COLLECTION #9: Cobalt Blue Glass

My collections have been looking so visually colorful and busy, I thought it would be a nice break to give our eyes a rest, and see some beautiful, soothing blue. These are some, but not all of my cobalt blue glass pieces, mostly bottles, that I have been accumulating for about 20 years. Not really a big collection, but a few pieces I keep mostly on my kitchen windowsill.

They look lovely with the afternoon light coming through, and the color of blue is just perfect in my mind. The quintessential blue. Deep and rich and clean.

COLLECTION #8: Toy Clowns

There was nothing that evoked joy and anticipation in a child of the 30s and 40s, as the circus! What today seems quaint and antiquated, was a hugely popular theme that was was woven into children's books, songs, and decor of that era. I have a few cute circus clown toys- everything from handmade beanbag dolls, to Fisher-Price toys, to marionettes. (Click on any of the images for a closer look.)

I never set out to collect circus clown dolls and toys... they just kind of 'fell into my lap' as it happens. In addition to these clown dolls, I also have a variety of other circus toys, books, stories, and other items. I'll feature these in future collection postings. Even yesterday's post about children's music had a cute circus record.

Today's sophisticated Cirque de Soleil just doesn't have the same innocent visual impact as the circus of yesterday. I love the old circus graphics, themes and colors! Here's to the circus!

I almost forgot! I created a layout and
blog entry in honor of my clown collection! You
can find it here!

COLLECTION #7: Children's Records

It's Music Monday! I have a few sweet little children's records from the 30s, 40s & 50s. I love the great graphics and fun colors. For a time in the 50s, the records themselves were part of the whole visual experience: from colored 'vinyl', to artwork printed right on the surface of the record (I don't have any of those, rats!), to the fun 'moving picture' records that animated when they went 'round and 'round. That fun technology was visible when a special mirrored topper was placed on the spindle of the record player, bringing old Frosty the Snowman, or whoever, to life.

A few of these cute records belonged to my Mother-in-law. She owned the Hansel & Gretel, Three Little Pigs, and the Unsuccessful Elf. These records included the story to go along with the music, and some contained multiple records, just like the 'grown up' record albums.


I hope you enjoy these musical memories from the past!

THE WEEKEND COLLECTOR: Mel Birnkrant

Most toy designers I know collect toys. We're surrounded by toys every day, and many of us take our passion for playthings to the next level- collecting things that we think are cute or fun or fascinating, and arranging them artfully in our offices, or at home. I became a toy collector when I worked at Hasbro in the late '80s, and I've acquired a decent size collection of a variety of toys. However, toy designer and developer Mel Birnkrant's comic character & Disney collections make my paltry attempts look like child's play! In my case, I didn't have a lot of money, so I collected the kind of toys I could afford. In Mel's case, he worked to collect. He had a passion for early Disney toys and comic character toys, and searched out rare examples of these fine playthings, and worked until he could buy them.
His collections are awe-inspiring, his house looks like a museum (which I'd love to visit someday, hint hint) and he's the nicest guy ever. Here's a link to his website. I found his site a couple of years ago when I was researching Baby Face dolls, one of my favorite lines of dolls which he designed over 20 years ago... it took me months to read through every corner of his website and all the links to his creative projects. I hope you enjoy seeing Mel's fantastic collections, and that you find your way back to my humble blog when you're finished... if you ever finish!

COLLECTION #6: Roycroft Books

Our family moved to East Aurora, New York in 1992, when I went to work for Fisher-Price Toys. In addition to Fisher-Price, East Aurora is famous for the Roycroft: an early 20th century movement of artisans and craftsmen that followed Elbert Hubbard, a visionary leader and philosopher. He organized these craftspeople into a community, and they lived and worked together in East Aurora. There were metal workers, potters, woodcrafters, glass artisans, and printers, designing beautiful works of art and utility in the Craftsman style. The print shop printed beautifully designed and illustrated books, some of which we own. My husband Bruce started collecting Roycroft books around the time we left East Aurora in 1995, and we've added a few pieces through the years. Since today is our anniversary, this collection today is in his honor!
(Click on any of the images for a closer view).

COLLECTION #5: Souvenir Folder Postcards

I collect a lot of ephemera... that's paper stuff for the uninitiated. You know, brochures, postcards, tickets, etc. It's an inexpensive category to collect, and it's also fun to use in graphic design projects. My favorite of all of these ephemera categories are the souvenir folder postcards... those fun and colorful folders produced mostly in the 30s, 40s and 50s, with garish photos and spectacular period artwork. I have quite a few of these postcard folders, and I love to look at them. As far as I'm concerned, the cover artwork is much superior to any of the photos inside!

Choosing which postcards to buy is always the biggest problem for me... I tend to like places that I know, or have lived, or have some connection to. Most of my card folders are from the West, since that's home to me. I have Idaho- where my Mom grew up, Ogden Utah, where my Dad lived for many years, and where we still have family, and you might notice Newport, Rhode Island- we lived near there for 4 years in the late '80s.


I don't care if my postcard folders are uncirculated or not... I enjoy seeing the postmarks, stamps, and seeing who was the recipient of such loveliness!

COLLECTION #4: Green Depression Glass

There are a lot of way to accumulate a collection: one of which is to simply inherit it. That's the way I acquired these few lovely pieces of Depression Glass. The cute reamer belonged to my Grandmother, and when we got married & moved into what had been my Grandparents little cottage in Hollywood, I got most of the stuff that was left behind- that no one wanted.
The other pieces were found in my Mother-in-law's home when she passed away. I believe they belonged to her mother. I love the sweet little dessert cups with their curvy sides.