Orange is the colour of adventure and social communication, according to colour psychology. It is optimistic, uplifting and spirit rejuvenating. Apparently so much so that we should find ways to use it everyday, even if it is just an orange coloured pen or a kooky kitchen whisky thingy.
Orange is the most controversial of colours. Many consider it to be the gauche legacy of the freewheeling ’70s. But what an unfair reputation that decade has! To me, the ’70s were when the counterculture became the popular culture — and when adults finally felt liberated to embrace immaturity. You could be young again without having to be innocent! Orange shouted out to the world that you didn’t take things too seriously: that you weren’t old and crusty, that you were not your parents, and that you didn’t have a living room full of plastic-covered furniture. Rather, your furniture was made of plastic — and it was probably designed by Verner Panton.
And this is just a taste, a small mix of my orange collection.
So so much more to come… it’s a Work In Progress. If you’re an orange fan, please watch this space.
In the meantime you can try some Candy. John Candy.
Orange whip? Orange whip?
So what is an Orange Whip?
It’s a cocktail made with rum and vodka mixed with cream and orange juice. Blended and frothy and poured over ice in a tall glass. Mmm….
And a 1950’s non alcoholic beverage made famous in this seemingly random quirky scene from the Blues Brothers which was actually ad libbed as a favour to the Sales Director of the Orange Whip Corporation which had supplied drinks on the film set.
Like the weather these days. Hot as, followed by hail, the loudest thunder I think I have EVER heard, bushfires and then freezing get-the-blankie-back-out temps, Sydney is the new Melbourne, Four Seasons in One Day… What is going on global warming? Summer is ten days away.
Speaking of warming…
How ridiculously awesome is this little number? Put a lit tea light candle underneath to take your burning Pyrex love from oven to table. Yep, so hot and yet so so cool…
But it did take some effort, as all mega hotness and super coolness does. When I bought the warmer it came with an ugly speckled brown dish. So ugly I nearly didn’t buy the thing at all. Stoked I did, when months later I found this awesome retro baking dish at Brookvale Goodwill and a lonely lid that fitted perfectly, several weeks afterwards at an op shop in Cessnock, NSW.
And voilà. I’ve seen a similar one for sale on ebay [though I like this pattern better] for about $55 delivered. Mine cost me a thrifty $23. Not sure I can bring myself to sell it. Pyrex is getting so hard to find.
Now I need to organise some fabulous retro fondue and pot luck soirée.
Without The Ice Storm…
My entire collection of 1970s avocado green Pyrex in Crazy Daisy and Spring Blossom [the smaller flower print with leaves] for sale $125 plus postage. Out they go…
Candle or vase? You flip. Double the functionality, three times the quality from the brilliant Danish legends in Royal Copenhagen Crystal.
And more on the holm front: Cathrineholm that is. Assume the Lotus position people, and hold onto it? Or let it go?
My first piece. Can you keep a secret? I managed to buy this on Ebay listed as vintage mid-century Danish [actually it’s Norwegian] kettle. Woot. I feel kind of bad. Should I have told her it was Cathrineholm? I didn’t get it for ridic cheap, there’s plenty of cluey ebayers out there, but I did get it for half the price, or a quarter depending where you look.
So do I keep it and start a collection I can’t afford to have [the quality and thickness of the enamel is outstanding, I do see why they are sought after] or send it off to a happy new home with a few bucks extra in my pocket?
More green, with envy this time, when a few days later a lovely lady visiting my shop told me she picked up an orange Lotus bowl for $4 at our local Red Cross. [RRP between $140 – $200] Not quite the holy grail of collecting, like buying a box of $200 million Ansel Adams negatives at a garage sale for $45 but an awesome score all the same. She said she had heart palpitations. Me too, I couldn’t concentrate for about half an hour after hearing that story. Damn I wish it had been me…
So I think I might let the kettle go, I love being green, but its orange and blue and yellow that I’m digging the most.
What’s your best roadside/ garage sale, market score? I love these stories. Seems they are a bit thin on the ground now even the sweet old ladies at Salvos get on Ebay before pricing a piece of plastic.
Citrus neons are so flavour of the season that you are possibly cataract impaired or cave bound if you’ve not have absorbed this already. Or you are, in fact, a man.
An old squeeze.
Lime Bakelite juicer. From Chequered Past in Eumundi Qld.
My new squeeze.
The Alessi Juicy Salif, designed by Philippe Starck in 1990.
I use a juicer all the time, half a lemon in hot water first and last thing every day. Salif gets a bit of a bad rap by some and Starck justifies it as more of a conversation starter than a lemon squeezer. Personally I love it, though I was happier to pay $35 at Salvo’s than the $100 or thereabouts for a new one. It would need to be a good conversation to pay that much…
Bought this book for the rad 1970’s typography and because it was there and relevant and it was only a dollar. I’ve never done a Juice Fast in my life and doubtful I’m about to try. I can do fast juice though.
Here comes a candle to light you to bed…
[Oranges & Lemons nursery rhyme]
and the final squeeze for a Friday.
Orange Squishy.