Tag: retro

Parents & Teachers, Your Kids Will Love This LP

He certainly seems to enjoy it.

vintage songs for quiet time lp

When quiet time is a silent prayer for it all to end.

Vintage LP spotted at a local thrift shop. See also: How To Pray & Stay Awake.

Second Spin Sales

secondspin Starting today, and running until October 9th, 2015 (or supplies run out) Second Spin has sales on CDs and DVDs, $5 and $4, respectively.

Or, if you prefer the collectible and out of print stuff, use code FALL15 get 10% off until November 30, 2015.

Wunnerful, Wunnerful, Easter

In case you were wondering why there was such a liberal use of the #LawrenceWelk on Tweety Machine tonight, hubby & I were Live Tweeting tonight’s PBS showing of the 1979 Easter episode of The Lawrence Welk Show. (Live Tweeting is like a Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) riff, only with even cheaper production value.) No, we didn’t blowup Twitter; but we did have an awful lot of fun. And so I thought, why not outline it all here for you, dear Kitschy Kitschy Coo readers. Typos and all; interspersed with some factoid linkage — you know, in case you wonder what the hell we nerds of kitsch are talking about.

— Oh, and before we get to that, we plan on Live Tweeting next week’s PBS episode of The Lawrence Welk Show. So if you’re at all interested, or just bored, join us on the Tweety at 7 PM Central.

https://twitter.com/DerekDahlsad/status/584869966874333184

(And then some Twitter bot account favorited the tweet because BOT.)

(That movie is here — yes, on DVD!)

(Hubby & I on FB.)

(Hubby is trying to reference the author of Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers.

(A bot trying to sell flowers favorited that because BOT.)

(My fav chime-in of the night!)

Pink Poodles – And Other Mid-Century Kitsch Dog – Alert!

pink poodles and mid-century kitschy dogs

Contrary to contemporary thought, these kitschy puppy prints were not sold as nursery items. Adverting for this very set reads, “To bring new decorating dash to the walls of your home, or to spice up a children’s room or den, place these lovable puppies with their all-loo-human expressions where everyone can see and admire them. …Portraiture of animals is the latest rage.”

Yup, you read that right; this was actually grown-up decor. (And don’t worry about pink being to feminine for dad’s den; tough cowboys wore pink too.)

Sold by Colonial Studios as “4 Lovable Wide-eyed Puppies in Full Color for Your Home”, this is one set of Mid-Century Modern dog prints! While not as sad as the big-eye art of Margaret Keane, these pups certainly are of the same exaggerated-cute style.

colonial studios dog art by coby

These vintage dog prints were the work of an artist simply known as Coby. According to the scant literature, Coby was a man referred to in the sales literature as “one of America’s most perceptive painters of animals” who “seems to known exactly the right touch to make these irresistible paintings spring to lite. Painted with love, each of the characters will capture a special place in your heart.”

While all the emphasis is on the pieces being painted, you’ll quickly note the mod 3-D effect of added touches of ribbon, felt, and other fabrics was likely added from photos. Combined with the pastel critters it creates the instantly recognizable look of a kitschy style which ran rampant throughout the the late 1960s and early 1970s.

PS The large pink rubber poodle squeaky toy (from Sun Rubber, 1963) can be found here.

Come Sit For A Spell, Kids, & Meet Mr. Mod Bunny Rabbit!

Back in 2008, we showed you the fabulous TV Tuffets of the 1950s. But now we can do even better.

This here is a large Mid-Century modern stuffed white bunny rabbit with a turquoise vinyl seat — because it’s a stool for kids to watch TV on!

vintage kitsch mod retro stuffed animal stool chiar for kids

Just imagine the joy of watching TV on an old television set with rabbit-ear antennas while holding the ears on this bunny!

This plush white rabbit is at least 15 inches long, roughly 13 inches wide, and the seat is approximately 8 inches off the ground. This stuffed tuffet of a kids chair was made by the Atlanta Novelty Manufacturing Corporation sometime between the late 1950s to mid 1960s.

And, yes, you can buy it from me. I’m downsizing my collections. (More details here.) And with all our pets this raving beauty is one of those gems that remains hidden to remain safe. But I do love it so… Better buy it quick — like a bunny — before I change my mind.

vintage kitsch stuffed huge white rabbit

mid-century modern stuffed kitschy bunny

mod bunny rabbit kids stool

He Sleeps With His Slingshot — & One Eye Open

A good cowboy would sleep with one eye open, so I’m guessing the eye we can’t see is open.

It’s kinda weird how few vintage greeting cards boys are out there… I guess boys were quicker to toss them out. Via.

cowboy bday card

Ring-A-Ding-Ding, A Spy’s Phone

I’m a fan of FX’s The Americans. So I was thrilled when I spotted the mod round brown Sculptura phone aka “the doughnut telephone” in the Jennings’ master bedroom.

Keri Russell as elizabeth jennings on the americans mod telephone

Sculptura doughnut phone in bedroom Philip Jennings Matthew Rhys

I like to spot the vintage in TV shows; it’s just something I do. And spotting this retro phone made me hold onto it a bit longer… But now the Sculptura, made by Western Electric’s Design Line for Bell Telephone circa 1975, is up for sale.

retro sculptura mod round phone

The photos of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings in the characters’ bedroom set on The Americans came from set decorator Kelley Burney. More info on the difficulties of finding items for the show’s set in this article at Slate.