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VINTAGE EYEWEAR
Well, you can go get glasses at the local Lenscrafters, OR you can hunt down some spectacular vintage hand cut frames at your local antique shop and have them fitted with your prescription lenses. Or maybe---do both. I have some very normal, "don'-t-cause trouble" frames, and some "in-your-face" frames I like to wear when I am feeling "con cohones" and have had a drink or two. Better to buy "new old stock", if you are going to invest much in the lenses. It is not good to throw money into old frames in bad shape that will fall off your head or lose an arm and need that proverbial piece of masking tape to keep them together. Unless that is the look you crave--the look of half the boys in my nerdy seventh grade class circa 1965. If so, I have an old briefcase and a pocket pen holder I would like to sell you. I'll throw in the slide rule.
Lawn art and ashtrays
Back when guys stayed home more, listened to the radio and do other things at the same time, they probably labored over homemade lawn art, standing ashtray holders, and door stops. Usually they were made out of plywood, then painted. Look for slightly crackled paint. Many of the best of these were old comic strip characters like Jiggs and Maggie, or the ocasional Disney character. Black cats are plentiful. Also Butlers. You do not have to smoke to appreciate them.
old silhouettes
Many of these come from the 20's and 30's. You can often guess the age of the piece by the dress of the person whose portrait it is. Hung together on a wall, they have a wonderful impact.
Old cookbooks by local groups: i.e. Grange cookbooks, church cookbooks, college cookbooks, etc.
Tacky Souvenirs from old site seeing locales

HOT OFF THE PRESS: My Brand New Fabrics. They go with all of my favorite VINTAGE things.

Last year I exhibited at SURTEX for the very first time. My reason was very simple: After years of getting art and book reviews that commented on my "bright, colorful patterned artwork," I said to myself, "Why not just do patterns, for goodness sake?"

And so I did. For months I designed patterns of things I love. And things I collect. And things that speak to me that I mostly have around my house. In other words, vintage junk of all kinds that I live with and am surrounded by 24/7. One thing was important to me--I did NOT want to create patterns that looked like they were plucked from some obscure cloth catalogue from 1955. Oh, I like that stuff, but I did not want to reproduce it. What would be the challenge in that? I ended up drawing my own original interpretations of things from those funky periods of time (30s, 40s, 50s), so I wouldn't be regurgitating old imagery. Still, my fear was this: would it go with the all the old stuff I actually live with? The answer is YES; it goes with everything.

Allow me to present my brand new line, Really Really RetroTM designs for Elizabeth's Studio. Here is the anchor pattern, "The Happy Housewives." Disclaimer: I am not REALLY a happy housewife doing all this domestic diva stuff. I only play one when I am an artist.

For fun I went around my house and grabbed Fiesta Ware, Carnival Chalkware, Salt and Peppers, and other assorted vintage junk I love with every bone of my being.

You've got Mr. and Mrs. Salte and Pepe sitting on the Clock Dots. And there's nothing like a couple of singing piggies belting out a tune on the Really Really Right on Time pattern..

Thought it might be fun to set a funky table. This table would require something simple--like pasta in white clam sauce. Guess whose coming dinner? No one that doesn't love color, of course.

I invited a few of my friends to check out how they went with the colors. "We approve," they said (between you and me, I think they were relieved that I wasn't going to put them all up for sale on eBay).

Mr Kennel Ration below thinks the colors are delicious while he sits on Glamorous Glasses.

(Yes, that's a lot of dust on him. I told you I was not Domestic Diva! I never dust.)

I do like to sew, though, and my fingers are itching to get going again. I can see that my old Bernina will get quite a work out when I start playing with this fabric.

Going to NYIGF next week? Stop by my booth, #7876, see and feel the cloth in person. The colors are perfect and rich, and the cloth quality is incredible. Say hello, talk vintage with me, and check out what other fun art and patterns I have available for licensing for the funky house and home.

January 28, 2010 at 05:10 PM in Antiques, Be still my beating artist heart, Color!, Decorating, Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (13)