How to Find Great (and Weird) Food Ephemera
Hi, my name is Ashlea, and I am a hoarder.
Not the kind you read about in the newspapers, whose neighbors find them dead underneath a mountain of year-old pizza boxes and kitty litter, but the organized kind. I own tons and tons and tons of STUFF, mostly vintage and kitsch, all immaculately displayed and frequently dusted.
I am particularly keen on objects and ephemera from the 1920s through 1970s, though I'm not above an '80s or '90s buy. Extra credit if it's bright, colorful, and/or some long lost artifact of popular culture. (And extra extra credit if it's actually functional, as most of my kitchen items are.) The less useful stuff is still fun to behold; my present collection includes a communist bread-line sign from Prague, a fluorescent pink Colonel Sanders piggy bank from Montreal, Snap Crackle and Pop character pillows from dAN's Parents' House in Brooklyn, and a metal 1950s dancing hot dog sign from Tokyo. It's eclectic, to say the least.
So what do I look for when I'm scouting? And why do some objects make the official Hoarder of Kitsch cut, while others get passed over? Click ahead to get inside my brain.
Ashlea Halpern1/27BOUGHT: Vintage Beer Cans
How much room an object will take up is make or break in the decision-making process. Vintage beer cans are small, lightweight, and totally weird. I found this one at the Brooklyn Flea inWilliamsburg.
Ashlea Halpern2/27BOUGHT: State Plates
I discovered these fabulous souvenir plates at a Salvation Army in Watkins Glen, NY. They were $1.99 a piece, but worth 100 times that, if you ask me. I love the gold baroque detailing on Arkansas and the lacy edging of the Grand Canyon. They’re also a hit when we entertain; who wants to eat off a boring IKEA plate when you can scoop hummus from atop the Ozarks?
Ashlea Halpern3/27RESISTED: Roasting Pan
Man, was this tough. That beautiful blue, those perfect rust spots, the word "savory." Ultimately I passed on this item from Found, a multi-vendor antiques mall in Ithaca, NY, because (1) it was too big, and (2) I’ve never roasted anything in my life but vegetables…and no vegetable, save for maybe a whole pumpkin, needs a pan this big. If I could have a do-over, I’d grab that wooden crate from the Bronx instead. I mean, how cool would that look filled with old seltzer bottles?
Ashlea Halpern4/27RESISTED: It’s Fun to Barbecue Book
You know, sometimes it’s enough just to Instagram a picture and leave it at that.
Ashlea Halpern5/27BOUGHT: Beer Girl and Toothpicks
So what did I buy at Found? Tiny things. Cardboard beer girl here is about five inches tall; she’s currently magnetized to my fridge. The fruity, punchy toothpicks are Japanese, circa 1960s.
Ashlea Halpern6/27BOUGHT: Vintage Bread Sign
I’m a sucker for primary colors. Also: flat items that can be hung on walls. The simplicity and repetition in this old Town Talk tin sign is killer.
Ashlea Halpern7/27BOUGHT: Pollo Dora
Flat? Check. Colorful? Check. And it reminds me of Los Pollos Hermanos from Breaking Bad, a.k.a. the greatest show on television. This sign, scored at Film Biz Recycling in Gowanus, Brooklyn, was destined to be mine.
Ashlea Halpern8/27BOUGHT: Popsicle Poster
Aren’t those just the creepiest faces you’ve ever seen? That they were used to sell popsicles to French people blows my mind. I scored this at a flea market in Toronto.
Ashlea Halpern9/27BOUGHT: Bunny Bowl
It’s not often that you find a shallow yet heavy-duty bowl with bunnies playing bumper cars on it. But lo and behold, there it was at that same flea market in Toronto, beckoning me. The vendor pegged it to the early 1940s. Sold.
Ashlea Halpern10/27RESISTED: Punch Set
I ran across this gorgeous mid-century punch set at BYOB Cocktail Emporium in Toronto. But 10 tumblers equals 10 guests, and we almost never entertain that many people at once. It would have just collected dust.
Ashlea Halpern11/27BOUGHT: PeeWee Plate
Again, parties are more fun when you eat off wacky plates. And it doesn’t get much wackier than PeeWee Herman.
Ashlea Halpern12/27BOUGHT: Unisphere Salt & Pepper Set
This was a Christmas gift from 2012. The miniature salt-and-pepper set is a collectible from the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing, Queens. And no, we wouldn’t dare put actual salt and pepper in those shakers.
Ashlea Halpern13/27BOUGHT: Tiny T-V Salt & Pepper Set
Another oldie but goodie that we keep on display but don't actually use.
Ashlea Halpern14/27RESISTED: Old-timey Radios
I spotted these beauties for sale at Old Hollywood in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I love, love, loved them but simply don't have the counter space. Plus, they cost mega bucks.
Ashlea Halpern15/27BOUGHT: Donald Duck Platter
This gem, which depicts DonaldDuck (I think?) chilling on a pile of papayas (maybe?), came from a flea market in Mexico City. But who's Pascual?
Ashlea Halpern16/27RESISTED: Jadeite Mixer
Had this mixer been functional, I would have strongly considered it. Alas. Another lifetime.
Ashlea Halpern17/27BOUGHT: Diner Ephemera
Remember what I said about things being small and flat? If it can be hung, stuck, glued, taped, nailed, or push-pinned to the wall, I’ll probably get it. These banana-split and cherry-pie cardboard cut-outs are from a 1940s diner, but are very Twin Peaks. I found them at a thrift store in Vancouver.
Ashlea Halpern18/27BOUGHT: Food Packaging
The poppy colors and quirky design of this old ice cream-bar wrapper, unearthed at a thrift store on Hawaii's Big Island, make me so happy.
Ashlea Halpern19/27RESISTED: Shortening Tin
I’m really kicking my butt over this one: a 110-pound canister of Flakewhite pure vegetable shortening. I recall making some lame excuse about not having enough floor space—hello, I should've just gotten rid of the kitchen table. It would have been worth it.
Ashlea Halpern20/27BOUGHT: Thermoses, Lunch Boxes, Canteens
Some collectors go real deep on one object, but I prefer a mix of oddities. These are some of my favorite vintage Thermoses; old Frosted Flakes, Sesame Street, and race-to-space lunch boxes; and my Number One pride and joy, a tiger-warrior canteen from a flea market in Kyoto, Japan. And even though I've never seen the TV show, I simply had to have that Welcome Back, Kotter bulletin board after spotting it at a flea in Amsterdam.
Ashlea Halpern21/27BOUGHT: Scuba Diver Liquor Decanter
Another all-time favorite find. We picked up this scuba diver-inspired liquor decanter at a vintage store in the western Catskills. Of course, it's way too nice to actually put liquor inside.
Ashlea Halpern22/27BOUGHT: Cottage Cheese Pin
Love the fonts! A golden find for a couple of bucks at a garage sale in Buffalo, NY.
Ashlea Halpern23/27RESISTED: Toledo Scale
Who wouldn’t want a giant industrial scale, seen here at Eclectic Collectibles & Antiques in Williamsburg, Brooklyn? Oh, that’s right. People who live in shoeboxes. Still: What a beauty.
Ashlea Halpern24/27RESISTED: Dish Set
This matchy-match 1960s set, spotted at a flea in Toronto, speaks for itself. I was this close to pulling the trigger, but then remembered we already have enough vintage coffee mugs to caffeinate a small army.
Ashlea Halpern25/27BOUGHT: Tea Set
This five-piece marvel, however, I made all the room for. It combines two of my favorite things: the sixties and Japanese design.
Ashlea Halpern26/27RESISTED: Biscuit Tin
A mint-condition biscuit tin, found at an antiques store in Cold Spring, NY, but abandoned because the shopkeeper wanted, like, $9 million for it.
Ashlea Halpern27/27RESISTED: Buck Mugs
I hate myself for recently passing over these heavy-duty, fabulously purple stag steins at a vintage shop in Los Angeles. At the time I was shopping, I was attempting to live a "more minimalist life." See what minimalism does to you? It deprives you of the fabulous. Don't be minimalist, kids; hoard like your life depends on it.
