COLLECTION #257: Sugar and Cream Sets

Aren't these fun? I have a variety of little sugar and cream sets, ranging from  old (my silver set that was a wedding gift to my parents 73 years ago), to a modern set from Target. Most everything is somewhere in between.  I love them all!

I'll start with the silver set- I'm sure it's silver plated, and is manufactured by the WB Manufacturing Company, probably in the 1930s. I'm so glad my Mom gave it to us, because it's something that I always remember being in our home my whole life.

The blue and white phoenix set has an unknown manufacture & date, there were many companies that made this pattern, from Europe to Japan, and I'm sure this is an inexpensive set. I have many other pieces, some of which I displayed in an earlier post.

The cute English Village set was featured recently, and was a gift from my Mom. She brought it back from England. I have no idea if it was new or vintage when she got it, but my guess is that it was new. She brought it home about 20 years ago.

I love my pale green sugar and creamer. I believe they are from Poppy Trail (because I have a marked platter that matches, but I can't be 100% sure). My guess is they are from the late 1930s or '40s.

Next is a set of 'honeybee' pottery, which was a wedding present to us,  34 years ago. When we received it, I had the feeling it was antique then, but I never thought to ask the giver. So, since there are only numbers on the bottom and no name, and I have been unsuccessful in IDing it from the internet, I'll just leave it as a mystery set. I love it!

On the top row, I have my wonderful Franciscan Desert Rose set, from the 1950s, and a modern set, pale blue and white stripes, from Target.

I wonder if any of you have some sugar and cream sets in your home? I'll tell you one thing- I've never used them for sugar or cream!

COLLECTION #256: Vintage Lunch Pail

Generally my Wednesday 'orphan' posts feature something precious, rare, unique, or particularly valuable to me. I've used these Orphan Wednesdays to share my antique Singer sewing machine, a one-of-a-kind Craftsman sideboard, a 125-year old crazy quilt piece, a post-Civil War patent model, and other like treasures. So, here I am today, sharing a funky 1940s-era Handy Andy lunchbox. A humble blue lunchbox, that was probably carried by a housepainter or contractor. Tiny flecks of white paint indicate that perhaps this lunch pail sat near a new house being built, or in a room freshly painted. I like to imagine the painter's wife, packing him a hearty lunch to take to the work site every day.

The reason that I think it's worthy of sharing with you today, is because of sentimental value. I picked this little gem up many years ago, when I was a student at Brigham Young University in Provo Utah in the early 1970s. I probably bought it at one of Provo's many thrift stores, I don't remember which. But it looked to be the perfect box to keep my art supplies, and as an avid 'junker', it suited my artistic and rustic sensibilities. I carried it through many classes: painting, drawing, figure drawing, print making. I carried in it drawing pencils, technical drawing pens, bottles of india ink and Dr. Martin dyes. At one time I had a bottle of magenta glass paint, which spilled inside, forever adhering one of my Koh-i-Noor rapidograph pen nib keys to the inside of the lid. Of course, being a child of the '60s, I attached a Chiquita Banana sticker to the outside.

So, just for old time's sake, I share my old blue lunch pail with you.

You can see the remnants of the glass paint, and the pen nib key stuck in the lid

Me, the art student, during my blue lunchbox years!

COLLECTION #255: Barbie!

Sometimes I need to add disclaimers to my collections- because often things appear on my blog pages that are more accidental than deliberate. And today's collection is one of those. I am not a Barbie collector. If I were, I guarantee I would have an awesome collection. On reason is because I worked at Mattel two separate times, and had plenty of opportunity to pick up interesting, rare, and collectible dolls and other items. Also, as a doll and toy designer, I've been around doll collectors for many years, and have seen some pretty amazing dolls that Barbie collectors would drool over. But not me. Honestly, I've not been particularly interested. My only vintage Barbie is my own from my childhood, which I think looks pretty darn good for being over 50 years old! 

If I had to choose one area of interest in the Barbie realm, it would definitely be collecting the early dolls and fashions. They are wonderful, and I love to look at them. But the prices! Oy vey!


As a doll designer, I have quite a library of doll and toy reference books, and I have a few Barbie ones. These books are entirely about Barbie and her friends, I have many more doll books which have Barbie in them, but these are more specialized. I love the volume I have called Art, Design and Barbie, which is full of fun photos, both vintage and modern, and art images of Barbie. It was published in 1995.

From Art, Design and Barbie

I also love my Barbie magazine, The World of Barbie, published in 1964. It's quite collectible, and I can see why. The images, stories, and scenes are pure retro cool! 

I also have a 35th anniversary Barbie, a replica of the very first Barbie, mint in box. I keep it on display in my studio, where it gathers dust, but looks awesome. It's from 1993.


A few years ago, my son and daughter in law gave me this lovely framed Robert Best Barbie fashion illustration. I knew Robert when I worked at Mattel, so it's very special to me:

Enjoy the last few Barbie images! I'd love to hear about your Barbie collections or memories if you'd like to share!

Little Hallmark Christmas ornaments (with one Happy Meal Barbie)

A friend gave me the cool vintage Barbie themos some years ago.

COLLECTION #254: South Pasadena Junior High School History

South Pasadena Junior High School, photo taken in the early 1960s.

I just spent the weekend working and attending a huge all-class reunion in my hometown of South Pasadena, CA. I am on the board of directors of the alumni association for our high school (I'm historian), plus I did all the graphic design for the event: posters, signs, program, pins, etc. AND I was in charge of an art show, and community historical display. Whew! I'm exhausted! You'll have to forgive me for not posting my usual weekend feature. I just didn't have the energy!

As an amateur historian, I'm particularly interested in the colorful history of my hometown, and of a wonderful school I attended as an adolescent: South Pasadena Junior High School (Now South Pasadena Middle School). Separate from my responsibilities as SPHSAA Historian, I have been writing a book about the junior high, and I have temporarily acquired their historical archives. I have scanned dozens of photos, and pored through countless volumes of school newspapers dating from 1928, school historical information, documents, letters, brochures, books, yearbooks, etc. etc.

So, now that much of these amazing things sit on my computer, I feel free to consider them part of my collections. I will share some of these photos with you today, hoping you will find them as fascinating as I do!

SPJHS first faculty 1928-29

School Carnival 1930

Art Class 1931

Student Council 1931

Journalism Class 1931

Famed muralist Millard Sheets came to SPJHS to paint a series of mural frescoes.

Patio with finished frescoes. 1934

Girl's Service Organization early 1940s.

Boys Club late '40s or early '50s.

Social Studies class holds mock election 1956. Note the candidates: Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson.

English class mid '50s.

Cooking class, 1957. The cute girl on the left is my older sister Leslie.

Student Court 1965. I'm on the front row, second from left.

COLLECTION #253: Vintage Religious Readers

I have a few vintage readers in my collection that were created for the religious market. Two little primers that were published by Westminister Press for an organization called Christian Faith and Life. These little books were designed to be used at home, or in Sunday School, so weren't technically school books. However, it's possible they were used in Christian schools during that time. They were published in the late 1950s.

I also have two editions of Scott, Foresman's Cathedral Readers. (Scott Foresman published the Dick and Jane books, and were the largest elementary school text publisher of the day). The Cathedral Readers were designed for the Catholic school market. They were nearly identical with their non-parochial school counterparts, except for the stories about religious themes. It's kind of fun to see the cute little reader illustrations with a priest or nun in them. I'm sure for Catholic school kids they seem perfectly ordinary, but to me, they are quite novel!  My Cathedral Readers were published in 1947 and 1964.