Campy

Hello, gorgeous beautiful glamorous campers! This weekend my family and some friends are entering that glorious Memorial Day tradition of the camping trip. Where to, you might ask? We're going to a beach on the Pacific, if that narrows it down for you. 
I got to thinking about why so many of us chose to fill our leisure time with sleeping under the stars (well, the hidden stars here in Alaska if it's Summer - we're pretty much getting Midnight Sun at this point), and remembered that I had this little fledgling site that I'd filled with a few (but not all from my vault) reference databases that I could play with. I felt like looking at vintage Kodachrome and the like photos and related ephemera from the 30's-80's or so. I wanted to see some examples of vintage camping, in photos, to tie our experiences with our bug spray-wielding and hot-dog grilling forefathers. 
I mean I flippin' love camping, but I'm a bit specific and fickle with my love. It must be in (usually) a state or national park campground, meaning it must be beautiful and serene. But I don't want it to be off the grid too much (i.e. some sort of toilet either flush or porta is essential), because I am a delicate, shy type person with my grooming and functions and also do not want to be eaten by a bear or taunted by a wolverine. On the flip side I don't want something so posh that it's ridden with RV's and pricey fees. I'm camping for goodness sake, I'm doing it because it's cheap and I like roasting marshmallows. I don't necessarily need a shower because showers in camps are usually either anemic or like something out of a TVA dam and nowhere in between. 
So anyway, I used my little magic tricks to find a few pretty little reminders of the type of camping I love: the kind with lipstick and a clean toilet, the kind with park rangers and day hikes. I found some random: 

Thank you, Shorpy. 
Just look at that happy camper up there (1971). Read the description on the Shorpy page, too. I love this guy's self-depreciating humor. I look at all the details in the shot and I think of all the preparations I just did for our impending trip. Will we look at our photos 30 years from now and marvel at the "vintage" Sigg water bottles and Bodum french press? Probably. 

Thanks again, Shorpy.
Please. Just look at this shot. Can't you just feel it? The flames licking the black night? I've missed that! Like I've said it stays light until almost midnight now and it's not the same. I loved the enveloping night camping down south and in the midwest. When I was little it felt like such an adventure to be staying outside after dark. To sleep in the moonlight. Nothin' doin' up here unless you're willing to camp in the winter and snow. I don't mind winter camping, in the south when it gets to maybe 20 degrees at night in most areas. Up here is another story. This photo, though. Look at that coffee pot! We actually are bringing one almost just like it, a back-up french press one. We go through a lot of coffee when we camp (and when we don't). I love the lady's orthopedic shoes, too. 

Thanks, Girly Q. 
Etsy sellers have some wonderful vintage camping ephemera (of course they do!), and I found this cookbook on Girly Q Vintage's shop. Looks like the lady in the kerchief is cooking up some beans or something, but the cookbook also guides you in "cooking game birds" and "cooking for survival". I have a vision of the lady in the kerchief frenetically cooking Dutch oven meal after Dutch oven meal for the man in the insert - because he is holding her hostage. That's what comes to my mind when I see "cooking for survival." I have seen too many Lifetime movies. 

Thank you Vintage Warehouse 
Another etsy print, the above from Vintage Warehouse makes me happy in about thirty kinds of ways. The lady doing the pouring's shoes. The gentleman with the plate's hat. The Model T. Whether it's a campout or picnic or a combo of both I want to be there. Look at that jug of milk. They're moving along and happy and young and wearing good clothes in the grass. 

Thank you, cardow.com (you can buy the postcard by clicking on the link)
Let me start this out by saying that my mother and father were given an identical picnic basket as a wedding gift. We used to take it camping and picnicing. My mom gave it to me years ago and I used that beautiful thing, and then we moved to Alaska and couldn't ship it so I sold it to a friend at a garage sale. And now I see that sweet basket and I feel like crying - for my lost youth and for my lost picnic basket. But, hey Boo Boo! It's a Yogi Bear Campground postcard! I love the cart, the kids, the guy in the Yogi suit! If you aren't aware, the Yogi Bear Campgrounds (called Camp Jellystone - just like the cartoon!) provide safe camping, activities, and nostalgia. They are oh so still around and I just found out that there is one in Gatlinburg. I was not aware of this when we lived in Knoxville! Another reason I'm glad to be moving back home! Majestic scenery and wildlife is one thing, miniature golf and a Yogi Bear golf cart is another. 


Was going to wrap this up nicely, with a little bow even, but am now so full of ideas and plans and excitement for our trip tomorrow to Clam Gulch (no Jellystone Gatlinburg, as you can see below, but it will do - and yes I am implying a wink), that I'm just going to sign off. So goodnight!

Photo by Hal Gage


Hope you have a majestic, campy Memorial Day. xoxo


PS! This, and this and this and this and this and this.
 Good night!
Oh, and this. 

Inspiration in the form of a 1960's Television Witch

   Yesterday, after watching Betwitched for the first time in probably twenty years, I threw myself into a bit of a tailspin, totally fixated and in love with the interior design and fashion on that show. It's an era I don't think much about (mid to late sixties), in movies from that era and movies about that era I tend to focus on plot and/or the relevance of the historical event being represented. But when plot is a little thin and silly (as in Betwitched) I can detach myself and just view the design glory that was the set and costumes of that show. I'm not going to bore you or myself and dive into a deep examination of the design of the era, I'm just going to share some of the beautiful retro goodness resources that I have learned of recently. I've chosen to focus a bit of my search on the mid to late sixties, as it reminds me of family photos of my mom as a young adult as well as the decor of the interior of my grandparent's home. It's not rocket science, what I'm doing, just decent searches with lots of "" and + and relevant words thrown in. I do seem to have a bit of the eye for skimming past the sites that might not be "perfect" for me. 
   I just keep looking and looking and looking at this episode. The plot is cute and everyone's fantastic but OH MY GOODNESS THE BUTTONS ON the real Samantha's coat @ 1:45!! That green dress! That aqua chair @ 4:38! Total swoon. 

  Now with the rising popularity of Mad Men this particular aesthetic is starting to creep back into popularity (though it's always had its stalwarts). It's mid-century modern but the later edge of it (correct me if I'm wrong, design expert who might be reading this), less atomic and more 2001: A Space Odyssey (but a bit less "mod"). 
2001: A Space Oddysey Interior Set Design


Here's the "Best of the Sixties/House Beautiful. 
House Beautiful


Modern Dig, a site with rare and collectible Mid-Century Modern Design books and objects.
(I actually have this beauty)

TV Party! Classic television shows for those who obsess. 


Twenty Five pieces of Retro Design Inspiration from Vectroave. 
(courtesy Vectroave)


Retrospace, a well put together retro gamut blog (mainly 70's, but some 60's, too). 


Ultraswank - Talks about old and new influence of sixties design here. 
(Ultraswank - JFK Terminal by Eero Saarinens)


If you're looking for a more polished and professional inspiration source, The Mid Century Modernist is a sleek place to start. If you're just wanting to breeze casually through the era, and float onto green Astro-turf to your white wicker laced veranda, go to flickr and search "sixties" + "vintage" + "interior design" and you'll be treated to image collections from design lovers all over the world. 

Friday Finds

Have you poked around the Criterion Collections' website lately? It's the berries! You can hop around their entire collection, and even download (for nominal fees) some of the older films. It's also kind of nice to play around on the site and then hop over to Netflix and throw some films you didn't know about or forgot about in your queue. If it weren't so early I'd be watching The Virgin Spring. But it is a bit early for Bergman, and I think my five year old would protest.

 Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring

Speaking of good films, the Maysles Brothers (Salesmen, Gimme Shelter) website is fun to explore. Just watched Grey Gardens the other night with my husband and he told me a bit more about their innovations and pioneering work in the documentary film vein. So naturally being reference library-brained I found Albert's (the surviving brother) website.                                                                         

 Grey Gardens - The Maysles Brothers

A few months ago I discovered photographer Peter Ross's website, specifically his still lifes of William S. Burroughs' things. William S. Burroughs was (if you're not familiar) one of the eccentric founding fathers of the Beat generation (he wrote Naked Lunch). Peter Ross has documented his odd collections, seems Burroughs has a fascination with guns, blowdarts and pinwheels. Check it out here.

 Typewriter, William S. Burroughs's Stuff / Peter Ross

I laughed myself silly over this photographer's work. Robbie Augsperger uses an old light kit to recreate the *ahem* golden days of studio portraiture. The Corporate Headshots page is my favorite, but this guy is pretty amazing too.  

 

                                                        

Italo Disco - 2009 Robbie Auspurger             

Here's hoping your weekend is thrilling, calming, trilling, and beautiful. I'm still writing at Controlling A Spicy Universe, too - if you're looking for some esoteric whining.