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.

Bearded A-lister challenge

Yours truly has been invited to an A-list themed costume party in a couple of weeks. This poses a problem though, as being goateed and middle aged seriously narrows my possibilities. Google has thrown up some candidates, but you really would have to actually look like these guys to pull it off, eg:



Not being able to match these looks (with the exception perhaps of poor old derelict Brad), my fall-back position is "actor as their famous character". With inspiration from old 80s action movies, and blogs 'Top 10 beards in film' and 'Top 10 Bearded Movie Characters', here's some possibilities:



I'll be hitting the op shops & $2 shops this weekend to see what's possible vis-à-vis costume bits & pieces ... hope I'm in luck.

Happy Lucky Waving Cat

As I always commented on these wacky cat statues whenever we saw them in Asian shops, Ms C62 decided to buy me one of my own. Known as 'Maneki Neko' he is apparently beckoning, not waving, and originates in Japan. Being ignorant of the cultural significance, I just found them delightfully random objects d'kitsch.

Right: My cheerful gold plastic Maneki Neko currently lives on the lounge room mantelpiece.

Quietly into the Night

A bit of local music history will be made at the Karova Lounge later this month. After a career spanning 10 years Ballarat band Epicure are playing their last ever gig, concluding their "Quietly into the Night" tour on May 29. Demand for tickets has been so huge a second show has been added.

For more on the band see epicuretheband.com, their Myspace page and entry on Wikipedia. For gig tickets and details see the Karova Lounge website.

Ballarat Heritage Weekend, 2010

Unfortunately I'm not in town this weekend, so I'll be missing out on the annual Ballarat Heritage Weekend. Looks like there's lots worth seeing (much of it free), checkout the website for more info.

Nb. I also see Circa Vintage Clothing are amongst the exhibitors this year.