FOUND - whimsical art, vintage treasures, fun finds!

Winner Week #4

 

Thumbelina, Francie,  George Baily, My Friend Jenny, Howdy Doody, Chatty Cathy, Barbie, Hunkle Punkle, Obo the Clown.  What do these have in common?  They were all remembered as favorites in the comments of the previous blog contest.  And we have a winner for the $25 gift card and suprize pack! 

 

Deb said... My favorite dolls are not those of my childhood, but those of my daughters. They each still have their own special stuffed animals, even as adults. They are like family members too. What makes them special is my daughters always want me to put a drop of my perfume on them when they visit, so when they go back to their own homes, they take a scent memory of me with them. It gets to my heart everytime.

 

Deb, email me with whether you will pick up your prize or if you entered from a distance (in which case, send address and I'll pack it up and mail it).  mary@foundgallery.com

 

 

FOUND Blog Contest #4

Erin Stead - you are the winner of our week #3 Blog Contest!  Stop by to pick up your prize - the globe bank or a selection of 6 Ann Arbor notecards.

Here are the details for the last of our September Blog contests:  Simply write a comment about any doll, paper doll, mannequin or stuffed animal that you've known and loved.   Click on the little comment button at the bottom of this post to add your comment and you'll be in the running.  Next Tuesday after midnight, the winner's name will be selected from all who have entered.  The prize will be a $25 FOUND gift certificate AND a little surprise pack of found things.

Here's an odd assortment of dolls that I have in the shop right now.  I rescued this first little antique  dolly from an estate sale on the weekend.  Despite all the damage, she still looks sweet to me.

Do you remember when there were paper dolls in magazines to cut out? 

I'm not sure what to think of this strange little handmade guy with the purple yarn hair.  He seems vintage - I'm wondering if this was a pattern and there are more of him out there somewhere.

My favorite doll was a red-head Patty Play Pal doll that I got for Christmas when I was in third grade.  Actually, the hair was sorta orange and she was life-sized.  I took her to school and the teacher thought she was a real kid.  I liked that teacher, Mrs. Donze,  a lot...  

My extended family has a mannequin named Josephine. She's been part of the family for almost 20 years and has been to a few family weddings and sometimes travels, but mostly stays at the lake house.  She always dresses for the season and looks pretty good for her age.  I'll post some family photos with Josephine another time.

Our librarian had Steiff puppets that "read" stories to us - a bear and a monkey.  The public library in our little town was a Carnegie Library and story time was in front of a big fireplace in a room with high ceilings and huge tables.  Monkey and Bear lived on the fireplace mantel when it wasn't storytime.

Those are my doll memories - tell about yours in the comment tab below  to be entered in the final Septemberblog  contest.

Regards!

Mary

Autumn at FOUND

The shop is full of Autumn colors: butterscotch Bakelite poker chips in an antique serving bowl.  We have quite a few pieces of this brown and cream pattern.

A turkey cup and saucer... and lots of postcards featuring plump gobblers.

Back to school time.  Do you have your compass and protractor? 

Tomorrow I'll announce the week #3 Blog Contest Winner and post the final contest for September.  Any suggestions for the final week prize???

Until then,

Mary

Red Pyrex Memories

To enter the Week #3 Blog Contest, scroll to the next post and click on comments tab at bottom.

Often finding something for the shop triggers  memories.  Take these red Pyrex dishes for example.   I remember eating on plates like these when I was a little girl.  It was in the days when we ate in the kitchen at a table Dad made from a door.  It was attached to the wall at one end and had a metal pipe holding it up at the other end.  The whole thing was covered in formica with chrome edging.  He also made a bench with a red vinyl cushion that three or four little kids could fit on. The high chair for the baby and regular chairs were on the other sides.  As we got older and the family grew, we moved to the dining room... by then the red dishes were just a memory. 

Now I'm thinking about Dad and how he could make something from "nothing", like that really retro table and bench.  He also built a slide for our treehouse from an abandoned side of a giant freezer.  It was the best backyard slide in the neighborhood.  We'd take some waxed paper out of the kitchen and rub it up and down the slide to make it slicker and faster.  I also remember taking waxed paper to the giant slide at the school park.  You had to go up about 30 steps on the high ladder before whizzing down that slide - they removed the slide and the merry-go-round years ago when someone deemed all the fun playground equipment too dangerous for kids.  We'd swing and slide and laugh to our hearts' content, then go home to eat peanut butter sandwiches and apples. On red Pyrex plates, of course!  With a big glass of milk and homemade cake.  Ahhh...

Mary

Blog Contest. Week #3

We have a randomly selected winner for the Week #2 Contest.  No, it's not Jimmy that won the prize - it's Natalie Price!   Natalie, please send me your info to receive the $25 gift card. For those of you who want a chance to win the Week #3 Blog Contest, read on....

 

I'll make this blog comment contest super simple.  Just post a comment at the bottom of this blog about your favorite place in the world - a one word response will enter you in this contest - of course if you want to write more, that's fine, too.   Next Tuesday after midnight, I'll randomly select one name to win one of the following:  

A vintage globe bank - "As you save, so you prosper".   OR a set of 6 blank notecards from the Ann Arbor Eye series by local photographer Don Hammond.

So whether your favorite place is near or far - whether you must fly there or can go in a car - write it down in the space below - wait a few days, and then you will know - whether you win a prize!

Regards from a frustrated poet,

Mary

FOUND Blog Contest. Week #2.

We have a winner in last weeks contest.  Congratulations to Mary Ellen Smith!   

And thanks to all who commented on both versions of the Week #1 contest.  It was interesting to click through your names and blogs, facebook pages, etsy sites and more to learn a bit more about who my readers are.  Before I accidentally deleted the first set, I had posts from as far away as Australia and as near as down the block from Kerrytown.   Many of the posts amused me!

Week #2 contest begins tonight and is for a $25 Gift Card from FOUND.  The winner will be randomly selected from those who post a comment on this blog about one vintage item they own that came to them through a friend or relative.    

I have some vintage things that have good memories associated with them.  One is an orange plastic Eames-era chair that our old neighbor George used to sit in while he watched the kids play in his yard.  I could write a whole chapter on the memories that chair brings to mind - we now own the house that George lived in.  He was a character and was into living green long before it became popular. 

Just name one vintage  thing that has good memories for you to be automatically entered to win.  Contest ends next Tuesday night.  

Regards,

Mary

missing contest....and a wonderful party

If you're looking for the FOUND Blog Contest, Week #1 ....to enter or to see if you are the winner... I have a confession.

I accidentally deleted the comments on Sunday night.  Then while I was trying to fix it, I must have done something that deleted the whole darn post.  The Helpdesk at Typepad is trying to recover it, but since 22 of you entered before that incident and I don't have your names to draw a winner from, please put another quick comment on this post so I have some names to draw from. ..

Here's what I was doing  before I deleted the comments.   We were at the yellow lake house where our family gathers.   We joined hands and remembered the past, celebrated the present and looked forward to many more such occassions.  This place is very special in my heart.  We have a lot of fun here.

My brother John has 3 young children who don't remember the days of big Benedict parties at the lakehouse, when it was typical to have 100+ at the lake several times each summer.  In recent years, we tend to be scattered and visit a different times.  So John set a date and ordered a  hog to roast.  

 

Mom was very happy with the way things turned out.  She loves it when her kids come home - three generations + family friends laughed and talked and played games.

  

This is my sister Ann throwing a beanbag.  I was showing her my blog comments after the party when I deleted that contest ... It's not her fault.  She's awesome. 

Here's her awesome daughter waiting her turn to throw the beanbag back.

And here's my awesome daugher Laura. 

 

There were about 80 people having a great time. 

I won't take up more space here with all my other photos - but I'm always struck by the continuity of life in this family.  Seems like yesterday that my (now 24 year old) son was the little one in the front of the canoe.  And about 50 years ago, I was jumping off a raft with my cousins...

 

Anyone who posts below be entered to win the week #1 contest.  I will delay announcing the winner to let those of you whose comments were lost to let me know by posting again.  sorry for the inconvenience. 

Hope you enjoyed this look at what I love even more than my little shop....

Regards!

Mary