When I moved to Palm Springs California from Chatham NY, I slowly began an evolution......I was becoming an orange person! No..I dont mean an orange person like those Asian or Mexican girls with jet black hair who want to be blonde California gurlz like we see on TV...all spray tanned and highlighted who emerge from the salon an odd shade of peachy orange.....(maybe a little like Beyonce's artificial hair color?)..I had a theory a few years back that the multi-ethnicization of America was being foreshadowed in California by these 'orange girls' and that most of America was gonna be that color by 2030....and it looks like we're well on our way!
No...the orange I like is mid century modern super orange....not quite international orange like caution cones or life jackets...but a rich, bright, vibrant orange orange......the kind we use and live with on a daily basis in oh-so-cool mid century modern Palm Springs...in upholstery fabrics, in powder coated outdoor metal retro furniture, in pillows, as accent colors for our super hip doors and ultra-mod restaurants...orange rules Palm Springs and Southern California in general I have some friends who shop for all orange utilitarian objects..like orange plastic drinkware, orange hangers, even orange q-tips! They live in a house decorated in only 2 colors...blue..and orange..(complimetaries on the color wheel)..accented by white and clear...colorless-colors....so the predominant effect is the high contrast punch of these 2 super shades.
It was with that kind of persona in mind that when I discovered German Art Pottery of the 1960's..sometimes sub categorized as "FAT LAVA"..that I knew I had found my orange fetish a worthy category to obsess on. Deemed this volcanic-like term because of the super vibrant magma like colors, pumice ashy glazes, super textural finishes and surfaces.....Fat Lava seemed PERFECT for our homes in California as accent pots...the way Fiesta, Bauer, Glendale, and Catalina Pottery had all seemed 15-20 years ago...but offered a newer, fresher, more modern 60's-70's FEEL. Instantly...I acquired lots of it...mostly from Germany and Canada....as not that much was imported inot the States.....and I now have a section of my shop devoted to selling it and infecting others with orange fetish. Companies like Scheurich, Bay, Carstens, Roth and Ceremano are among dozens of firms which produced this ware in the 60's and 70's in Germany...in large numbers....but the pottery somehow was deemed 'uncool' for many years, and was supplanted by Italian Bitossi, English Poole and other European pottery as THE fashionable art pottery for the MCM modernists to live with.....and relegated to the scrap heap of pottery nerds likes lists.,...and not given much respect. Well my friends Forrest Poston, of Gin-Fors Odditiques in Indiana, and the extra gorgeous and lovely Reyne Haynes Hirsch from Houston and I, Mr. Matt of Palm Springs, have for a while, (Forrest for a long while)...been trying to give this pottery a little respect....with our websites, galleries and shops featuring it in a high impact decorative way...and its popularity is GROWING...and selling! Several books have been published and DVD's as well have been produced showing just how gorgeous FAT LAVA can be....and that dissemination of pictures and information has jump started and multiplied interest over the past year or so.. Several shows and exhibitions have taken place in Europe...where most of the collectors are,...and have also added intrique and established 'validity' for this all too long overlooked category of European pottery. Interested in learning more? Join Facebooks open group WEST GERMAN POTTERY...and youll meet all the pottery nerds, be able to buy the books and dvd's, and learn more than you though you ever needed to about these lovely vessels. There are subcategories too within the main category....and Ill illuminate you all about those items in another later post...but for today...enjoy these 3 Scheurich orange pots...and another orange and brown one....vibrant with volcanic verve....and see if the stuff suits you.....Questions....write me at route66antiques@aol.com or on Facebook..and Ill lecture, lecture lecture you MORE!
Having just posted a stellar group of geometric bangle bracelets, I figured it only fair to pander to those of you who love bakelite's figural category of pins. I tow the line at the overly cute-sy nursery rhymey infantile baby nimal pins and the like..but this overdyed RARE monkey pin with its subtle resin washed detail and leather ears is a special one. I personally, have a thing about monkeys, they're definitely not for me, in any format, but this is a rare and special pin for those of you not freaked out by monkeys...(It's kinda like the Evil clown thing....Im just kinda scared of em,,and feel sorry for em too)....and the larger resin washed and square cut rhinestone embellished dreadlock lady head pin is another big IMPORTANT figural pin with tons of verve and style that is not cute-sy either....and commands much attention when worn as a suit pin or dramatic accessory. Just because me, 'the author', doesnt get these personally too well..doesnt mean they should be summarily dismissed. fiugural bakelite pins are great buys these days.....and have to increase in value back to their former glory days......so shop away...and call or write about these two , should you be so inclined!
Geometric bakelite and actually, pretty much ANYTHING geometric...is always at the top of my "LIKES" list....I don't know why figural subjects dont hold as much appeal for me as abstracted squares, circles and zig-zags do....but I am always responsive to the clean lines of geometry. I was a MESS at Algebra...but the visual sensibility that GEOMETRY held within the world of mathematics even trumped my natural and genetic math phobic sensibilities..I was GOOD at it! Stripes, dors, laminates, squares, octagonals, all of the above really light my bakelite fire---You too? Good.....ask away about availability, price, shipping.....I am the man who loves it all..but has a special fondness for these racks!.
Although this blog is supposedly about vintage jewels....this year, with selling my home in the east, I have available for sale a 'cornucopia' (check out the lamp) of classical antiques, ceramics, lamps, glass and objects. This is a favorite..a wonderful leaded glass hade, cornucopia themed, with faceted fuschia cabochon disc-ettes studding the surface. The base is GORGEOUS----a french bronze art deco techno-industrial styled wonder, all neo-Egyptian and cool! Out of category I know...but just gaze upon it and enjoy....and message me at route66antiques@aol.com to ask for price and shipping details!
We all have shared in the always popular style of 1980's and 90's Chanel couture vintage jewels..all that goldtone and cabochons and crosses and oversized glamorous gaudy BLING....but look here at a masterwork of French House of Gripoix work for the House of chanel.... the wondrous work of the 1960;s CHANEL......another ball of wax completely.....much more to my tastes.......
Graduated turquoise glass flowers on chain with fuschia poured glass droplets......along with the faux emerald textile-like lariat I posted a few days ago.....this is---- along with that aforementioned necklace, among the most luxe and wonderful pieces I have owned in the last 2 or 3 years....a dear and special regular client and customer for all categories of the finest jewelry owns it now...so I can at least visit it and say "hello gorgeous" when Im in the city it's in.....and that my friends..is a nice consolation prize to no longer POSESSING it....of course--- the big bucks I sold it for...that helped too!
From the 1920's, these sparkliest of luxuriant plastics a la plastica laxuria are among my most popular sellers, and evoke response from not only lovers of bakelite, but from classical fine jewelry fans as well as lovers of vintage designer couture and costume gems...Three is definitely the way to go......and Ill add more pictures to this little thread later in the day..but these are the essence of flapper-dom...the new femininity and female power that arose and germinated in the 1920;s.......these are really symbols of newfound women's freedom, expressed in celluloid and paste or strasse.
The most luxe piece of jewelry I've ever owned..this Chanel crossover necklace is utterly glamorous and opulent..feels like fabric, a cloth, textile, but is a chain mail style scarf wrapped crossover necklace : the completely tailored essence of Coco Chanel. Ask about owning this museum masterpiece.
The artistry of Martha Sturdy as a desinger of furniture, objects, accessories as welkl as her early career foray's into jewelry design and large scale manufacturing is indisputably modern, sleek and appealling. Distinctive enough to qualify as its own calid separate collecting category.....Resin and acrylic jewelry from the 1970's and 80's has an oversized pure geometry that allies with the sleek clothes of the 70's or the oversized scale of 80's fashion....and have achieved their own role in the pantheon of plastics history in jewelry. Enjoy these and comment!
Who doent love the unusual color and shape combinations that SCHREINER NEW YORK did in their design and construction of fine costume jewelry in the 1950's and 60's. Known for the rarity and eccentricity of these aspects of jewelry design, SCHREINER even patented a method for the reverse setting of stones....point UP..rather than down....birthing the term Schreiner-set stone...(upside down!). Enjoy this litle showing of some wonderful examples of mine..some still available!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
New feature: Ladies Wearing Jewels! This is from a party in 2010....spotlighting my dear friend and super-talented designer Judith Hendler, in her signature pink pendant/neck ring daily wearer......as well as palm Springs dealer and collector Julie Levine...in a black and white opaque necklace which Judith had just engraved with her signature for her. Originally, Acri-Gems just came with labels...but Judith will sign examples if she's in your vicinity! Julie and Judith.....both all acrylic-ed out! @ Route 66 WEST in fashionable fun Palm Springs California.
I didnt used to seek out all these kinds of celluloid bangles in the old days...but for the past 3 or 4 years...they have sold as well or BETTER than the sparkly, geometric patterned rhinestoned celluloid bangles I am so well know for. These sell VERY well all over..are so tailored, in neutral tones..and seem to appeal to a wider audience than the blingiest of the sparklies....the sterling overlays are so 'equestrian'...the carved and inked....so 'Chinoiserie-a la Francaise" and the others..just easy to wear in artisitically combined stacks of 3 or 5. ALWAYS ASSYMETRY=ODD NUMBERS! Cardinal rule for bracelet cobos...think THREE! Ask about these...they are well priced and I am rich in stock on them!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
People often ask me.."what's new and selling in bakelite jewelry?" I often say."Nothing that used to be sought after is what today's collectors are fascinated by!" i,e, the worshipped and adored bowties and gundrops and random dots are so expensive..and so often reproduced..they have almost lost their allure.....newer collectors buy bakelite that breaks all the rules of the golden age of collecting..ie.e no metal, no celluloid, no beads no rhinestones....all those rules NO LONGER APPLY! New younger collectors buy FUN FUN unique items like these cabochon studded bangles....not all all sought after in the 90's...today..these candy-like sweets are just what the bakelite king has ordered......have fun...buy what works for you and have at it!
Well...its been way too long since I posted here......I need to be much more consistent with blog posts on this blogspot site so I will. Ive just returned from Santa fe New Mexico and the Whitehawk Associates Ethnographic Show last weekend...Im back in Palm Springs...scrubbing the showcases, separating the Haskell from the Chanel, the bakelite frome the copper, the Judith Hendler from the Martha Sturdy. In Santa Fe...I got this nice coverage on another blog..and nailed the picture as usual. Bakelite always creates excitement, buzz and attention....and sold VERY well this show. So did costume..Haskell, Chanel, Sturdy and Matisse/Renoir....Juidith Hendler's work always stirs up a fuss too...and I had a great time.....Spent a lot of time with the luminously lovely Ali McGraw who sells for Mexican siver dealer and her friend Federico at the event...and she adores bakelite.....and we seem to like one another a lot too..much fun discussion of jewels and the making of many of her movies and television work..she is a lovely, elegant woman. More to come..on the ladies of Santa Fe.....met some lovely new folks, Sandra Fillipucci being a fiery haired redheaded stand out ....and her encouragement to go 21st century social networking marketeer MORE is whats responsible for my new found fervor for 'the blog'
