Teak Chic

Here is one of those everyday items that i just discovered on my kitchen counter. It really came alive when we added the clementines. It looks authentic mid-century, but i seriously have no idea where it came from, or who gave it to us. It says on the back: Adirondack Bowls Inc., Auburn NY. If it was you, fess up, ok?

Home Part 2

I would tell you more about these authentic 60's coulottes i swiped from my Mom, but i can't. My eyeballs exploded.
Seriously.

Home Part 1

If you, like me, are a visual person, the holidays can send you into instant overload. Go back to the house you grew-up in, or even where your folks live now, and let the treasure-hunt begin. What odd-ball objects send you reeling back to your childhood? Here's one for me... i opened it and it had so much more than recipes. The to-do lists and laundry lists on the back of some of these recipes were hysterical. It was worth the trip. I can never open it again, at the risk it will disintegrate.
Send me your treasure pics to heidi at faboographics.com

Killing Frost

A beautifully haphazard bouquet of november roses, snatched before the first frost.
I feel so Martha.

Trivets

I know it's been awhile...
These little beauties are salvaged from Cathy's Mom's kitchen. They don't make 'em like this anymore.
Thanks Gloria!

Portrait of the Artist

Anyone out there wondering what i look like, can get an accurate impression of my essence from these 2 renderings.
These artist/designers in-residence are already showing great use of color and detail. Imagine what their work will look like when they actually turn 5!

Glidden

These lovelies are from my childhood. The hubby refers to them as "The Formal Flinstone's Ware". Though they were everyday dishes back in the 60's, we now only bring them out on special occaisions. I'm not sure why i don't use them everyday, i mean look at them...they are sturdy! Sturdy enough to survive atleast 10 or 11 moves from place to place, including one apartment in the west village where the kitchen ceiling caved in.
Don't anyone tell me how much they go for on ebay. I will NEVER give them up.

Black & Gold

For my design friends: There are certain color combinations that transcend the times.
For my posse from home: "...if it's not one thing, it's your mothra."

My Kitschen

Someday, when a storm of paper money floats down from the sky, we will re-do our kitchen. The thrill of choosing my own colors, textures & surfaces will be exhilarating. But I can't deny that I'll feel a few pangs of loss, missing some of the old details that give the room a sense of past. The original light fixture, the avocado vinyl floor, the built-in cutting board, the original stream-lined range hood. *sigh*

Faboo Faves

I can't even count the number of compliments i get on this handbag. I bought it at an end-of-the-year sample sale at Alexia Crawford. (2000? 2001?) Feast on those shiny shell buttons with your eyes!

Favorite Things

This inside cover put a smile on my face, on such a dreary, rainy day.
(Thanks to Deidre, who dropped off a boatload of children's books)

Hot Hot Hot

Another great addition snatched from Cathy's parents' basement bar.

Contact

A long, long, time ago, in a faraway land called "1956" this is what contact paper looked like. Or more likely, my Mom used scraps of wallpaper. Either way, we tip our hats to this ancient & beautiful design, before making way for something clean, & mildew-free.

Underneath it All

Every house has it's secrets, and one of the best kept secrets of my house, is that 80% of it is covered in wallpaper. Under several layers of paint. Above is my secret kitchen wallpaper, which was discovered when the phone company came to check the jack.

A more elegant example, is seen here in my neighbor Terry's house. Her sample was found when she and her husband Aaron removed a mirror from the wall in their livingroom. Since then, they have framed the wallpaper, thus creating a beautiful masterpiece.

If anyone has interesting patches of secret wallpaper in their house, feel free to send me pics, & i'll post them.

Faboo Tray

I found this tray at a tag sale 6 years ago, but you can find plenty of similar ones on ebay these days. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The drawings are whimsical, and the brass & wood inlays really give them even more character. The label says: "Couroc of Monterey California Phenolic Bakelite"

Here's some info i found out about them on the web: The Couroc company began in 1948 in Monterrey California. Couroc's hard plastic (phenolic) products included serving trays and bowls. A sticker attached to the back of their products declared "Unique Couroc Products are cherished gifts because of their great variety and beauty in design. Hand inlaid by master craftsmen, shells, coins, woods and metals are fused into Couroc's famous satin black material which is impervious to alcohol, boiling water, and cigarette burns."

Here is a link to a similar tray with brass & coral inlay. (yes, my birthday IS coming up....)
http://www.thenowhouse.com/disitem.php?di_id=00836

The POP Diner, Queens, New York

This place is an exquisite example of early 60's diner design... not one that has been well-preserved over time, more like one that you use time-travel to visit. Everything looks shiny & brand-spankin' new. The aisles are wide and the booths are huge, like back in the day. And because time-travel makes you hungry, the food is REALLY yummy. A mix of hearty american fare and carribbean food, plus a few latin dishes round out this eclectic menu.

What's On My Plate

I bought these Corelle plates because they make me happy EVERY time I see them.
'Nuff said.

Highballs

You might get tipsy just LOOKING at these glasses.
I rescued them from the basement bar at Cathy's parents house.

Folding Chair Design

Look how simple & beautiful this ancient folding chair is.
The Hubby acquired a few of these relics from back in his bachelor days.
The plate on the back of the chair reads: Louis Rastetter and Sons Solid Kumfort Folding Chair
Patent Pending 1927.
They don't make 'em like this anymore.

Always Look Under the Tissue Paper

I found this gift card in an old box of tablecloths from my mother-in-law.
Such daintiness.

Stuff.

I created this blog to showcase the objects & images that inspire me. I begin with digging down deep... into the hole on my street that the gas company has been digging this summer. I found this hole so seductive, that just knowing it was open kept me from my work. It caused me to use my innocent children as pawns to get on the good side of the gas men.

Here is what i found....
Pieces of dishes made in Ohio, circa 1890's-1910
Blue Cobalt Glass Ink Bottle
Brown glass bottle from one of the oldest homeopathic pharmacies in America.
2 Clear glass stopper-top bottles
A piece of a 1910 calendar plate