20th Century Fashion Exhibit - Sneak Peek Preview

Here's a sneak peek of just a few of the many pieces that will be included in an impressive fashion exhibit covering the ten decades of 20th Century.

The 20th Century Fashion Exhibit will be on display at the Charleston Antique Mall in Las Vegas starting March 22 through April 18. The event is free and open to the public.

The mall is located at 307 W. Charleston Blvd., in the downtown Las Vegas Art District.

http://vintageinvegas.blogspot.com/

An Invitation to Tea

Please Join Us for a Complimentary

Cup of Tea & Something Sweet

Tea Time

Tuesdays at 2PM

Charleston Antique Mall

307 W. Charleston Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89102

An invitation to tea brings to mind many different scenarios: the formal Victorian style tea, the church tea, the garden tea and of course, simply sipping a friendly cup of tea with a loved one or neighbor.

Emily Post, the author best known for her books on etiquette wrote in the 1922 edition of Teas and Other Afternoon Parties: '....the difference between a reception and a tea is one of atmosphere only, like the difference in furnishing twin houses. 3 A"tea" even though it be formal, is nevertheless friendly and inviting. One does not go in "church" clothes nor with ceremonious manner; but in an informal and every-day spirit, to see one's friends and be seen by them.4

Emily Post (1872-1960) Chapter XIII

For a lady born during the Victorian era, Post's view of tea time etiquette suits us perfectly today. We invite you to a casual tea on Tuesdays at 2PM.

While the "Tea" may be casual, the idea of joining together for a cup of tea and something sweet does have a romantic ring to it. Some of the great poet's and authors romanticized tea time, so you see it's not just me. For instance, from the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations:

"Come, little cottage girl, you seem

To want my cup of tea;

And will you take a little cream?

Now tell the truth to me."

She had a rustic, woodland grin,

Her cheek was soft as silk,

And she replied, "Sir, please put in

A little drop of milk"

Wordsworth

The cozy fire is bright and gay,

The merry kettle boils away

And hums a cheerful song.

I sing the saucer and the cup;

Pray Mary, fill the teapot up,

And do not make it strong.

The Poets at Tea, Cowper

On the lighter side is this excerpt from a familiar story by Lewis Carroll:

"Take some more tea" the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more."

"You mean you can't take less" said the Hatter, "it's very easy to take more than nothing."

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chap.1

It's truly the little things like sharing or serving a cup of tea that can make for very special moments even on an otherwise ordinary day. Please join us on Tuesdays at 2PM.

http://vintageinvegas.blogspot.com/

Low-Cost Collectibles: Retro Recipe Booklets

In my search for ideas for this blog I

came across a feature article under
What to Collect in the current online issue of Country Living magazine. The subject was Recipe Booklets, items I've collected since the 1960's.

The booklets often came with appliances and cookware, but

they were also acquired "with-purchase" or free at grocery stores like A & P and Safeway. You could get some of them for 10 cents or a quarter by saving box tops or labels and writing in to companies like Baker's Chocolate and Heinz. Others came from Cooperative Extension Services

at various Universities. Utility companies offered booklets too.

Inspired by the magazine article I decided to go through my own recipe booklet collection which

I treasure more for the heart warming memories the little books bring than the recipes inside.

Whenever I have time to browse through the stack, as I'm doing right now, fond recollections of

times gone by come to mind.

One example is a booklet by Sunbeam that came with my first Automatic Fry Pan. It was a

wedding gift from my boss at the company I worked for back in 1961 in New York City. The

bright red cover shows an illustration of a woman dressed in 1960 fashion holding the pan neatly

filled with fried eggs. In her right hand is the automatic heat control plug-in and under that the

statement that promises "Everything you cook will be more delicious because you get the

correct heat every time."

Another booklet published in 1965, Proof of the Pudding, came with General Foods introduction

of Jell-O Instant Pudding. No more time spent cooking pudding the old way when you could

create these great desserts made with a package of the instant no-cook version.

Two booklets by Baker's Coconut & Chocolate stir memories of my children's birthday parties--

for one birthday I know I made that cut-up Teddy Bear cake.

Since I grew up on Bond Bread and my dear mother, Jean, passionately baked using Duncan

Hines cake mixes , those booklets bring flashbacks of so many good lunches at the kitchen table

and the wonderful aroma of cake baking in the oven.

So one question is, do you have to be a cook to collect recipe booklets? Bonnie

Slotnick, cookbook dealer and owner of her own cook book store in New York's Greenwich

Village says that's just not so. In a recent interview on National Public Radio Slotnick said

reading cookbooks for the pleasure of reading cookbooks and not for cooking is very okay. I

couldn't agree more.

Another question is just how much should you pay for a retro recipe booklet? The

booklets are usually very reasonably priced starting at 50 cents up to a few dollars each. Some of

the rarest could go for $15. but I have yet to find any at that price.

Where do I find them today? Flea markets and yard sales are places to look but I find

antique malls and shops are even better.

Please join me on my next hunt for retro recipe booklets at the Orange Wall, my shop inside the Charleston Antique Mall, 307 W. Charleston

Blvd., in Las Vegas, Nevada. We will definitely find some in my area and it's a good bet some of the other 40 dealers in the mall have a few on a shelf in their shops too.

To view the Country Living article with pictures and some history on retro recipe booklets go to: http://www.countryliving.com/antiques/what-to-collect/recipe-booklets-0109

For more info on Bonnie Slotnick go to: http://www.bonnieslotnickcookbooks.com/

Join Us for a Cup of Tea

Tea Time

Tuesdays at 2 PM

Starting January 13, 2009

We Hope You Can Drop By

Browse, Shop and Sit Down For A Cup of Tea and Something Sweet

Charleston Antique Mall

307 W. Charleston Blvd.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Serving Time: From 2PM - 3:30PM

Complimentary

Draper Style Revisited

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I became very interested in Dorothy Draper, the woman and her design style, when Carleton Varney, Draper's protegee` and the president of Dorothy Draper & Company, came to town earlier this month. Varney was here to celebrate the debut of his new book Houses in My Heart at the Las Vegas Design Center.

Varney's also published another wonderful book back in 2006 entitled: In the Pink: Dorothy Draper, America's Most Fabulous Decorator.


In my search for more on Dorothy Draper, I came across yet another interesting article that included a section titled The Elements of Draperism.


The Five Elements of Draperism


1. Intense color, bright colors and bold patterns.


2. Plant life, well maintained, as part of a decorative scheme.


3. Dense, textured carpet, for a homier ambience.


4. Striking details, a few bold accessories.


5. A roaring fire...the heart of any room.


According to the story in New York Magazine , as Minimalsim loses its' novelty, a new generation of designers , so-called modern-day Drapers, are keeping Ms. Draper's style of urban sophistication alive.


The How to Do It at Home section suggests the use of big mirrors with lots of flourishes, chessboard tiles, big patterned wallpaper, romantic furniture and harmonious fabric for color constrast.


New York Magazine/by Wendy Goodman/published March 19, 2006


To read the complete article , see a picture of the glamorous Dorothy Draper and full-color photos related to the topics I touched on here go to:
http://www.nymag.com/homedesign/features/16438



Want to create the Draper style in your home? Just head over to the Charleston Antique Mall where you can find romantic furniture, big flourishing mirrors, vintage fabrics and draperies, and those striking details like the bold accessories Draper may have used back in the 1930'-1950's.

World Renown Designer Carleton Varney in Vegas

Renown interior designer, Carleton Varney, president of Dorothy Draper & Company was in town to celebrate the debut of his new book "Houses in My Heart." The special 1st Friday event was hosted by Robert Allen/Beacon Hill in the Las Vegas Design Center. (Yes, I started this blog the night before the event.)
The highly recognizied designer, Varney often speaks of his mentor, Dorothy Draper, with warmth, kindness and admiration as he did Friday in Las Vegas. I had to know more about this lady. So I searched.
Varney is quoted in an article on the design legend Draper, saying "Dorothy was to decorating what Chanel was to fashion." Draper, the first lady of interior decorating made her breakthrough in the world of design with the use of bold and bright colors, oversize prints and her anti-Minimalistic philosophy starting in the 1930's. Varney told Architectural Digest, " She took a world that was drab and dreary and made it colorful." Curious me read the complete article and several others, and became fascinated with Draper and Varney.
Here is the link: http://www.architecturaldigest.com/. Next type Dorothy Draper in AD's search box and it takes you right to several articles with photos on this fascinating woman.
You can view the Dorothy Draper & Company, Inc. site too. Learn more about the woman who started it all and the gentleman, Carleton Varney, who carried on the company name and Draper's philosophy of bright colors, floral flourishes and monumental-size design accomplishments. Varney is known for countless restoration and hotels projects around the world, his versatile line of lamps, dinnerware, crystal and linen designs and...his own line of fabric designs: Varney by the Yard. http://www.dorothydraper.com/
More on the Draper Style coming.

Charleston Antique Mall Sale Starts Friday

The annual 15% off store wide holiday shopping spree

means all regular priced merchandise in the mall is on sale.

Sales runs through Dec.24

Charleston Antique Mall

Store Hours: Mon-Sat 10AM-6PM

Sundays 11AM-5PM

307 W. Charleston Blvd, LV 702-228-4783

Congratulations Team Bellagio

Team Bellagio was named the #1 fundraising team following a triathalon event for the benefit of the Challenged Atheletes Foundation held recently right here in the Las Vegas Valley. The team raised $20,750 for the Foundation that supports injured veterans of the Afghanistan/Iraq wars attempting to get their lives back to normal.

The three-man triathalon team pictured here from left to right: Mike Longi, John Clinton (my son), and Mike Black.
Way to go guys.