“Found objects…Found art” — our 2nd annual Retro Renovation contest

Announcing our 2nd annual contest – and this year, with real prizes — gorgeous midcentury pendant lighting from SatelliteModern.com! Contest starts today – and runs through Sunday, Jan. 25. Read on and enter to win the admiration of your RetroRenovation peers — and cool stuff for your own home!

Yes, enter and you can win a pair of any of these fab new lights!

Longtime readers will remember last year’s “Useless but Wonderful” contest. Femme1 was our winner, with her eyebrow stencils. This year, I wanted to repeat the theme. But upon further reflection…and learnings throughout the year…I concluded that the old title was not truly indicative of the value of the vintage finds so many of us are rescuing and honoring. As a better alternative, I offer up: “Found objects…Found art.” Both are recognized terms. Wikipedia says:  “Found object” can … refer to a small object found by chance

which, though usually of little monetary value, captures the imagination of the finder and is therefore kept as a keepsake. “Found art” comes when the finder manipulates the object(s) interpreting additional meaning. I certainly think my pencil weight…which I found at an estate sale this summer and purchased for virtually nothing… is a little work of art…”capturing my imagination and kept as a keepsake.” Who is Ann E. Lawrence? I bet she felt great the day she received this, at work, I presume. No way is it heading to some dumpster! So here’s the contest:

1. Send a digital photo of your found-keepsake, along with a sentence or two — where you got it, why it appeals to you, a poem about it — whatever — to: contest at retrorenovation dot com. Ideally, you picked the item up this year, but that’s not essential. And remember, the price you paid should be nominal, this is not about high-priced collectibles or even expensive collectibles you found for a song. The items should mostly reflect sentiment … for aspects of a time, a culture, passed. Little things that remind us of the people who built and lived in the houses we now have…Operative words: Little monetary value, capture your imagination, treasured as a keepsake.
2. Deadline for entries: Sunday, Jan. 25
3. I’ll feature entrants daily and archive them all on the Contest Page. And, we will vote in early February.
4. Oh, and did I mention prizes? The lovely folks at SatelliteModern.com – a new offshoot of Rejuvenation lighting and hardware – are donating a $250 first prize:  Your choice of two of their new pendant lights: The Orbis, Cerise or Aeros. So get to it, readers, this is a good one!