Her new Twist line…
Her “very bad attitude”…
Renovating a 1783 house…
And: Enter by Friday to win a $25 giveaway
Anne Taintor – inventor-queen of sassy captioned retro art – has just introduced an all-new line of novelty products, “Taintor with a Twist.” This new line – which includes refrigerator magnets, luggage tags and more – moves beyond her famed 1930s, 40s and 50s illustrations to introduce “a new design and a new generation of smart, impertinent ladies who have stepped out of the kitchen into the bold and glamorous world of the 1960s.” The new products feature classic art from The Saturday Evening Post — stunning illustrations that were created by the Cooper Agency, a Madison Avenue firm that produced much of the magazine’s original art.
I am Anne’s biggest fan. So I jumped quick and asked if she would do an interview for Retro Renovation, and she quickly agreed. You’re gonna love it, I promise –>
Q. Anne, how long have you been using the 30s/40s/50s art – and why did you decide to move into the 60s?
I’ve been using mid-century art and pairing it with irreverent captions for twenty-six years. I’ve been working in collage since I was in college, and I am constantly on the lookout for new paper to cut and paste. When I found a stack of old Ladies’ Home Journals at a yard sale in 1985 I knew I’d discovered something quite wonderful.
Fans have asked me over the years to expand my line with a more updated look. It had been a stumbling block for me that a lot of advertising art from the 60s was not in the public domain, which is what I’d been relying on for my “classic” line. I found the collection of images I use in taintor… with a twist at a licensing show, and they opened up a whole new look to me.
Q. How would you describe “the look” of the new products versus “the look” of the original line? Is the message of the captions markedly different and if so, why?
What attracted me to the women in my original line was their ingenuousness, their very lack of sophistication. I simply could not resist putting my subversive captions into their compliant mouths!
The women in my twist collection are a heck of a lot more sophisticated, from the clothes they wear to the attitudes they strike and the places they spend their time. They lounge on couches in violet linen suits; they drape themselves across chairs in pumpkin-colored knits. They are not spending time in the kitchen, nor do any of them even know what an apron is! Their very sophistication makes it a bit more challenging to write for them. Also, these women (and men) were created by Madison Avenue advertising artists “on loan” to Saturday Evening Post to illustrate fiction. For that very reason, there’s already a lot of “back story” in the images. I have to sit with them for a long time and just ask myself “what is going on here???” It turns out these twist women are a lot more cynical than I ever dreamed they would be.
Q. Where do you get the inspiration for all your sassy and ironic captions? Honey, do you have a little warped goin’ on? Not that that’s a bad thing – no not at all!
I have a very bad attitude. Very bad. I have a tendency to overreact to perceived slights to my gender, and somehow I seem to have turned a personality defect into a career.
I also have been blessed in recent years with a team of terrific writers, most of whom I’ve never even met… though I love them like sisters (and a few brothers).
Q. Can you tell us more about your background – and why you started your company? How are you holding up in this economy?
I grew up in Maine in a fairly conventional middle-class family. My Dad was an attorney, and my Mom, though a Yale-educated attorney herself, never practiced law. Instead she did the 50s housewife thing that was expected of her, and she did it to perfection. And I went to Catholic school. So the only women I knew were housewives and nuns, and I was pretty terrified of growing up and having to become one or the other.
Eventually, though, I hit on the “plan” of becoming an artist. When at age 32 I suddenly found myself a single mother with no child support, I realized I needed a Plan B. I went to a career counselor. She asked me what I could do. I said “make collages.” Et voila!
I have been extremely fortunate in that the economy has not really been hard on my business. I might have seen more growth if the economy had been better, but all my products are very affordable, and they make people laugh; that turns out to be a winning combination in tough times.
Q. I understand you are a new owner of your own “retro” house – retro as in 1783, crikey! Can you tell us more about the house, why you bought it, and your project list?
I never thought I’d move back to Maine in a million years, but granddaughters can have a curious effect on you. And when I did decide to move back I certainly was not looking for an 18th century house. I told one friend that I liked old houses… but not this old. She said “Anne, your house isn’t old… it’s antique.” In 1783 they had apparently not yet invented closets… or light fixtures. But our house has the most glorious yard, long and narrow and ending in a river with geese and ducks and herons and dozens of other birds. The river is a bit mucky on the bottom, but, as I discovered when it was a hundred degrees and 100% humidity for three days, it’s lovely to swim in. We can put our kayaks in the river from the back yard! Plus the house has a large room that’s the perfect size for my studio and a little bonus room which I like to call my “playroom,” where I can spread out and make collages that have nothing to do with magnets and flasks and coin purses.
My old house project list is limited only by my budget! This fall we are fixing the gutters and downspouts, insulating the attic, replacing the boiler, and bringing heat to my office, studio, and bedroom (there is currently no heat on the second floor). A few other little projects as well, but those are the high points. Nothing as exciting as installing an authentic 1783 kitchen… though I’m not sure I’d want one of those anyway.
Q. What’s next for my favorite entrepreneur (that’s you, Anne)?
Thank you, Pam!
I’ve just about wrapped up my new designs for January 2012. Next on the agenda is bringing some order to the chaos that is my studio, so I can start writing again. I truly love this time of year when the franticness of completing a line is past and I get to start all over again!
Thank you, Anne! It’s so much fun to get to know you better.
Enter to win a celebration giveaway
My favorite Taintorism of all time?: “She was one cocktail away from proving his mother right.”
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Readers – What’s your favorite Taintor caption — check them all out, right here. Leave a comment letting us know – and you are automatically entered to win a $25 prize package from Anne Taintor. We’ll pick a winner via random number generator Friday at 5 p.m. eastern.
Update: We have a winner, who is being notified. More info to come once she is confirmed.
Interview copyright RetroRenovation.com 2011. Images used with permission from Anne Taintor, Inc.
Disclosure: Anne Taintor, Inc. recently signed on as an advertiser; this story isn’t part of the deal or anything, though.
Lacey says
“I believe we have an opportunity to make some very poor choices” HAS to be my favorite!! Reminds me of myself and my bf, lol 😀
Lesley says
There is just way too many to choose from but I laughed at the “Guess where I’m tattooed” one….haha….:)
Beth Cackowski says
I get the Anne Taintor calendars every year, save my favorite months and then hang them in my retro-renovated kitchen. I switch them out annually—they fit perfectly in those square record-cover frames that you can get at Christmas Tree Shoppes for $4.99. They look best in the silver frame to match my chrome counter edging! But enough about me…
I love so many quotes, but my favorite has got to be “Damn right I keep score!” And…damn right I do! 😉
Maureen Kowalski says
I dreamed my whole house was clean…
Ann V says
“I love not camping” is by far my favorite.
Lee In Florida says
I’m a guy, but if I bought anything for my wife, it would have to be something with: “I love not camping”.
Beth Todaro says
Favorite caption: (even though I love them all!) Twinkle Twinkle Little Cup…how’d my life get so f***ed up.
Am loving the new Man Man era products and can’t wait to immerse myself in them!
Andrea says
as the mom of 5 I can’t pick between “…and then the children cleaned their rooms, got mommy her drink, and went straight to bed. The End ” & “WOW! I get to give birth AND change diapers!” I have several items with both captions 🙂
Jessica says
I have been a fan for years and it’s really hard for me to narrow it down. But my mother, in appreciation of my efforts on behalf of my children and my husband, bought me this magnet:
“why, I’d be delighted to put my needs last again”
And frankly, it’s probably a little more fitting than I would like to admit. I’m terrible about putting myself first. And it just makes me laugh to see that magnet each morning and night right smack dab in the middle of the fridge. LOL!
Becky joyce says
My favorite Anne Taintor-isms: “I’m happy, don’t ruin it,” “because chocolate can’t get you pregnant,” and my favorite…”tact is for people who aren’t witty enough to be sarcastic.”