Finally joining the typosphere

While this blog primarily focuses on the furniture and smalls that find their way into my home, I do have several other sub-collections within the overarching Mid-Century Modern theme which I've never really discussed in great detail.  One of those would be my growing roster of 1940's to 1970's typewriters.  If I include both my "workhorse" and "play" machines, the count now stands at 9, so it's a pretty substantial, if not particularly exclusive, collection.  So, I've decided that a few of them needed to make their debut. 

This little guy was adopted the weekend before last.  Care to guess what's inside?

House Tour 8/27/13

Don't mind me.  I'm just updating the house tour with new pictures.

Mid-Century Midwest House Tour (8/27/2013)

Living Room

Movin' on up

In order to make up for my extended absence, I've got a special treat for you all.

I don't believe that you and my second story have ever met.  After the disastrous pre-blog roof leak of 2011, the subsequent lack of access for cleaning, and the furniture hoarding (Oh, all the furniture hoarding...), it was looking quite the mess up there.

The room pretty much became a dusty, musty dumping ground for everything that I'd pulled out of alleys/dumpsters or found at estate sales and didn't have a place for.  1940's homes don't have the storage required for modern living, much less the life of a furniture hoarding freak, so there simply wasn't anywhere else to put it except the basement and that was already packed with my non-furniture junk.

This is the way our situation remained until my girlfriend visited last week and finally convinced me to get moving on a project that I'd thought would take years: making the master bedroom a master bedroom.

This required completely reorganizing the basement with new shelving and tidy, labeled containers.  Then came the task of dragging all the pieces that I wished to sell down two narrow, twisted stairways and into the basement, where it would be categorized and out of sight of the living areas.

Phew.

A bit of tidying/arranging and one seriously aggravating set of Home Depot blinds later, everything is looking pretty snazzy.  We've got a real, honest-to-goodness master bedroom now!

Rain, rain, go away!

The summer has taken a decided turn for the dreary, so Mr. Modtomic and I (and our respective ladyfriends) decided to take advantage of a break in the clouds and check out the Wentzville flea market.  We had a great time browsing, but neither left with bags overflowing.  There just wasn't a whole lot of Mid-Century Modern going on.

Still feeling the urge to splash some cash, I hit up a few thrifts and antique malls along the route back home and snagged a couple smalls, one of which was this pot/jar/thing.  My cooking is limited to a frying pan and a sauce pot, so I really have no idea when it comes to identifying types of cookware.

Another Day, Another Plycraft

Want to see that second big find from last weekend?  It's not quite as exciting as that super-cheap Birds in Flight, but everybody could always use...

The flock grows

Man, was it a good weekend on for Craigslisting in St. Louis or what?  MCM goodies kept popping up everywhere.  With a full van, I didn't get in on much of the action, but I did still manage to make out quite well.

The big score of the weekend:  another Artisan House by Curtis Jeré Birds in Flight wall hanging.

"Boy, you really order a lot of old retro stuff"

I really jumped into this Ebay thing with both feet.

So far you've only seen the teak Zooline monkey, but my recent foray into online auctions has resulted in numerous visits from the UPS guy.  "Boy, you really order a lot of old retro stuff," he says.  He hasn't yet seen my attic/hoarder's den...

One such package contained a little something that I've waited forever to get my grubby mitts on, a Panasonic RC-1091 "Spencer" clock radio.  While an alarm clock may not excite some, this is one of the first pieces that really sparked my interest in modernism and holds a special place in my heart.

The end of an era

I don't mean to crow, but this was a pretty sweet deal.

Well, look what we have here.  It's another special delivery!

Sighting

Once you get bit by the MCM bug, it's nigh on impossible to stop yourself pointing out pieces in advertisements, TV shows, and films, often to the great annoyance of your friends and relatives.

They might not be as enthused as me when I begin yammering on about furniture, but I thought that I would share my latest sighting with all of you.

MCM Bible

Are you ready to see one of my all-time coolest thrift store finds?

Heads up

I've got a couple really cool things to share with you tomorrow, but I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up.  They're doing another sale today.

I know.  I know.  Two sale alert posts in one week is a little much, but these things tend to go fast and they are great bargains compared to the others that you'll find online.

They've also got a new repro of the spike clock that I've never seen before.  The regular versions have stained/painted wood spikes, which I assume are oak or another cheap wood.  This new one is somewhat more expensive, but is constructed of solid walnut, which looks to give it a really nice color and grain.  It's definitely worth a look.

Check them out here.

Flying high

Cross one more project off of the list (sort of).  The Curtis Jeré "Birds in Flight" is now hung and the star of the show in the dining room.

Alert

The Foundry hasn't had any particularly good sales as of late, but they definitely made up for that today.  It's a Mid-Mod lighting bonanza!

Who's a good boy

 Having a feral cat who lives at the office qualifies me as a pet-owner, right?

And wouldn't you say that every good kitty cat needs a treat now and again?

Fakes on film

After sucking down candy, cakes, and roast dinners all winter, it's time to fight the podge and start my bike regimen anew.  The plan this time around is the same as the last: 20 - 30 miles on the stationary bike a day and light weight lifting.

The best part about using a stationary bike is that I can work (OK, more like procrastinate) on the computer and watch movies while exercising.  However, I've exhausted Netflix and the list of decent films coming out of Hollywood in recent years is rather thin.

So, despite my trepidation, decided to give Adam Sandler's Click a watch. I'm not exactly the biggest Sandler guy (the novelty of fart jokes and weird voices wore off around the time that my age hit double digits), but I'd been tipped off by numerous blog posts, websites, and forums that an Eames 670 lounge makes an appearance.  That's as good a reason as any, right?

So I get to the Eames cameo and...

 

... something's off here.  

Is it spring yet?

Did you all enjoy that nail-biting Superbowl 2013?  I must admit, the whole sports thing is beyond me, but I'll take any excuse I can get to grill up a few burgers and brats.  I probably spent more time out tending the BBQ than actually watching the game.

House Tour (redux)

We've gone through a number of adjustments at the homestead, so I thought it'd be a good time to update the house tour.  The place is really starting to come together and look like an actual grown-up residence.   Considering that I bought my first home and began collecting less than a year and a half ago, I'd say we're making good progress.  Don't worry though.  There's still plenty of work to be done and Mid-Mod finds to share! 

So, without further adieu, here's the grand tour.

Mid-Century Midwest House Tour (1/30/13)

Living Room

I swear, I'm not sponsored by Verichron

By now you probably know what one of these boxes means.  It's time for another George Nelson replica clock!

Mod UK

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope all is well.

As promised, I've taken a few thrifting/antiquing pictures from my trip to the UK.

Just look at all of that West German pottery!  That's all at one antique mall!

I think we're gonna need a bigger bag.