Something Retro Fishy On My Pinterest Board

1950s Fish Images Featured On My Pinterst Board  

There is Something Fishy going on one of my Pinterest Boards. That is because I love Retro Fish designs and I added a board to collect patterns and images with fish designs.  Fish motif was a common design element during the 1950s influenced by Scandinavian designers who liked minimalism, functionality and simplicity. The importance of fishing communities in Scandinavian countries also played a role in the popularity of fish related designs.

 1950s Fish: Simplicity in Design

You will find textiles, ceramics, wall hanging, functional kitchenware and more with lots of Fishy fun. A simple fish image is a fairly easy shape to reproduce and when you repeat fish shapes you can then create interesting patterns. This may one of the reasons why you will see so many objects using a common fish shape. Visit Something fishy at
https://www.pinterest.com/kitschnstuff/somethings-retro-fishy/

The kitchen towel shown is typical pink and aqua colors. It was originally posted on https://www.etsy.com/shop/fuzzandfu
   
C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of I Antique Online an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café. To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com Dianne is a member of: The American Society of Journalists and Authors The Society of Professional Journalists

The Retro Kitchen: Are You A Pink Plastics Collector Or A Cute Red Pyrex Person?

The Retro Kitchen: What Category Do Your Fall Into As A Collector?

I thought it was about time to discuss "The Retro Kitchen".  If you are passionate about vintage kitchens you know that what is "retro" to one person is not "retro" to another. Some of my collector friends who adore the 1950s, not only use kitchen collectibles as decorative  accessories, but they actually use the  stuff in their kitchen.

Kitchen Houseware Collectors Fall Into Two Main Categories

I  divide "Retro kitchen" people into two main categories ...."Retro pink aqua yellow" and "Retro yellow red white green" collectors.  Both types are "Retro" but they decorate their kitchens very differently and they seem to approach the whole retro life style very differently as well.

PINK PLASTIC PEOPLE Versus RED YELLOW GREEN COLLECTORS

The plastic people like AQUA-PINK-YELLOW . They love aluminum, stainless steel, glassware and  PLASTICS.

Poodles, bomerangs, starbursts and abstract textiles tickle their fancy.  While I do not have any hard research, it appears to me that the PINK/AQUA boomerang-ish collectors are more likely to also have Retro style bathrooms and cool barware. In fact I would take this one step further and say that for many of these passionate pink people are very artsy, quirky, creative types living in Metropolitan areas for the most part.

RED YELLOW GREEN WHITE RETRO KITCHEN COLLECTORS


In the red-yellow-white-green group,  CUTE is the operative theme. Embroidered pot holders, vintage aprons, roosters, florals, Pyrex and  ceramic bowls are their comfort zone. This is not to say that you will not

find some collectors who buy a little bit of everything, but my expereince is that the majority of collectors  are either in the PINK PLASTICS  group or the RED CUTE group.

Red Plastics A Sub-Category Of Retro Kitchen Collectors

I should mention that some RED YELLOW GREEN WHITE collectors do indeed buy plastics, but their taste in plastics is still CUTE, generally having floral decals or being paired with cute shelving paper or vintage textiles.



Does Age Or Gender Play A Role In What You Collect In YOur Retro Kitchen? 


So I ask my readers....what group are you in? Does age play a role in what colors you collect? What about men and women? I have a lot of kitchen collectibles customers who are are men who love the pink/aqua/yellow collectibles. I'd love to hear more about what got you started in your collections and if the retro life style expands beyond your kitchen?

P.S. Mid-Century collectors are  in a different category.

As most of you already know.....Mid-Century is the hot era right now. However, the PINK PLASTIC collectors are not the same as the Mid Century collectors who are after   higher end designer ceramics and kitchenwares.

Egg cup photo courtesy of http://pinkpiccadillypastries.blogspot.com/

 Red Formica table from http://www.facebook.com/pages/Georgia-Mountain-Market/

Beverage glasses from http://kibster.wordpress.com/page/13/

Dish rack from http://www.salvagechicantiques.com/home.html

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of I Antique Online an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café. To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link: C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com Dianne is a member of: The American Society of Journalists and Authors The Society of Professional Journalists

Antique Booth Display Ideas: The Importance Of Color And Charm

How to Make Your Antique Booth Shop, Kitchen Look Attractive

Every now and then you have to mix it up and change your displays in your antique shop or mall. But what do you do when you sell lots of the same colors or types of collectibles? How do you stir the pot (no pun intended) to make things look different? This post will help you begin to imagine some changes you could make to impove your antique booth space displays.

Kitsch n Stuff Kitchen Collectibles

At my humble little ole booth (kitsch n Stuff) at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford Connecticut you will find plenty of kitchen collectibles in red, yellow, blue, green or some combination of those colors.
By far I have more red and yellow or red and white items than other color combination. And after a while the displays start needing a punch in the arm to wake them up. So here are some tips to help you improve the look of your displays.

Add The Color Turquoise Or Aqua To Red Kitchen Collectibles

Believe it or not turquoise (aqua) looks great with red and yellow objects. In fact you can pair turquoise with just yellow or just red or as part of a vignette of red, yellow, white kitchenwares. And as you can see in the photos shown, the turquoise (aqua) planter sitting on a kitchen canister has a plate propped inside it. And the cornucopia planter has a colorful red and yellow hot pad tucked inside. Remember to make your collectibles do double duty!

With 1940s and 1950s Kitchen Collectibles Go For The Charming Element

This may just be my personal preference, but it has served me well. After I create a new display for my kjtchen collectibles, I stand back and look table top display or shelf that I have just completed and I ask myself, "Is it charming?" That is when I look around my booth and pull out an adorable planter or figurine or object that completes the "Is it Charming ? " test.

Use A Colorful But Not Too Busy Tablecloth Or Fabric Remnant As A Shelf Liner
When I am out shopping for kitchen collectibles, I always keep my eye out for 1940s or 1950s remnants or tablecloth cutters that could be re-cycled as shelf liners. I keep a special box of such cloths handy and bring them to my shop when I am re- decorating. This is one area that you have to experiment with your ideas.

It Doesn't Always Have To Be Matchy Matchy
Sometimes a cloth may have a color that you thought would work but ends up looking too drab. Or, if you get too matchy matchy, your display is drabby. As I have talked about before....fool around with ideas....let things happen on their own.

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of I Antique Online an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link: C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.comVisit my website, CDianneZweig.comDianne is a member of:The American Society of Journalists and AuthorsThe Authors Guild, Inc.