Hula and Bakelite

Had some nice pick-ups at the Mill Market last weekend. Also ran into Dear Prudence, who has moved into a bigger stall since I was last out there.

Firstly a cute little 16 cm souvenir Hula figurine by the Chiefly Co. of Hawaii (see right).

Secondly a fantastic 1950s style "Australian Post Office 400 Series Auto Table Handset" (see below).

I've actually wanted one of these old bakelite telephones for years, but they have always been too expensive. Not only has it been converted for a modern outlet, it's working perfectly (with a really loud and chunky bell ringer) and was less than half the price asked by most secondhand dealers ... sweet!

Pink Phones @ Portmans

The cavernous Chadstone Shopping Center is not particularly high on my list of favorite places, however I came across a cute display in the Portmans store window there last weekend. Piles of pink painted vintage 60s/70s rotary dial telephones. The paint job was impressive, they looked like new phones in pink plastic (the old 800 series "Colorfones" never actually came in this colour). The shop assistant couldn't tell me much, except that they had come from a graphic design company.



I was impressed enough to take some mobile phone pics, but felt in two minds about it: (1) enjoyed it as a pop art installation, but (2) was a little disturbed they destroyed so many vintage phones to create it. Either way it was interesting.

More local tallent

I don't often hear local bloggers on the radio, so was surprised to hear one of them on ABC Ballarat last week. Ben Sanders is a Ballarat based commercial illustrator, who's blog showcasing his retro inspired work only popped into existence last month. There's lots of creative talent in this town, and our ever expanding little part of the bloggerverse is testament to that.


A sample from Ben's blog.