Merry Kitsch-mas!

Bindlegrim is happy to announce that Grim Happy Christmas is now in its 2nd edition for 2013 with improvements on both price and format. This newer version is a larger 8.5" square which just seems more kid-friendly, and the print is larger for those of us with tired eyes. As well, the cover and content are now on soft-to-the-touch matte pages without any major loss to the photographic quality. I only regret it has taken me since 2011 to get this done!
 

You can find the book in two places online* this December with the following special prices:

1) On Amazon (currently priced around $7.95 and qualifies for their free shipping deals).

2) On CreateSpace (using December's coupon code 4DX92CZD get it for $5 + shipping). 

* Note that the book is still on blurb.com but there the 7" glossy (first edition) costs around $20 to produce and for some reason they only offer limited and expensive shipping options via UPS)... 

Are you new to Grim Happy Christmas? Well, once upon a time, a little Christmas gnome leaps from the darkness of his storage box to seek out the happy dreams of the holiday, but instead finds dirty dishes and big scary bills! What has happened to Christmas? The story that follows is told in simple words and photography, and is appropriate for the entire family (minus perhaps a scary scene with the grim reaper), and offers a quick lesson that maybe the importance of the holiday isn't found rushing off to find glittery gewgaws to bedazzle the senses, when love is right there at home, wherever that may be for you!

Christmas Gnomes (Tomte, Nisse, or Hobs) are (per Wikipedia) mythological creatures from Scandinavian folklore typically associated with the winter solstice and the Christmas season. The gnome is known as a gift bearer and considered the Swedish version of Father Christmas. As mid-century decorations - the gnomes were Christmas kitsch ornaments Made In Japan during the 1950s of hand painted hard plastic faces topped by flocked paper hats. Arms, legs, and hair were chenille, and the bodies and feet were made from spun cotton.

The characters of this book are actually cherished vintage hand-me-down ornaments from the author's home, that became the centerpiece of this book's lesson during a particularly skint and cancelled holiday. The photos seen in this book were at first to become a simple Christmas card yet during the photo session seemed to be telling a story, and this developed into a little hand-made book of scribbled words and pasted pictures. It was the only material gift offered during that harsh year - but with content that became meaningful beyond price. 

Bindlegrim, Red Hob, & Green Hob send you their best this season! Merry Kitsch-mas!

You can see more pictures of the book on flickr:

Shiny Brite Aluminum Christmas Tree

Well, it must already be quite obvious from The Grim Happy Christmas (with a cast of kitsch gnomes dating around the fifties), that there is great deal of interest in vintage Christmas too around the Bindlegrim household. And over the past year the gnomes have been helping collect just a few boxes of wonderful old Shiny Brite ornaments for the second year's go at an aluminum Christmas tree.

For tips on identification (vintage vs Radko), company history, and a variety of vintage ornament photos check out these links:

Mid-Century Modern Glass Tree Ornaments: Shiny Brites
Vintage Shiny Brite Christmas Ornaments
and you might try shopping around on etsy for them:
shiny brite ornaments on Etsy
and here's a site on: Aluminum Christmas Trees

Of special attraction here were the assorted mod/retro/abstract shapes that were produced. And here's a handful of photos featuring a few of those designs:






Of course the Christmas gnomes just had to get into the act too, in true appreciation of the aluminum tree, and here's a few portraits of some of the band members:

For more vintage Christmas images of fun designs from the past check out these fun groups on flickr:

• Antique Christmas: 1830-1945
• Vintage Christmas: 1945-1970
• Aluminum Christmas Trees

 Wishing you all a joyous season from Bumble (bah humbug) Bindlegrim!

Grim Happy Outtakes (ILMO El Sr. Muerto)

Here are some early shots and outtakes from the photographic story of Christmas Gnomes from the original 2001 version of The Grim Happy Christmas  --- with a special tribute to the late great El Sr. Muerto:

In 2001 the part of the villain in The Grim Happy Christmas was played by a chain smoking Day of the Dead character (who was known to always play his roles with a sombrero and a cactus backdrop).

This scene (above) taken on a wet rainy day in Seattle and from the original book was redone for the 2011 version with a different actor. The original actor, I believe is listed on IMDB as the late El Sr. Muerto.

Above is an early unused behind-the-scene photograph of Red Hob and El Sr. Muerto preparing for their photo shoot in 2001. Red Hob is getting into character here as the loveable hero, while El Sr. Muerto sticks up his chin looking for the right balance of macabre and machismo.

In this outtake, Red Hob, who is supposed to be scared witless, can't help but laugh as El Sr. Muerto gives him Marty Feldman eyes. Sadly the two were unable to reunite for the newer version, since El Sr. Muerto had fallen apart some years previous in a fit of loco.

And, finally, above is a dramatic take from the early photos used in the 2001 version of this tale as only the great El Sr. Muerto could achieve. While below, in 2011, The Grim Happy Christmas (new version) cast, was honored, to have a new yet seasoned actor playing the role of the sinister villain, and we offer this small blurry outtake from the new photography as a small preview.

The Grim Happy Blurb Preview

Red Hob and Green Hob are happy to announce the availability (for the 2011 Christmas season) of their 40 page photographic adventure book "The Grim Happy Christmas: Another Fireside Tale from the Library of Mr. Bumble Bindlegrim", on the shelves of blurb.com and would like to direct you to this preview of approximately the first 16-17 pages of the book.

The Grim Happy Christmas by Robert Aaron Wiley

The Grim Happy Christmas

Following the last post (Peeking into the Christmas Box), I wanted to follow up with news that The Grim Happy Christmas photo book will be available soon within the next few days from the Bindlegrim library located on blurb.com, and here are a few sneak peeks of the cover and first few interior layouts of the book:

What happens next? I hope you will enjoy finding out.

The story is a simpler tale with simpler text (than that of poetry in The Pumpkin Dream) and is intended for a larger audience and families; the story follows a gnome who wakes up at Christmas wondering where the holiday he had dreamt of all year can be found, because something in this house seems terribly wrong!

From the inside cover:

Red Hob & Green Hob (front flap)

The characters of Grim Happy Christmas, Red Hob and Green Hob, were cherished vintage ornaments handed down from family and became the centerpiece of this book during a particularly skint holiday.

Christmas Gnomes (Tomten, Nisse, or Hobs) were Christmas kitsch ornaments Made In Japan during the 1950s of hand painted hard plastic faces topped by flocked paper hats. Arms, legs, and hair were chenille, and the bodies and feet were made from spun cotton.

Bindlegrim and Wiley (back)

Mr. Bumble Bindlegrim was a collector of holiday literature, and is said to have lived his later years among wild rabbits and mossy apple trees of an orchard on the San Juan Islands of northwest Washington.

Robert Aaron Wiley ( author of The Pumpkin Dream) is also an avid fan of holidays. He is known to explore the arts via writing, illustration, photography, design, digital media, music... as well as the history of vintage ephemera and kitsch.