Bindlegrim's 5th Hallowe'en Anniversay Box Set

The 2016 Bindlegrim Summer Sale is still active into early Autumn with 25% off items on Bindlegoods, and a big thank-you to those cool ghouls following on facebook and/or twitter who participated in the two auctions that closed tonight (shown below).

Bats & Mice (left) with Spooksville Road (right) - auctions complete.

The final 2015 auction offers a pandora's box of past Bindlegrim work. It's a 5th Hallowe'en Anniversary (one-of-a-kind) Box Set with transparency logo, and filled with a selection of items from the past 5+ years (some pre-Bindlegrim) with at least one Artist Proof lantern never previously available.

Update Sept 5, 2016 (tentative content list at bottom of this post):

Tentative content list as of Sept 5, 2016:

Spook Box (2016) Content List Envelope (with card and Boo! transparency print)

The Pumpkin Dream, signed copy (orig. 2011) 

Untitled artist proof #2/3 box lantern, signed - (2011)

The Cornish Litany, carnivorous tree, signed postcard #14/25 (2011)

The Cornish Litany, chamber spooks, signed postcard #14/25 (2011)

The Cornish Litany, keyhole set of 12 postcards (2012)

Spooklights, Pendant Lamp Shade #1 (2014)

Spooklights, Candlestick Lamp Base, #1 (2014)

Spooklights, Candlestick Lamp Base, #2 (2014)

Spooklights Creature Votive (2014)

Beasties, candy basket version (2015)

Beasties, set  of 4 postcards (2015)

Dodeca lantern #10  Bats & Mice , signed limited edition (2015)

Dodeca lantern #11 Spooksville Road, signed limited edition (2015)

Additional Oddities:

Halloween Trunk Show 8, 9, & 10 postcards (2013-15)

Hallowe’en set of 9 greeting cards with 1 place holder, 1 place holder alternate (2004)

Blood Moon Assembly

The assembly - a gathering of like minds under the harvest blood moon...

Another reason why I enjoy making Bindlegrim's Bindlegoods... Sometimes I imagine this must be what the shelves of the old, early-century warehouses must have looked like as they prepared paper goods (in rows upon rows) to ship out for the season...

Big Shiny Aluminum Tree

As the amazing 2013 draws to a close, sending you best wishes for happy holidays with some random pics of the retro-mod aluminum Christmas tree decked with fave vintage Shiny Brites. And with special guest appearances by three Johanna Parker pieces (the limited edition Snowman sitter at the bottom of the tree, and the Santa & Snowman ornaments hanging out over the stockings). If you look closely, you just might also see Red Hob & Green Hob, stars of Grim Happy Christmas hanging out on the boughs of the tree; they are enjoying this grooveshark playlist (Bindlegrim Christmas).

Feliz Navidad from casita Bindlegrim!

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!

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