A Vintage Thanksgiving Feastival

Well hey there, Pilgrims! Because we're traditionalists here at RetroMania, we refuse to skip straight from Halloween to Christmas. No sir. Especially not when we've got so much to be thankful for, not the least of which is our fellow retro and modernist aficionados, aka you guys! Thanks to all for the kind words and the warm welcome, and for stopping in to check out the midcentury stuff that gets us goin' in the morning. Now, how about passing that Russel Wright gravy boat this way?

Happy Halloween, Retro Ghouls & Boys!

We're suckers for retro holiday kitsch, which must be painfully apparent to anyone who's drifted into our shop this past month. (Next up: wacky tacky pilgrims!) To our fellow MCM enthusiasts in Fort Worth and Dallas, have an over-the-top, insanely fun -- oh, and OF COURSE, safe -- Halloween!

Restoring midcentury furniture

I'm currently working on refurbishing this little Lane table (top photo) to put in the shop. In this line of work, we see lots of furniture that needs love. Some of us are better than others at bringing these works of art back from the brink. On Dallas and Fort Worth Mid-Century Modern, I recently interviewed a man named Hank Tosh, who is dead serious about this endeavor. Check out his shop,Toshmahal (it's on Hampton Road in west Dallas) and you'll see: This man knows how to restore the glory of these deco and midcentury works of art. This is a Lane table (bottom photo) that Hank features on his website. Don't the contrasting colors just melt your heart?

Put a Cork Lamp in It!

Chuck a deuce at our newest lamp -- it JUST DOES NOT GET COOLER, children.
Nice and tall, too, at about 45" high, give or take an inch. There's wood around the top and the base, and the original vintage shade with its nubby vanilla fabric packs a wallop. Both the shade and lamp are in fantastic condition. Our midcentury cork lamp, which will be in the shop starting Sept. 27, costs $150.

Eastern Exposure South of RetroMania

Ni hao, y'all! Just a little shout-out for the folks at Butler's Antiques, who are featuring a special exhibit in the room right next door to RetroMania. They've made a new friend named Alfred Jones, a former instructor at TCU who has a collection of Asian artifacts. Butler's has fixed up one of their rooms in Butler's Alley just for the occasion and has put the items on display, where they will be for sale through Sept. 27.

Vintage Marushka Silkscreen Prints

And then along came Marushka!
The nature-themed prints that sprang onto the scene in 1971 are our latest passion. Apparently, we're not alone, because the folks at Apartment Therapy also have the Marushka monkey on their backs. The simple graphic art on tan and white linen often features sea creatures and coastal scenes because of the company's Great Lakes location. The founder, an art instructor named Richard Sweet, named the business after his wife, Mary ("Marushka" is a Polish form of the name "Mary.")
So romantic!

The small ones (each is 16x14) are $20 each, and the large one (18x24) is $50; all three are available for $80.

Make a Midcentury Fashion Statement

If only I'd thought to carry this sexy little leopard-print bag during my photo shoot for Banana Republic's "Mad Men" photo contest -- it's so Joan! And imagine Betty with the bejeweled bucket bag, lunching poolside at the country club. $28 each.