Bonus -- It's time for the Christmas windows!

So I know I've been a real slacker when it comes to the blog, especially with the window posts.  We've still been doing the windows at Collector's Antique Mall in Asheboro, North Carolina -- we just haven't been sharing them with you.  So for that, I apologize, offer as a gift to you our newest window, just in time for Christmas.

If you've read our blog before, you know that the Christmas window is not necessarily our favorite one to do.  We have more parameters and limitations with it than we do with a normal window design (the tree goes here, it must be rich and full, blah blah blah).  But we really enjoyed this one.  It came together quickly, there was tons of silver tree junk in storage at the store, and we could use our trusty black and white tiled "floor".  And there's always lots and lots of glassware at the store to use. 

We suspended plastic glittery snowflake ornaments in silver and white from the ceiling, and filled the wall with black, silver, and white framed mirrors.  We wanted it to SPARKLE! and SHINE!  And it does. The effect doesn't translate all that well in photographs, but standing outside at night looking in, it really twinkles.  So pretty.

Balls and tinsel and picks galore!

The tree is so full of stuff, I was afraid it would fall over.  We found a gajillion silver picks and we used them ALL.  We also had tons of that cheap silver tinsel garland (can you see it?  it's kind of buried in the tree), and we debated about using it -- will it look like cheap silver tinsel garland?  But it's kitschy, and I LOVE KITSCH, so we went with it.  And I swear, it made that tree looks expensive.  Who'd have thunk??

We didn't go overboard adding presents under the tree.  Just some carefully curated items, mostly chosen for their colors and designs.

We loved this doll for her white hair and patterned dress.  And the dominoes are freakin' cool!

So we've done a Christmas kitchen, a traditional living room, our Hipster Cabin Christmas last year -- but we'd never done a table and chairs.  We found this great white iron and glass mid century patio table and mixed it with two traditional black chairs.  We were selective with our red accents, and mixed crystal, painted wood, milk glass, and steel for the other pieces.  We think it looks pretty awesome.

We've wanted to use this checked bedspread for a while now.  It was perfect here.

Crystal Christmas tree and Santa says "Hi!"

This has deer heads for handles!  Perfect!

We finished the whole window with angel hair tinsel -- another kitschy classic.  But it's so sparkly, and delicate!  We put it EVERYWHERE.

And the piece de resistance is my disco fringe silver tinsel wreath I made.  Did you see it?

You can make one too!  I started with a Styrofoam wreath base, and used silver bead garland and angel hair tinsel from the dollar store.  I used my handy glue gun to glue random lengths of the bead garland to the top, and I did two layers.

Then I took hanks of angel hair tinsel and wrapped it around the form, hot gluing the ends in the back.  I kept adding it until it was full, then I went back over it and teased out some loose ends for that fringe-y effect.  It was very messy, but you know, whenever I make anything, I make a huge mess.

Messy, but sooo sparkly!

And here it is installed!  Merry Christmas y'all!!

Junk Love: Black and White and Cool All Over

There are many films that have exploited the awesomeness of graphic black and white in their sets and/or costume design, but none hit the mark in quite the same way as Sex and the Single Girl. Want a quirky, seriously manipulative romance with a tall, dark, and handsome Tony Curtis type? First, you need to ask yourself: Do I look like Natalie Wood, circa 1964?

If, tragically, the answer to that question is a dull and depressed no, then your only recourse is to close your eyes, throw your arms wide, and free-fall backward into the cool fantasy world promised by this movie. We'll start with your decor, which is the best first step from a psychological perspective. (Others may say you must start from within, but I promise you this: mid-century furniture will never make you feel fat. It will only boost your endorphins, which you can use later to push you through the whole personal transformation part.) So, if your movie fantasy living room looks like this:

Your actual living room needs a little of this:

From here

Vintage Hollywood Regency lamps; From here

Not vintage, but still cool; On Etsy

From here

To add a little contrast to your life, and because everyone needs a chaise....

Vertical stripes are so slimming, aren't they? Now upgrade the fantasy to this chair, and see what happens:

Vintage Gio Ponti chair

In the bedroom, you must be a woman of mystery. Check out the bed (which I couldn't find a closer shot of) and try to describe it in three words or less. Can you? No one should be able to describe you in three words or less, either.

So imagine this one, painted black of course, with stark white bedding:

From here

You will need to be both intellectual and provocative, which people will understand as soon as they see your collection of semi-grotesque linoleum block or woodcut prints representing various elements of the human psyche (did I mention that you might need a PhD for this fantasy?).

As long as you stick with black and white and bold, you have plenty of options to choose from (my particular favorites are the Jim Flora illustrations below). Just remember--solid black frames!

Vintage Jim Flora illustration; www.jimflora.com

Vintage Jim Flora illustration; www.jimflora.com

1970s block print; On Etsy

And now that we have the set dressed, so to speak, it is time to become a goddess, 1960s-style.You might not look like Natalie Wood, but if you can pull off a dress like this, you're under the right stars....

www.chronicallyvintage.com

On the Radar -- Black and White and Red All Over

We've talked about black and white -- you know, the trend that never ends.  Well, it seems designers have moved on to another classic combo.  Black, white, and RED.  I was flipping through my latest Harper's Bazaar and started noticing all the red.  And then all of the black and white.  Hmmmm...

So here's my round up of some of my favorite finds, like Alexander McQueen.  Oh, and a few other designers.  Really, what more do you need in life?  

Well, maybe Robert Downey Jr.  But hey, that's just a Blackbird girl preference.

Enjoy!

John Paul Gaultier, Fall/Winter 2013

Alexander McQueen, Fall/Winter 2013

Vivienne Tam, Fall/Winter 2013

From Vogue Portugal.

Giambattista Valli, Fall/Winter 2013

Vintage silk scarf, available in our shop, here.

The Skinny: Look Like a Movie Star With Max Factor

I've grown up hearing about Cover Girl, Revlon, Maybelline--all of the big names in cosmetics, and I've always taken for granted that makeup is makeup, and women (and men) use it to look different. I never really thought about the historical importance that a particular brand of makeup would have (and, consequently, the man behind the name). But then there is Max Factor.

Vintage Max Factor makeup kit, from thecostumermanifesto.com

Max Faktor started out as a pharmacy apprentice who began experimenting and mixing homemade cosmetics in a little shop in Poland. His first big break came in the late 1800s when a theatrical company wore his products during a performance for the Russian Czar and his family. They were, shall we say...royally impressed, and asked Max Faktor to act as the official makeup advisor to the Imperial Russian Grand Opera.

Vintage Max Factor rouge tin, from rubylane.com

In 1904, he finally decided to stretch his wings (and let's face it--things weren't great in Russia in 1904, so it was probably a really good move on his part), so Faktor brought his brood to America (and became the Factor family at Ellis Island). He set up a stall at the St. Louis World's Fair later that year and started selling his cosmetics. An intelligent man, he observed a prime opportunity for someone with his particular set of skills within the growing film industry. The Factors headed for Hollywood in 1908, and by 1914 Max Factor had developed the first makeup specifically suited for film (called "flexible greasepaint"). He also made high-quality human hair wigs, which the studios begged him to rent out. He obliged, on the condition that his sons be cast as extras, so that they could guard the wigs from kleptomaniac actresses.

He developed custom lipstick shades for Hollywood's leading ladies.

What I had never thought about was how much the chemical composition of the makeup mattered in early films. I have always just assumed that powder was powder, and lipstick was lipstick, and nails were either polished, or not. It turns out that the combination of the film type and the light source (carbon or tungsten), plus the actor's natural skin tone, made quite a challenge for the makeup artist to make the actors look normal on screen. Any transition in Hollywood's technology meant necessary product development within the cosmetics industry so that the film looked good. Max Factor was there every step of the way, for the evolution within the black and white era (some lighting was softer than others, some film types made skin look much darker, some tint was required to make fingernails look normal), and the all-important Technicolor (a completely different ball game), to the improvements in television technology. In fact, Max Factor makeup was the standard for the industry up until the arrival of HDTV.

You, too, could look like Judy Garland with Max Factor!

He also created signature looks for some of the most iconic actors and actresses of all time. Max Factor is responsible for Clara Bow's "cupid's bow" lips, and Joan Crawford's full, dark lips. He developed customized makeups to best enhance the looks of particular actors on screen, including Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Jean Harlow, Claudette Colbert--even Rudolph Valentino had custom Max Factor makeup. He sprinkled gold dust in Marlene Dietrich's hair to make it shimmer onscreen.

Clara Bow's infamous lips.

The next time you watch one of the classics, or gasp over some beautiful actress in a black and white movie still shot, think about the fact that a large part of what you love about it is the essence of Max Factor. The full lips, the shimmery hair, the flawless face--they attract you because of the kitchen experiments of a poor Polish immigrant, a man who helped make screen stars into beauty icons. And if you happen to collect vintage makeup, check out these recent additions to our Etsy shop:

1950s eyeliner, in our Etsy shop

1950s Max Factor mascara tubes, in our Etsy shop

The Skinny: Martin Munkasci

I had planned to write about Richard Avedon. I will, someday. But today is all about the man who inspired Avedon, Martin Munkasci.

"Woman on boulder with bicycle", 1936

Multiple sources cite him as "the father of fashion photography." I had never heard of him before today. It turns out that a lot of people have never heard of him. In fact, after his death in 1963, his archives were offered to multiple museums. Nobody wanted them.

1940s Harper's Bazaar

He was a Hungarian Jew (actually born in Transylvania) who got his start as a sports photographer in his native country for a newspaper called Az Est. He was an adventurer, often called "Crazy Angle" by his colleagues. Instead of standing behind the fence to photograph the races, he would be on his knees in a puddle on the side of the track. One source claims that he strapped himself to the side of a race car in order to photograph it in motion around the track.

Munkasci, on a car

European motorcyclist, 1920s

Martin moved to Berlin, where photography was booming, and ended up working for several German publications in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He even photographed Hitler (no small feat for an Eastern European Jew in Nazi days). When the atmosphere in Germany started to get a little rough for people of Munkasci's roots, he took an overseas assignment in America for Biz, one of his German magazines. While in New York, he agreed to do a photo shoot for Carmel Snow, budding editor for Harper's Bazaar, and that was the day he made history. Not only was it the first outdoor fashion shoot, it was the first motion fashion shoot. Until then, models were posed and primped on carefully regulated sets in carefully regulated studios. With Carmel Snow, Martin Munkasci shot his model on the beach. He didn't speak English, and his interpreter was having a difficult time of it, but the model, Lucile Brokaw, understood perfectly. He wanted her to run. To move around. To splash. Looking at the photographs, you would never know that the day was actually miserably cold and damp, the model shivering.

Lucile Brokaw, Harper's Bazaar 1933

The shoot was such a success that Carmel Snow offered him a job. The next year, he moved to America to become one of the most groundbreaking photographers of the time. He was one of the first photographers to put nudes in a mainstream magazine (tastefully, of course).

Harper's Bazaar, 1935

 He continued to pioneer the art of motion photography for Harper's Bazaar, Life, and Ladies Home Journal before turning his eye to Hollywood. His work gave us one of the most well-known pictures of Fred Astaire in motion. At his peak in the mid-1930s, his annual salary was $100,000. He lived in a Long Island estate with art from the Masters on his walls.

Fred Astaire; Life, 1936

Katharine Hepburn

In 1939, his luck took a hike. His wife (the second of three) divorced him. He lost a lot of money. Then, his daughter died of cancer. While he was still in mourning, Ladies Home Journal gave him a cross-country series assignment called "How America Lives." The stress of driving from city to city, day after day, caught up with him, and his pictures weren't good anymore. They fired him. He had  a heart attack. Another wife, and another divorce, led him to poverty. He was finally reduced to loitering in the hall outside Harper's Bazaar, hoping for some work. He finally had to pawn all of his camera equipment. His last published photograph was for that magazine, in July of 1962. A year later, he died of a heart attack. The only food in his refrigerator was an open can of spaghetti with a fork sticking out of it.

1936, "Peignoir in Soft Breeze"

New York World's Fair, Harper's Bazaar 1938

People finally came around, and several decades later, interest in his work renewed. Someone discovered a series of undeveloped negatives, and an exhibit of "lost" photos was born. A few books were written, with quotes from photographers that Munkasci inspired, including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon. I think my favorite is Avedon's remembrance of his 11-year old self discovering  Munkasci magazine cover and gluing it to his bedroom ceiling: "His women [strode] parallel to the sea, unconcerned with his camera, freed by his dream of them, leaping straight-kneed across my bed."

The Puddle Jumper

Bathing Beauties



Information obtained from: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8597512/Martin-Munkacsi-father-of-fashion-photography.html; http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/04/decisive-munkacsi-moments