When my wife and I started to transition from our previous decor into MCM, it started with the big items; tables, chairs, sofas, dining room and bedroom sets.  We were drawn to the clean lines of the design and the craftsmanship of the pieces from that era.  As our surroundings became more unified, we started adding items to finish the look.  Here's an example from the two table ends of the Pearsall gondola sofa that we managed to score at an estate sale:





The great thing about these MCM accent pieces is that they can be acquired for next to nothing yet they can add so much to the overall look and feel.  The lamp and speckled coasters in the upper photo were estate sale finds, the serving dish came from a thrift shop, and the heavy green glass piece was left in a vintage travel trailer that became ours just for hauling it away.  The lamp in the lower photo was a gift to my wife from a co-worker who purchased it new when he set up his law practice back in the 60's.  The Nambe vase, Argentinian marble ashtray and lighter, and candlesticks were all various estate sale finds.  Prices on these various pieces range from 25 cents to a high of $11.  Compared to what newer store bought tchotchkes can cost, it's fun to be able to add so much for so little. 

I have not been able to determine by definition what style of chair this is: a side chair?  An occasional chair?  I have even seen this particular model referred to as a slipper chair.

Whatever it is, we have enjoyed this chair in our living room for a long time but now it is time to make room for something else. This fantastic mid-century modern orange vinyl chair features sleek Danish modern styling with a wooden (walnut?) frame and legs. The bottom is uncovered and open and the cushion and springs appear to be in good condition. Unfortunately there no manufacturer's marks, but the date "Nov. 1963" is stamped on the inside of the frame.

Please contact us at info@mcmlifestyle.com if you are interested and would like more information.

I mentioned in a previous blog ("Retro Repros") how my wife and I decided to take time during the Christmas/New Year break and cruise the thrifts.  Many times when we're out we take a "divide and conquer" approach in a store since we can cover a lot more ground in a shorter time.  We generally know each others' interests and tastes so if something stands out we'll come back and look at the item together.

At one of our stops I was perusing the electronics section (a total dud), and when I went searching for my wife I found her bent over a large cardboard box intently examining the contents.  It was full of dishes.

Now before I go any further I have to point out that I am a glassware geek.  When we met I think my wife was amused by the fact that I had a specific glass for every type of beverage; I think she eventually reached a point where it was not so amusing since all of this glassware takes up a lot of space.  To be accomodating I have managed to pare my glassware collection down.  I also came to the realization that I had too many glasses set aside for "special occasions", so I was also able to get rid of some "everyday" stuff with the idea that every occasion should be a special occasion.

All this to say that now I have an MCM wife who loves her place settings.  I'll do some future blogs on what we already own, but what she stumbled across that day really was quite wonderful.  It is white china with a very subtle yet atomic pattern which looks like this:



There was no price on the box or the dishes, but fortunately there was an employee (I think the manager) in the next aisle.  We showed her the box of dishes and asked her the price.  After taking a count of the total number of pieces, she gave us a price which was incredibly reasonable.  Before we could say "sold" she said "it's also men's night tonight, so take another 25% off".  Obviously that clinched it.

The entire collection looks like this:



They did a marvelous job of wrapping them for the trip home.  Now it was time to find out more about them.  Here's what the markings on the bottom look like:



We first had to determine what the stamp really said.  In short order my wife found out that the company name is Seltmann; Weiden-E indicates the town where the factory is located.  Now here's where it gets confusing.  The Seltmann company has been making china since 1910; they are still in business today.  They have literally HUNDREDS of different patterns.  We tried searching the web using the "Isolde" search term which should be the name of the pattern, but that pattern comes up as just a plain white dish with no design on it at all.

I finally spent some time at a site which sells replacement china pieces, and after looking through pages and pages of different patterns found our pattern under the designation of "Slt47"; hardly a glamorous name at all.

In doing a little bit of additional research tonight for this blog I found a site which shows the many different Seltmann Marks:  while exact dates cannot be determined, the one shown above was used between 1949 and 1954.

I find it remarkable that 60 year old dishes can look so far ahead of their time, and also still be in such great condition today.