Archive for the 'Antiques' Category

the Coolest … 1950s Harris Strong Enamel Tiles

Published on February 9, 2009

Welcome to the first in a regular Monday series here at TA&D — the Coolest.   The coolest what will vary – the coolest thing we found this week, or the coolest project in the works, or the coolest thing we brought into the shop, or…

This week it is the Official Coolest Item going into our new online shop here (see the “Shop” button right up there?)  And that item is a set of three 1950s Harris Strong enamel tiles in frames.  Strong worked out of the Bronx, and did fabulous enamel-work with a distinctive…

New Life for Old Lamps

Published on February 1, 2009

If only I had shown the foresight to take pictures of these lamps before Steve worked his magic on them.  They were the saddest, most forlorn pair of lamps you can imagine…and just look at them now!

We found them last year at a flea market in Raleigh, NC.  They had the same beautiful form, and pretty clear and white Venetian glass bodies as they do now, but that is where the similarity ends.  They had been painted silver on the inside of the glass, but had then spent too much time in some damp basement or overheated attic, and the interior paint…

Vintage Sign Letters and Why I Love Them

Published on January 28, 2009

That’s easy, you say.  You love them because they are GREAT!  And not just sign letters, but any kind of letters or lettering devices.  And not just letters, but numbers too.  They are all enchanting to me – type of any kind.  I once watched an entire documentary about a single font.  Two hours of my life – gone.  And, darn it, it was interesting!  

I know that I am not alone in this.  What exactly is the allure of type?

Last year in the spring I flew down to North Carolina to visit my mom.   Just me, not…