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.
Pattypro says
“high maintenance” doesn’t even begin to cover it, but they all make me giggle. I love Anne’s style!
PamB says
My current fave: “It’s so INVOLVED being me…”
LOL! Loves it!!
Angelica Perez says
I love them all but this one is probably my favorite……and then the children cleaned their rooms, got mommy her drink, and went straight to bed. The End.
Lisa says
“Can I retire” now says it all!!!
although i do like the quote example on this blog that says “am i simply just too attractive?” reminds me of mad men… =)
Rebecca says
I’ve loved her stuff for years, and have so many faves. Right now, my favorite, because it’s oh-so-timely when my step MIL comes to visit:
“Funny, I don’t recall asking for your opinion”.
Nuff said? Yep! 🙂
Kat says
I have “you’ll eat it … you’ll eat it and *like* it” on a fridge magnet. My kids still haven’t caught on.
Kasey says
THE best: “Old enough to know better, too young to give a rat’s ass” I have the flask and it cracks me up every time! <3 it!! xo
amanda corlett says
There are soo many good ones, but my current fave is “Why yes, I am overqualified.” Ah, so true!
Kathie says
This post is perfect timing! This past weekend a friend and I were browsing thru a store when we came across a display of these cocktail napkins. We were laughing hysterically at each one! But the one that made us laugh the hardest is “She could never remember which was better … safe? … or sorry?”
shannon learned says
i didnt even have to look at the captions list to refresh my waning memory cuz i love love love annes naughtiness!! it touches a part in me that no one touches!! (thats a lie!!) and ps… i couldnt pick just one… (im a gemini… dont judge me!!)
“golly! that was fun!” (and oh so true!)
“she hadnt yet decided to use her powers for good or evil!” (i vacillate as well!)
“another day in paradise” (cuz i use this line at least five times a day to keep myself quai-sane!)
“the secret ingredient is resentment” (honestly… this is probably the only thing that got me through my divorce and kept me even slightly humored with life!)
oh! enough!! i could go on and on… but then id just be quoting every little thing thats ever been written…
although my newest favorite that had me on the floor… and made me wish i was that clever and fabulous is…
“funny… he took up so much more space on the sofa” (a caption contest winner!! and SO worthy!!)
i am so excited to spend more time and money with the new “twisted” line! my life has never been richer or more complete!!
thank you so being a better extension of my snarkiness than i will ever hope to be!!