Visiting "Retro Genie" A Vintage Clothing And Collectibles Shop In Northampton, Massachusetts

Northampton Massachusetts , Dubbed NoHo Of Hamphire County, Massachusetts

I'm glad to know that there are still groovy gals out there who appreciate Retro clothing, clothing and accessories.

Introducing "Retro Genie"

One long established shop which caters to the vintage set is "Retro Genie" on Market Street in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Northampton Is A Funky Artsy Town

Northampton is a funky, artsy college town, home to Smith College, lots of lively musical and art programs, fabulous eateries, trendy clothing stores and often dubbed the NoHo of Hamphire County.

Smith College Part Of Five Colleges

Smith College is part of what is called The Five Colleges, including Hampshire College, Amherst, U Mass and Mount Holyoke all nearby to Northampton.

Northampton Has A Vibrant Downtown

Northampton has always been known as a vibrant downtown which is home to street musicians, festivals, cultural activities, Gay friendly, politically active young residents and a counter culture vibe.

Finding Vintage Shops On Market Street

On a recent visit to this very popular eclectic town, I made my way to Market Street, a quiet charming older setting which has a half a dozen retro/vintage shops and a Multi-dealer Antique Center. "Retro Genie" is a very hip shop packed with lots of 50s, 60s, 70s skirts, dresses, coats, aprons, shoes,hats, scares, jewelry, accessories and more.

Hello Atomic Era

While they carry clothing from other decades, you can't help but feel like you just went back in time the Atomic Era and Psychedelic 60's.

Mixed in with racks and racks of clothing covering every inch of this small , stuffed but organized shop are Retro home collectibles such as barware, beverage sets, serving ware, picnic ware, kitchen collectibles, books, etc.

Retro Genie
15 Market Street
Northampton, Mass
413-584-4364

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 Society of Professional Journalists

Visiting "Antiques in Doylestown", Doylestown, Pennsylvania

"Antiques in Doylestown, Pennslyvnia (near New Hope/Lambertsville: A Charming Shop in A Historic Town

Only I would set out for Lambertsville, New Jersey and New Hope, Pennsylvania (The Antique Capitol of the region) and end up wandering off the beaten path to " Antiques in Doylestown", Doylestown, Pennsylvania (27 miles from Philadelphia and about 20 minutes or less from New Hope).

When You Visit New Hope......Also Visit Doylestown, Pennsylvania

For those of you who are not familiar with the area, Lambertsville and New Hope border each other and are separated by a small easy to walk bridge. Since I was never one to follow the directions of others, I made m own road trip and stumbled across Doylestown after driving through New Hope. And I was glad I found Doylestown, (named after William Doyle).

Doylestown is 27 Miles From Philadelphia

This borough of Bucks County, outside of Philadephia (27 miles) and about twenty minutes from Lambertsville/New Hope is home to many charming boutiques and shops including "Antiques in Doylestown", owned by Elyn Kaufman.

"Antiques in Doylestown" Is A Small Sweet Shop

When I arrived, (attracted to her colorful window display), Elyn was busy wheeling and dealing over a lot of estate jewelry. I peeked over to the table where she was examining some wonderful vintage costume pieces. I could see why she was preoccupied at the time.

"Antiques in Doylestown" has the gal stuff many of us adore. Her store vignettes and displays are very attractive. I really enjoyed my visit to this small, cozy but packed shop.

I was simply excited to be in her shop and got busy snapping photos and deciding what I wanted to buy. Elyn kept asking me to come back in a half hour to interview her. "It's o.k. Elyn, I have all I need...the photos will tell the story", I told her. "And I'll email the link to my blog post", I responded to her.

But lo and behold, Elyn doesn't have or use the computer. She said she's an antique and she sell antiques and that's where the story ends. So if you know Elyn, tell her you saw this post!

Dianne

Antiques in Doylestown
35 East State Street
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
215-348-4864

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 Authors Guild, Inc.

Project Mah Jongg: Exhibit At Museum Of Jewish Heritage

"Crack", Dot", "Bam", "Soap"

I am so excited to tell you about Project Mah Jongg opening at Museum of Jewish Heritage, Battery Park, New York City, May 4th, 2010. Oy, I can already hear the tiles clicking and the women shouting out "Mah Jongg! I knew the symbols on the Mah Jongg tiles before I could read. (My mother was a seasoned player).

"Mah Jongg Lady"

The photo shown of "Mah Jongg Lady" was a whimsical three dimensional figure ( styled like a Mah Jongg tile) that I created out of a painted brick for a local Cancer charity auction in Connecticut. (We had to create "art" out of a brick". ) By the way, never will I attempt epoxy glue again.

Mah Jongg Lady evolved in my mind quite easily as I grew up surrounded my Mah Jong ladies, including my mother and all of our neighbors in Brooklyn and than in Fresh Meadows, New York.

Mah Jongg In The Catskills

I remember my mother getting ready to play Mah Jongg in the 1950s. She played both evening games and daytime games during the summer (in The Catskills).

During the weekly evening games, mom would pull out the bridge table and chairs and cover the table with a plastic quilted cover and tablecloth. I can't believe I now sell similar items in my shop , "Kitsch n Stuff".

Mah Jongg Night: Candy And Refreshments

The best part of Mah Jongg night for me ( as a child) was the refreshments. What would Mah Jongg night be without filled candy dishes, cakes, soda etc. Mom would let me sample the goodies before I was tucked in for bed. But, of course I could still hear the gals calling out "bam", "dot", "crack", "soap,. the names of the tiles which form suits.

Project Mah Jongg At Museum of Jewish Heritage

The upcoming exhibit "Project Mah Jongg", takes place in a 1000 square foot hexagonal gallery and will chronicle the artifacts associated with the game as well as Mah Jongg's social and cultural history for Jewish women in America. According to The Museums website visitors to the exhibit will experience the ambient soundscape created by sound designer Timothy Nohe who has reproduced the sounds and voices of women playing the game.

The exhibit, designed by Abbott Miller of Pentagram, features artwork by Christoph Niemann, Isaac Mizrachi, Maira Kalman, and Bruce McCall and was curated by Melissa Martens. An accompanying publication called "Mah Jongg: Crak, Mam, Dot", edited by Abbott Miller and Patsy Tarr is available in The Pickman Museum Shop


About The Museum: From Their Website:
"The Museum of Jewish Heritage is A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. "Created as a living memorial to those who perished during the Holocaust, our Museum honors those who died by celebrating their lives - cherishing the traditions that they embraced, examining their achievements and faaith, and affirming the vibrant worldwide Jewish community that is their legacy today" .

Learn More About The Exhibit, Museum And Mah Jongg:

http://www.projectmahjongg.com/about.html

To Read More About Mah Jongg click on this link: http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2009/10/mah-jongg-and-martinis-vintage-mah.html
Group photos shown are the courtesy of http://www.projectmahjongg.com/about.html

Books About Mah Jongg

Mah Jongg - Companion Volume to the Exhinbition " Project Mah Jongg" Published by the 2wice Arts Foundation http://www.pickmanmuseumshop.com/mahjocovotop.html

A Beginner's Guide To American Mah jongg by Elaine Sandberg http://www.pickmanmuseumshop.com/begutoammahj.html

A Mah Jongg handbook: How to Play, Score, and Win by Eleanor Noss Whitney http://www.pickmanmuseumshop.com/mahjohahowto.html

Mah Jongg Made Easy by National Mah Jongg League http://www.pickmanmuseumshop.com/mahjomaeainb.html

The Great Mahjong Book: History, Lore, and Play by Jelte Rep http://www.pickmanmuseumshop.com/grmabohiloan.html

References And Articles About Mah Jongg Collectibles

An Interview With Antique Mahjong Set Collector Carol Ann Harper http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/an-interview-with-antique-mahjong-set-collector-carol-ann-harper/

Mah Jongg Musuem: http://www.mahjongmuseum.com/

Mah Jongg Sets http://www.collectorsweekly.com/board-games/mah-jong

Mah Jongg Gifts http://www.funwithmahjongg.com/

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 Iantiqueonline.com 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.

Discovering Peter Hunt Art & Collectibles at The Sandwich, Massachusetts Antiques Center

True "hunters" like myself are "wired' to locate hidden treasures everywhere and anywhere. Last week, my "radar" landed me at The Sandwich Antiques Center (Sandwich, Mass.) This Multi-dealer Antique Mall is located off Route 6A on Cape Cod, an upscale area of Sandwich packed with quaint art galleries, boutiques. antique shops and eateries.

Parked across the street from the Antique Center, I noticed that one of the windows of the Center had a cheerful display of colorful painted "objects" which immediately grabbed my attention but blended into a fuzzy whimsy collage from where I was standing. I couldn't wait to go inside the shop to find out what these "objects" were. Meandering through the fairly large group shop, I made my way to the exact booth which caught my attention in the first place.

What I had discovered was a collection of painted furniture and accessories by famed Cape Cod folk artist Peter Hunt. According to www. askart.com , Peter Hunt was "a folk artist and story teller with wide-ranging imagination, Peter Hunt, working from the 1930s through the 1960s, made his reputation with peasant decorations on furniture. A friend of the wealthy, the artistic and the odd-ball, Peter Hunt and his Peasant Village was a well-known fixture on Cape Cod. Customers included Helena Rubenstein and Frederick Waugh."According to many accounts, "Hunt’s work was originally “discovered” by the well-to-do summer people on Cape Cod, who found his colorful peasant decorations the perfect accents for their cottages and retreats. They also found Hunt to be charming, witty and a great addition to cocktail parties and dinners, and his mailbox was filled with invitations from the upper crust of Boston and New York.

Soon the buyers from upscale department stores, including Bloomingdale’s, Gimbel’s and Macy’s, got wind of society’s latest fascination in home decoration, and they clambered for Hunt to decorate more and more furnishings and knick-knacks for their stores, often featuring him in special promotions touted with full-page ads in the New York and Boston newspapers. " http://www.askart.com/AskART/H/peter_hunt/peter_hunt.aspx

Sandwich Antiques Center, Sandwich Massachusetts
1-508-833-3600

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 Iantiqueonline.com 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 Authors Guild, Inc.

Six Degrees of Separation: Visiting Surburban Renewal an Antique Shop in Hastings- on- Hudson, New York

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This is a story about the theory of six degrees of separation the belief that everyone in the world is separated by everyone else by six links. Read my tale and see what you think.

So listen to this story. I am headed out the door one recent Saturday for a day trip to Westchester County, New York. Before leaving for the day, I am poking around on the internet to find some antique shops to visit.

I scan the list of several dozen shops covering many towns along the Hudson River and I settle on a shop called “ Suburban Renewal” in Hastings- on- Hudson. This shop sounds like my kind of place. Anyone who names an antique store “Suburban Renewal has to be cool in my book. I don’t remember ever visiting this area before.

The rest of the family is waiting for me in the kitchen and I am planning my antique road trip starting with a call to this one shop that caught my attention. The gal who answered the phone, the owner, “Fonda” was so nice and helpful promising me that she would send me to some of her favorite places nearby. She asked me to announce myself when I arrived to her shop. “Sounds like a plan “, I told her ...and the family was off to Hastings- on- Hudson.

Ninety minutes later I walk into “Suburban Renewal” and I am strolling towards the register to introduce myself to “Fonda” . I took one look at “Fonda” and gave out a scream.....”Fonda , is that you, Fonda from High School?” It was “Fonda”, with the same blunt Sassoon haircut she wore back in 1969, the same black eye liner and the same “Fonda” who had a very distinct lively and adorable handwriting with lots of curly letters and cute formations.

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You knew she was headed for a career in the arts.

After a busy life In advertising in New York City, Fonda now lives in Hastings on the Hudson and owns “Suburban Renewal”, an antique shop packed with goodies.



Surburban Renew is at 1 Main Street, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York (914) 478-9421

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 Iantiqueonline.com 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 Authors Guild, Inc.