Junk Love: Black Cats

I have always been a dog person. Until I moved in with the other Blackbird, and this happened:

I was starting grad school, and she had just gotten a new job, and we decided to become roommates to cut the expense of living in a big city. It was the beginning of a be-yoo-tiful friendship, but we've discussed that already. I showed up at the townhouse, lugged in my suitcases, and she said, "Don't mind the cat. He's antisocial." Fifteen minutes later, I was getting ankle-loving at maximum purr, and he has been my TV lap buddy ever since. The jerk.

So what happens when you live with a black cat (other than the fact that you find black hair on everything)? Eventually, you find a little tchotchke in a thrift store, a little something that makes you turn to your pal and say, "doesn't this remind you of somebody?", and then you decide that 69 cents is a small price to pay for such a teeny little memento. And then the next morning, you wander bleary-eyed into the kitchen, see this thing, and wonder how did that even happen? 

And so it begins. A kitty here. A kitty there. And then you realize that you have become crazy cat ladies in junk love fashion. 

Hey, at least these cats don't stink, or claw the furniture, or gnaw holes in the side of a perfectly good bag of Doritos, or figure out how to open the bread box and chow down on a third of a loaf of white bread (he does love his carbs...), all of which have happened in the last five days in our house. And yet, as soon as I finish this blog post, the warm black thing that is currently pressed up against my leg, periodically giving me the evil eye, will take his place on my lap, bite my hand, and then fall asleep and drool on my pajamas. The jerk.

Bonus -- What are you so afraid of??

We love to do creepy windows at the antique mall, mainly for two reasons.  One, we love Halloween and it's that time of year again.  Two, well -- let's just say we love a little dark and quirky and odd in our lives.

Since we're such collectors ourselves, we were interested in showing what a room would look like of someone who collected phobias.  We did research -- did you know the fear of clowns is coulrophobia?  And the fear of clocks is chronomentrophobia? Or the fear of string is linonophobia?

We tried to find the creepiest, weirdest things to put in the window.  Like dolls with no eyes, a metal rat sculpture on a marble base, an old dangerous-looking hackle with sharp points, black cats, and poison bottles.  We labeled everything with their phobia names, using large, old-fashioned style manila tags with twine.

The background was a find at a thrift shop -- a 1970s gold crushed velvet bedspread -- picked up for $4.  We took the fluorescent tubes out of the ceiling so we would just have the spotlights; it set the mood instantly, changing the super bright overhead lights to dim, moody lights.  Our handy faux brick panel, usually used as flooring, worked to cover the nook, acting as another wall.  We love to change the space, and make it feel different with each window. 

The real star of the window is the display cabinet.  It's got just the right amount of quirk to fit in perfectly...

We found an amazing radio that filled in the last space near the end of the window -- it sold a day after we finished the window.  Then one of the hands sold.  We know selling the items is the point of it all -- but after we've carefully curated it all, it's hard to see something go.

And here's the whole thing all together...

Junk Love: Which Witch?

Halloween is one of the Blackbird girls' favorite holidays, and one Blackbird mother is even crazier about the day than we are. So, for the month of October, my junk love mind will probably wander to vintage Halloween stuff more often than not. Today's journey is about witches.

The witch is the Blackbird mother's absolute favorite character from this holiday. She has collected Halloween items for years, and she has LOTS of items, but she is downright passionate about witchy stuff. She has so many things that, in a lot of cases, it is really hard to find an example that she doesn't already own. I decided to make this my quest today, so here is a selection of wish-list items that will make her drool if she ever sees this post.

As a fan of paper ephemera, of course I looked for those items first. These are my two favorites, both of which I have never seen before. I really want this place card:

Vintage 1930s Gibson witch place card, From Etsy

I also especially love this 1930s die cut witch because she is double sided, and the crepe cauldron is still in great shape.

Stirring and stirring and stirring my brew..., On Etsy

This is probably the cutest candy container I have found. Yeah, she's got her broom, but she certainly doesn't need it to go fast (even though the $300 price might slow me down a bit)....

Vintage Rosbro witch on motorcycle candy container, On Etsy

We always look for vintage Halloween post cards as birthday or Christmas gifts for the Blackbird mother, and this is one that absolutely cracks me up (and it's another item that I've never seen anywhere before).

Vintage Halloween post card, From Etsy

And here are the budget-busters (yeah, the candy container is super-expensive, too, but these are special because they are incredibly rare). The first is a limited edition vintage Ouija-style game called The Salem Witch Board. The board itself is plywood, and has great graphics printed around the border of witches and other Halloween-y stuff (hehe..."weenie"). The instructions state: "The Salem Witch Board is a talking number board used in the attempt to contact the Spirit World through the use of 66 different numbers, each with their own meaning." This one is for sale on Etsy for $125.

Vintage Salem Witch Board game; On Etsy

The second is a very rare fortune-telling game from the 1920s. Even though I don't collect this stuff, I would be tempted to hang on to this if I ever came across it (Ssshhh! Don't tell....), but at $220, I'll sadly have to deny myself this one.

Vintage 1920s Fortune Wheel, On Etsy

The Skinny: Halloween is for Lovers

Halloween is a holiday with deep roots. Many of the traditions can be traced back to the early Celts, when Druids held rituals in honor of the dead on the night before their new year, when departed souls returned to earth for one night. The holiday evolved as various religions reinterpreted it, moved to new lands as colonies were established, and, in America, benefited from the spice of our millions of cultural immigrants to become the holiday that we celebrate today. We know it's all about costumes, and parties, and tricks (or treats), and witches and ghosts, and scary stories. But, we tend to forget about the reasons for our rituals, and the superstitions behind them.

vintagehalloween.com

For example, why do we spend millions (if not billions) of dollars per year on costumes? It's really to disguise us from the spirits of dead people. Since Halloween is the night when souls return to earth, people out after dark need to look like somebody (or something) else, so they don't get spirited away (ha!) by the dead.

www.collectibles.about.com

But, there are some Halloween superstitions that are more about the living. These are all about...love. Although they are much less common today, quite a few Halloween rituals were specifically intended to lead to marriage. An Irish girl who found a ring in her serving of mashed potatoes (put there by the cook, of course) would find her soul mate within the year.  A Scottish girl would gather hazelnuts, name each one after her potential lovers, throw them in the fire (the nuts, not the suitors), and pay attention for a nut that burns to ashes rather than bursting. This is the nut she will marry! Of course, other parts of the country thought the reverse was true--if it burns, he's not the one. I'm sure this was very confusing, and wreaked havoc on the hazelnut harvest.

Magic nuts!

 In other countries, eating a particular type of candy (with hazelnuts again) would trigger a vivid dream of your true love's face. Apple peels tossed over your shoulder might magically spell out your betrothed's initials on the floor. A bowl full of water, with egg yolks floating delicately on top, can stand in for a crystal ball for the girl desperately seeking a glimpse of her future marriage. Or, if uncooked yellow blobs are less than appealing, you could always stand in a dark room, in front of a mirror, and light a candle. This is supposed to show the reflection of your soul mate standing behind you. Or, a serial killer who is actually standing behind you. Either way, it's useful.

She might want to run....

 The first person to successfully snag a fruit while bobbing for apples will be the first of the party guests to buy a fancy dress and veil. This, I feel, is cruel. Have you ever actually tried to grab an apple with your teeth while trying not to drown in front of a group of your peers?

October, 1933

 Personally, I feel that all of these methods involve way too much effort. It is so much more satisfying to turn off the porch light at 6:30pm, eat your way through the candy bowl while ignoring the crying children at the door, and watch a movie. This is even more effective if the movie features, say...Robert Downey Jr.

from Italian Vogue

 I knew I could count on that Halloween magic to show me my true love! And also, there's candy!



*Information obtained from history.com

The Skinny -- Halloween Party Games

Written by E.O. Harbin in 1950

In all of the various and sundry items we Blackbird girls are drawn to, there is one small (but ever growing) collection we have that has been born out of two other collections -- the cookbook and cocktail collections.  It just seemed like a natural extension to start picking them up when we see them, but then, that's really the excuse to buy something 99.999% of the time.  Today, I'm talking about vintage party books.

We don't really like parties, either one of us.  They sound like fun in the abstract, planning stages, but when it comes to the actual entertaining part -- we'd just rather go junking!  But we LOVE the idea of elaborate cocktail soirees, divine dinner parties, and fun, game filled get-togethers.  Eh, maybe one day some of my vintage cocktail shakers will actually get used to make drinks for a crowd.  But until then, we thought we could share some festive Halloween activities and games with you, our readers, from a great book in our collection called Gay Parties for All Occasions, written by E.O. Harbin in 1950.

On the Radar--Lace Love

Fall 2012 Runways

Lace is one of those classic things that never really goes away.  It shows up on every season's runways.  But this year, with the forces of what we've already discussed here -- classic Hitchcock women and yet another Victorian revival -- lace is having a strong comeback because of its timelessness and elegance.

Tadashi Shoji Fall 2012

The varieties of styles are endless.  It can be handmade, machine made, laser cut -- it is both technologically current and traditionally old-old-school.  It can be used all over or as just as accent.

When I worked in Product Development, we were always playing with different ways of introducing lace like patterns.  It is hard to balance out the sugary sweetness and daintiness of the pattern, and I think that this year, designers have gotten it right.  In the hands of some, lace has more graphic punch, like Alexander McQueen's fall offerings.  But with others, they have found how to embrace the sweetness in a more hard edged way, like this Tadashi Shoji gown.

Alexander McQueen, Fall 2012

It's showing up in fashion accents as well, such as these nail tips from Joy Cioci's show:

And you know how we feel about Country Living.  They had lace decorations for Halloween!

Country Living, October 2012

Country Living, October 2012

On the Radar -- Dial H for Hitchcock

The Blackbird girls are huge fans of Alfred Hitchcock.  I know, I know -- who isn't?  But we're the type of fans that record every movie onto our DVR when Turner Classic does the special Halloween showings of all of his films. We once kept a Hitchcock film on our DVR for two years, just because we liked it.  Sadly, we moved to a new city and had to switch out the old cable box for a new one.  But not to worry.  It's now back on our new DVR and our Netflix queue! (It's Mr. and Mrs. Smith, by the way -- watch it if you've never seen it.  It's a comedy with Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery.)

Thanks to several projects that are in the works, Alfred Hitchcock is hotter than ever.  Anthony Hopkins is starring in a movie about the filmmaker, out in 2013, and Freddy Highmore just signed on to star as Norman Bates in a Psycho prequel for A&E.  There's a lot of buzz out there about these projects, and it's starting to infiltrate other areas.

Kim Novak in Vertigo

He was known for the "Hitchcock Blonde" -- Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Tippi Hedron, Janet Leigh -- drop dead gorgeous, icy, stylish.  They were the representation of the ideal woman in his films.  Hitchcock was the master of a deceiving appearance -- making them look beautiful as their world falls apart, like in The Birds, or using their beauty to draw the viewer in, as in Psycho.

Jil Sander, Spring 2012

Designers this year, in the spring with Jil Sander, and others this fall, gravitated towards fitted suits and classic mid-century silhouettes.  There's always some representation of 1950s glamor in fashion, but this year seems to highlight the polish and sophistication of the Hitchcock leading ladies.  Look for structured Kelly bags and gloves in accessories this fall.

Kelly bag from Storyland Vintage on Etsy

Glamour UK fashion spread, September 2012

Our find this summer! 1950s taffeta dress.  For sale in our Etsy shop!

Cosmetics are jumping on the trend, too. Chanel launched a three color line of nail polish this fall based on Hitchcock films -- Frenzy, Suspicious and Vertigo.







And for your viewing pleasure...the fantastic dream sequence from Vertigo:

Junk Love Monday: Oh, How Tempting!

 He's usually red, only sometimes ugly, and always pops up at Halloween. (Sometimes, he's a girl!) And, he's highly collectible. At the risk of sounding weird and dangerous, let's talk about the devil....

from flickrhivemind.net

No, we don't collect devils. We have a couple of pieces that are part of other collections (a red lady devil swizzle stick, and a footed restaurantware mug with a devil over flames, like the ones pictured above), but in honor of those true collectors out there, we thought we'd highlight some wickedly awesome, devilish items that we've found lately. 

Devil hand puppet, from LemonIceBoxPie on etsy.com

Collecting devils doesn't mean that you are evil, or of a particular religion, or crazy. They are undeniably cool, and it's interesting to see how he has changed stylistically over the centuries (or not). And, with Halloween just around the corner, devils are easier to find, and love (in a junk love sort of way). We confess that we're...tempted.

cast iron devils, from Miltiadis on etsy.com

German Lady Devil post card, from SinIsPretty on etsy.com

Devil and Thugs masks from TruetiquesInc on etsy.com

German devil decoration from santashauntedboot on etsy.com

Japanese figurine, from santashauntedboot on etsy.com