king of the road

Thinking deep thoughts over my morning coffee: Isn't it terrible that signage like this doesn't exist anymore? Makes me shed a little vintage tear inside. But at least we have this incredible vintage motel/hotel postcard archive to marvel over what once was.

[via Honestly WTF]

vintage allumettes

Prepare yourself for the rabbit hole that is pilllpat's vintage matchbooks set. Amazing vintage packaging across the ages and through all sorts of different cultures. A visual feast!

Happy Easter

Hope you had a nice holiday!

judge a book by its cover

Drooling over The Pelican Project, a Pelican Book cover archive at Things Magazine. What a spread.

Mad mad world

Loving this Mad Men inspired treasury that features a Mid Century graphic LP from my vintage shop. Are you as excited as I am for the new season to start tomorrow?! A little Jon Hamm eye candy for your Saturday. Happy weekend, all!

Minneapolis Vintage Sale!

A few shots of the cute tags I made for the Vintage Sale I'm participating in next week in South Minneapolis. (Sneak peek photos to come!) If you're in town, here are the details:

Thursday, March 22 - Sunday, March 25
TH/F/S 11am - 7pm
SUN 11am - 3pm

E's Emporium
3911 Minnehaha Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN

scream for ice cream

Gotta love this vintage inspired print available at Tiny Showcase. Tulip Sundae? Thick-A-Shake? One of each, thanks! The print originated from a genuine ice cream parlor menu somewhere out there, but it came to printmakers The Head Light Hotel from an extensive candy ephemera collection.  Almost as good as the real thing.

hiding in plain sight

A little bit of magic: The Secret Bookstore. After his NYC rent quadrupled on his used bookstore space, Michael Seidenberg moved it to his apartment on the Upper East Side.


There's No Place Like Here: Brazenhead Books from Etsy on Vimeo.

found recently: stamp set

Here's a favorite among my most recent estate sale finds: A 1940s American Sign Printer Rubber Stamp Set. I found it at the same place I unearthed the vintage Twins matchbook. Let this be the start of my new, once-in-a-while column I'm calling "Found Recently," about items I like so much I have to keep for myself.

I love this because:

It's graphics and typography (both on the box and on the stamps themselves) are phenomenal! What a cool piece of history. Vintage fonts have so much charm.

It's original box has such vivid colors, too. It was pretty dirty when I brought it home but easy to clean because of it's coated cardboard. And what a nice surprise underneath the grime! It's hard to come by vintage packaging that is still so bright and hasn't faded.

The rubber stamps work like a charm, too! I used them to stamp names in red on Valentine envelopes this year for the gals at work. Love that drop shadow on the letters. And of course I always appreciate something vintage that looks pretty and  it's something I can actually use.

Plus, the box is in great shape and complete. It has the packaging structure to hold the stamps inside, the original instructions and all the pieces.  Plus, all the numbers are there along with bonus punctuation stamps! It holds more value when it doesn't have missing pieces, and bonus points for any included paperwork a shopper would receive when buying this item new.

Even though the stamps have been used and show ink residue on the rubber and box, it is nice to know that someone actually enjoyed this, even if not often. A lovely connection to the past and unique addition to my crafting arsenal.

leisure living

"Leisure living is twice the fun in a second home!" I should be so lucky. Check out these modernist "cabins" from the Douglas Fir Plywood Association circa 1960. Leaf through the booklet yourself over here.

[via Present&Correct]

Graphic advertising by Tom Eckersley

Tom Eckersley was an English graphic designer who had a great body of poster art for well known companies and public works alike. I like the posters advertising public transit and the post office. Bright and colorful, Eckersley's work communicates a strong message and still holds up today.  I'd love to have a few of these hanging in my house. The Tom Eckersley Collection at University of the Arts London Archives and Special Collections Centre is available to view at VADS (an amazing archive!)

[via Where The Lovely Things Are]