Learning from catalogs
Sandra Dodd
http://kimoyes.com/specials/9
This website had an ad on facebook and I went to peek.
I've had friends who did Japanese costume. Karen James' family was just there for a visit. Schuyler has lived there.
Connections.
There is something other-worldly about Japanese fabric art, and this catalog, way more than a site showing Japanese textile art all formal and organized, will surprise you with some things you couldn't have imagined.
Just looking at something like this will make some connections for you, or plant some questions you'll fine answers to someday when you're not even looking. :-)
How about other catalogs of unexpected sorts of things? Something exotic—not something you're selling (not at all), but something you think a lot of people here might not come across normally that would be surprising and interesting for some reason. Tell us what it is and what's cool about it, please.
I read the catalogs that come here, and it helps me know what's what when I buy things at thrift stores. :-) Seriously. It's an investment in the future, because those things won't be in thrift stores for 15 or 20 years, but because I've read catalogs my whole life, I'm full of which things are from where when, but that's just for American stuff.
Sandra
Sandra Dodd
I have some paper catalogs I really like, but for this discussion, I guess online catalots are easier to link. :-)
I found hundreds of cat things in one place. "Cat trees" is their generic word for the, but they're all kinds of climbing, hiding, playing things for cats. When I saw some of them, I imagined I was the cat, and picked my favorite place. :-)
http://www.wayfair.com/Armarkat-66-Soft-Heavy-Premium-Cat-Tree-in-Khaki-X6606-L1116-K~ATM1039.html
It might give ideas for something a family could build for their own cat or a grandmother's or friend's cat. They take heavy cardboard or light wood, carpet and rope, it seems.
Sandra
I found hundreds of cat things in one place. "Cat trees" is their generic word for the, but they're all kinds of climbing, hiding, playing things for cats. When I saw some of them, I imagined I was the cat, and picked my favorite place. :-)
http://www.wayfair.com/Armarkat-66-Soft-Heavy-Premium-Cat-Tree-in-Khaki-X6606-L1116-K~ATM1039.html
It might give ideas for something a family could build for their own cat or a grandmother's or friend's cat. They take heavy cardboard or light wood, carpet and rope, it seems.
Sandra
chris ester
I still have a copy of the Whole Earth Catalog. It is no longer being published, but it still exists in cyberspace (I just found it--Thank you Sandra!)
Chris
On Sun, Dec 1, 2013 at 9:37 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
This website had an ad on facebook and I went to peek.I've had friends who did Japanese costume. Karen James' family was just there for a visit. Schuyler has lived there.Connections.There is something other-worldly about Japanese fabric art, and this catalog, way more than a site showing Japanese textile art all formal and organized, will surprise you with some things you couldn't have imagined.Just looking at something like this will make some connections for you, or plant some questions you'll fine answers to someday when you're not even looking. :-)How about other catalogs of unexpected sorts of things? Something exotic—not something you're selling (not at all), but something you think a lot of people here might not come across normally that would be surprising and interesting for some reason. Tell us what it is and what's cool about it, please.I read the catalogs that come here, and it helps me know what's what when I buy things at thrift stores. :-) Seriously. It's an investment in the future, because those things won't be in thrift stores for 15 or 20 years, but because I've read catalogs my whole life, I'm full of which things are from where when, but that's just for American stuff.Sandra
Sandra Dodd
The first few Whole Earth Catalogs were works of printing art, on top of all else. Very nice find. Thank you. :-)
I had one, long ago, but gave it away.
I wish I had just one of the old JC Penney or Montgomery Ward catalogs we got at Christmas when I was a kid. The things I used to look at after the toys—home ditto machine and saddle stapler (for pamphlets). :-) Looking at old advertisements is an interesting peek into history—fashion, costs, advertising appeal, photography, etc. Things change, and connections abound if we welcome them.
Sandra
I had one, long ago, but gave it away.
I wish I had just one of the old JC Penney or Montgomery Ward catalogs we got at Christmas when I was a kid. The things I used to look at after the toys—home ditto machine and saddle stapler (for pamphlets). :-) Looking at old advertisements is an interesting peek into history—fashion, costs, advertising appeal, photography, etc. Things change, and connections abound if we welcome them.
Sandra
Gwen Montoya
Catalogs from heirloom seed companies are neat. There is so much more variety than I ever imagined.
I think I could plant an entire garden where only purple food grows (or red or orange!)
Sometimes there is a little bit of history included in the description - how seeds were carried long distances or brought back from extinction.
Gwen
I think I could plant an entire garden where only purple food grows (or red or orange!)
Sometimes there is a little bit of history included in the description - how seeds were carried long distances or brought back from extinction.
Gwen
chris ester
The Sears Wish Book! I was telling my daughter about it the other day. It was a lot of fun to page through as a child.
chris
On Mon, Dec 2, 2013 at 12:48 AM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
The first few Whole Earth Catalogs were works of printing art, on top of all else. Very nice find. Thank you. :-)
I had one, long ago, but gave it away.
I wish I had just one of the old JC Penney or Montgomery Ward catalogs we got at Christmas when I was a kid. The things I used to look at after the toys—home ditto machine and saddle stapler (for pamphlets). :-) Looking at old advertisements is an interesting peek into history—fashion, costs, advertising appeal, photography, etc. Things change, and connections abound if we welcome them.
Sandra
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Marnie Holmes
Pinterest, although not a catologue in the traditional sense, is a modern digital means to stumble across a huge variety of interesting things.
www.pinterest.comMarnie
Schuyler
Mom sent me the Uncommon Goods catalog recently and it had this in it: http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/wheelbarrow-salad-bowl-with-wooden-utensils. I thought of you, Sandra.
Schuyler
Sandra Dodd
Pinterest and Stumble Upon are internet searches (delivered to you, in a way, and created by you, in a way).
Similarly Retronaut and Shorpy can be wonderful, but they are are all about LOTS of topics, whereas a specialty catalog shows the depth of one thing, has a focus.
http://www.retronaut.com
http://www.shorpy.com\
Etsy and eBay can lead to ideas and learning, but also are scattery and overwhelming and not about a single kind of thing.
Sandra
Similarly Retronaut and Shorpy can be wonderful, but they are are all about LOTS of topics, whereas a specialty catalog shows the depth of one thing, has a focus.
http://www.retronaut.com
http://www.shorpy.com\
Etsy and eBay can lead to ideas and learning, but also are scattery and overwhelming and not about a single kind of thing.
Sandra
Miles Tress
Some catalogs take me on a trip around the world. National Geographic catalog, Signals (items related to PBS shows), catalogs produced by various museums.
Just recently, the National Geographic catalog had items from Colombia, Guatemala, Ireland, Zimbabwe, China, Indonesia, to name just a few. The item descriptions included short versions of some local legends and folk tales. I read the entire catalog from cover to cover, just because it was so interesting, not because I planned to buy.
Tress
On Mon, Dec 2, 2013 at 6:56 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
Pinterest and Stumble Upon are internet searches (delivered to you, in a way, and created by you, in a way).
Similarly Retronaut and Shorpy can be wonderful, but they are are all about LOTS of topics, whereas a specialty catalog shows the depth of one thing, has a focus.
http://www.retronaut.com
http://www.shorpy.com\
Etsy and eBay can lead to ideas and learning, but also are scattery and overwhelming and not about a single kind of thing.
Sandra
Sandra Dodd
When we got Americn Girls catalogs, years ago, Marty (when he was 8 or so) made perforations so Holly could cut out the dolls with just her hands. He would take a sheet and go around the doll with the sewing machine, without thread.
You can do that with calendar art.
Lots of calendars are coming this month, because of Christmas. Anyone who ever does any mail order, or gets magazines, or has charge cards, will likely get catalogs for a few weeks. Seeing them as resources might be helpful.
The Old Vermont Country Store has household goods for older, conservative grandmas. And some stuff I like, too, but it's fun to look at expensive table cloths and bedspreads that were once very commonly seen and now can seem exotic or historical. And candy of older styles.
I ordered some cardboard boxes once (flat, to be folded into boxes) and so once a year I get a catalog from that company. They have the supplies needed for big shipping companies—forklifts, handcarts, rolling bins, steel shelving, storage racks and sorting carts, racks for plastic wraps, on down to tape, and envelopes. Without leaving my house, I can get an idea of what kinds of things would be required for major shipping, and why "shipping and handling" will be more than the cost of the postage itself. Lots of equipment! And they'll need a room or a whole building to keep it in, and that building needs light and heat.
Sandra
You can do that with calendar art.
Lots of calendars are coming this month, because of Christmas. Anyone who ever does any mail order, or gets magazines, or has charge cards, will likely get catalogs for a few weeks. Seeing them as resources might be helpful.
The Old Vermont Country Store has household goods for older, conservative grandmas. And some stuff I like, too, but it's fun to look at expensive table cloths and bedspreads that were once very commonly seen and now can seem exotic or historical. And candy of older styles.
I ordered some cardboard boxes once (flat, to be folded into boxes) and so once a year I get a catalog from that company. They have the supplies needed for big shipping companies—forklifts, handcarts, rolling bins, steel shelving, storage racks and sorting carts, racks for plastic wraps, on down to tape, and envelopes. Without leaving my house, I can get an idea of what kinds of things would be required for major shipping, and why "shipping and handling" will be more than the cost of the postage itself. Lots of equipment! And they'll need a room or a whole building to keep it in, and that building needs light and heat.
Sandra