Junk Love: The Hutch

Have you ever fallen in love? Instant, gut-searing, I-have-to-have-you-or-I'll-die love? We have, on many occasions, fallen victim to this condition. Usually, it involves vintage cocktail items or pinups. But once upon a time...it was a gigantic piece of furniture.

We were in the Wilmington, NC area for vacation. The week had been spent mostly in our pajamas in a beach house, watching movies and putting together puzzles. It was a time of relaxation, where our mental reset buttons would be gently pushed. We might venture into town for a nice meal or a stroll around the local antique shops (otherwise we would dry up and die). One night, we drove to the beach to get our toes wet under a wide expanse of Carolina stars. The next day, we journeyed into the big city to have lunch with someone we know there. And afterwards, as we sat in the car waiting for the AC to catch up, one of us said, "I wonder if there's a thrift store on the way back to the house?"

Indeed, there was. And within ten seconds of walking through the door, I was shoving people aside as I rushed to greet my future: a mid-century hutch by Young Manufacturing Co. Glass panels on the sides, glass shelves, and it lights up. At $225, it was pricey for a thrift store find, but a bargain for such a large piece. As I spotted another customer strolling toward it with a contemplative gleam, I considered licking the doors to stake my claim. Luckily, there are TWO Blackbird girls--one to find a sales associate, and one to body-check anybody stupid enough to tread on our turf.

Hutch in its native habitat

Lusty excitement aside, we are also practical gals, so my first action was to get the tape measure from the car. The hutch is two pieces, incredibly heavy, and too big for both parts to fit in the car simultaneously. But, considered individually, each piece would fit. We were an hour from the beach house, but decided it was worth it to make two trips. I gleefully paid for the hutch. And then Carl happened.

Carl is the guy in charge of moving things. And Carl is the sort of fellow who will laugh in a woman's face and tell her how stupid she is. I learned this the hard way. 

I want to take the top half first I told him. It will slide in at an angle, and I have blankets to cushion (because you have to travel with blankets for this exact purpose). He shook his head and laughed and condescendingly informed me that the piece was too big. The top is 48 inches I said. I have 52 inches of clearance in the car. Carl snorted and asked where from my body I happened to pull those numbers. I held up my tape measure, and he snatched it from my hand. I watched through the window as Carl measured my hutch top, watched him shake his head when he realized that it was, indeed, 48 inches high. And then he came outside and tossed the tape measure at me. He spat on the asphalt in front of my toes, and told me that he didn't care what size it was. Nobody was putting that piece in my car. Then he instructed all of his staff not to help us. It was too heavy for two Blackbird girls to handle, and so we were stuck.

From here we entered a Dark Time, during which we called everyone we knew, who called people, who called people, and eventually, we were able to get someone with a truck to come help us. Half of the hutch went in the truck, and the other half went into my car. Sounds like a sweet ending to the story, right? I may have neglected to mention the fact that I didn't technically have room for this piece of furniture at home. Indeed, there was the not-so-small matter of a piano in the exact spot where the hutch would have to live.

The bottom half of the piece, which I affectionately referred to as Hutch Butt, lived in my SUV for over two months. If I got groceries, I would slide open the doors and lower bags into the Hutch Butt. If I slammed on the brakes, it would nudge the back of my seat like a friendly high-five. While Hutch Butt camped in my car, and Hutch Top lived in somebody's garage, I tried to get rid of the piano. Not surprisingly, those tend to be really hard to re-release into the wild. Eventually, I figured out a way to fit the hutch into my house WITHOUT getting rid of the piano--or anything else!

Hutch Butt grows accustomed to its new habitat

All it took was twelve hours of sweaty labor, moving four other pieces of furniture and dozens of associated tchotchkes and pieces of wall art, but finally, there was a space for Hutch Butt. The delivery of Hutch Top was a joyous event, and there was rejoicing in the streets (except not really, because there is no air conditioning out there). Finally, finally, finally--the hutch was in my house, ready to be filled with pottery and other assorted items. The moral of this story? Love is hard work, but a girl would do almost anything for decent storage.

Hutch Butt and Hutch Top compare stories from their time apart

The Skinny -- The Art of Tammis Keefe

Tammis Keefe.  Photo from http://makingitfun.blogspot.com

Another two things you should know about the Blackbird girls is that we collect lots of mid-century linens (the cuter the better), and that we also collect children's illustrated books.  A designer and artist that really captures the fun of both of these things is Tammis Keefe.  Margaret Thomas Keefe was born in December 1913 in California. Although she started out studying math in college, she soon realized her passion for art and transferred to the Chouinard Institute of Art.  After graduation, Keefe worked at  the Disney studios, and then as art director of the magazine Arts and Architecture from 1940 to 1942.  After that, she was mentored by textile artist Dorothy Liebes, where she began to focus on being a print maker and colorist.

From flickriver.com by xtinalamb

Keefe's fun prints reflected America's optimistic outlook following World War II.  Bright and cheerful, her prints were influenced by her travels, animals and nature, and celebrations. While working with Liebes, Keefe designed textiles for Goodall Industries, as well as Golding Decorative Fabrics, Cyrus Clarke and Jud Williams Inc. She also designed wallpaper prints for James Kemble Mills and Katzenbach & Warren.*

nwfestival.com

Keefe's fabric and wallpaper prints for the home soon led to other product design.  She began designing hankies, dish towels, tablecloths, and even clothing.  Her designs were collectible, even in her time, and she really revolutionized the idea of the designer as a brand for their products.  Her designs for retailers like Lord & Taylor were manufactured by Kimball, and were signed "Tammis Keefe."  She even marketed to other retailers as "Peg Thomas" as a way to be represented in multiple retail outlets at the same time.  

 

From KLB Vintage Wares on Etsy

In a 1951 Christian Science Monitor article, Keefe was quoted as saying “Anything is possible in textile design, if it is done correctly. A designer merely starts with something, anything, and then develops it. To an imaginative person, practically anything suggests a starting point. From then on, it is merely stating what you have to say in design.”*

Tammis Keefe died in 1960 at age 46 from cancer, but she left a legacy in her prints.  In recent years, Michael Miller fabrics reissued some of her prints in quilting and craft cotton.  Her patterns are still as endearing and enchanting today as they were 50 years ago.  We currently have an Arabian patterned hankie for sale in our shop!

Blackbird Antiques NC

*Background and quotes from http://www.tammiskeefe.com/ and http://makingitfun.blogspot.com/2010/11/tribute-to-tammis-keefe.html.  Thanks to them for the great info!

On the Radar -- Navy Chic

Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2012

If there's one definite thing we Blackbird girls recognize about our junk lovin', is that when we find ourselves buying and picking up certain things while we are out and about, then we're going to start seeing it EVERYWHERE very soon. Not that we're trend savants or anything, but we're pretty plugged in to the design world, both through television (Project Runway, anyone?) and other media, as well as what we see in the antique and junk retail world on a daily basis. And somehow all that we're seeing and hearing about trickles through our subconscious until it just suddenly becomes clear in our mind.

This week's On the Radar post is about our rediscovery of the color navy.  We had just such a moment of clarity with navy recently. We've been absently talking about navy to each other for months and months, but didn't realize until we went on a junk buying trip this summer, that we were buying many navy things. A navy hat here, three navy dresses there -- navy earrings, a navy purse, navy scarves...you get the picture. 

Hanova Pasadena Enamel Dove Bowl from MonkiVintage on Etsy

Navy really is an amazing color.  It looks great with everything.  Absolutely everything.  It seems less scary and less harsh than black; it can be both classic and modern, all at the same time; and it can be super dark and inky, or it can be a lighter, true blue navy.  It looks crisp with white, comforting with cream, sharp with metallics, and edgy with black.  Both of us Blackbird girls grew up with the hard and fast rule of not mixing navy and black together-- you have to find navy shoes to wear with that navy dress to church! -- but mixing them seems easier these days.  We like the combination now.  White shoes after labor day...well, that's another story...

Color Block Stripe Pillow by Jillian Rene Decor

But where navy can really start to shine is with other colors.  Couple a bright color with navy and you get something that is less graphic than black-with-a-bright-color, and maybe a bit more unexpected than black-with-a-bright-color.  Try navy with kelly green or yellow.  Go monochromatic with lighter and mid-tone blues.  It looks a little more like you really know what you're talking about, that you have that fashion know-how and you're not afraid to use it!

1980s Wool Devon Hall by Robert Paul Taboh Cropped Jacket in our shop.

You can find more of our navy inspiration here, in a new treasury we made on Etsy, or in our vintage shop!  You can also follow our pins for the blog on Pinterest!