Melted popcorn decorations. I remember these quirky decorations being hung in classrooms when I was growing up. They were also displayed in storefronts and many people hung them on their front doors and in bay windows. Little did I realize these cool decorations were being manufactured right in my own backyard. They were manufactured by

Among the many vintage finds displayed in our office, you can find this collection of cool Galaxy Syrup spaceman bottles. They were made for the Space Foods Company of Baltimore, Maryland around 1953. There isn’t much information available about the syrup manufacturer as it appears they went bankrupt either before or shortly after their product

Looking to start some kind of a collection, or merely to add some color and charm to a kitchen or dining room? Then consider starting a salt and pepper shaker collection. Salt and pepper shakers of all sorts are highly collectible nowadays but most are still very affordable, so it doesn’t have to cost a

Our company started out doing restorations of vintage items like soda vending machines, pedal cars and coolers. No longer in the restoration business, now we sell 1000s of affordable reproduction products that make for great retro decor and gifts. In our office we have an extensive collection of vintage items and thought it would be

The Tiki culture hit the US in the mid-30s, and took the country by storm after WWII. From the 1939 World’s Fair in California, which for the first time celebrated this Polynesion-inspired culture, to James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific (1948), which led to the musical South Pacific, we embraced this tropical decor and

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, when I was traveling the country appearing at comic book conventions, I used to joke with my friends that on my route, the McDonald’s signs would be changing due to my patronage. At the time, plenty of restaurants still had the signs with the rotating numbers, designating how

For the most part, I write about things as I remember them, which, on occasion, means I’m either way off or totally wrong. Today’s blog could very well be one of those times, so in advance, keep that in mind. I grew up in Valley Stream, NY, which borders the town of Elmont, home of Elmont Memorial High

In the 1950s it was popular for businesses to promote constant and word-of-mouth advertising by giving away useful items. Among the most common promotional items were desk and wall calendars, matchbooks, shoe horns and writing instruments. It was also common for business to offer more elaborate tools and household items with significant purchases, like this

Most likely from the 1930s, this Zenith 35mm movie projector was manufactured by the Safety Projector Company of Duluth, Minnesota. We restored this one years ago with an Art Deco color scheme. The projector did not work and was just cosmetically restored. This item is not for sale. We show restored items in our museum

Years ago, when we were in the restoration business, we received a fire department call box to repurpose into a telephone stand. We’re not sure of the original manufacturer, but the box resembles the Gamewell Corp. fire box made in the ’40s and ’50s. Also added to this vintage piece was a globe lamp on top.