miniature excitement for a small price

Before my project, and to both brainstorm for it and satisfy my online shopping urges, I bought miniature pieces of furniture for around $12 on ebay from a vendor in Hong Kong. 

This credenza is... a dream. I joked to a co-worker that I could maybe, given extraordinary time and effort, construct an accurate, functional, and life-sized likeness using a new phonograph, but I'm sure it won't happen anytime soon if it does.

The TV is also very cool - when I move into a place with more space, like a house, I imagine the furniture that goes in there will be a bit more like this - more space suggests an attempt to fill it, rather than create it. The little cardboard person, as well as the others in the next pictures, were created by another co-worker, and currently reside in our workplace.

This sewing machine seems maybe a bit dated compared to the legsed (yeah I just made that word up) TV and credenza... oh well it's still cool.

The asian origins of manufacture account for the low table, kanji, and sushi, but not necessarily for the boozed little dudes.

kitchen takeover

So since the end of exams, craigslist has begun to intrude into the kitchen. In the last week, amidst cleaning the whole upstairs, we found a little bit more space, and motivation, to continue to clutter our lives with more awesome stuff.

Pictured: Dimensional Plastics Corp. Table and Chairs set

These are excellent! Dimensional Plastics was apparently (according to the internets) established in 1956, as evidenced by the cheesy and easy to google Krinklglas (i'm not entirely sure what it is, other than an interesting compound and the company surrounding it). either way, Dimensional Plastics at some point between 1956 and probably the 70s apparently made the components of a table and chairs set.

These things are great - the chairs are shaped wood and upholstered vinyl on a metal base, and the table is a delightfully patterned plastic surface on a matching base.

Also recently acquired, but not as of yet mentioned, is a set of three tables - one low coffee, and two mid-height end/side tables - all McCobb-ey knockoffs.

Here the coffee table amidst clutter, 

Here one of the sides. This one has slightly sturdier legs than the other, but, of course, that circular stain. Still probably keeping it. These tables conjure the image of McCobb's planner series:

They're certainly not as valuable, but they look great, and I love them. 

In other news - one of the classes I recently finished called for a final project - a book - to be produced; the point of the class was to deconstruct the traditional identity of what one normally takes to be a book - a codex with pages containing information - and to study the categorization of information throughout history, and the development of literature as a result. My entry consisted of the metaphysical location of the production of a story - the forum where stories take place... for me. So I made a room, symbolic of maybe a place in my imagination, and of course it had to be a little stylized.

Inside the room I placed words and phrases on wiry bases that sat pretty much anywhere - they were interchangeable and malleable, making the whole thing a little interactive... really the relevance is the fact that I kind of want a room with some of these features in my real house.

AJ pointed me in the direction of the table and chairs set, as well as helped me out with the miniature room - the clock and pillows are hers. More to come soon.

long time!

Now that exams and the month or so leading up to them are all finally over, I have time to relax a little bit, and maybe write on some of the things I've come across since last I posted.

Acquired recently from a local thrift store and left sitting on the floor in the last month as things cluttered up from the projects and studying we've both been working on - discovered a few days ago as we therapeutically cleaned everything that had amassed. Currently occupying the center of a thrifted McCobb knockoff (but vintage) coffee table.

AJ's Mom's old hair dryer - though I haven't observed it yet, I'm convinced AJ takes naps in this thing. It works, and is original from a very long time ago. Accompanying it are some luckily acquired and incredibly intact bowling shoes from yesteryear.

And last but not least, for this post, because it's late and I'm tired, is the recently acquired set of hairpin legs for an upcoming project (bed? couch? record bench? who knows). I apologize for the quality of this picture - it's from my phone, as many of the pictures on this publication are, and it will continue to be a significant source for them until I get an awesome camera. Under the hairpin legs is an oh so coincidentally placed copy of atomic ranch... you should really check it out, there are great stories, ideas, and perhaps most importantly, vendors for new, reproduction, and vintage items that you're guaranteed to be interested in if you've read this far.