Vintage Metal Trays: Floral x Dos

This picture did not come out great...I'm definitely not a photographer although at times my camera hits the button at the right moment and a magical picture emerges.  I enjoy pretending that I did it on purpose. I intend to make a Shutterfly book of all these "Perfect Storm" pictures someday...all 10 of them...some of them need to be framed.  Anyway, that's my disclaimer for today.  Looking at this first picture may make you feel like you're sliding off a very sloped roof...just hang on...it's only 3.5 feet to the floor.

I found these at Goodwill for .99 each.  On Etsy I saw one of these going for 9$. eBay has a variety as well. A lot of trays these days are tin or aluminum; not a metal expert...but these feel more substantial.  I'm not sure what year they were made but they do appear vintage, maybe 50's era.  When I think about trays, they seem kind of small, however if you were to put coffee on it or a tall glass of orange juice and a plate of breakfast, it would hold; these are definitely not flimsy.  The blue/green color reminds me of my dad's old 56' Chevy which was also made to last.  I've heard they don't make them like they used to.  And why would they? If someone owns one car in his/her lifetime, it only benefits the owner of the car, certainly not the people making/selling the cars.  I don't know. I'm not an expert on economics, but this makes sense to me.  Either that or the craftsmanship and pride people once had in creating things that last failed to get passed down to the next generation.  I doubt this is the case, but maybe it's just my pessimism coming out.

Well, as miniature as these trays seem, they were definitely made to stand the test of time.  One of them has a small dent in it; not sure if it's from years of wear and tear; being passed around from box to box, house to house, well loved and well used; or if it was from being piled high with other Goodwill junk. These trays are aging well.  As usual, I'm not sure what I will choose to do with them; they would make nice wall-art, leaning against the wall on a floating shelf; reminding of simpler days past.

 If I ever learn the art and science of selling on eBay, I may try to sell them. They don't take up much room, so for now they'll chill out with some other Goodwill paraphernalia...that is until I find some floating shelves...or learn eBay whichever comes first.

Talavera-Not: Talavera Not-Again

My ex-co-worker/friend gave this to me; the same ex-coworker, not ex-friend, (if you're like me and hate double negatives, she's no longer my co-worker, but still my friend) who gave me the green vase in the previous post.

She handed it to me so casually as if she was handing me a piece of mail. I eagerly accepted and said: "You don't want it?".  She shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "I don't like knick-knacks, you do." True...can't argue with that one...You got me there...

For the record, I don't have a clear memory of ever self-disclosing this information to her, but being a skilled studier of human behavior, herself, she must have picked up on my frequent trips to Goodwill as well as my rants and ravings about this blog and all the great deals I find (And someday am determined to learn how to sell).

Well, this cute little bowl, was free to me, and per my friend, a re-gift from her friend (We won't tell). Her well-meaning friend had obviously not picked up on the fact that she wasn't a knick-knack girl.  The friend had picked this up in Mexico and my friend said it could be "Talavera." Tala-what? You know, Mexican pottery.

Wikipedia has some good information and basically says that authentic Talavera has to be made in Puebla, Mexico or surrounding areas.  In addition, there's a certification process that needs to occur for something to be authentic "Talavera".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talavera_(pottery).

Another blog post says: "If the piece does not have a signature from the shop that created it at the base, and does not say that it is from Puebla, it is not authentic."   
This is from Ashley at
http://borderculturebeat.blogspot.com/2007/10/talavera-pottery.html.

I'm guessing this piece here is not authentic, unless the "Lead Free Mexico" shop is an authentic Talavera workshop in Puebla, Mexico.

Nevertheless, it was fun to research and learn about Talavera.  I will keep my eyes open now for real Talavera at my favorite thrift stores, since I'm now an expert (sense sarcasm).

But actually since starting this blog, I have been intentionally working to learn more about the knick-knacks I find, buy, love, and hoard/don't sell.

I think my friend's observation about my liking knick-knacks speaks to a deeper truth about my identity (Do enlighten us)...I think that one of the reasons I love knick-knacks is because they represent cultural heritage and identity.  The knick-knacks speak about our ancestors and therefore give us clues to our own identity.  Being identity challenged on some levels, I find it fascinating to aborb new information about myself through stuff, or as I am wont to call it, crap.

I think the love of knick-knacks is also somewhat in my DNA on the cellular level (Am I being redundant; I'm not a geneticist) however I do wonder if I may be a carrier not only of certain family diseases (yippee) but also of knick-knack-adoration, you know KKA.  It must live somewhere on the 8th chromosome. I've mentioned before how my grandmother loved and collected knick-knakcs, many of which I have inherited.  My aunt as well has a large collection of knick-knacks while maintaining a very organized home.  The knick-knacks are all given their place and are all accounted for.  If one went missing, she would know.

Growing up my mom would collect Christmas tree decorations and at first it was hard for someone as practical as my gradeschool self to understand why people would collect things that you only use for 5 months out of the year (Yikes; I admit we stretch the Christmas season out for as long as we can).  Needless to say, I get it now.  Christmas decorations are a timeline, a tangible, seasonal, scrapbook of experiences and moments and instead of gluing them into a scrapbook or attaching them to a shadowbox, they hang on a tree, with lights, candycanes, and burlap.  Duh!

Needless to say, I have too many decorations to collect anymore, although I'd be lying to say the temptation wasn't there.

I found something on Pinterest the other day that I'm going to try and make...what? I'm going off on a tangent.  That's a red flag that I need to stop typing...and I will right after I conclude.  Goodbye.

Pottery a la TJMaxx

My ex co-worker gave this to me on her way out...Sayonara! I think people are more generous when they leave one environment for a much better environment...No that's not true, she was always generous and often I would come back to my office to find little gifts and goodies.

I can't find my picture of the bottom with the price tag, so you'll have to trust me on this one...It's from TJMaxx and it was $12.99.  I was dubious that she paid this amount...not that the vase isn't cute, but 12.99 for a vase!  I asked her: "So did you get this on sale or clearance?" She shook her head no.  I couldn't help but act surprised because at a thrift store, this would have been $2.99-ish.  Under the tag was nothing...that's the end of the sentence...nada, zip. No markings to identify its origins...so disappointing!

When I peered inside the green paint goes only as far as a paintbrush would go with some small drippings at the base, in the neck.  Certain places around the vase are smooth which made me wonder if there's such a thing as puckered paint.  I feel sheepish because I think I thought the vase itself was puckered, but the smoothness gives it away.  

I don't think "Puckered Paint" is the right phrasing because Google Images turned up some random pictures, many of which included puckered lips with bright lipstick...one in the shape of a lobster. Other information bent towards puckered paint not being a positive thing...

I Googled "Textured Paint" and Google Images turned up many different types of textured paint.  To be honest, I'm not 100% sure how this vase got its unique aesthetic, but I think it's pretty neat; not 12.99 neat, but if it ended up at TJMaxx who knows the original retail price...thanks to no markings, I'm not sure we'll ever know the true monetary value.  I'm not sure if I will keep it or if it will make a journey to Savers, nevertheless, I'm glad it got it's small 15 minutes of fame here on: CrapIfoundYOU, before gracing some other lucky person's table. Antique or not, it has a lot of charm.