This week I have listed on Ebay I think 23 vintage Sears and Ward catalogs I purchased at an estate sale almost a year ago.  These beauties range from the 20s on up to the 60s and they are in pretty good shape.  This man had been saving them for all these years and I only got a portion of what was there.  He really was smart to realize they would be collectible some day.

It’s fun to go through them and find items I remember having around when I was young or saw at my grandparent’s house.  I know alot of people like to get them for presents and I think some people use some of the graphics in their artwork.  Also someone who collects a certain guitar or bicycle for example likes to possess the catalog where that special guitar was first offered for sale.

They are good to date vintage items.  And the history that is in them is fascinating.  Like the Depression and WWII era catalogs that talk about rationing and why some items are not available because the government has need of them in the war effort.  The pricing alone shows how much the value of our dollar has declined.

The items for purchase also show us a different time when life was slower with the use of coal burning cookstoves, wringer washers, and irons.  Many items are still used today attesting to the quality that was built into them.  That’s partly why vintage and retro are in.  We as a people are tired of the cheaper things that do not last and the throw away society we have become.

These catalogs take us back to simpler times to an American spirit of love for God and for country.  I also have one listed in my store under Collectible Books, then Catalogs, if the Ebay auctions are done.

Just added some more Mexican items to my shop so thought I would do a gallery.  The fifth photo is of a framed feather art piece showing two cocks fighting.  The frame is handcarved just like the seventh photo of the tile tray.  I talked to someone who told me that their grandmother had a bedroom set that was handcarved like these pieces and the grandmother said it was made in Mexico.  I would like to know the history behind the furniture and where I could find some photos.  If anyone knows anything about the handcarved furniture made in Mexico around the fifties, I wish they would comment below!

Mexican Straw Purse, Bag, Sewing or Picnic Basket

Mexican Pottery Handmade Nesting Bowls

Mexican Batea Bowl

Mexican Pottery Bird Figurine

Framed Feather Art

Mexican Handtooled Leather Purse

Mexican Handcarved Tile Tray

Large Mexican Saltillo Blanket

I found some more interesting pottery at an estate sale last fall.  It definitely looked handmade.  The outside of a long boat shaped bowl was not glazed but looked ‘combed’ while wet to give it texture, and the inside was a beautiful glaze of melting colors that pooled in the bottom of the bowl.

Hammat Original 306M

There were also two fiddle leaf bowls and a small ashtray all with unglazed outsides.

Fiddle Leaf Bowl

Small Hannat Original Ashtray

Incised Hammat Original

On the bottom, scratched into the clay was “Hammat Original” on each piece.

When I got home with my treasures, I ran to the computer and discovered Flora Mary Eckert Hammat…another female ceramist and artist who was internationally known for her designs and ceramics from 1945-1961.  True mid-century pottery.

I learned that in 1945, Flora studied under Glenn Lukens at UCLA.  Lukens, raised on a farm in the hill country of my home state of Missouri, was a dominent figure in the field of American clayworking and started the Modern Ceramics Movement during the Great Depression.  He was quite a visionary that liked to combine simple natural raw forms with bright glazes that mirrored the colors and textures of the California desert.  He was famous for formulating unique glazes.  Flora learned all she could about clays and glazes from him, and how to construct kilns.

Returning to Tulsa, Hammat built a small kiln and started producing her handmade pottery from the garage using her house for storage. After a year, Flora and, her husband, Neves moved their business to the basement of his mother’s house.  In two years, they needed more room and bought three acres on Tulsa’s east edge.  Here they built a large building and four large brick kilns. This building was their office, their manufacturing plant (which employed up to twenty workers at the peak of success), and a place where–Neves, Flora, and their two daughters, Cinda and Joan–ate many family meals.

Her success came from the quality and originality in her pieces.  Her glazes were beautiful and did not leak.  The pottery was lightweight.  The natural look on the outside of the pieces and their biomorphic shapes from nature were loved by florists.  She sold through trade shows and made special promotional pieces for stores and clubs.  Neiman Marcus and other major department stores bought her pieces.  She spoke at many garden and women’s clubs from coast to coast.

Japanese imports were what finally closed the plant in 1961.  She couldn’t compete with the lower prices they offered.  Her pieces were labor intensive…works of love and quality…that understandably demanded a higher price.

There are still lots of Hammat Originals out there to be found.  In the book, “Frankoma And Other Oklahoma Potteries” by Phyllis and Tom Bess, there are nine pages of color photos showing the diversity of Flora’s style.  Yes, she made the floral bowls but she also made Chi Chi… a 10″ tall monkey, “Tico”… a clown head, an 18″ Ram, a 4.5″ Indian Maiden Wall Mask, a “Hot Foot” ashtray, cigarette rests, coconut mugs, a 15″ sportsman’s duck platter….just to name a few.

I’ll be watching for more of Flora Hammat’s work this year.

And, by the way, 306M is featured in my Etsy shop!

I love pottery.

I enjoyed taking an intro to ceramics class in college and wanted to take more but didn’t want to keep pushing my graduation date further away while I enjoyed a side interest, so I just have a nice appreciation for nice pottery pieces and glazes.

When I saw these Heath Ceramics bowls at auction, I loved their look, their simple lines, their glaze…and I bought them. Had I heard of Heath before that…no. But listing these on Ebay yesterday I did a quick search and found that Heath Ceramics is still producing.

Edith Heath (and her husband, Brian) purchased a factory in Sausalito, CA in 1947 after a very successful ceramics show in San Francisco where Gump’s and Neiman Marcus starting ordering her ceramics for their stores.  And then who but Frank Lloyd Wright himself started ordering Heath’s dinnerware.

This lady was raised in Iowa during the Depression years.  She studied the chemistry of glazes and the interaction with clays and with her dedication to good form and craftsmanship, she became one of the mid-century modern movers and shakers as noted by Molly T. Jackel in her feature story, Breaking the Mold, for Metroactive.com….a great article about a talented lady that all should read.

Sadly, Edith died in 2005 at age 94 after running her company for 60 years.  But there are new owners and Molly talks about them and the Sausalito factory where you can buy Heath dinnerware and tiles still made in the tradition of Edith Heath.

Hope you take time to read about it!

New additions to the shop are two vintage crocheted rugs that I purchased at an estate sale here in northern Missouri.  I love the feel of them..stretchy and heavy.  They have beautiful colors that are matched up nicely.  The fabrics are definitely vintage from around the 40s.  These rugs are so resilient and can be washed on the knit or gentle cycle of the washer and then laid out on the floor to dry.

I remember my mother making oval rugs one year but she braided them.  They were a lot of work because she sewed tubes and then turned them right side out and braided them…then she sewed them together by hand.  I don’t think my hands could have handled all of that.

I have also added two Swedish rag rugs that are definitely an item for the primitive country lover.

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The closeup shows how tightly woven these rugs are and the rags are in thinner rows that characterize the Swedish rag rugs. I have purchased rag rugs for myself at craft fairs but they are not the thin rows that are on these rugs. These rugs are 38″ wide which is wider than the home looms of years ago so these two rugs had to be made in the 40s to 50s when the wider looms were made available. Because of the tightness and narrow rows, these rugs wear like iron. There are a couple spots on each rug that have broken threads but they do not take away from the strength and usefulness of these items. The colors are wonderful muted shades that are authentic country. The little house that these came from had been locked up for years out in the northern Missouri countryside. They mowed the yard down and made it easier to empty the house for the estate sale. I can see these rugs in the house gracing wood or linoleum floors like in my grandparents old house. They provided warmth and beauty to the floors and gave use to old clothing that had been outgrown or wore out.

Well, this has been a very busy summer and, as a result, I have not posted anything in this blog.  My daughter’s wedding was the last of May and then I got to babysit for a few weeks with my granddaughter.  We ended up visiting our son in late June who lives in Virginia.  In July, I was busy signpainting and helping get ready for the County 4-H Fair.  I had company intermixed with all of that and now my garden has decided to produce so I have been dutifully canning pickled beets, peaches, and now green beans.  I finished with 47 quarts of green beans today, and I am sure I will have another picking but hopefully not for a few days as I picked the plants pretty clean this time.  All of these things will taste wonderful this winter and will help keep the grocery bill down which I really appreciate.

As I was canning, I was washing some Pyrex pieces to list in my store.  I am playing with videos in my listings.  My first attempt was with a Noritake china set and it came across very well.  This time I am trying not to say much in the video but just scan the item to show its qualities and its flaws….sometimes still photos just can’t catch everything you know the customer wants to see.  I have three new Pyrex Flameware pieces listed now.  Below are the videos of each…

1.)  Pyrex Pan 6323-B     $30.00

2.)  Pyrex Teapot 8446-B     $40.00

3.)  Pyrex 6-cup Percolator 7826     $25.00

What a buzzword “Green” has become.  And what does it really even mean?  To me, it’s all about conserving, reusing, and otherwise revaluing that which we already have.  And what better way to do just that than by shopping for old and used vintage items that can serve the purpose just as well, or in many cases better, than their “Made in China” equivalents.  Recycle and reuse by buying collectibles and antiques!

For some, they bring back memories from childhood and for others they are in vogue and great for collecting, for decorating, and to, well…  just use.  In my opinion, some of the older items are better made than their newer counterparts.  I was raised on a small farm here in Missouri and remember my mother using a Sunbeam stand mixer to mix made-from-scratch cakes and fantastic mashed potatoes.  She still has it and I even found a jitterbuzz blog that talked about a man who would repaint these mixers in popular colors making them look brand new.  There are people who rewire and restore vintage appliances.  And, of course, that was the way we lived years ago…  if something broke, you fixed it instead of throwing it away and buying a replacement.  I also found the MarBeck.com site that supplies parts, bowls and beaters for Sunbeam stand mixers. I want to use this blog to share information like this and to showcase vintage items as they appear on my site, Patty’s Collectibles & Antiques.  I welcome any of your comments, memories, or even questions as we start this new year.  If I, or someone else, can, we will try to find the information you need.