(If you prefer, you can listen to this as a podcast! Smells Like Grandma, episode 1 – 5.)

A few weeks ago I spent the weekend washing out old perfume bottles. Well, technically, washing vintage & retro figural eau de cologne bottles – because perfume rarely comes in such bottles. Which is why most of us refer to such bottles as “fragrance bottles,” but collectors consider the category to be “perfume bottles,” a subset of vanity collectibles, or “collectible bottles”, a subset of “decorative collectibles.” But I digress.

I was washing old fragrance bottles. The majority of these were Avon bottles – primarily the figurative types. And perhaps it was the strong smells from the near 100 different bottled grandma scents, but I started giggling.

At the risk of further digression, I feel the need to address a few other things before I completely offend a great number of Avon ladies & Avon fans.

I’ve been an Avon Lady – not once, but twice, including after having reached one of the highest points in the beauty products game by working for Estee Lauder. So I’m not knocking Avon.

Not only is Avon the oldest beauty company in the United States, with a long history of economically empowering women, but Avon has for decades been the #1 fragrance-cosmetic company in the US with high rankings worldwide. Not so much #1 recently (which is a longer story about marketing and changing markets – and corporate buy-outs), but Avon still ranks in the top 10-15 worldwide every year. This means lots more people than grandmas are wearing Avon. But the nickname still holds – as we shall see.

In any case, there’s a whole lot of Avon bottles circulating. And being collected.

While most collector pros will focus on the obvious things (condition, condition, condition – the importance of boxes, true limited runs, fan favorites, etc.), in this podcast we like to talk about objects in context. In this case, the objects are vintage & reto Avon bottles, and the context of “grandma scents” is also a nostalgic nod to scents of the past.

According to science, smell and memory are linked. Dr. Alan Hirsch, founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, says, “The quickest way to affect somebody’s moods or behavior, quicker than with any other sensory modality, is with smell.” So collecting perfume bottles, Avon or not, is closely linked to memory.

Vintage scents may link you to your grandma, yes. Maybe it’s a scent she wore. My grandma wore Avon’s Charisma for special occasions, so it’s part of Christmas for me. But vintage perfume scents may remind you of your grandma, or grandmas in general, at least in part, because most fragrances tend to go bad & get that funky old smell after 3-5 years – and who doesn’t have a grandma who has old fragrance bottles getting dusty on her dresser? (Hence all the washing I’ve been doing!)

Or the scents may link you to your own past – a special occasion, your first big girl perfume, your first kiss – your own teen spirit, if you will. Meaning you might now be the “grandma” part of “grandma scent.”

But another part of the context of collectible Avon bottles is the heading-toward-us-like-a-bullet-train holiday season.

As I found in my sink, there is a ton of evidence of the gift-giving of Avon. Perhaps none as obvious as the array of men’s fragrance decanters.

There are a ton of cars, which may seem gifty enough for the generic men in your life. I mean, I guess glass cars look cool… I tend to like the kitschy stuff, including white poodle Avon decanters, so who am I to judge?

But there’s more. Including a plethora of men’s footwear options…

So.

Many.

Boots.

As a woman who used to sell men’s shoes, let me tell you there is nothing – & I mean nothing – like the odor of a teenaged boy’s feet. You learn in the shoe business to inhale deeply before you even begin to bend toward the feet – slowly exhaling as you go, so that you will not need to inhale again before you have exited the danger zone. You also learn to smile with commiseration with any mothers about – because they know what you are going through and are suffering in mortified silence as well.

So anyway, the notion of selling any fragrance in footwear form is, well, it just doesn’t smell right. Yet Avon has more variations of boot cologne bottles than seems possible.

Not that Avon figural bottles are necessarily shaped like scents. For example, the car decanters don’t smell like car exhaust or those cardboard trees. The 12-inch tall grandfather clock Avon bottle doesn’t smell like… clock. Nor does the spool of thread with thimble cap portend of a specific olfactory delight. In fact, most of Avon’s figural decanters seem perplexing to those of us who understand the marketing of fragrance… But still, men’s boots do suggest unpleasant scents. So I wrinkle my nose.

Perhaps my favorite – and by favorite, I mean most giggle-worthy – Avon men’s figural fragrance bottle is the weather vane – cupola combo.

In case you aren’t familiar with a cupola, it’s a small structure on the top of a building. They were used as lookouts, or to hold a bell or clock. Today, these small clocktowers typically provide ventilation or are purely decorative, perhaps holding up a weather vane. Just like this Avon bottle of aftershave. A decorative barn-red cupola topped with a black horse weather vane. “Thanks for thinking of me, grandma!”

Oddly enough, the weather vane – cupola combo container holds Deep Woods or Wild Country aftershave. And neither of those cologne names – i.e. the scent fantasy of a rugged outdoorsman who can’t be tamed – sounds like it belongs to a dude who wants to be domesticated by a farmhouse decor style.

This bottle does, however, lend itself to a gift-seeking grandma or & aunty who doesn’t know what to get a gent over the age of say 12.

Clearly, Avon has banked a lot of bucks from grandmas… But I think most folks would prefer the traditional $5 in a greeting card.

Feel free to share this with a grandma.

This Week's Story Avon Podcast Fargo Fair Oaks Antiques
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Hi, I’m Deanna Dahlsad of Fair Oaks Antiques, here with This Week’s Story, and I am a paint by number collector. (If you’d prefer, you can listen to the podcast here.)

Deanna Dahlsad paint by number collection
This Week's Story podcast paint by numbers
vintage paint by numbers dahlsad

Many mock paint by number paintings, saying the works are kitsch – meaning they are of poor taste. Even those who love kitsch in an ironic or humorous way may discount paint by numbers by saying they are not art, they are conformism. But knowledgeable collectors of PBNs, like myself, know that these works are important cultural icons – and anything but conformism.

The mere popularity of paint by numbers is a very American thing. Inspired by childhood memories of coloring and the art history lesson of Michelangelo assigning his students to paint pre-numbered sections of his famous Sistine Chapel, paint by numbers hold significant places in both mass merchandising commerce and the freedom of anti-establishism.

The matter of paint by number paintings being art — or, rather, not being art — wasn’t really an issue in the 50′s. Recreation specialists & home economists had begun to speak of hobbies as more than a way to beat the unemployed Depression-era-nothing-to-do-blues, more than a way to improve morale, but as “the fifth freedom,” along with freedom of speech and worship and freedom from want and fear. The prevailing wisdom of the postwar period was that creative hobbies enhanced life and made it worth living, prompting popular celebrities like Frank Sinatra & Dinah Shore to paint as a pastime. With “Sunday painters” like President Eisenhower and Winston Churchill, even the military had adopted this mindset, setting up hobby craft shops in the Pacific Theater and opening the first hobby craft shop at the Alameda Naval Air Station in California.

In 1952, an amateur painter in San Francisco entered and won third place at an art competition with one of Craft Master’s kits. Both the press and the public had a field day noting how judges could not tell the difference between a paint by number work and Modern Art — an art style in its hey-day, but one many people at the time were confused by &/or fed up with.

This was the tipping point for paint by numbers. They became so popular that The White House even hung paint-by-number paintings by J. Edgar Hoover, Nelson Rockefeller and others in a West Wing corridor along with other artists’ original works.

Karal Ann Marling, Professor of Art History and American Studies at the University of Minnesota, has written several books about the sensibilities of the 1950s. In her book, As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s, Marling paints the PBN trend as an outgrowth of World War II hobby-ism rather than a sign of conformity:

National surveys taken in the 1930s, when the Depression curtailed spending on equipment and travel, disclosed a sedentary pattern of recreation: respondents were reading magazines and listening to the radio and visiting with friends. What they really wanted to do, however, was to play tennis and golf, plant a garden, go swimming or skating. In the 1940s, wish became reality. Between 1947 and 1953, revenues for spectator sports and amusements showed a marked dip, despite increases in population and income and the insatiable demand for TV sets. …Market research proved that it was the heaviest TV-watchers who were liable to be most interested in painting a still life or reupholstering the living room sofa. Power tools and other do-it-yourself accessories were a $12 billion industry by the end of the decade; $30 million more went for amateur art supplies. “There seems to be a major trend away from passive, crowd amusements toward active pursuits that people can carry on independently,” concluded a highly regarded study of this “Changed America” with plenty of time on its hands.

More than other pastimes which grew during this time, the do-it-yourself spirit was also a way for man, woman, and child to find his or her way in this new world. It was non-conformist:

Do-it-yourselfism, in particular, was the last refuge for the exercise of control and competence in a world run by the bosses and the bureaucrats. It was a throwback, a rebuke to a buy-it-in-a-box world of TV dinners and ready-made everything.

As Michael Kimmelman wrote in 1994 is Art View for The New York Times (Painting by Numbers: How Bad Was It?), “Paint-by-numbers enthusiasts and Abstract Expressionists alike were affected by the same 50′s Zeitgeist: the tension between social strictures and personal freedom.”

Painting now could be an enjoyable pastime, a therapeutic outlet; not only reserved for the trained and talented.

However, painting by a kit was a very American idea.

Marling says paint by numbers were, “the most American thing you can imagine in that you package up everything you need in a box instead of going through lengthy instruction in how to paint or how to mix colors. It was a personal experience for the painter.” She continued, “You could almost call it supermarket Freudianism.”

While some object to the stamped boards of sameness which are to be painted according to ordained rules, we PBN collectors know that many did paint outside the lines, adding images, painting over what they didn’t like, or otherwise personalizing their works. And even when folks didn’t, they still produced unique folk art pieces. The kits may have been mass-produced, but individuals created each painted piece.

Many say that the paint by number hey-day is long over. Yet the kits continue to be painted — and continue to be made. Some may say this is primarily the pastime of children, but one needn’t look any further than the adult coloring book phenomenon to see that adults enjoy creative outlets too. It’s obvious in the popularity of shows like NBC’s Making It and entire cable channels dedicated to DIY programming.

Thanks to the current pandemic, crafting has exploded. The Smithsonian, which had an exhibit on paint by numbers in 2001, noted that the lockdowns have resulted in hands-on hobbies gaining traction as relaxing alternatives to screen-heavy activities. Etsy, arguably the world’s largest e-commerce website for craft supplies, handmade items (& vintage), has documented the uptick in the DIY trend. In May of this year, Etsy said that there had been a 346% increase in searches on Etsy for “diy”, a whopping 956% increase in searches for “embroidery kit”. Huge gains in other specific classic crafty hobbies were seen as well.

Clearly, there are shades of what Marling noted in the 1940s & 50s happening right now.

And there are other similarities as well.

The original paint by number kits consisted of rolled canvas (like window shades) and numbered glass jars containing paint – though they were “mystery” pictures, where the painter only discovered what they were painting only by applying the appointed colors.

If this reminds you of today’s trend of mystery boxes, you are not alone.

Loot Crate is often credited with the mystery box phenom, beginning with its subscription box service in 2012. Since then, it has become clear that it’s human nature to delight in surprises – even when they aren’t your own. One needn’t go any further than the huge number of views on YouTube unboxing videos to see the vicarious entertainment value of simply watching someone open to reveal the contents of a mystery box.

A rather jaded Luke Winkie at Vox says the appeal of mystery boxes is based on how much fun it is to unwrap presents. “Essentially, the mystery-box gambit is a clever trick to fool millennials into paying for a year-round Christmas experience.”

But I say the huge popularity of mystery boxes is proof that you shouldn’t underestimate the power of anticipation, of human curiosity, the love of surprise – or, for that matter, the love of having an experience – not just an object.

Crafty types, especially those who love to work with ephemera and found items, have always loved a mystery box – only we’ve known them by their vintage name: Grab Bags.

The act of grabbing a wrapped random item or a bag containing an assortment of miscellaneous items without knowing the contents has always been a thrill. It began when I was a kid – primarily because it was an affordable thrill. It continues today because the serendipity of discovery leads to creative inspiration. The Germans aptly call grab bags Wundertüte – and I think that encapsulates the joy so well.

Like paint by numbers, mystery boxes and grab bags may seem kitschy simple thrills for easily entertained minds – but their popularity exposes so much more about our culture, about what we crave, that I think dismissal of them is rather sad. There’s nothing wrong with a joyful, creative experience, whether we stay in the lines or not.

This has been Deanna Dahlsad sharing This Week’s Story for Fair Oaks Antiques. 

We sell online and in the Fargo North Dakota – Moorhead Minnesota area exclusively at Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market in booths #25-27.

 

Fargo vintage grab bags
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We will be at Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market’s annual summer flea market this weekend! Not only are we bringing in fresh finds from farms (& other places) for the flea market outside – but we will be having a huge sale inside too: 50% off! That’s half off all items with vendor code YES, in our spaces & cases. (Unless already marked down, of course.)

Saturday, June 20th, from 10 am until 6 pm

Sunday, June 21st, from noon until 6 pm.

No early sales.

50% off Fair Oaks Antiques at Fargo Antiques & Repruposed Market's Annual Summer Flea Market
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I fell in love with Iris Apfel when I spotted her documentary on Netflix – I sent everyone to watch it. Whether you adore vintage costume jewelry, fashion & textiles, whimsical decor, or spunky old broads, you’ll love Iris. Most of the world now does. She’s become an icon. And most of what she exudes is knowledge that every self-styled vintage lover already knows. Following her is really following yourself. Rock on, Iris! Rock on all of us!

PS Iris is more than an icon – she’s put in the years of work too.

Iris was a decorator and textile designer for the better part of her career. In 1950 she and her husband, Carl, opened Old World Weavers, a textile firm they ran until 1992, servicing everyone from Emily Post to Dorothy Draper. Iris also was responsible for many White House restorations, including those of the Truman, Kennedy, and Clinton administrations.
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Today is National Beer Can Appreciation Day, honoring the day beer was first put into cans in 1935, and the Farm is celebrating with a New Year’s Old Beers event – featuring a book signing with Alicia Underlee Nelson, of Prairie Style File! She will be signing copies of her book, North Dakota Beer: A Heady History at the shop from 4 pm to 6 pm.

If you want to get in the mood, here’s an interesting article on beer can history: Meet Archaeology’s Beer Can Man.

Also, we brought in some killer vintage beer items for this event!

Circa the 1950s, a Schlitz globe light (incomplete but rare as all heck & cool to boot!), and a 1963 Pabst 3-D advertising piece featuring golf!

Lots more breweriana & beer collectibles in the shop too – and we dealers keep restocking as this has been super popular! So come check it out – and, don’t worry, if you can’t make it today, Alicia will be back on Saturday, January 25th, from 1 pm to 3 pm to do more book signing!

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In case you missed our social media posts, Fair Oaks Antiques (that’s us!) has had a busy day in the media today!

First, the wifey was quoted in an Inforum story about Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market, aka “The FARM,” entering its fifth year of business and branching out with events.

Deanna Dahlsad, a vendor who also co-hosts the Trash Or Treasure appraisal events, is excited by the expansion of events calendar.

“After 30-plus years in this business, it’s refreshing to find an antique mall that really gets what it’s all about,” Dahlsad said. “Antiquing or junking is more than a pure materialistic act; it’s about more than the objects themselves. This is about the creativity of self-expression, the preservation of history, the passion of collecting, green living, and so much more. These events are very exciting to me because they bring more opportunities to connect with our “FARM” friends, with like-minded folks.”

Then, at 8pm in the evening, the wifey was live on Night Time Live with Bob Harris (on The Mighty KFGO). She and local North Dakota author Alicia Underlee Nelson, of Prairie Style File, were talking with Bob about the New Year’s Old Beers event at the Farm -check it out!

Oh, yeah, and the aforementioned Trash Or Treasure appraisal fair events are back! Details on the latest one can be found here & you can secure your spot here.

See you at the Farm!

New Year's Old Beers Fargo Event

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Hey, Fargo-Moorhead record lovers, we’ve got a pop-up flash sale for you!

This Saturday, December 7, 2019, ALL records in our booths at Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market (aka The Farm) are HALF OFF!

Yes, this includes all our vintage vinyl: 33 1/3 LPs, 78s, 45s – even classic kitschy kids’ Christmas records! Even if already marked down! All our records are 1/2 off!

Fine Print: One day only. All records. Dealer code YES, booths 25-27. Shop opens @ 10am, open until 7pm.

(Pretty simple, right?)

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Thanksgiving means time with family, not working. However, in order for the family to be able to eat at the dining room table, one must first clear off all the inventory waiting to be cleaned & priced… So, in today’s endeavor to provide a clean horizontal surface fit for family, I, the wifey, had to work a bit.

To my delight, I rediscovered a few gems I’d forgotten about. As both these items are family & gift-related, I figured I’d take the time to share them.

On the face of things, both of these wall hangers are nifty enough. But it’s the back of them which really tells the stories & gives additional charm!

One is “A Tribute To My Dad.” A classic poem or motto from the 1920s, much like those by Buzza. However, someone has placed a plastic golden “DAD” plate on the front covering any attributions. (A search on the Internet attributes this work to MAH.)

We dare not try to remove the vanity “Dad” plate, for risk of damaging the original glass or framing – especially as the aforementioned back is where the real charm lies…

On the back brown framing paper, there’s a message written in what appears to be red marker:

Did you give this to your Dad?

Well, we all want to know!

But, sadly, we will only be able to imagine the answer is “yes”. And, for those of us who enjoy such flights of fancy, imagine how both the original gift-giving to dad went and the following story or stories involving the red marker questioner.

The other piece that has charmed me today has its own story to tell.

This piece is a framed handmade textile piece: a yellow and black Chevy hand-stitched onto a background of tan cloth (which rather resembles burlap). I am a huge fan of needlework, so this could be impressive enough. However, there’s a full story written on the back!

The inscription includes the birthday boy’s name & celebrates his birthday on April 25th, 1979 via this memento of childhood automobile memories:

This is a replica of our old Chevrolet that you had so much fun riding in the rumble seat. Remember? Hope you enjoy this picture. Much love, Mom & Dad

Just how does anyone want to give this up?!

I barely can, & it’s my job!

For anyone else who loves such charming pieces, come on out to the Farm this weekend – both pieces will be there!

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If you’ve been keeping up with us at Facebook, you may have noticed that we’ve been quite busy.

One highlight, hubby Derek has written for Prairie Public’s Dakota Datebook radio show – & five of his stories have been selected for the newly released book, Dakota Datebook: North Dakota Stories from Prairie Public. If you love North Dakota history, you should grab a copy!

However, our biggest & busiest news is that we’ve consolidated all our real-world shopping centers into one location: a trio of booth spaces at Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market, aka The Farm. We still have our Etsy shops, and occasionally offer items on eBay too. But by focusing on one physical shop location in the Fargo-Moorhead area, we are best able to maintain it with fresh vintage, repurposed, collectible, and antique items thereby better serving our customer & client needs.

One of the benefits of this streamlining move, is that we will now be offering our appraisal services, live, in “Trash Or Treasure” events at The Farm.

Typically, our rate is $10 per item; but for these in-store events, the fee will only be $5 per item. Due to public interest, there will be a limit of three items per person, per event.

These verbal appraisals are rather like those seen on Antiques Roadshow in that no written paperwork will be provided and, for ethical reasons, we will not be purchasing your items. (However, if you are interested in selling your item(s), here are the details on The Farm’s free service.)

These quick little appraisals are ideal for discovering the current market value of your item(s) and may be particularly helpful in determining whether or not to keep, donate, or sell. Also, the information will assist in deciding if it makes financial sense to invest in the several hundred dollars that a more in-depth appraisal (for insurance or other contractual purposes) would cost.

We will be available for Trash Or Treasure events at The Farm – and by appointment. If the listed schedule of dates is not ideal for you, or you have more than three items, please contact us to arrange another date and time.

For futher details on, or directions to, Trash Or Treasure appraisal events at The Farm, please visit The Farm’s website &/or Facebook Page.

Thank you – and we’ll see you at The Farm!

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