All The Time In The World

We'd been battling a large, empty plot of wall space in our great room for the better part of two years. We struggled with possibilities, tormenting each other with a long list of potential candidates—suggestions never failing to fall short and the spot remaining vexingly vacant. Up until a few weeks ago, we figured we'd never find the big item needed to get this room closer to completion.

That is, until we happened upon this Peter Pepper clock, and then there was no doubt that we'd finally found that elusive object! There was also no denying that this (nearly) 5 foot beast is a perfect fit!

Despite the fact that the clock was manufactured in 1960, we feel that it displays a forward-thinking sense of design that's conceptually aligned with the space age items in the room. Don't you agree?

Beat Beat Beat

We've had some recent recruits climb aboard lately, and we figured we'd showcase 'em this time out. All manner of unpalatable miscreant has found a new home here—a nice cross-selection from the most hirsute, pigeon-chested, diminutive, and sylvan.

The larger member of this pair has been kicking around here for a while, so we were glad to finally turn up his sidekick. Their knowing glances belie some lonely, starless nights.

The guy on the right is an Italian lamp from the late 60s or early 70s that washed ashore in Florida, and we're thrilled he found his way over. Many thanks to our new buddy Joe who's the first reader to approach us outta the blue with something he knew we'd want. Again, we're grateful to you for setting such a good example! No doubt that the other furball's ruddy complexion is due to too much mead.

Future Shock

OK folks, we don't mean to build your expectations up unfairly with this abnormal spate of productivity, but this will be our last post for the next few weeks—consequently, we figured we'd pack a real humdinger to keep y'all satisfied for a while. It shouldn't surprise most of you that space age electronics are one of the many things we enjoy stockpiling, so here we have a nice sampling of the (mostly) portable pieces that are currently gathering dust on our shelves.

Here are two JVC Videospheres. As far as we're concerned, these guys represent the pinnacle of space age television design. These were issued in three colors—red, white and black—with black being the toughest of the three to track down. We're hopeful that we'll get a white example, which is the most common, sometime soon! The Bulova clock has been included elsewhere, but we liked how it looked in the spread, so we threw it in anyway.

Panasonic was responsible for creating a ton of swinging mod designs in the late 60s and early 70s, and here are some notables. You may notice that the black cube radio in the middle is slightly different from its peers—that's because its face design varied by region, and it's a Canadian version. The Rolling Tone portable radios in the foreground were produced in several different colors—we're in desperate need of an orange one, and we'd gladly swap our spare red one for it, if anyone's up for it. We're also missing a few of the 8-track players located in the rear. Help?

I vividly remember having a Panasonic Panapet that my aunt gave me when I was a little kid. No idea where that one ended up, sadly. Obviously, the Panapets, Rolling Tones and cube radios came in a variety of vibrant colors (including a rare, albeit unflattering lavender we're not too fond of). The TNT 8-track players located in the background were released in five different colors—we've only seen the white and clear smoked versions a few times ...and we're hoping to get them somewhere down the road. The blue 8-track player manufactured by Emerson was a cool, previously unknown score we made recently.

These are the two Sony portable television sets we just turned up in Pittsburgh, alongside our lonely Planetron 8-track player.

Yet another entry that's received a little attention on the blog already. The Orbitel was Panasonic's response to the race for space age design, despite its being a little more 50s inspired than the other examples showcased here. This set is pretty scarce and finding one without chipping around its visor remains a fairly tall order. The Weltron 8-track player next to it mimics an astronaut's helmet and complements our Videospheres quite nicely. Again, the Weltron was issued in yellow and orange and we're hoping to get those someday, too.

The serpentine Toot a Loop proves itself a fearsome adversary. We're still on the hunt for orange and lime green specimens of this particular model ...available only to those good folks down under. Dearest Aussie pals: please include them with our free Chosen Few and Young Identities EPs. Thanks in advance! A few more portable Panasonic cassette players wouldn't hurt either.

Lastly, we've got a portable record player (by Columbia) which isn't technically a vintage piece per se, but it's capable of playing records while dangling precariously on a wall, so that's just gotta suffice. A Panasonic radio alarm clock and AM/FM headphones manufactured by a Japanese company called Soundlite round out the stash.

We'll eventually get around to photographing the rest of our vintage electronics collection but, until then, dig in!

Mars Bar

Here's another short one for ya, folks. We just got back from a brief stay in Pittsburgh last Sunday and pickens were slimmer than usual—though said fact didn't stop Valery from buying a portable bar and transporting it back to Atlanta on an airplane! We'd spied this space age liquor cart during our last visit, but we picked up so much stuff, we decided to leave it behind. No surprise, it didn't escape our clutches this round.

We got lucky and snagged a mint set of Herb Gardener's Nebbishes coasters from '59, complete in their original packaging. A wind-up dancing monkey manufactured by Knickerbocker and an enormous paperclip (that doubles as a hanger when mounted to a wall) were also found. Lastly, we scored a couple of vintage Sony portable television sets that'll reappear in our next update ...which should be coming up real soon!

Until then, a big thank you to our favorite Pittsburgh folks: Carmela, Hone, Steve and Pogo for making us feel right at home. Some great food and good times were had by all. We miss you guys!

Weekend Nazi

After busting me pawing at the computer screen a few weeks ago, Valery cast aside her notions of good taste and honored my pleas for this: an anniversary gift delivered several months early! Admittedly, we had no idea about the Red Skull's after-hours predilections, though we weren't surprised in the least bit. Steven Weissman—a cartoonist whose works (such as Yikes) should be familiar to all—really captured Herr Schmidt's joie de vivre, we think.

This illustration ran in Seattle's The Stranger a while back, and we're grateful to Mr. Weissman for cutting it loose. We're also especially thankful that he honored our embellishment requests when he personalized this piece. What will our Mexican and Korean mothers think of this one?

Too Animalistic

Here's a quick post to tide y'all over for the week.

Just welcomed two blue ceramic critters into our ever-increasing herd. The Bitossi cat (designed by Aldo Londi) came to us via a UK dealer. The Bennington hippo bank (designed by David Gil) was a present Valery received from our pal Mike. We had never seen one in this color before, and we were quite pleased when this surprise arrived a few weeks ago. Thanks again, Mike!

You Can't Sit Down

Valery recently had a premonition about finding good stuff, so we planned accordingly and hit up several of our favorite shops this weekend—little did we know that we'd be turning up an elusive mid-century icon, and a longstanding item on our wantlist!

Designed by Eero Aarnio in 1967, the Pastil Chair has become synonymous with space-age design. We had seen them photographed in countless books and magazines, but up until today, we'd never actually seen one in person. This one's an original and shows all of the wear and tear you would associate with a 45 year old chair; however, after about an hours' worth of scrubbing, we got it looking a lot nicer, and we're not complaining, as it cost a fraction of what a newly issued one would've set us back. Needless to say, we're glad that it has taken up permanent residence in our great room!

We hadn't been to Scarlett Loves Rhettro in quite a while, so we decided to stop in since we were having a late lunch nearby. Our pal Darlene had this fantastic hourglass planter for sale, and we have an almost identical one (photographed elsewhere), which meant we had to bring this one home, too. So far, we've only seen two examples of this planter with its distinctive spaghetti pattern. This one will undoubtedly end up in our home office once we get started on that renovation.

Our collection of teeth continues! We were excited when we spotted this stool today because we knew that it would make a perfect addition to our record room. We're constantly amazed by the amount of tooth-related merchandise we come across, and we're slowly building a pretty considerable collection.

Here's another molar that Valery's had for a few years, and it's one of our favorite items in the master bedroom. We're not 100% sure about the origins of this lamp, but we certainly do love it just the same!

Casting My Spell

Our buddy Justin has once again delivered the goods! This 26 inch Brutalist Dodo was recently discovered at an estate sale in North Carolina, alongside a batch of other, similar mid-century wares. Justin had a ton of great items on offer this time out, but we were instantly drawn to this handsome fowl—and we were consequently rendered powerless by its gaze ...and its enormous paunch. Thanks again, Justin!! If any of our readers are in the area, we highly recommend dropping by Highland Row Antiques and checking out the shop and the rest of Justin's sale items.

Don't really know much about this beer-bellied beast, outside of the word Moss etched into one of its tail feathers. Any additional info would be much appreciated!

Hang Up

Many thanks to our pal and loyal reader, Marc, who recently directed us to some vintage hangers which bear a striking resemblance—actually, they appear to be manufactured by the same anonymous German company—to the two we picked up locally (and showcased here) a while back.

Tina, Susi and Sabine are slated for permanent display in Valery's dressing room, but we're still working on that one, so we snapped these quick pics in the guest bedroom instead. Thanks again for all of your help, Marc!

Just in case you forgot, here are the two nameless models we picked up a few months ago.

In a weird coincidence, Valery and I found these locally (and at the same store, even!) earlier this month. We were pretty stunned when we saw Bill, Brian and Keith immortalized in 60s mod hanger form! Sadly, the dealer who bought these was unable to get the original owner to sell her Mick—apparently, he was the only one deemed irreplaceable! We're hopeful that we'll somehow get Mick and Charlie (if his exists?) some day, but seeing as how these are (again) German, and most definitely unlicensed, it seems pretty unlikely. Help?

Feeling Called Love

Just a quick Valentine's Day update to let y'all know about the li'l bundle of joy the stork brought us. Now, this isn't our first one of these—my buddy CV gave me Boris a few years back and Glendora was an anniversary gift I gave Valery—but this is our first Kustom Kat. Circa 1968, Kustom had these specialty critters produced to promote their exclusive amp coverings—and you can differentiate 'em from yer typical Nauga by the presence of glittery Naugahyde and googly eyes.

We're real happy to have Rémy on board, and we'd like to thank Justin (again) for hipping us to the battered display case this poor guy had been stuffed in.

Three Wishes

Today's my birthday and Tony surprised me at midnight with these three presents. I'm so excited, I had to post them immediately!

Tony asked our friend Hidehisa to help him find this out-of-print Ryohei Yanagihara book, and Hidehisa ended up finding the book AND my most desired piece of vintage Ryohei merchandise. I can't believe we finally have this viking in our collection! Thank you so much, Hidehisa and Tony!!

Another one off my want list and this copy's in perfect shape! I could listen to Epicycle's You're Not Gonna Get It all day! So far, my birthday is off to a great start, and I'm really looking forward to spending the weekend with my family and friends and visiting the local animal safari.

Holidays In The Sun

January found us visiting Arizona and our friends and family for the first time in over a year. Pickens were surprisingly slim this time out, and we rolled into Tucson an hour after those recent shootings, so that only augmented the palpable bleakness I've come to know and expect from my beloved home state. Despite these shortcomings, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves: hanging with loved ones, stuffing ourselves with my mama's fine Mexican cuisine, snagging one of Valery's top wants and purchasing some additional trinkets on the veritable cheap.

The Parker Palm Springs has this horned fellow on prominent display at its reception desk, and Valery has long been one of his admirers. You can only imagine how elated she was when she spotted this bronze, strigiform scuplture by Ernesto Gonzalez-Jerez in one of the Phoenix antique stores our pal Mike took us to! Definitely one of those pieces we never expected to capture in the wild.

The same shop yielded this complete, six piece demi-tasse set, which bears the distinction of having been designed by LaGardo Tackett. Admittedly, we were—and remain—much more into the original packaging. The rippled Italian decanter was a gift from my parents—they bought it in the 60s and left it sitting near a fireplace for the past 45 years. Yoink!

We turned up this vintage ice bucket at the same shop, and the complementary yellow planters + custom Dream Pet from Sambo's were (even more) gifts from Mike.

We don't normally go out of our way for new toys, but we made an exception for these recent examples. The Eyezon figure by Mark Nagata has the multi-ocular look we really appreciate in our Kaiju, and we knew the pink elephant by Amanda Visell would occupy a specific empty slot in our kitchen.

Since we're always in the mood to pick up unnecessary flair, we couldn't pass up these vintage buttons—the Be My Slurp badge being the nearest and dearest to our hearts, of course.

Picture My Face

Dearest pals,

Gonked, Glooked and Slurped! has finally succumbed to Facebook's siren call. Please, won't you be our buddy?

Sincerely,
GG&S

Jackanory Stories

It should come as no surprise that domestic and international punk and indie records bind much of our collective aesthetic. For the past year or so, we've been populating our Flickr photostream with examples of our favorite releases from this bygone era. Since we just completed Porky Prime Cuts moments ago, it seemed fitting to hip y'all to the tasty items contained therein. Enjoy!

PS: If you feel that your favorite Punk or New Wave outfit has been slighted by our omission, please feel free to remit (clean) copies of their vinyl releases for further study and evaluation. Submitted materials will not be returned.

PPS: This offer extends especially to Australians.

Woa' Now

Given our recent tardiness, I guess it shouldn't come as any surprise that this Christmas update is nearly a month late. Our heartfelt apologies, but school and work schedules kept us down, and we were out of town for two weeks ...more on that later. For now, content yourselves with viewing the bountiful gift supply received in ye olde Yuletide tradition.

Our sincerest thanks to our friend Darrell for saving last year's Christmas! Darrell fiercely navigated French auction sites and classified ads in an attempt to locate both Ariel cigarettes advertising birds (left) from the 60s, thereby ensuring that Valery's gifts would come as a complete surprise. You, sir, are a true gentleman! Unfortunately, our efforts to secure a Pipiou in time went unrewarded; however, we did succeed in acquiring an example of the li'l critter a few weeks later. Here's Pipiou in action below:

Again, many thanks to Darrell for everything, including the Drumbo keychain he so generously provided. Our pal Mike sent along the Viking hors d'oeuvres set featured in the photograph. Thanks, man! Lastly, our warmest regards and thanks to Crazeekid and Crazeegirl for turning us on to Pipiou and the Ariel birds in the first place. Merci!

The Klutz, manufactured by Executive Games Inc in 1971, was another gift we received from Mike. It'll undoubtedly make an excellent addition to the record room—once we figure out where to hang it from! The Pop Art puzzle (in a can) from '68 was a gift for Valery, and the demented Shudder Pig wind-up toy from the early '70s was my gift to myself. Some of the other stocking stuffers we gave to each other are featured below:

Anything with bulging eyeballs (see Shudder Pig) is granted an instant pass into the collection. Same goes for all items reminiscent of Basil Wolverton.

A beefeater and a wifebeater (with criminal progeny).

Two more weirdo Batman knockoff toys from the 60s—these bearing an uncanny resemblance to Alfred E. Neuman!

Three novelty items from the 60s: some MAD novelty matches (matchbooks included), and two gag boxes w/ appropriately ghastly imagery.

Our friends Mikki and Atsushi are keeping us well-stocked with Ryohei Yanagihara merch piped direct from Japan! Included are some Torys mugs, Torys Highball t-shirts and four cloisonné pins. Thank you, you guys are the best!

My foray into collecting the works of noted fetish artists Gene Bilbrew and Eric Stanton (and the occasional Bill Alexander, Bill Ward or weirdie) continues. Many thanks to Mike for the three books at top. Also, thanks go to Mike for the tumescent nudenik in the middle—the best example of a Kreiss Psycho ceramic we have ever seen!

Some other smut trickled its way into our Christmas reserve: a bawdy collection of the bay area's red-light highlights and a 1971 calendar featuring all manner of supernumerary mammaries. Thanks to Jay and Ryan for these two!

Proof that you should always be suspicious when someone asks you which Transformer was your favorite. Of course, the response is a total no-brainer: Jetfire (based on Robotech's VF-1S Super Valkyrie Fighter) featured the best product design, hands-down. Thanks again, Mike!

Our pal Mike continued to outdo himself by giving Valery the Olivetti Valentine typewriter designed by Ettore Sottsass and Perry King in 1969. By sheer coincidence, we'd recently contemplated getting one of these—for logging the guests at our wedding later this year. Nice one, Genz!

Valery picked these two up while shopping for Christmas gifts (for others). The candy tin from Barton's Bonbonniere caused a fairly loud squeal when she spied it at a local shop. There's a strong likelihood that the tin was designed by Alvin Lustig.

It's becoming a tradition: getting one of LaGardo Tackett's Eggheads for Christmas. Last year, our buddy Mike sent along the What Again Tonight? ceramic. This year, Valery scored the Happy one for an insanely cheap amount and ended up gifting it to herself. Now we just need one more (of the 12" variety) to complete this ménage à trois.

Valery's love of planters goes unabated and this handsome rosewood specimen was our final gift to each other for Christmas 2010.

Hope it was worth the wait folks, and we have more updates planned for the immediate future. No, really.