thrift store spoils, ch. 12: Russel Wright and a Cheshire Cat

Greetings. I'll just jump right in with some items I found during the last week. And I'll start with a beautiful bowl and cradle that I have not been able to identify.

I have no clue who might have manufactured this. I've posted an inquiry on a mid-century enthusiasts online community I'm part of, but, alas, I've gotten no responses. The bowl does come free from its cradle, and there are three ball feet on the cradle's bottom. So stinkin' cool. 

Anyhow, I just love it. For the time being, it'll serve as the house pinecone holder. 

I also got lucky at our closest Savers when I found two Russel Wright pieces.

This lidded veggie dish in chartreuse matches the single plate I found quite a while back. I love, love, love the chartreuse.

I also found this super stylish Russel Wright sugar bowl. Check out that fun mid-century handle.

These Christmas plates are a Marimekko design by Pfaltzgraff. The bottoms of the plates are actually marked "Marimekko Oy." (Huh?) I believe they're vintage 1970s, and they have rims similar to the Marimekko mugs I found a while back.

So I bought this Cheshire Cat mug. But wait.

When you pour in hot liquid, all but the cat's grin disappears (sort of). So stinkin' clever.

I don't care for Alice in Wonderland, by the way. The Mad Hatter is way too creepy, and Lewis Carroll was reportedly a bad man in the sickest way. I even get a little creeped out by the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Don't Come Around Here No More" video from the 1980s—again, icky. But this mug is fun.

I do love Tom Petty's music, though. Here's the aforementioned creepy video (vintage 1980s, folks!) :

And, of course, I picked up some mugs.

The cat mug is by Otagiri; the Aids Awareness mug was produced by the US Postal Sevice and is dated 1993; and the Maxwell House mug just plain reminds me of the classic Maxwell House commercials I used to watch as a kid—when there were only four channels on the TV. The Conservative mug is a Boynton design and is signed. And the "the Good Guys" mug is a William Logan design and is also signed and dated 1977.

And I bought some Longaberger pottery and some Tupperware. I cannot pass these up.

I hope that everyone out there in thrifting land is finding themselves some good loot.

And I'm sending many thanks to Sir Thrift-A-Lot, a living space, We Call It Olde, Remnant (where I posted with a poorly cropped thumbnail photo!), and Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm for the opportunity to link up.

thrift store spoils, ch. 7: mid-century Formica table and Marimekko mugs

I’m off schedule with my posts, because my parents visited last week. (I had time only to keep up with others' fun thrifting reports!) Then for the weekend, we headed up north to see our boy who’s attending college in Connecticut. On top of that, the hubby and I (nuts, we are) have been binge watching The Walking Dead on Netflix. Meaning, I haven't had much time to write. (By the way, I'm thinking I would benefit by some training in the effective use of sharp and blunt objects to off zombie herds.)

Anyhow. I did score some good finds while thrifting with Mama before we left, and I’ll share that experience in my next “spoils” post. For now, I’ll review the fun stuff I bought last week pre-parents. 

Is this not the coolest-ever bedside Formica table? I picked it up at SA for only $15. I was surprised that no one else had already gotten it (the date on the tag indicated that it had already sat there for 24 hours), as it wasn’t even that dirty. It was an obvious gem sitting there, not a gem in the rough.

It’s in great shape, with only a small chip in the Formica on the back edge of the lower shelf. There’s no name on the bottom indicating the maker or a date, but Mama says that as a teenager in the early 1960s she had a bedroom set of the same gray faux woodgrain Formica. My bet is that this table was made in the 1950s?

I went back to SA three times last week after finding it, in hopes of grabbing another piece of the set that had been forgotten in the stock room and, thus, put out on the floor later. But, alas, I saw no more.

This table now sits in the second daughter’s bedroom, which is decorated in pale pink and black—with Audrey Hepburnish accents. Perfect.

Okay, I could be wrong. But I think these are original Unikko (poppy) Marimekko mugs (vintage 1960s), as opposed to the reproductions offered by Crate and Barrel and others. After much searching online, I can find only one other design that comes close to what I have, and it’s the blue poppy version.

“Made in England” is stamped into the bottoms of the mugs. And that’s the only other info I have. If anyone out there in blogger/reader land has any ideas about the mugs’ vintage authenticity, or lack thereof, please educate me!

The sunny yellow mug is by Federal Glass. The mod striped one is stamped on the bottom with a logo I can’t make out and the numbers “11-000.” I’m clueless as to what any of it means. But I do love orange.

I’m still on the lookout for Starbucks mugs, hoping that they’ll be a good baptism into Ebay selling. (Relatively simple to ship and too new for Etsy vintage.) The mermaid mug is stamped with “Catalina,” among other info, on the bottom. There is no date. The holiday mug is from 2006. Each cost me 56 cents.

I cannot pass up a melmac bowl or platter. This is my first white one, and it’s by Watertown.

This book, published in 1958, is huge and full of the coolest mid-century dining and cooking photos. I attempted to take a good picture of one of the spreads, but failed. See:

I’ll try it again after I'm finished with the de-stinking process. If I do better, I’ll post pictures. This book is just too much fun not to share. (And check out the party shoes!)

And last, I bought a good garden pot that matches a very large one I already have (so let’s call it vintage, say, 2010?) and a sweet copper jack-o-lantern, inside which I’ve been burning seasonal scented votives while watching DVRed episodes of Sleepy Hollow with the family. I love Fall.

Thanks to Sir Thrift-A-Lot and a living space for the opportunity to link up!

And much appreciation goes to We Call It Junkin for allowing me to join their link-up party We Call It Olde.

And that is all.