Vintage Reproduction Atomic Ceramic Cats! (Royal Dux)

Over a month ago, I found an amazing pair of vintage repro ceramic cats done in the "Royal Dux" style on Etsy.  I have been looking for a real Dux set for a long time and when happen to find a couple of pairs, they were very expensive or had damage.

The "Royal Dux" company, originally known as "Duxer Porzellanmanufaktur," was founded in Czechoslovakia in 1860 by Eduard Eichler.  This brand is known for its distinctive seal, or "pink triangle:"

Royal Dux created vases, figurines, and ornate sculptures.  The designs ranged from art nouveau opulence to modern simplicity.  The modern cat design became very popular in the 50s and early 60s.  Here are a a few examples of authentic originals:

I would LOVE to get my paws on these cats!  But, as I stated earlier, these Dux cats are usually very pricey and often difficult to find!

Despite being unable to track down the Royal Dux atomic kitties of my MCM dreams, I found a seller on Etsy who makes faithful reproductions using vintage molds!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117109770/modern-atomic-retro-ceramic-mod-cats?ref=listing-shop-header-0

Here is the pair I purchased:

And here is how they look on my mantle in my den/TV room:

The cats measure 4.5 inches tall and are 5.5 inches long.  The colors are bold, bright orange and vivid teal blue.  I love the fact the cats were glazed in complimentary colors!  Total opposites on the color wheel!  The result is an intense pop of color on my otherwise boring white-painted, brick mantle!

I am very happy with my new repro cats!  They are perfect.  However, if I ever stumble upon a real Royal Dux cat or cats when I am antiquing, I may grab them (especially if the price and/or condition is right).

So, if you are looking for a little bit of atomic pottery for your MCM abode, you have to give Desert Arts Pottery on Etsy a look!

New MCM Wares for My Ever-Updating, Rockabilly Abode! (Oh, and Vintage Eyewear Too!)

This past Saturday, my sister and I went to Southeast DC to visit the District Flea Market.

http://districtflea.com/

The day was sunny but the air was crisp with a windy autumn bite.  I wore my Freddies of Pinewood classic indigo jeans, a 50s camp shirt, and a red 49er jacket.  I thought about wearing a housedress with tights but jeans seemed like a better, more logical (and warmer) choice.

As we grabbed a hot coffee, we browsed several booths containing vintage records, hi-fis, books,  prints, art, clothes (mostly 60s-80s but I did spot a cute 50s patio set with gold ric rac but it had holes), jewelry, wall scones, lighting, mirrors, melmac, shabby chic furniture, vintage eyewear, and mid-century furniture.  In addition to the shopping vendors, the District Flea also boasts food vendors. 

Now, I admit that I went to this market with a few doubts.  I was not expecting to walk away with anything.  I was hoping to see the vintage eyewear booth and maybe stumble upon some bakelite, but my hopes were reserved.  However, my doubts were soon proven wrong when I found two Lane two-tiered end tables in gorgeous condition.  I was floored.  The tables only had minor stratches (nothing Scott's Liquid Gold couldn't fix!) and the seller wanted $250 for the pair.  I recently spotted similar tables on eBay for $500 or so.  I took notice of the tables and decided to think about it.  After a few sips of coffee and some brief hemming and hawing, I went back and told the gentleman, "You have a deal."

While I was coming down from my "end table high," my sister and I found the vintage eyewear booth.  I was in total acetate, cateye, and aluminum heaven.  I tried on a few pairs of various colors and styles and then found the pair I wanted: a 50s silver aluminum modified cateye frame for $55.  The hinges needed to be cleaned but overall, they were perfect.

I already own four pairs of vintage frames that have been fit with my prescription: a solid black cateye, a clear acetate and soft gold cateye, a pale blue and clear acetate cateye, and lastly a black, brushed silver, and clear acetate cateye.  In addition, I have three pairs of vintage sunglasses also fitted with my near-sighted/astigmatism prescription.  I am addicted to vintage frames. Yes, it's true.  I am not ashamed.

Here are my new frames:

After returning home from the flea market, I placed the two Lane tables in their spots in my living room.  I treated each table with the Liquid Gold and then let them cure.  Then, I accompanied Big Daddy to his barber appointment, we had lunch, and we went to my local optician to have my frames fit with my prescription.  I love them!  There is nothing like a great pair of vintage cateye glasses!  I used to despise the fact I needed to wear glasses (modern frames are typically boring to me)  but once I discovered vintage frames, I am happy to wear glasses again!  It is just another way to accessorize and accent my daily vintage style!

So, overall, this weekend was a huge success!  I got some pretty new frames to wear and my home is continuing to be updated in proper, mid-century style!

What are your newest vintage treasures?

I WANT This! Self-Adhesive Wallpaper with a Vintage Look!

Today while getting my red hair color refreshed and getting a hair extension colored to match (more on that in my next post), I was flipping through the latest issue of Lucky Magazine and came upon a feature that listed self-adhesive wallpaper. The company is called "Tempaper" and they make self-sticking wallpaper that can be easily installed and removed without destroying your walls!  Not only is this idea peachykeen, I love this "Alto" paper! It looks very mid-century. Uh, can we say, YES PLEASE?!

Here is the link:
http://tempaperdesigns.com/collection_alto.nxg

The average price per roll is about $60.00 to $74.00 USD. I know that is a bit pricey but to me it's worth it because I do not have to buy adhesive, tools, or deal with the mess. I have wallpapered before and it's a pain in the posterior! Moreover, the look of that Alto paper is gorg-e-ous! The paper also comes in a black and white print that is currently on sale! Want, want, want!

So, what do you gals think? Is the price worth the convenience and look?

A Little Bit of "Mad Men" in My House

(The above artwork is by New York-based artist, Dyna Moe)

Here is her website: http://www.nobodyssweetheart.com/

When "Mad Men" first debuted on AMC in 2007, I didn't watch it. There was a part of me that felt the depiction of the early 60s was "too modern." Moreover, the notion of following the tales of a married, cocksure ad man with a scotch and girl addiction was depressing. However, after my TiVo recorded a few episodes in my "TiVo Suggestions" file, I found myself not only watching them, I was entranced! The interior design, the clothing, and the complex nature of the characters made me love this show! In a sense, I became a "Mad Men" junkie!

Speaking of interior design, I was recently watching a "Season 2" episode of "Mad Men" and I saw this:

This is a screen-shot of Pete and Trudy Campbell's Manhattan apartment. I ADORE the art on the wall! The three canvases look like a bas-relief or woodcuts.

Inspired by these pieces (along with the artwork by Ms. Moe), I decided to create my own depiction using three separate 12x24" canvases coated with acrylic paint.

Before I began my paint/color scheme, I made two stencils with sketch paper and scotch tape. Stencils are a good way to ensure uniformity and accuracy:

Then, I painted the canvases with pale pink and a faux fishnet design using a darker, mid-tone pink. When the paint was dry, I traced the outline of the stencil(s) onto each canvas with lead pencil. I outlined the shapes with a Sharpie Paint Pen in Black and filled them out with black gloss acrylic paint. To finish, I accented the three shapes with white acrylic.

Here is the final look:

And here's the overall creation in my foyer hallway:

A Tiki Room to Call My Own! (Picture Heavy)

Back in April, my husband surprised me with a bamboo tiki bar for my 36th birthday! I was surprised and very happy! He found the bar online at Target! Target?! Who knew they had such cool items like a real bamboo, thatched roof tiki bar complete with a set of shelves in the back?

The bar is in my sunroom. A room that, until the tiki bar, was a sitting room that did not get much use. Sure, I had some wicker furniture in there but the sunroom was really just a place for my plants and the cat to get sun. (My cat loves to spend her days lounging in the sun beams, working on her fur tan.)

Now that the sunroom has been given a proper purpose, I have been slowly collecting tropical kitsch, lights, vintage prints, and I also have made a few paintings and signs. Many of the paintings are based on real 40s/50s tiki-themed bars and nightclubs. I have even got a set of ceramic tiki mugs from my cousin along with a real puu puu platter (complete with sterno flame) from the husband.

So without further ado, let me show you around!

The tiki bar has pineapple lights I bought in Florida for $6.00 USD!

Martini lights from Party City!

A poster board tiki I made using tape and a hot glue gun! I painted the inside with red, yellow, and orange flames and the outside is done with shades of brown. I placed a fake, battery-operated candle votive inside.

A ceramic hibiscus dish and a pretty fern-like stained glass and metal table bought in Florida.

A few of our tiki mugs along with a ceramic platter.

Our persian cat, Misty Blue, is already a bar regular! She loves Mai Tais and is currently brushing up on her hula dancing.

Here is our puu puu platter from this past Saturday night! It is made of wood, has a lazy susan spinning feature, and has a little sterno grill top in the center. Gotta love Trader Joe's frozen appetizers!

Lastly, and most importantly, here is the "Tiki Bar Rules" sign I painted. Of course the rules are totally tongue-in-cheek!! The reasons for rule #2 and #3 were based on an incident in which my cousin got mad at me because I mentioned that "I did not care for Dave Matthews Band." Well, he asked! He called me a "Rockabilly snob!" Brat! Nevertheless, being family, we got over it, laughed, and hugged. But, I had to put the rules up there just to rib him!

I still want to add a few more kitsch here and there before I can call the room "done." So, what do you gals think?

The Power of Spray Paint, An Eager Glue Gun, and Plastic Rhinestones!

Edited on Tuesday, September 13th: new photos.

While browsing the aisles in my local Target a couple of months ago, I found this black metal starburst mirror for $24.99 USD:

Not only was I was pleasantly surprised that Target would have an item like this in their stores, the price was great! I immediately put the mirror in my cart amongst my Dryel, Duncan Hines Brownie mix, and Purina cat food and I made my way to the register. As soon as I returned home, I armed myself with a hammer and a nail and mounted my new purchase proudly on my foyer wall.

This past weekend, I noticed a void on my west-facing den wall. I had an empty space between two atomic paintings I made this past winter and I realized either a sculpture or a starburst mirror and/or clock would fit perfectly. 

I thought about buying a mid-century starburst clock on Etsy but I decided against it due to the high shipping costs and on because most sellers want a pretty penny!

I then pondered the idea of buying another starburst mirror from Target but I did not want an exact duplicate. Then it 'hit me:' I could create a 'new' mirror with spray paint and some flat-back rhinestones.

I went to Target and bought the same mirror. Then went to my local Michaels Craft store and purchased a can of Krylon metallic gold spray paint for $7.49 USD and a set of assorted colored/shaped flat-back plastic rhinestones for $4.99 USD.

Later that evening, I laid down a few layers of newspaper on my back porch. Then, I covered the mirror surface with painter's tape. I sprayed a two coats (I allowed each coat to dry completely) of the gold paint on both sides of the mirror. Using my hot glue gun, I adhered blue square, round silver, and triangle silver gemstones to the mirror. I let the glue cool, removed the paint tape, and hung the mirror on the wall:

It is amazing what a little spray paint and glue can do! I like the way the mirror turned out! I can so see myself doing this again in another room. It is fun and so easy to do! The possibilities are endless!

New Running Shoes and Two Atomic Paintings!

I am sorry I have not posted anything in over a week! I have been feeling a bit lazy for some reason. I think it is the weather. It has been cool one day and then somewhat warm the next. Within a two week time frame, there has been rain, wind, sunshine, and even a bit of snow! I, for one, want a major snow event but I think it's not going to happen. March start tomorrow and before we know it, spring will be here.

Nevertheless, I have lots of new ideas for blog topics. I am going to post about vintage repro shapewear and how to do a proper 40s lip. I am also going to talk about my latest sewing adventures. Let me tell you, what a saga that has been!

So, without further ado, I have been painting again. I went to art school and studied Spanish. From makeup, painting to pottery, I love all things art. In the process of decorating my home, I have also been creating a couple of Atomic-era pieces.

Here is one acrylic painting, based on the pattern on the 50s atomic barkcloth runner on my dining room table:

Here is a view of the original print:

One of my favorite blogs is Straight Talking Mama! Fiona is a doll and I LOVE her style! A while back she posted about Retro Renovation. I saw her post and was so inspired:

http://straighttalkingmama.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-want-it-all.html

In honor of this fabulous wallpaper, I created this painting using complimentary colors of blue and orange:

Along with being affected by the weather and painting, I have been running way more! During the dregs of winter, I found myself making excuses not to run/workout. I recently decided 'enough was enough' and now I am back to my 5 days a week/5 miles per run.

In addition, I have been putting off buying new running shoes. The 'cardinal rule' of running shoes is to replace them every 500 miles or every 6 months! I have been so bad! I have not replaced my shoes since August! During my Friday morning run, my left knee began to felt irritated. I realized it was time to buy a new pair. I have found running bliss in Saucony's Pro Guide 2, which is now the 3:

I was so happy to find these shoes on Zappos.com on sale for $76.00USD! I am especially pleased to find these in pink! My previous pair only came in gray/white, green/white, and blue/white. I had the blue/white. I am a sucker for all things pink and I cannot wait for these to arrive!

Atomic Era Cat Painting Inspired by Straight Talking Mama's Broken Cat Vase

Recently, the lovely Fiona from Straight Talking Mama blog, did a post detailing the heartbreak she felt when her 60 year old cat vase (as pictured above) broke when a huge wind caused it to crash to the floor.

http://straighttalkingmama.blogspot.com/2011/02/dont-you-just-hate-it-when.html

When I read her story, I felt her loss. What a shame to lose such a precious mid-century piece!  I hope Fiona can find another cat vase just like the one she had.

Because I am a "crazy cat lady"  and an avid vintage enthusiast, I decided to tap into my creativity and do a painting inspired by Fiona's broken kitty vase. I used acrylic colors of espresso, white, and pink.

I also added two starbursts and applied a thin layer of pink glitter over the pink swirls:

 And, here is the painting hanging above my white bookshelf in my upstairs foyer hall:

 I like the way the painting turned out but I hope Fiona does not mind I basically did a copy of her cat! I guess since the cat is broken and not able to be fixed, I hope my finished piece can properly honor its memory!

More Vintage Home Updates-Atomic Bathroom Flair!

This weekend, I got my new vintage cat eye glasses and I went to Target. I know, very exciting. What a wild weekend, huh?

Despite my ho-hum activities, I managed to update my two upstairs bathrooms with some new vintage flair! At Target I bought a set of pink guest towels, a pink bath mat, a new shower curtain, and a set of aqua blue shower hooks for the master bath. The former shower curtain was a boring, celery green affair that had out-stayed its welcome!

Let's start with the master bath. Here is the new curtain:

 I love it! It has an atomic, yet almost mod look. Even though the print is quite abstract, there is also an organic feel to it.

A few years ago, I repainted the walls in my guest bath with a standard, white satin and then added gold floral stencils. Each stencil was hand-painted. Let me tell you, despite the small size of the bathroom, stencilling took forever! Nevertheless, the finished result was worth the effort!

Even though my guest bath looked nice, there was something missing. I had a set of plain cream towels and a espresso-colored bath mat. The whole thing was just 'meh.'  Then I had an idea to give my guest bath a little bit of fun: pink. Pink is so classic 50s vintage so I was 'tickled pink' (ha ha) when I spotted the set of towels and bath accessories in my envisioned pink.

I bought two hand towels and two fingertip towels along with a small mat. I recently purchased a yard of 50s cotton fabric printed with diamonds and black starbursts. I first washed the fabric and the towels and then I sewed fabric onto the towels for an extra bit of atomic fun:

Here is an upclose view of the fabric:

I also made a small accent for the top of the toilet:

See the rug? Love it! I am going back to Target to buy two full size towels and I will sew the fabric I have left onto each one.

I noticed the top of the white bookshelf I have in my foyer hall looked empty and plain so I made a small runner:

The pink starburst platter was found on Etsy last summer. It is from the 50s and was made by California Originals. This platter was on my living room table but I moved it to my bookshelf. The pink of the fabric just pairs so nicely!

My next project is to re-do my basement. It needs a major facelift! I would love to turn it into a tiki bar complete with boomerang tables!

New Atomic Goodies for the House!

I have been off radar for a little while and as a result, I have not been keeping up with my blog duties! Despite my apparent 'blog laziness,' I have been busy updating my house with new atomic housewares! As a result, my glue gun and sewing machine have been busy too!

After searching Etsy for new addition to my slowly expanding vintage housewares collection, I realized the things I wanted were either very expensive or the shipping was too high. I spotted several pairs of amazing lamps, a ton of ceramic vases and platters, and a bounty of starburst-adorned collectibles. I wanted so many things but I decided to search my local Target and Home Goods store for atomic-inspired lovelies.  My local Target left me wanting and empty-handed. But, Home Goods proved to be a wonderful place for my vintage needs. I ended up buying about 120.00 USD worth of goodies!

I would like to share with you all what I got and what I also made:

I found this starburst mirror at Home Goods for 39.99 USD! I almost missed it too! As I was checking out with my initial purchases, I spotted a couple buying the same mirror! I thought to myself, "Where was THAT hiding?! I have to have it!" I bought my stuff, got my receipt, put my bags in my car, and ran back into the store to search for this mirror. Let me tell you, I really had to look hard to find it. It was in a stack amongst different styles! I grabbed the mirror and I did not see any others. I think I got the last one.

 I found this teapot also at Home Goods. I love the aqua color! It matches the aqua already present in my kitchen! I paid 24.00 USD.

This red vase on the left is a ceramic glaze. It matches my atomic pillows and curtains wonderfully! The vase has a small crack on it but I hid it by simply turning the flawed area towards the back of my mantle. I got this for 10.00 USD.

This aqua strainer is a coated metal and it has a nice weight to it. I paid only $4.99 USD! Like my new teapot, it matches my kitchen nicely!

I found this lamp also at Home Goods! It was 29.00 USD. I love the wavy green ceramic base! The lamp shade has a very 50s look and texture!

Here is an upclose view of the lamp's detail:

I also purchased a 4-pack of white and aqua tea towels for 2.99 USD. I decorated two of them with a teal blue and yellow dot starburst fabric (the same as my kitchen curtains). I also added yellow grosgrain ribbon.

 Along with my new houseware buys, I made two more pillows for my living room using the same atomic repro print fabric I bought last summer on Etsy. I used up all of the first batch of fabric and as a result, I got some more last week. Here are the new pillows:

 I also made four placemats using the same fabric:

 I have been having fun adding more vintage style to my home! I wish I could learn to make boomerang tables and I would be set!

So, has anyone made any "retro renovations" to their abodes lately too?  I would love to know!