The New York "World's Fair" opened on April 21st, 1964, and again on April 22nd, 1965. (Wait, what? Two opening days? Read on, my friend.) The first thing you might wonder about this intro is the quotation marks that I have around "World's Fair." (There, I did it again). Yes, indeed, this was NOT an officially sanctioned World's Fair. After all, the Seattle World's Fair, or the Century 21 exposition, had just occurred in 1962. There is so much more to this story!
New York hosted an actual World's Fair back in 1939. It was very successful, and many had fond memories of the fair. A few men with those fond memories decided to do it again! After all, this area of Queens had yet to be redeveloped after the 1939 fair. The area was originally a wetland surrounding the Flushing River and then an ash dump in later years before becoming the fairgrounds. There was no money to redevelop the area into the proposed park after the '39 fair, so why not hold another fair to raise money for the future park? In itself, that was not a bad idea, but the execution left something to be desired.
The committee for the 1964 fair appointed an infamous New York career civil servant, Robert Moses, to be the President of the fair organization. Robert Moses had done many ostensibly good things for the city, such as Lincoln Center and luring the United Nations away from establishing themselves in Philadelphia. However, Moses had many other bad things to his name, such as building highways and bridges, which conveniently removed affordable housing for the lower class of the city, and demolishing Penn Station. Moses was an ill-tempered man who picked as many fights as he could along the way. However, he thought for sure that bringing back a World's Fair to New York would be an easy way to bring money to the coffers of New York and build the proposed park, the park that he was planning to name "Robert Moses Park". (Egotistical much?)
World's fairs are overseen by an international body called the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE). The BIE has strict terms about what can and cannot be a World's Fair, and Moses' designs for the fair went against many of the terms and conditions the BIE sets forth, such as not charging rent to nations exhibiting at the fair, the fair could only run for one six-month period and not the two that Moses has decided, and no country could have a fair within a decade window of another fair in the same country. Given that the BIE had already approved the Seattle expo, the proposed New York dates were too soon.
Not one to give up without a fight, Moses flew to Paris to meet with the BIE. He knew that the group sometimes bent their requirements a bit, and after all, no one (at least Moses) even knew how to pronounce "Seattle". The BIE declined Moses' plea, and Moses returned to the U.S. and gave an interview to a New York newspaper, where he bashed the BIE over their decision. Needless to say, that didn't sit very well with the BIE, and they forbade all international BIE countries from participating in the fair.
That was not the only group that Moses enraged throughout the life of the "World's Fair". (He continued to market it as such, even without BIE sanctions.) There were many other issues and hurdles (too many to write about here). Not surprisingly, while the fair saw decent attendance, it did not meet the 70 million forecast to enter the gates over the two years of the fair, and the fair ended up being a financial dud.
On the bright side, the park was finished after the fair was over, and there are still remnants of both the 1939 and 1964/65 fairs in the park. The good news is that the park is NOT named after Moses; it is "Flushing Meadows - Corona Park" today.
There is SO MUCH more to this wild story. I recommend watching the following video by Defunctland on YouTube, which covers all the sordid details!
Check it out - our newest blog post is up and available on the website - this time covering the flooring material VCT or Vinyl Composition Tile. It's one of the least expensive ways to get a great mid-century look, particularly for a kitchen or bathroom, in your basement, or as the floor in your office (which is where I have mine).
Read it Here!
More new books - some VERY new (as in not yet released). I have mine on pre-order!
If you follow us on social media, you might have seen our post about this book on Wednesday, March 27th. The book talks about post-war home competitions - this in Chicago. So cool!
Read more here
From Oregon or planning a trip any time soon? This book is new-ish (mid-2023 but we missed it) and is authored by Restore Oregon, a state preservation group. The book covers over 20 homes by PNW architects and looks like an amazing education on the subject!
Read more here
I'm excited for this book to arrive in September. It's difficult to find many books specific to mid-century garden design. This book highlights 75 project and their exterior landscaping plans.
Read more here
Also arriving in September is this photo book covering the art and architecture of mid-century bowling alleys. HOW COOL IS THIS?!? (Is it just me? I'm excited!)
Read more here
While we may receive a small commission for books purchased, the beautiful thing about Bookshop.org isn't our commission but the donations Bookshop.org gives out to small bookstores around the country. If you would like even more suggestions, visit our complete storefront here.
One of our amazing readers, CyndeLicious, recently emailed me about the presentation she was giving for the Society of Commercial Archeology called Sexitecture. She sold me on the presentation by the title alone! However, I had no idea what the Society of Commercial Archeology is—I read the word "archeology" and just assumed it was digging for bones. I was SO WRONG.
The Society of Commercial Archeology is about "...the 20th-century landscape of drive-ins, diners, neon signs, and roadside attractions." Considering our last newsletter, where I went gaga over the American Sign Museum, and our prior newsletter that has highlighted various backroad trips, such as our exploration of Route 66, you'll agree that this place is RIGHT up my alley! (No pun intended, but the Bowlarama book from above fits in here very well.)
I'm not here to push anything, and we get no kickbacks, but you can always join the SCA. With one presentation, I knew I had to be a member. Not only do they have great monthly materials mailed to your door, but they also have some pretty amazing-looking tours and get-togethers that I am looking forward to partaking in.
Want to watch the most recent presentation by CyndeLicious for the SCA? Sure you do - it's fabulous!
We've been working on bringing SparkleStar™ to you since 2022. (Well, apparently, "working" is not quite the word we should use. Read on). We announced SparkleStar™ for the first time in our July 2022 newsletter, following it up with an announcement in our November 2022 newsletter, and then...crickets. The design was there, the concept was there, and the colors were getting there, but we never took the next steps to get it done and ready. Until now. Just this week, we sent the final colorways of SparkleStar™ to our pressing partner to print for us. We'll add the glitter and send it back to them for pressing, and then we will have SAMPLES! We hope the samples will be available by mid-May. We'll let you know in the next newsletter (and this time, we MEAN IT!)
Welcome to spring, and welcome to April. (Wait - where did March go?) I hope you are enjoying a little more time outside and that the April showers will indeed bring you May flowers.
See you next month!
The MedicAlert Foundation was formed on March 26, 1956. The non-profit organization was three years in the making and was formed by Dr. Marion Collins and his wife, Christie Collins. It was all spurred by an incident in their family with their daughter, Linda. It was 1953, and Linda was playing with her cousins when she cut herself deeply enough to require stitches. Dr. Marion was not at home to take his daughter to the emergency room, but she was transported to a local ER, where the emergency staff stitched Linda up and (understandably) gave her an injection against tetanus. However, unbeknownst to emergency room personnel, Linda was deathly allergic to the antitoxin in the tetanus shot, and Linda went into an anaphylactic coma.
Fortunately, Linda survived the ordeal, but Dr. Collins knew there had to be a better way of alerting people to his daughter's medical conditions. As a temporary measure, he added a small slip of paper into one of Linda's bracelets listing Linda's medical allergies. The idea worked, but writing such important information on paper where it could be lost or marred beyond legibility wasn't ideal. That's when Marion and Christie Collins came up with the idea of the MedicAlert bracelet.
More than just jewelry, the MedicAlert Foundation keeps information on prospective patients that can be accessed by medical personnel anywhere around the country (and parts of the world). The bracelet itself gives the basic information, but it is the inclusion of the record-keeping accessible by professionals that really makes the jewelry special.
We all carry a small record-keeping device in our pockets these days, so is medical alert jewelry still important? Yes, say medical professionals. While first responders are going to treat you with immediacy, a medical alert bracelet or necklace allows personnel to access critical information with just a glance; no fumbling to find a cell phone or worry about how to unlock the medical information. From the Collins' desire to protect their daughter, a system was born that is now available throughout much of the world that can help protect each of us, too.
My husband and I traveled to Cincinnati this weekend. Normally, this would be the weekend when we were lugging heavy products, setting up a booth, and standing for hours speaking to multitudes of people at the 20th Century Cincinnati show. This year? We were attendees only. While I LOVE meeting new people and chatting about all things mid-century, participating in the show is a major commitment both in time, money, and our blood, sweat, and tears, so this year, we decided to forgo it and just be attendees. The added bonus? We weren't driving a huge UHaul, and we could go out and actually VISIT CINCINNATI! (Literally, we've been to Cincinnati for the show five times and have never seen anything but the inside of a convention center).
My absolute favorite part of the entire trip was the American Sign Museum. This place is INCREDIBLE, and if you haven't been, GO! I have too many photos to show here, but I've added some of my favorites, including two gifs that you may have to click on to see in their full glory. Enjoy!
Our newest installment of mid-century flooring is live over on the blog. This month? Rubber flooring! Not the black, speckled gym flooring that your mind might immediately conjure up, but the lovely, marbelized and colorful rubber flooring or yore.
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We were cruising through Etsy the other day, looking for some cool gifts, and we thought we'd bring some of them to you, all in that special March colorway - GREEN!
With the number of dishes I collect, you'd think I'd have some Russel Wright, but I do not! I do covet them, though. It's amazing how early this dishware is from, but still so modern to this day.
Shop South Nest Vintage
How cute is this? Don't worry - this plate comes in any variation you need to cover a switch (or outlet) in your home. These make me happy!
Shop Luna Gallery Designs
This manufacturer makes some of THE most beautiful clocks. This particular model with the green face and balls is just {chef's kiss}.
Shop Royale Enamel Ltd.
I'm a sucker for a good drip glaze, and this one-of-a-kind green beauty would be perfect for a little red succulent. I love how it is subtly octagonal - it adds to the charm.
Shop Vintage Stephenie Jo
The geometric pattern on these stackable mugs is toned down with the addition of the variegated green glaze. Can you imagine sitting at your mid-century kitchen table and taking in a cup of coffee or tea in these beautiful babies?
Shop Found by Michelle
This absolutely stunning reproduction mid-century table lamp would look amazing in any mid-century living room. I love the contrast of the green fabric and the gorgeous, deep walnut.
Shop Retro Grain
Finally, not from Etsy, but from a shop we found on our road trip (see above). And not just a sink, but a Crane 1937 Neuvogue sink by Henry Dreyfuss. This sink (and attached faucets) is the most amazing piece of vintage bathware I have ever seen.
Contact Left Coast Modern
We do not have any affiliation (nor do we get any kickbacks) from any of these shop owners, but we do like to highlight other small businesses. Go, small business!
You might have noticed some slowdowns and worse on our website in the past month. We're still troubleshooting the issues, but they should be mostly resolved by now. If you ever see any issues, let us know, so we can get right on it.
Thanks for your patience!
My mother has slowly been going through all of my grandmother Elsie's genealogy information and still had a few stash boxes to go through that aren't genealogy-related. One day, she asked if she could stop by with a bag full of stuff from the unboxing. I really had no idea what was in store. Surprise! It is a jackpot of amazing mid-century ephemera filled with family history!
So many brochures, postcards, matchbooks, and all manner of interesting finds, like this original brochure from the Monsanto House of the Future from Disneyland!
Does anyone else remember when all hotels had postcards of their digs in the desk drawer? Anyone could take them, and apparently, my grandmother took more than a few. I love looking at the old motels - next, I need to do a little research to see if any of these places still exist!
This is all so new that I haven't had time to dig through all of the goodies. I can't wait - and it I find anything else exciting, I'll be sure to let you know.
Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day. For me, St. Patrick's Day has a different meaning - I married my amazing husband on St. Patrick's Day twelve years ago. (I even wore green shoes). Happy anniversary, Steve!
Enjoy your month, and we'll see you back here in April. Looking forward to spring!
February 1st, 1964, and a politician was overstepping his bounds - again. (You think it only happens now? It's been happening for a long, long time!) This politician was Matthew E. Welsh, Governor of the fine state of Indiana. And what did he do to encroach on the rights of the people? He tried to ban The Kingsmen's cover of Louie Louie for obscenity. You heard me right, the song that famously - no one knows or can understand the lyrics of - was deemed obscene by Governor Welsh. And it wasn't just the Governor who went in on the act - the FBI did, too.
Louie Louie was written in 1955 by Richard Berry (no relation to Chuck) but was best remembered by the 1963 rendition by The Kingsmen, a group of young men from the Pacific Northwest who ranged in age from 16-19 when the hit was recorded. The band heard the Berry version of the song when they were playing sets at a dance club and decided to add it to their song list. The song was so beloved for dancing that the band had just finished a 90-minute Louie Louie marathon the night before recording the infamous song (done in one and a half takes). The strained vocal cords, the fact that the singer, Jack Ely, had to stretch upwards to reach the studio mic mounted over his head, and the triple-whammy that Jack still had braces on his teeth led to the nearly incomprehensible version of the song we all know and love.
So incomprehensible was the song that rumors began to circulate about what the actual words to the diddy were. Long before the days of the internet, paper notes, typed copies, and whispers were used to spread fanciful lyrics made up by lustful teenagers around the country. Some of these concocted lyrics were indeed of the dirty variety, and that was all Governor Welsh needed to know. The Governor was not generally hip to the ways of the kids, so it was two teenagers from Frankfurt, Indiana, who have never been identified, who wrote to the Governor telling him how disgusted they were at the song and the supposed lyrics. Once the Governor made public his intent to ban the song in the State of Indiana, concerned parents started reporting the song to the FBI. (I guess life was slow for the FBI). The FBI actually investigated the lyrics - but only by playing the record again and again at varying speeds, trying to ascertain the lyrics. They never did speak to Ely, the singer, about what he sang, and they never did figure out the lyrics.
As silly things do, the uproar faded into the past and was replaced by new issues of the time, and Louie Louie has sunk into our collective histories as one of the greatest party anthems of all time. But the truth? The truth is that the one recording made by The Kingsmen DID have a dirty word in it. If you listen carefully enough, right after the second stanza of "...me gotta go," you will hear then drummer Lynn Easton yell, "F*CK," when he loses one of his drumsticks.
The only dirty part of the lyrics is at the 0:54 mark of the song. Can you hear it?
All colors of our SparkleLam™ samples are back in stock, including our newest color, Navy!
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We love highlighting other small businesses, and Swirly-World greeting cards are just one of those businesses. Looking for a little something for your friends or family? I'm sure you can find something you like in these Valentine's designs! (Click on each design for more info!)
Check out our store for our SparkleLam™ Minis - now available in White and Light Aqua. We only have a limited amount of each available - we're testing the waters to see if this is a product that more people would like to see, and you all are the first to know!
Shop Minis
The newest edition of our blog about flooring options for mid-century homes is up and ready for reading. This month's installment is all about hardwood flooring!
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Have a lovely month with your Valentine (or Valentines), or be your own Valentine! Treat yourself!
We'll be coming to you again next month with more interesting tidbits and news. See you then!
Berry Gordy had many jobs - boxer, soldier, autoworker, and store owner, but it was on January 12, 1959, that Gordy founded Tamla Records, which would later morph into the name we all know - Motown Records. Gordy was good at all of those jobs - but his love was music. As one of his last jobs before founding Motown, Gordy ran a jazz record story (which also specialized in 3D glasses?!?) and additionally started writing songs on the side. Gordy made many friends in the Detroit music scene - names that you will immediately know - like The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder (whom Gordy scouted when he was only 11), and the Jackson Five.
Many of the acts sang songs written by Gordy, such as one of his first, Lonely Teardrops, recorded by Jackie Wilson, all the way to I'll Be There by the Jackson 5. Gordy was also hands-on with the acts he represented, assisting in choreography and stage presence along with teaching everyday graces and manners to the artists. He even provided chaperones to accompany the groups on tour, particularly given the young age of many of the acts. Gordy was also demanding about the quality of the music Motown's artists put out. Gordy had an ear for what was later known as the Motown Sound, and every artist and song needed to exemplify that.
In 1972, Gordy moved Motown Records from Detroit, the Motor City (which had informed the name of the company), to Los Angeles, where other major record labels were located. The 1970s continued to be good for Motown, but nothing like the prosperous 1960s. One of the largest hits of the 70s was Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Marvin wrote the song about Bloody Thursday and the police brutality Gaye's friend Obie Benson of the group the Four Tops saw from his tour bus upon arrival in Berkeley in May 1969. The song was a departure from the Motown sound for Gaye, and apparently, Gordy called it "...the worst song he'd ever heard". While the 70s were more of a struggle for Mowtown than the heyday of the 1960s, Gordy continued to make music with artists through the 1970s and into the 80s. However, the 80s saw an increasingly declining health of the business, and Gordy decided to sell Motown to MCA records in the mid-1980s.
Motown Records became synonymous with soulful melodies, infectious hooks, and impeccable production values. These elements combined to create that distinctive Motown sound that captured the hearts and imaginations of music lovers around the world. Today, Motown's influence is still felt throughout the industry, as new generations of artists continue to draw inspiration from the label's iconic artists and timeless hits. With its unparalleled legacy and enduring appeal, Motown Records will always be remembered as a true pioneer in the world of music.
It's always fun each year to go back and look at some stats for the business. Above, you'll see the heat map of where our orders come from. Again this year, California came in top place with the most orders, with New York in second place and Texas and Florida tied for third place. The states where we didn't have orders this year were Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, Vermont, and West Virginia. The pins on the map designate the zip codes of the orders.
Also fun is looking at what the most popular colors of SparkleLam™ were in 2023. As far as samples, there is not one color that didn't get an order. Royal Blue, Kelly Green, and Medium Violet had the lowest number of orders, while the highest three colors in order were White, Light Aqua, and Dark Aqua.
As far as sheets were concerned, White and Light Aqua were in a tie for first place in the number of sheet sales, followed by Lemon Yellow, and Pink.
How about our patterned tile and door kits? You can tell just how popular our Fish Net Mural tile is, and it's a tie on doors between The Ann and The Laurie for our exterior door kits!
We keep telling you how much we love books - they are so useful, inspirational, motivational, and just too darn beautiful. (Can you tell I have a lot of librarians in my family lineage?) Here are the books that came out in 2023 that we can recommend!
This book features a plethora of vintage signs of all varieties, bulbs, neon, and more throughout the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. And, of course, it includes the iconic Hollywood sign! This book came out in August.
Read More Here
One of my personal faves from September, this book has a ton of tips, tricks, and techniques, along with step-by-step instructions to create eighty different projects inspired by mid-century design! The projects range from the novice woodworker to the skilled, so there is something for everyone.
Read More Here
From October, this book shows how one designer transformed the rooms of her clients into mid-century oases. You can use some of her tips and ideas in your own home, without the big budget!
Read More Here
I am not a graphic designer by trade, but I love, love, love, typefaces, otherwise known these days as fonts. I really don't want to divulge just how many fonts I have on my computer because it might make you wonder about me! This lovely book came out in November.
Read More Here
This is not a 2023 book but a book about to launch on January 9th, 2024! I haven't even seen this one in person yet, but I'm loving it by the description alone. The author takes you around to view several beautiful interiors utilizing designs by some of the biggest names of mid-century history.
Read More Here
We'd love to hear from you about what YOU want to see from Make it Mid-Century in 2024 and beyond. Is there ONE THING that you cannot find ANYWHERE that would really complete your home? Is there something in our product line you would like us to expand? What are we missing for your mid-century renovations?
We aren't providing a survey of options because we really want to hear from you about the things you're dreaming about and not things that we've had on our minds. Your dreams, not ours!
We've designed a 2024 printable calendar for you. Hang it in the kitchen, hang it above your desk, or make it the background on your phone. The design is meant to be printed at 11x17, but feel free to print it at the size that works for you. We hope you enjoy it!
Download the Calendar here
Happy 2024 to everyone! I hope that this year brings you health, happiness, and fulfillment. Thank you for being a valuable reader of our lovely little newsletter, and we look forward to more fun reading throughout 2024!
It was January 9th, 1956, and there was a new advice sheriff in town - Dear Abby. Dear Abby was first pitched to the San Francisco Chronicle by none other than "Abby" herself - Pauline Phillips. Of course, advice columns were nothing new - such columns have dated back to the late 1800s, but this advice column had some rivalry - some SISTERLY rivalry.
Identical twins Pauline Esther Friedman and Esther Pauline Friedman were born in 1918 in Sioux City, Iowa. (And, yes, their parents did give them identical names, just switching the first and middle.) The sisters were very close throughout their childhood and teenage years. In college, they wrote a gossip column together for the school newspaper. They also met their future husbands, who they would go on to marry in a double ceremony wearing identical dresses. The two husbands even moved their wives together to Wisconsin, where the husbands were offered jobs for the same company. This was perhaps the beginning of the end of the sister's relationship, as one husband moved up the corporate ladder more than the other, leaving the two couples at disparate odds financially.
In 1955, Esther Pauline got a job at the Chicago Sun-Times, taking over their existing advice column, Ask Ann Landers, Pauline Esther would sometimes lend a hand to Esther Pauline, helping her sister with the large quantity of mail and suggesting advice that her sister might write in her column. There are two differing stories of what happened next - either the Sun-Times asked Pauline Esther to butt out, or Pauline Esther decided that she, too, could make a living giving advice. Either way, when Pauline Esther and her family moved to California, she reached out to the San Francisco Chronicle to pitch an advice column that would be bigger than her sister's Ask Ann Landers column - and it would be named Dear Abby with a byline of her pen name, Abigail Van Buren.
Needless to say, Esther Pauline (Ann Landers) was none-too-pleased with Pauline Esther (Dear Abby). The sisters came to an early truce, agreeing not to vie for readership in cities where the other was already syndicated. However, this truce was overstepped by Pauline Esther when she allegedly pitched a sweet deal to their hometown newspaper, the Sioux City Journal, to run her Dear Abby column. The sparks flew for years.
While the two women called an occasional détente, the sisters never did rekindle their twin, sisterly bond. The advice columns continue today, written by the heirs to their mother's legacies, with Jeanne Phillips, Pauline Esther's daughter still writing Dear Abby today.
We use a lot of "us" and "we" around here at Make it Mid-Century. (See, I even started that sentence with "we"!) I (not we) have a confession to make. Make it Mid-Century is me. Just me. Of course, I have partners in our tile printing, glass casting, tile manufacturing, and laminate pressing. I also have helpers on occasion - friends and family, for the most part. However, marketing? Me. Social media? Me. Design? Me. Manufacturing? Me. It's a lot. I am also the Board President for a national non-profit on the side. Apparently I do not like free time.Fusce eu justo non est porttitor vestibulum. Nullam commodo dignissim faucibus. Aliquam id mauris in lacus vestibulum eleifend ut et nisl. Nam a egestas erat, at vehicula erat. Aenean consequat nisl eget dui commodo accumsan. Duis quis libero fringilla orci vehicula viverra. In iaculis libero elit, ut maximus velit tincidunt eu.
When I say it's a small business, it's a SMALL BUSINESS. The business has not yet paid a salary, but any profits are reinvested in the business. This year I've added a laser cutter/engraver, and I've just purchased a new table saw (a Saw Stop!) and an upgrade for the CNC machine. I've also been redesigning the shop - my single-car garage - to be able to efficiently house all of the machines and materials. During this break between the holidays, I've been putting down new rubber roll flooring to (hopefully) ameliorate the pain from working on a concrete floor. (Getting old sucks - I advise against it).
I wanted to fess up before the March-April issue of Old House Journal hits the stands, which includes an interview with me about Make it Mid-Century. These photos are from the photo shoot; I'm a lot older than when I started this business, and I've chopped off all my hair, too! (I still own multiple pairs of cat-eye glasses, so that remains the same. I mean, who doesn't love a good cat eye?)
So what's in store for Make it Mid-Century this year? I'll have our new SparkleStar™ laminate available soon; I'm adding a new series of decorative tiles to the mix, and I'll have a few more items for our Home Decor section. I'm still searching for a new tile supplier, too. Look for more changes throughout the year, and if you have any suggestions or ideas, just let me know.
In the meantime:
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You know how much I love books - here are four books from 2022 that I somehow missed highlighting:
Time to make yourself a good, stiff drink, and you can read all about the origins of your drink while you're imbibing. Find the book here.
Want to learn more about the furniture you love? Look no further than this new book, released in November.
Find the book here.
How could you not want to read a book with such an exciting title? Learn all about the sculptures that mid-century architects designed for their own buildings. Find the book here.
Wildwood is home to one of the best collections of vintage motels in the United States, and the photos in this book are divine.
Find the book here.
Disclosure: All links are affiliate links to Bookshop.org. When you shop with Bookshop.org, you can choose your favorite local bookstore to benefit from your purchase, and we get a small reward, too. Win, win!
Our lovely customer Karla sent us this photo of her new Becky front door. Karla lives in an Eichler neighborhood in Terra Linda, California. Her "before door" (below) was plain and devoid of any texture or ornament.
Her new door is a joy! The color Karla chose really pops against the wood shingle siding, and I love how she chose the clear glass, where you can see all the way through her home into her lush backyard.
As Karla says, "Love the Becky"! I do, too, Karla. It's gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing.
At the end of each year and the beginning of the next, I like to do a little analysis of where our customers come from. Above, you can see that data in two forms - a heat map (top) and a bubble map (below).
We received orders from 366 unique zip codes around the country. The heat map shows the hottest areas (orange), middle areas (green), and lowest concentrated areas (blue) of sales. The bubble map shows a bubble for each state where we sold products in 2022, with the bubble sized by the number of sales per state. There were only six states not represented in sales this year: Delaware, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia were all represented.
Eventually, I'll break it down to what the hottest items are in each area of the country - that will be interesting!
I'm keeping this month's newsletter short and sweet, so I can get to tonight's festivities. (As usual, I am writing this at the last minute on New Year's Eve). Please know that I wish you all a happy and healthy new year, and I hope to see you in our shop soon!
December 4th, 1954, was a day for burger history with the opening of the first Burger King in Miami, Florida. Except - not exactly. While the Burger King website uses the 1954 date, it was 1953 in Jacksonville, Florida, when two men, having seen the success of McDonald's in California, decided to start their own burger business - Insta-Burger King. It was named Insta-Burger King for the Insta Broiler that they used in their store to broil their burgers instead of frying them on the grill like McDonald's. Things were going so well for Insta-Burger King that in 1954, two friends, James McLamore, and David Edgerton saw the success and wanted in on the deal. The two men were from Miami and started their first store there on that fateful day in December, which is now known as the start of Burger King.
All franchises were required to use the Insta-Broiler, but McLamore and Edgerton soon found out that the Insta-Broiler was an insta-pain-in-the-butt. It was McLamore and Edgerton who created a new grilling system over an open flame that started the flame-broiled goodness we know and love today.
In 1955, the Insta-Burger King company was still owned by the original pair of men in Jacksonville and but after only two years, they were having financial difficulties. It was then that McLamore and Edgerton made the leap from franchise owners to business owners, buying out Insta-Burger King and renaming the company Burger King. They even whipped up a snazzy logo and decided to go big with their burgers, inventing the Whopper in 1957. (Can we all pause for a moment and enjoy the completely NON-CREEPY king in the above logo, contrasted with the nightmare fuel that is today's king?)
Burger King continued to grow and was purchased by Pillsbury in 1967. Since then, it has been bought and sold many times to multi-conglomerates and equity financiers (fun fact: it was partially owned by Goldman Sachs at one point), but it is now owned by the Canadian company Restaurant Brands International.
All hail the King of Burgers, born in 1953 - or was it 1954?
Along with Atomic Kiki, we had a blast creating new products for our Holiday Pop-Up shop. It was a lot of work (but a lot of fun) to get everything ready for Small-Business Saturday. Here are a few items we wanted to highlight:
We've created the perfect little diner table for your pet! SparkleLam™ countertops with aluminum edge trim and hairpin legs, like a real diner might have! There are two different sizes, one for dogs and one for cats, but we only have a handful of each!
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Based on an original 1960s design, this candelabra is hand-crafted out of solid walnut and finished with a matte shellac finish. Each joint is articulated, so you can set it up in a semi-circle, zig-zag, or anything in between.
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Our wall racks come in multiple sizes, perfect for any location. They are a mashup between Scandinavian design, an Eames hang-it-all, and a vintage diner counter. Of course, you can use it for coats, but it's great for jewelry, scarves, or anything else you need to get up out of the way.
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Perfect for the season, we've taken the vintage Shiny Brite logo and screen-printed it on 12" x 18" pillow covers in a festive red and green. The pillow inserts are (of course) included!
Shop Pillows
There are plenty more items that are ready to ship out before the holidays. Make it a gift for someone you love, or a gift for yourself, we won't tell!
Shop Now!
Are there any of these products you think we should keep on time and not just for the holidays? Let us know.
We have another lovely customer to highlight, this time, it's Haleakala in Florida. Haleakala (besides having a super cool name) decided that she wanted to use our William garage door kit as inspiration for some decor on her home.
Instead of three equal interlocking diamonds, we made the two outer diamonds smaller. The whole applique is three-dimensional, with the central diamond thicker than the other two allowing for interesting shadow lines on the side of the house during different parts of the day.
Last, we painted it to match her outdoor accent color - a fabulous shade of turquoise. We love it! Thanks so much to Haleakala for sharing! Do you have photos of one of our products that you'd like to share? You can contact us here, and we'll feature you in a future Customer Love section of our newsletter.
I stumbled onto Tru-Tone in a very weird way - through a random YouTube video that had nothing to do with Tru-Tone directly. However, I was curious enough to look them up, and - WOW! What a cool company!
First off, they have an amazing website. Look at that design - I think I'm a tad bit jealous. Let me tell you, the quality of their product is amazing! Real, ceramic-coated colored glass covers which fit over warm white LED bulbs. The Tru-Tone product has all the look of a vintage light string with none of the electrical bills! They state that the lights will pay for themselves in electrical savings over two holiday seasons! Tru-Tone bulbs come in three bulb sizes, with three different color options - ClassicColor, JewelTone, and Candleglow.
Tru-Tone is an amazing company run by only two people - I don't know how they do it - and because of the high-quality, small-batch nature of their product, they often sell out. (Several of the mixed-color options are already sold out for the season.) However, bookmark their website, and get in on their 2023 run as soon as they are available!
Tru-Tone includes a fun Decoration Guide on their website highlighting seven awesome mid-century crafts to make with your Tru-Tone lights. Check it out!
Just FYI - we don't have any affiliation with this company, but we like to sing other's praises when we see a product that we know our customers will love!
For the third year in a row, we have a holiday craft for you! This can be used for any holiday - Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and the New Year (and frankly, if you use the colors I did, Mardi Gras!)
This is a simple craft with minimal materials. We used double-sided, metallic origami paper, but you can use any paper that is double-sided and has a bit of stiffness to it. It's also easy enough to do with kids! Using different sizes of paper, you can make different star sizes. They look great when grouped together. Hang on the wall, in a window, or from a chandelier.
You can download the directions below, but here is a video that shows the process.
Download Directions
Have an absolutely wonderful holiday season! Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Soyal, Christmas, Winter Solstice, Las Posadas, or Kwanzaa, we wish you the merriest of seasons. See you all next year!
November 17th, 1962. President Kennedy is in attendance along with general Eisenhower to inaugurate this new, beautiful building. What is it? It's the first airport to be constructed to service commercial jets - Dulles Airport.
Designed by architect Eero Saarinen and engineered by Ammann and Whitney, Saarinen considered the design "...the best thing I have ever done". With a catenary shaped roof suspended from concrete pylons by steel cables, the roof itself looks like it is about to take flight. President Kennedy stated in his address, "This building, I think, symbolizes the aspirations of the United States in the 1950s and 1960s..."
Besides the elegant and sweepingly grand shape of the main building, another novel part of the airport was much smaller - the mobile lounges. Instead of the airplanes taxiing up to the main terminal, the mobile lounges, or "people movers" as many called them, took the passengers to the plane. The lounges remained low to the ground for ease of passenger entrance from the terminal, then drove along the tarmac to the plane and lifted up on scissor lifts at the height of the plane's entrance for passengers to board. Dulles was built at a time before jetways, and the mobile lounges were thought to be the wave of the future, preventing passengers from having to walk such long distances to their gates.
Of course, there never seems to be construction without controversy, particularly in mid-century. Dulles airport was constructed square in the middle of the historically African-American town of Willard, Virginia. All that remains of Willard are memories, as all 87 property owners were bought out using eminent domain.
While Saarinen's people movers are no longer much in service at Dulles (supplanted by the AeroTrain), the original main terminal was expanded per Saarinen's vision in 1997 by repeating the suspended roof and piers another 600 feet. I am old enough that I have flown through Dulles and used the original mobile lounges, and I still find the architecture of Dulles to be one of the most eye-catching of the U.S. airports.
SparkleStar™ is still coming - everything is taking so much longer than anticipated these days! We do now, have final colorways for four of the five colors we will offer - as you can see by the swatches above, the yellows are still not right, but we're working on it. Promise. Each colorway will be offered in both a light and a dark option. We're also working on getting the pattern much more irregular so that your eye isn't drawn to a pattern made by the star shapes.
Just don't ask us when it's coming - we've given up on time estimates because, now more than ever, time is just a construct!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our (somewhat) annual survey. Your answers help us a lot to see where we need to grow and concentrate. We appreciate your time! Without further ado, here are the answers:
As we suspected, the majority of you (40.4%) found us through RetroRenovation.com. (We understand because that website is AMAZING). The next two places you found us are Atomic Ranch magazine and using Google Search.
Again, RetroRenovation.com for the win (41.4%). The other two most noted were Atomic Ranch magazine and a tie between Instagram and Facebook.
Yay to you guys because the majority of you selected, "Ugh, social media!" (51%) and we're here for it. We're on social media because we have to be. Ugh.
Most of you are subscribers only (82.8%), but that's okay because even if you aren't customers, many of you refer us to your friends. Thank you!
A lot of you also left some amazing comments. Here are a few we loved!
Starting to think about your holiday shopping? We have a sneak peek for you! We are combining forces with Atomic Kiki to put together a small, online holiday shop coming soon! We are aiming for after Thanksgiving, but it may not open until the next newsletter, December 1st. Either way, our subscribers will get first notice (and first dibs) and maybe a surprise or two!
We're hoping to have some new home goods products for our pop-up online shop, so stay tuned. We'll only have a limited number of products available, but they will be finished and ready to ship when you order to ensure you receive your package in time for the holidays. Stay tuned!
Say hello to our finished Fred the Shed! We primed and painted all of the individual panels and installed them one by one, carefully checking our lines and level. The last bit to paint was the door - which will eventually get a starburst/sputnik mural, but we're not in any hurry because he's beautiful!
We have, in the past, provided you with some retro recipes for your Thanksgiving table, so how about some Jell-O salad to make your dinner mid-century authentic?
Ingredients:
May all your pies and turkeys wind up perfect this Thanksgiving. We're thankful to all of you, our amazing readers.
Until next month - enjoy time spent with family and friends, and remember to eat just a little too much!
It was the military and its allied subsidiaries, such as Ratheon, who continued to develop radar and its uses. Legend has it that it was a scientist from Raytheon who discovered the use of radar for cooking when a chocolate bar he had in his pocket melted in close range to the radar.
The U.S. military made many connections with civilian-owned manufacturing companies during the war which aided in wartime manufacturing. It was one of those connections, the Tappan Stove Company of Mansfield, Ohio, that the military tapped (ha!) to develop the first microwave (radar range) for home use. Tappan was well known in the kitchen arena, producing a wide range of stoves and appliances. Tappan was also a trendsetter; they were the first manufacturer to introduce glass windows into oven doors.
Several local homemakers in the Mansfield area were tapped (ha!) with testing this new type of range - but were sworn to secrecy. These women seemed to be impressed, though, stating that they were able to cook a roast in 30 minutes and baked potatoes on the side in 10 minutes. The range had two cooking "temperatures": 500 and 800 watts) and conveniently contained a little drawer under the range just the right size to stash 3" x 5" cards for all the new recipes homemakers would need to jot down for their new time-saving device. Shortly after this secretive testing, the Tappan RL-1 was released to...not much fanfare. Weighing in at 150 pounds and at a hefty $495 (about $5,500 today), only 34 RL-1 units were manufactured in the first year.
We all know that the microwave went on to bigger and better (lighter and cheaper) things, and most of us have one in our households today. However, in 1955, these units were truly a modern marvel of engineering.
I was talking with an architect friend of mine when she mentioned that she'd heard that Armstrong Flooring had gone out of business. WHAT?!? The last I knew was that Armstrong Manufacturing was a giant conglomerate that manufactured a lot of things, including ceilings and floors, particularly my beloved, very mid-century VCT (vinyl composition tile) flooring. They've always been my go-to both back in the architecture days, as well as in my own office today (see above). They have the most colors out of all of their competitors, and all of their VCT is made in the United States.
Well, my fear was unfounded because Armstrong flooring was bought out of bankruptcy by AHF, a (mostly) wood flooring company based in Pennsylvania. They will retain the Armstrong name and both plants in Lancaster, PA, and Kankakee, IL. They've even introduced some new colors of VCT - and I'm loving the Heat Wave and Bay Blue colors.
FYI: We don't have a dog in this hunt, i.e. this isn't some sort of hard push for company kickback - we are not affiliated with Armstrong Flooring or AHF. However, we thought this was some pretty interesting news in the world of vinyl tile that we wanted to pass along. Of course, other great VCT manufacturers are out there, such as Tarkett, Flexco, and Roppe. Armstrong still has the best selection of colors, but Tarkett, especially their Cortina Grande line, comes in a close second.Fusce eu justo non est porttitor vestibulum. Nullam commodo dignissim faucibus. Aliquam id mauris in lacus vestibulum eleifend ut et nisl. Nam a egestas erat, at vehicula erat. Aenean consequat nisl eget dui commodo accumsan. Duis quis libero fringilla orci vehicula viverra. In iaculis libero elit, ut maximus velit tincidunt eu.
About once a year (or so, give or take, more or less), we like to conduct a survey of our readers to find out how you found us. Would you be so kind as to answer a whopping four questions for us? There's an optional fifth section to write us anything you'd like to add. Click the link below to go to the survey!
Take Our Survey (Pretty please?
Have you always wanted a little touch of SparkleLam™ but haven't had the project to use it? Now you can satisfy your need for glitter with our new SparkleLam™ photo frames.
Shop SparkleLam™ Frames
As teased in our last newsletter, we now have photo frames made from vintage 1960s Italian endpaper. We have a little more paper to make a few more frames, but once this paper is gone, these frames are gone for good.
Shop Limited Edition Frames
These art prints are designed by our friends at Atomic Kiki. Two designs of Niemeyer's architecture (the Cathedral and Palace in Brasilia), these archival art prints come in four different sizes.
Shop Niemeyer Prints
Also by Atomic Kiki, these fun prints of four different Crafts are mid-mod perfection. Choose from Microcraft, Chemcraft, Coffeecraft, or Vinocraft. These archival art prints come in three different sizes.
Shop *Craft Prints
Michael McCafferty
Michael McCafferty
Michael McCafferty
Michael McCafferty
Michael McCafferty
Michael McCafferty
Michael McCafferty
It may look like not much has changed on Fred, but it took hours and hours of dirty, messy, grimy sawing to get to this point of putting a few of the panels up on Fred. The panels are made from Hardiboard, which, if not worked with correctly, can lead to silicosis, so we double-masked and did all of the sawing, chopping, and drilling outdoors. SO. MUCH. DUST. We have all of the panels for the corners of the shed cut out and labeled, and with those mounted, we can measure for the middle columns of panels.
Once all of the panels are cut, each of them needs a coat of primer on the front and back, then a few coats of the finish color on the front. (That's a lot of a painting). Then a coat of paint on the door, and BOOM! Fred will be finished. Hopefully soon. We have been enjoying the cooler weather, though, because it's nice to work outside when you don't feel like you're going to pass out!
Have fun with all of your ghouls and goblins this month. And stay safe out there!
Much love to all of you impacted by the recent hurricanes. I can't even imagine what you are going through. For those of you with the means to help, you can support the Puerto Rican victims of Hurricane Fiona through the Hispanic Federation and victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida and elsewhere via the Red Cross.
We'll see you next month.
Image Credits:
Tappan RL-1 microwave oven, 1955. From the collection of the National Museum of American History, catalog number 1991.0727.01. CC0
VCT floor. Image by Make it Mid-Century. All rights reserved.
Pencils by Johngamerjr. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Fred the Shed by Make it Mid-Century. All rights reserved.
Pine Crest School student carving a Halloween pumpkin: Fort Lauderdale, Florida by the Florida Memory Project. CC0.Copyright © 2022 Susan Halla, All rights reserved.
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It may look like not much has changed on Fred, but it took hours and hours of dirty, messy, grimy sawing to get to this point of putting a few of the panels up on Fred. The panels are made from Hardiboard, which, if not worked with correctly, can lead to silicosis, so we double-masked and did all of the sawing, chopping, and drilling outdoors. SO. MUCH. DUST. We have all of the panels for the corners of the shed cut out and labeled, and with those mounted, we can measure for the middle columns of panels.
Once all of the panels are cut, each of them needs a coat of primer on the front and back, then a few coats of the finish color on the front. (That's a lot of a painting). Then a coat of paint on the door, and BOOM! Fred will be finished. Hopefully soon. We have been enjoying the cooler weather, though, because it's nice to work outside when you don't feel like you're going to pass out!
Have fun with all of your ghouls and goblins this month. And stay safe out there!
Much love to all of you impacted by the recent hurricanes. I can't even imagine what you are going through. For those of you with the means to help, you can support the Puerto Rican victims of Hurricane Fiona through the Hispanic Federation and victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida and elsewhere via the Red Cross.
We'll see you next month.
Image Credits:
Tappan RL-1 microwave oven, 1955. From the collection of the National Museum of American History, catalog number 1991.0727.01. CC0
VCT floor. Image by Make it Mid-Century. All rights reserved.
Pencils by Johngamerjr. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Fred the Shed by Make it Mid-Century. All rights reserved.
Pine Crest School student carving a Halloween pumpkin: Fort Lauderdale, Florida by the Florida Memory Project. CC0.Copyright © 2022 Susan Halla, All rights reserved.
You were subscribed to the newsletter from Make it Mid Century
Our mailing address is Susan Halla5581 Mardel AvenueSt. Louis, Missouri 63109
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