, and the coat as well!

Did you see the fun penguin picture?  I'm not knowledgeable enough to say if it's a print or a watercolor - it's signed and either dated or numbered 11/76, and was accompanied, on Saturday, by a very cute little girl:

Isn't she precious?

And if one pairing of little girl and bird pictures isn't enough, I had another one!:

Isn't she a cute little hippie-chick?  She's leaning on an ancient-looking trunk lid (sans trunk) that I picked up in an alley near my house a few weeks ago.  The pretty little blue floral apron came from the same estate sale as the green iron from yesterday.

There was a ton more, but once again its getting late, and Mary Poppins the kitty found her fuzzy-thing-on-a-stick toy, so I'm gonna go play a bit before bed.  Good for the soul!

Showing off my competition

Hi guys!  You may have read my post "Introducing the Competition" a month or so ago, where I highlighted another vendor who's aesthetic I love at the Kenrick Antique Mall where my booth is.  I don't have anything nearly as in-depth as that this time, just three shots of items I covet, on sale at Kenrick now in booths that are not mine (I forgot to even take not of the booth numbers, so you'll just have to come wander around and enjoy the whole place if you see something you like!).

First, a clock.  Functional art, what could be better?:

I adore this cheery yellow and white clock.  I love the 3-D of it, and the font of the numbers
as much as the bright, shiny color!

And as we're on the functional form bandwagon, check out this beautiful gray-blue lamp with a peachy swirly shade!:

This lamp is gorgeous, and is one of several things I wish I could snap up from this particular booth.

And last but not least, this somehow manly lucite magazine rack is just plain sexy!

Sleek mid-century wood and lucite magazine rack.  So, so sexy!

A second bit of Tuesday kitsch and some "old" stuff I found in the corner (ahem - hoarder!)

Last night I showed you guys Timmy, from my quick thrift stop-in that day.  Here's another fine bit of retro kitsch some misguided soul chose to get rid of, and I, seeing it's intrinsic awesomeness, rescued from the cold lonely shelves of the thrift store:

The thing I like best is knowing that somebody Made this.

I also picked up a super cool old pillowcase, and a little daisified lotus bowl:

The little bowl is a bit bold all by itself, but
it's almost a wallflower compared to that print!

And while snapping the above snaps, I noticed a bag sitting in the corner and found a couple of treasures I picked up awhile back and promptly forgot about!  

Handy Hannah hair dryer - and it still works!

This one fascinates me with it's machine-age chrome and it's early version of an ergonomic handle.  It's even got a hot and cold setting and a little slider to let you increase or decrease the amount of heat by opening or partially closing the vent holes.  Pretty impressive for something so obviously old. The smaller print around the circle there indicates that it was manufactured by the Standard Products Corp of Whitman, Mass.  These  were very well made machines, because there are lots of them still floating around out there, mostly for sale on Etsy and Ebay.  Some of the listings claim it's as old as the 40s, and the Handy Hannah name was not exclusive to hair dryers.  Apparently the same company made other "Handy" machines for ladies of the mid-century.  But I'll let you go look that up for yourself.

This next one is even more special:

Gorgeous gray-blue beaded cardigan

Tag reads Made in Scotland Expressly for Peck & Peck  and below that, Braemar, which I happen to know  (now that Wikipedia told me so) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that hosts annual Highland Games.  Wikipedia also tells me that Peck &Peck was a venerable name in fashion on 5th Avenue in New York going back to the 1880s, and it died out after it was bought out in the 1970s, so this is a real-deal mid-century beaded cashmere cardigan.  The beads are heavy and white with tiny, ever-so-tasteful rhinestones inside the U shapes of the swooshes.  Not a single bead or rhinestone seems to be missing, it's soft as clouds and it still smells like some delicate perfumed powder or other.  I would consider it a size small, probably.  If anybody is interested (in this or anything else I post here), let me know.  Otherwise, it's going in the shop on Monday or Tuesday.   

And on that note of elegant sophistication, I bid you all good night!

Local treasure alert - STL

To any vintage/mid-century loving St Louisans out there, as of yesterday, there were some gorgeous finds to be had at the Goodwill at Union and Bayless in South County.

This wasn't all, but here's the only shot I could get with my phone:

The bench upholstery appeared to be leather

There was also another long mid-century sofa in a green/gold damask print, a wood-frame and cushion loveseat with stripes, a couple of leather-bound and one floral print chair, a tall-backed cane-sided recliner and several footstools.  All appeared to be in pristine condition - as if they'd been sitting covered in a cool, dark, dry place for the last 60 years, and all were priced well enough that it hurt my heart to be a person without access to a truck.  I was tempted to grab the tags off anyway and figure it all out later, but I also do not have access to any real storage space for such things, so I sadly left without any of these treasures.  Anyway, it was yesterday, but there's a chance some of it may still be there, and I wanted to give my fellow vintage-loving St Louisans the heads-up.  Happy Sunday, everyone!

A few more lovely things that will be going into the shop

Hey all!  Just thought I'd share a few more bits and pieces that I've got pics of, that will be going into the shop:

Royal blue wool coat.

Spiral bound floral photo album.

I love the font on the photo album, and this one came complete with a few pages of actual old photos.  I haven't decided yet whether people will like it better with or without them inside, so I'm not sending this to the booth right away.  What do you think?

Vintage fabric - an old curtain panel.

\This fabric is amazing.  Its not very big, but what an impact!  I can't for anything imagine who designed it or who thought it would make a good curtain, but I'm glad they did!

Two planters and a small vase.

The green planter is a Haeger piece - stamped on the bottom, and there's a sticker still adhered to one side.  The other two are unmarked, but nifty.  I like the origami-esque nature of the brown and cream pot, and the speckle finish and sweet green interior make the little vase special.

Half a dozen Nancy Drew titles.

I don't know much about Nancy Drew, but I do love the cover art.  On one of them, the bottom corners of many pages are torn, or possibly chewed.  The others are in much better shape.

Bovano of Cheshire Connecticut ashtray

I love this thing.  The company is still in business, but hasn't made these glass-enameled copper trays since some time in the 60s (according to their website).  It's just such a cool mid-century Mad Men cocktail party kind of thing.  But I can't imagine smashing out your butts in something so pretty.  It should hang on the wall like the artwork it is!

Small desk lamp.

Sorry the picture of this is so dark.  Suppose I should have plugged it in and turned it on.  He may look shy, but just wait till he lights up - he's a handsome little guy.

Fabulous mid-century clock radio

This little lady isn't going into the booth just yet.  I haven't tested her out yet, and to be perfectly honest, I'm enjoying looking at her too much to be disappointed if she doesn't work.

Look how cool she is!

Autumnal kitsch - tin mural-clock.

I need to get some batteries and test this guy out as well.  So awesome - the image is printed on metal, and I love the font of the clock.  I could have kicked myself when I bent one of the hands slightly (after it had survived all these years unscathed), but it went back into place with no signs of a problem.

Semi-sheer red and white polka-dot dress.  AB FAB!

What can I even say about this one?  It's a show stopper.  Can't you just see it in a movie musical from back in the day?

Bowling!

Saturday, to celebrate the birthdays of two dear friends, our whole big crew of goofballs went bowling.  The whole idea of bowling is awesome, isn't it?  It's probably not a particularly thrifty activity, but for someone who likes scouring thrift stores for vintage finds, it has quite the retro appeal, even if I'm not good at it.  At all.  I scored 80 points in the game Saturday, and felt good about it.  I even got two spares!  But the real point of telling you all this is to share the pictures!  I posted the pictures of people having fun on Facebook already, but I saved all the kitschy goodness for you all!

The moon through the window of the van on 70 north of
downtown, on the way there.

Crest Bowl, in Florrissant, MO has an awesome
old mid-century sign.  LOVE IT!

And look, the moon made it into that shot, too :)
So you know I had to give him some up-close attention!

Look how handsome he is!

Check it out - a bowl-relièf!

I don't know what the key is to, but I LOVE the keychain!
And look- tiny pencils!  They play a part in the two kitschiest
family activity/sports in the world.  I heart tiny pencils.

Concession stand, and the bar/pool-hall entrance.

Look at all the colors!  Why don't they make
footballs and baseballs in lots of random colors,
with swirls and sparkles and stuff?

The Glow Machine was not old - it's a vending machine
for glow-sticks and whatnot.  But  it LOOKS fantastic.

Cute mural.

I love bowling shoes!  You have no idea the amount of personal
restraint I have had to exercise not to sneak out with them in the past. 

A Tuesday estate sale - really?

A month or so ago (I really have no concept of time; it could have been September for all I know, but I'm pretty sure I had a coat on, so probably not) there was a random Tuesday-only estate sale right around the corner from my house in South City.  It just so happens that I'm off on Tuesdays, so that seemed particularly serendipitous to me, and I stopped in with high hopes.  I didn't find any one amazing, huge thing, but I found several small things that I quite liked, and that seemed like they might do well in this Etsy store I still haven't posted anything in.  First and coolest is this little Cuckoo clock-inspired looking plastic thermometer/"weatherhouse":

It's plastic, and in need of cleaning, but super cute! 

It says Made in USA, Chicago on the bottom, and there's a cardboard backing that says lots of other stuff, but I think it's still at the bottom of the box that I carried all my treasures out in, so I don't have the details handy.  I did find a similar one online that describes the little characters as "children" who come out when the weather is to be good, and a "witch" who shows up to portend bad weather, so while it's not very gingerbready, all I can think about now is Hansel and Gretel.

I love the marbly-swirled plastic of the house.  What's up with that?

I also picked up a bag of goodies by the sewing table in the back room which contained all of this:

Why do they call stuff like this "notions"?  Anybody know?

I particularly liked the advertisement/free book of needles from a local moving company from some time in the past, "Needles Moving and Storage"

They're "Lady Mary" needles, from England for some reason.

Oddly enough, there's one just like it on Ebay right now, except in their photo it's black and white, whereas the one I have is printed in green on a creamy cardstock.  

I also picked up a couple of linen items:

1964 Vera calendar tea towel.  Great colors!

2 Park Ave. poodle napkins.  Hee!

I always love Vera colors, and the napkins are uber-kitsch - love them!  One is pretty stained, and I'm not too sure about cleaning them because of the poodle-fur bits, but they are awesome just for existing.

I also nabbed a couple of things for the sake of the cool packaging.  The first was audio tape (not "an" audio tape):

Apparently, you could buy audio tape for $0.39 at some point in time,
and you could do so at Western Auto!

Nice that it looks cool, since I don't actually have an apparatus for playing it.

I'm guessing it was a recording of Julia Child, rather than one belonging to her.

The other was a tin that I believed to be for typewriter ribbon when I bought it:

I love the stylized art-deco-y gazelle!

But when I opened it up:

The spool inside was not for typewriter ribbon, but 8mm film:

I don't think that was the original contents of the tin, though, as it has "Underwood" clearly stamped on the bottom.

And finally there were coasters.  First an assortment of mid-century-ephemeral paper coasters:

I particularly like the Buffalo Ranch one.  These are "ROYAL CATCH-ALL COASTERS" according to the backs: "Used Exclusively by the Perfect Hostess for CARE-FREE ENTERTAINING" (all emphasis theirs).

But I know that the truly Perfect Hostess would use these next coasters, of the awesome melamine variety, with the much-less-austentations message on the back "Made in Boonton, USA":

I love the mid-century 4-colors thing and the speckling, and the fact that there are roses sculpted on the edges and daisy/star-bursts in the centers, like they can't make up their minds.

There was also a small bundle of rolled-up maps found in the closet with the paper coasters.  Fortunately for you, I don't happen to have pics of them at this point, but anyway, the moral of this story is, you never know what fun stuff you might find, even on a Tuesday!  Or maybe it's something like never miss an estate sale; they might have poodle napkins and plastic Hansel and Gretel weatherhouses.  Or maybe there is no moral, but just a bunch of pictures of some stuff.  Either way, have a lovely Tuesday, everyone!