My last post was pictures of the moon and to be honest I feel like I’ve been on the moon these past 2 1/2 weeks. I’ve been absent from all the things I love and I’m feeling out of sorts. But things are about to improve, as I am FINALLY off the air and our fundraising is over and now I just have to get through the jazz concert we’re hosting this weekend. I’m sure many of you feel the same when I say “I work to live”… never “live to work”. It is a necessity but I’m ready to get back to my normal but chaotic renovation life. Two more days!
In the meantime, I thought I’d just share some really small finds with you. Always on the hunt… we found a few things that made it worth getting in that gas guzzling truck and running around town. We’ve spent most of our treasure hunting years looking for large pieces to furnish our home and neglected to pick up small stuff. Smalls are fun so I’m always glad to find a few here and there.
First up… How’s Your Memory? Mine sucks! It seems like I can’t remember anything. Or rather I seem to remember things that don’t matter like songs from the 80’s. So maybe I should play this game and work on my brain a little. HA! I’m sure you all played memory in your younger years and we couldn’t resist taking this home because of the “version”. Charles and Ray Eames are two designers that we love, collect, and have enjoyed learning more about over the years. We have their tables, chairs, sofas, storage units, and now their memory game put out in 1974.
There’s lots of love there.
I can’t really say much about these two that hasn’t been said before. He was a designer, she was a painter. They married in 1941 and in the years following they would design and develop stretchers and leg splints made of moulded plywood and in 1946 showed an exhibition of experimental moulded plywood furniture at the New York Museum of Modern Art. The Herman Miller Company in Zeeland, Michigan, subsequently began to produce the Eames’ furniture designs. In 1948, Charles and Ray Eames participated in the “Low-Cost Furniture Competition” at MoMA, and in 1949 they built their Case Study houses. Around 1955 they began to focus more on their extensive work as photographers and filmmakers. Vitra furniture manufacturer began in 1957 with the production of their designs. Even if you don’t know much about them, you certainly have seen and know about their beautiful designs.
So this was a fun find. Ravensburger still makes the Eames version of the game… and you can get it online. Of course the box and some of the pictures cards have changed but it’s still very cool.
We also found a lovely serving set as well as a carving set. These don’t appear to be anything collectable but for $2.50 they were too lovely to pass up. They’re really heavy stainless steel and I love the very simple modern design. It makes me want to carve a turkey immediately!
One last thing was my husband’s score. He collects vintage clothes and wears NOTHING else! He’s a vintage shirt-wearing, I’ll never-buy-anything-at-the-mall kind of guy. He also collects vintage frames. He loves the old horn-rimmed, “old man” (at least that’s what I call them) style frames. He’s probably got 5 or 6 pairs and is always on the hunt for them. Luckily he has a friend who manages an optical shop and pops his prescription in the frames for him.
He found these just a few days ago so they still have the original lenses in them. Somebody had a serious impairment. I tried them on and just about fell over!
I think he looks so cute in all of them. He has different colors and slightly different shapes to match his little vintage duds. It totally fits his personality!
It’s not always about the items… sometimes it’s just the fun of going out and hunting. When we first started “looking” it really freaked me out and made me sad to go through someone else’s stuff. It was their whole life just sitting on tables and in boxes. I’ve learned to get over that and think of it as “giving them a new life”. It helps me, anyway.
What you have found lately? Do you like to go to estate sales and bargain hunt?
I can’t believe you picked up that memory game… so jealous! And it’s vintage!!! We caught a showing of the Eames documentary last fall. It was in the scariest theater, but it was the coolest movie. We are still talking about it.
Congrats on your fun find and to seeing the light at the end of a very busy couple of weeks.
Thanks Danielle, I’m happy it’s almost over. I’m a home body and hate it when I have no time to either work on it or enjoy being there. I get cranky! That was a wonderful documentary. Whether you like mid-century or not you still have to appreciate their talents. We really do… so we loved finding this. Thanks for always making me smile with your comments. I love them!
Love that memory game! And you say it’s still in production? It may become my new fave gift to give. A very fun find!
I don’t care how old I am it’s fun to sit and play a game like that. It’s silly I guess to get excited about it… but I did. Yes, it is still in production and you can get it at Amazon if you’re interested (I’m sure there’s other retailers too). Thank you for stopping by today. I keep checking in with you to see which building those doors are on… I’m dying to know! They’re gorgeous.
My last post explained the doors – the Hilberry Theater, but I had another reader ask a question about whether the posts were related…so I think have some kinks to work out! Thanks for checking up!
Well, look at that! I guess I wasn’t connecting the two (it should have been obvious) …. see I really do need to play some memory games and work on my brain power. DUH!
Fabulous find with the game and in such good condition….however It’s the eames bird I have my eye on….it is on my wish list …..and love the glasses too …
Hello fellow collector of rusty stuff! Love that you do that too. Thanks for looking. The Eames bird has always been on my list and 2 years ago my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday… an Eames bird, I told him. A few days later he asked me if I would be okay with him making me one. It wasn’t a matter of the cost.. he just really wanted to make it for me. Of course I LOVED the idea! So he made that little bird and it means even more because he carved it himself just for me. That’s not to say that I won’t get one in the future… but for now his bird makes me happy and proud. He’s such a creative guy. Thanks for mentioning it. :-)
oh stacey that is so much better than having an original and such a lovely story ……peter makes things for me too and they are so special…..x d
That’s awesome! I have looked at his other works and he is super talented.
I especially love his piece with the doll head. Odd and awesome all at once!
As for the House Bird,people tend to forget that it was not originally an Eames creation but a trinket that Charles and Ray picked up on a trip into the Appellation mountains. They loved it,bought it,and displayed it in their home. Once the home became such an iconic destination,people asked about it and Herman Miller began producing them with the blessing of the Eames family… Having said all that,I too collect Eames design and would kill for a House Bird! Gotta go now and search for the game since this is the first I’ve seen of one and you say it’s still produced. Too cool Stacey! Too cool!
He really loves to carve things… so thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you wrote this about the bird. I had read that a few years ago and loved the fact that this little black bird would cause such a stink. But lets face it… no matter where you put that little sucker he tends to bring life to the space. Some of the pictures online give me the giggles…. the way people display it. I’m just so taken with it! Must be why we ALL want one. Thanks for visiting… I just love reading your stories and you have a such a cool modern space. Glad the snake wasn’t really a snake!
Fab finds, the Eames game is really cool. I love hunting around for vintage stuff. My top finds have been an Aalto vase (in its original box) for £5, and a fifties table and kitchen dresser thrown out in the street! I couldn’t grab them quick enough!
Those Aalto vases are really cool! I’d never pass that up! And in the box is even better. I can’t tell you the number of times my husband has given me whiplash pulling the car over to pick something off the street. It’s such a rush! Thanks for saying “hi”! Good luck with your floors this weekend.
envious of your eames memory game find!! that is so rad. i’m sure you’ve seen the 2011 doc “eames: the architect and the painter”…? kudos on your new treasures.
Thanks for stopping by! YOU definitely know how fun it is to find “stuff”. I’m in awe of how you transform the things you find. So many treasures … thanks for letting me share mine.
I overlook the “smalls” too… but they really add so much charm to your larger finds. The stainless set is fantastic. The salad-server-piece-thingys are a great size for asparagus.
You’ll have to do a post about your husband’s closet…
ooooo, yes, I love asparagus. We have it probably once a week. It would fancy up the serving. good suggestion.
HA HA! I should do his closet. He’d probably KILL me.. but I’ll try to sneak that in. He really does have some beautiful shirts. Thanks!
These are such great finds! I also found a pair of vintage glasses recently with super thick lenses. I could barely put them on because they made me dizzy! I ordered some new lenses for them though, and I’m actually about to go pick them up!
I REALLY love your photo of the glasses with the display hand and the plants in the background..Thanks again for sharing, and have a great weekend!
HEY! Oh thank you for saying “HI”. I was wondering how your thrifting trip went. Guess what arrived at my house yesterday!!! OMG, the candle holder is in absolute PERFECT condition. I was so surprised… and beyond happy. It looks good in every room I put it in so I can’t decide. EEEEE!!!
Yes, these glasses were the same way. Seriously, whoever wore those probably didn’t need glasses… but a seeing eye dog! HA HA!
Have a good one, too… and HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Yay! I’m so glad you like the candle holder!
My out of town thrifting trip was postponed AGAIN..ugh. I just had too many things to take care of this week. I’m definitely going to reward myself next week though. :)
Some great finds – really love the Memory Game. I do know how you feel rummaging through people’s stuff – it can be very poignant particularly if they are very personal possessions like photographs. It is sad to think that no-one else is left who cares. But I remind myself that after my Mum died and we cleared the house there were lots of things that neither my sister nor I wanted to give house room to. We kept the personal items and I had all the books (which led me into setting up my own bookdealing business which I ran for about 8 years) and the remainder was sold via auctions, car boot sales and given to charity (& some just taken to the tip). And its best that items that still have an intrinsic beauty or usefulness find new homes where they can be appreciated.