Barbara S’s entry in our Found Objects Found Art contest. Hey, B, don’t the fish kind of get hot?

Barbara writes:

Pam,

This item is the “ultimate” in 1950s accessories.   It’s a TV lamp/fishbowl combo!  In a time when it was believed that you needed to have a light on above your TV so that you did not ruin your eyesight, add to it the fun of watching a fish swim around!  We all remember the wonder and amazement of watching fish in a bowl when we were kids.  My first goldfish I named myself….”Pete” and “Repete”.  Original, huh?  We hope you enjoy “Harry” and his cool home!

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Elizabeth serves us this 2nd entry in our Found Objects Found Art contest. She writes:

Hi Pam,

Thank you so much for posting the crystal cut plastic hangers today. The instant I saw them I was reminded of one of my favorite finds of the retro era — a tall crystal cut plastic cake saver/carrier. Since I am a baker, this gets a lot of use in my home and I can’t imagine why it wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when you announced the contest.

There used to be a shop here called simply, Kitchen. The owner had all  sorts of vintage kitchen items and I stopped in often. Over the few years  she was in business I bought so many cake plates to give to friends and  relatives that she referred to me as “the cake lady”. This was my last  purchase, I think, and for me alone. I already had an old tin cake saver, but  this one was so tall that it filled a need the other did not. But, most of all,  it “spoke” to the jewelry collector in me. I saw it as one glittery kitchen  accessory to “go with” all the rhinestone jewelry from the ’40’s — ’60’s  that I have collected over the years. I know it is intended to mimic  cut crystal, but to me it was just another jewel for my home.

Elizabeth (aka Elizabeth Mary)

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Hi Pam,
here is my entry. When we first moved into our house 20 years ago, the old couple we bought off left lots of goodies for us to keep. Including a 1940’s art deco tray moblie & of all things a malibu surfboard! We aso found this wall sconce in a box in the garage which was originally we think in the longeroom before they did a reno in the 70’s. We haven’t yet found a place for it, maybe when we do up my daughter’s room, it can go in there or it will have to wait until we do that much anticipated extension, but that’s also been put off due to the doom & gloom that has been forecast. Have a nice day & thanks for accepting my entry, cheers, Michelle x (retroppo)

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Pam,

This is my entry for your contest. Out of a houseful of “small object[s] found by chance which, though usually of little monetary value, captures the imagination of the finder and is therefore kept as a keepsake” I’ve chosen Edith. My mom and I saw her just as you see her at an antique mall and my mom snuck back and got her for me for Christmas several years ago. It’s an original hat display from a store that somewhere along the way has been hand-painted in a crude, but charming style. The hat in the picture came with her, but I change it as my mood and the seasons change.

Thank you,
Kristin

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Adam’s house was flooded in Katrina. His entry into our Found Objects…Found Art contest is now part of his story…

Adam writes:

The Magical Frog
Funny how some objects find us. This 1970s toy frog I discovered waiting in a junk bin for me, is just like the one I carried in my pocket as a child, bringing me so much joy till it broke in half and became just a small piece of plastic with a wiggly eye that I still carried, until my mom most likely made me toss him out. I told many of my playmates he gave me special powers, oddly they even belived it. After my house flooded in Katrina, I lost many of my collected momentoes. Yet finding this simple object, became more like a long lost friend returning to you with tons of of stories and forgotten memories, worth far beyond some of the items I been holding on to. I find it quite fascinating how  even the most mundane object can bring us places, return the joys of childhood and just serve the human spirit far beyond its intended purpose.

Heres ol froggy looking at the repaired part of the levie in my back yard, and froggy in front of the my mid mod house that I’m still trying to restore. Thanks all for letting me share my found object story, and thanks Pam for an awesome site to share it.

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