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Cracked Ice and Chrome: Now on Etsy

Yes, I’ve opened an Etsy shop after deliberating about it for many moons.  I have a basement full o’ stuff that I love but don’t have room to display in my 1953 ranch.  I can no longer justify keeping boxes of tablecloths in my basement when I know that there are people out there who will actually use them and appreciate them.  That’s what this whole retro fascination is about, anyway — finding stuff that has been buried for eons and giving it a new life.  That’s what my shop will be about … mostly.

Mostly?  Well, yes.  I figure eventually that I will branch out a bit and list not only my favorite retro items, but some of my photography as well.  I’ve spent 20 years taking mostly freebie pictures for people; I had my own darkroom, read numerous books about photography, spent I don’t know HOW much money at Walmart’s photo lab in the 1990s as I tried to perfect the art of film photography, and I still never felt comfortable asking someone for money when it came to photographs.  I’ve dumped a lot of money and energy into this “hobby” of mine, and I finally feel like I’m at the point where I know enough that I can offer up some of my work.  Maybe it’ll sell, maybe it won’t … but at least I can say that I tried, right?

Right now I’m listing a bunch of tablecloths that have been stuck in a box in my basement for several years.  More to come … more to show.  Stay tuned!

Visit my Etsy shop! 

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Is there such a thing as too much starburst?

While on my Nebraska trip, I stopped by some antique stores that were very interesting, and there was one store called Uncle Sam’s in Fremont, Nebraska, that I threatened to never leave.  It was as if the store was full of stuff I would buy if I trolled around estate sales.  If I would have had a pickup there, I could have hauled off a lot of that guy’s inventory. Continue reading “Is there such a thing as too much starburst?”

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Off the beaten path

As I mentioned in my last post, I chose to take a bit of a photography-related trip through the backroads of Nebraska.  I love traveling by car and getting off the interstate.  I don’t want to stop at Walmart  — I want to stop at the local variety store.  I don’t want to stay in Holiday Inn — I want to stay at the mom & pop motel down the road that doesn’t have a pool  and hasn’t redecorated in a couple decades but still has clean and comfortable rooms.  Even if the room is horribly outdated, like the Pioneer Motel in Minden, Nebraska, was, I would still want to stay there.  Case in point: Continue reading “Off the beaten path”

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Signs of the times

One of my favorite things to do on a driving trip is to swing through small towns — particularly ones that are off the main highways — and see if there are any retro signs hanging around.  I long for the days of metal and neon, of arrows and boomerangs, of flashy lights and unique signs.  Now it seems that all signage is just plain boring — cheap and boring.  Boring fonts, boring colors, boring overall design.  After all, what uniqueness is there in a Wal-mart sign?  It’d look a lot better lit up in neon with a bright blue flashing arrow pointing to the store.  My opinion, of course.  Take a look at some of the gems I ran across on the backroads of Nebraska … Continue reading “Signs of the times”

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Gatsby made truly great?

I am totally stoked for this December’s release of The Great Gatsby.  Baz Luhrmann’s creative mind has always intrigued me, and I fell in love with his circus-like sets and preposterous characters in both Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet.  The man’s got a gift, so I was both pleasantly surprised and a little nervous when I heard that he was undertaking the making of this classic novel. Continue reading “Gatsby made truly great?”

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Dog days of spring

Yes, this is another dog-related post, because as I wrote about last time, I happened to acquire a dog that has become a respected member of the family.  He wags his tail when he sees me.  The boys play with him outside and have a ball.  I’ve started to learn his little quirks and have become aware of just how “interesting” owning a Jack Russell can be. Continue reading “Dog days of spring”

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Instant Dog

Although I’ve always been an animal lover, I have never really wanted to have a dog, mainly because I saw some of the dog hassles that friends and family had to deal with: house training, poop scooping, bad habit obliteration, kenneling, yard fencing, etc.

About three weeks ago, I suddenly began to have an urge for a dog.  I have no idea where this desire came from, but I think it stemmed from a desire for my boys to have a “best friend” to grow up with.  My youngest is very much an animal lover, and I enjoyed watching him interact with other people’s dogs.  I wanted my sons to have a dog to call their own, and that’s where the wishing began, I believe. Continue reading “Instant Dog”

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A retro trip to Mankato, Minnesota

I was a bit of a late bloomer in the Craigslist department, for the few times I had gone there before, I never found anything that I really wanted.  A couple of months ago, however, I started getting into a record player phase, and Craiglist delivered like Domino’s in that department.  I picked up a nice little hand-cranked unit in Sioux Falls, and then I discovered a 1962 console record player in Mankato, Minnesota.  It had the lighter wood that I desired and was more compact than the monstrous ones of the ’70s, so I was sold on it immediately … and it was sold to me.  Behold the beautiful machine:

Continue reading “A retro trip to Mankato, Minnesota”

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Quartz — it’s not just for countertops

When I was doing the kitchen remodel, I wrote a few posts about how I selected the countertop material: Silestone in the texture of Stellar Night.  I still love my countertop with a passion; the silver sparklies in the black are just beautiful to behold.  Here’s a pic of the countertops just after they were installed (and before I had the ugly tile ripped off the walls):

Continue reading “Quartz — it’s not just for countertops”

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New! Improved! …. and old?

I will admit.  I am a sucker for retro design.  And yes, I have also been known to purchase products that have retro design even though I really don’t need the product.  Here’s example one.  Here’s example two, although that sack did hold a bottle of wine and I’m pretty sure I needed that.  However, I did make a point to visit one particular liquor store for that wine because I knew that they would put it in that awesome bag. So that, my friends, is how I will go out of my way to buy retro-looking products. Continue reading “New! Improved! …. and old?”

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