There was a time, I’m not exactly sure when, somewhere between 2nd and 7th grade, when I spent a lot of time in the basement. Between watching TV and “learning” the computer, I spent hours and hours building stuff. We had a vintage Erector Set and Tinker Toys from my Dad’s boyhood, and I had Legos, and hammers and nails, and all of that stuff that you would expect a young boy to have. But my favorite thing by far was a dark blue plastic milk crate full of wooden blocks. I loved building all kinds of structures, always stretching the finite number of blocks with Jenga-like precision to see how tall, or how large, or how impenetrable I could make it. These were forts, castles, office buildings, cities. Anything was possible.
Following the thread on eye-catching color and child’s play, the Shopping Sherpa and I have regressed a bit. We’ve gotten lost in a little reminiscing, traveling back to the world of paint by numbers, pretend and vividly colored playthings. I miss my giant blocks, with which I would construct rainbow colored houses for my dolls, and the My Little Pony collection I amassed, complete with baby ponies, water ponies and even a tent that fit on top of my bed with a repeating pattern of ponies prancing in peony-covered fields (jealous?). Are you remembering with us? Surely you also had a big green box of crayons and colored pencils. It was dirty and dusty and wonderful, smudged with many colors and the mixed scent of wood and wax. How nice it is to go back every once in a while, no? Well, lucky for us, the Shopping Sherpa found a few childish pretties for our grown-up selves.
Many photographers and would-be photographers have done the balloon thing — balloons in a field, balloons in front of your face, balloons in a row, yadda yadda. But I find this one particularly joyous. Perhaps because it reminds me of one of my favorite Halloween costumes. I think I was 10 or so went I went as a bunch of purple grapes. It was my Mom’s idea, and come to think of it… it wasn’t my favorite at the time. It made a clumsy little girl even more awkward and somewhat dangerous for anyone nearby with a heart problem who was easily startled by loud noises. Let’s just say, I made it home looking like a week-old, half-eaten bunch of grapes.
Do these remind anyone else of 6th grade science class? The sketchbook doodles, the lesson on prisms, the little boy that looks strangely like my older brother during his I-want-Devon-Sawa’s-bowl-cut-but-I-don’t-wanna-wash-it phase? Just me?
“Another Book Shop post?” you say. “What fun!” you say. You’re too kind. With this new installment, we’re bringing you a little gem from Anna Jane Grossman. Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us Byis an amusing look at technologies and practices that are outdated and defunct (or quickly getting there) with over 100 subjects from answering machines to wrinkles. With entries ranging in length from a few sentences to a few pages and quirky pen-and-ink drawings from James Gulliver Hancock, the book offers bite sized quips that are perfect for a few minutes of happy diversion, nostalgic reflection and hearty chuckles. Grossman is careful not to preach or over-romanticize, but there are certainly a few things I’m sad to see go (e.g. writing letters, Polaroids, body hair) and a few things I’m not (e.g. manual car windows, lickable stamps, “Miss” and Mrs.”).
A few of my favorite entries:
PERCOLATORS: Coffeemakers that pushed boiling water up through a cylinder into a chamber of coffee grounds, producing a brew that smelled better than it tasted and was imbibed from cups that were referred to using the English words “small” and “large”.
LIGHTHOUSES: Structures that emmitted beams of light to signal sea vessels. Once largely manned by monks who wouldn’t have complained about living in a five-story walk-up… Also a staple of the collectible figurine market.
ANONYMITY: Living an existence that warranted only two status updates; three, if you got married.
CURSIVE WRITING: “A form of writing that involved making letters touch each other. Largely impossible for small children to read; adults fared better, but only slightly.” Cursive Letter Ring from Silvermade Studio
PENNIES: “Coins representing one hundredth of an American dollar, once used for purchasing candy, now used decoratively in jars.” Wheat Penny Cufflinks from David Gieske
MILKMEN: “Professionals who delivered dairy products, mostly milk, which came in reusable glass bottles that were not printed with information regarding pasteurization, presence of hormones, additives, calories, vitamin content, or missing children; usually were men accustomed to fielding winking comments about how much they resembled their clients’ children…” Vintage Milk Bottle Holder w/ Bottles from Our Retro Toybox
Over at Poppytalk, one of my daily reads for inspiration and diversion, I came across this exciting find. “A Collection a Day, 2010” is a new project by Lisa Congdon (who I love and featured two weeks ago), in which she will create and document one collection of small related items for every day of the year. I think my anal retentive tendencies are rejoicing as much as my appreciation for common yet beautiful things. Like Lisa, who’s appreciation for collecting and arranging small treasures started in childhood, I too remember spending far too many hours organizing and displaying my possessions, be they the crayons arranged in a color order that made sense only to me or the chest containing rows of tiny plastic toys that I received from my dentist.
I especially love how Lisa has opened the project up for discussion and encourages “you to share your thoughts about what memories the photographs and drawings of my collections spark for you and what, if any, sense of nostalgia or repulsion they make you feel”. I guess her collections have happily reminded me of little orange trolls and crayon rainbows. What memories do they spark in you?
