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:

Halloween Lantern v1: The Pumpkin Dream

Arghhh! Once again Ichabod's Cottage has been dumped on by heavy snow and the scarecrow has officially had it since being dumped on back in October - as have the Bindlegrim denizens maybe even long before then, with a single tiny blue snow shovel to dig them out. With all this white stuff falling, at least work is proceeding on the warm orange glows of  a new hex-shaped paper lantern!

Now that The Haint House has sadly departed, not only has there been development of new images, but also a glance back to the original lantern content of style #1. I was nervous that with the excitement of getting really spooky for #3 The Haint House, it would have spoiled me, however, I'm really thrilled with #1 The Pumpkin Dream, (also a limited edition of 5), especially now that I see it complete. I'm enjoying the simplicity of the imagery that to me seems very classic Halloween. The mostly even positive and negative space of the orange and black seems to focus attention on the silhouettes within the fields of orange!

Here is #1 The Pumpkin Dream, Halloween lantern, in a series of shots spinning the lantern to the left, so that you can get different views of the form in six and four panel increments. (I decided this time to show a peak at the lantern in  darker settings lit by a 3 watt flicker bulb). 

So for the uninitiated, The Pumpkin Dream theme is directly related to a book of the same name released last year in 2011. (I was actually working on completing the book in earnest around this same time last year, so in a way, for me, this lantern is commemorative)...

The Pumpkin Dream poetry was a tradition-in-process of mine for a few years, that was illustrated in retro style characters with a palette of orange and black, and released as a DIY publishing venture via various local stores, my favorite pumpkin patch, and Amazon. Note: I've decided to list the lantern with a copy of the book - yet if you are interested in the book itself, I might suggest etsy for a signed copy.

For those familiar with the book, you'll see some small twists in the imagery of the lantern. This final version is a mix of characters and dingbats brought together in new scenes. While the major characters are still present, some of the minor trick-or-treat characters took center stage in panels of their own --- the Princess and the Superhero have found love, the "Jack the Ripper" is being spooked by a spider, and while the Trick-or-Treat Ghost is being haunted by real spirits, the Devil has absconded with his JOL parade lantern.

Hope you enjoy the new adventures of these characters and I'll be sure to post a Bindlegrim blogger entry, facebook message, or twitter message, when this limited edition lantern, in style #1, is available. Happy hauntings from beneath the snow covered cottage of Ichabod's.

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!

A Gaggle of Ghosts Goes to Town

I was listening to some retro-lounge music the other day - and came across an instrumental version of Mr. Ghost Goes to Town, (originally written in 1936 by Will Hudson, Irving Mills and Mitchell Parish.)  I had no idea there were so many cool versions of this song... each one worthy of a listen. Even today when I was going to say there were just three oldies of this tune - I found another blog writer who mentions two more (so that's a half dozen)!

1) I would have started first with the version by Louis Prima (1936), but can't find it anywhere as a sample online. It's a great version and it can be found on The Halloween Stomp mentioned in this entry: Halloween Music at 78 RPM.

2) The second in this list is by The 5 Jones Boys (1938), and though I'm having trouble finding information again about this band - I seem to remember they were known (minus the acoustic strumming) for creating most of their sounds with the voice: (and they use that to spooky effect here to make sounds somewhere between trumpets and theremins, with even the voice of Mr. Ghost making an appearance): 

3 & 4) For two more versions from around the 1930s (the song must have been really popular in that era), here are 2 versions featuring some early twang (one by The Tune Wranglers, and a 2nd by Zeke Manners and His Swing Billies) -- see Music/ Not Music for this entry featuring two early country/western versions: Mustic / Not Music: Three Versions of a Song About A Ghost

5) Switching gears just a bit the next one is an instrumental from The John Buzon Trio, and this is the one that spurred this entry. It's a version that will put a twitch in your tail bone, and be right at home in a cool retro lounge Halloween setting with its swinging organs and funky saxophone. (And if anyone has a collection of cool lounge Halloween tunes out there I would love to know about it!)

6) And finally for a bit of Halloween cheese in your trick-or-treat pail... here's another kicky version from the Lawrence Welk show featuring Bob Ralston in vampire attire playing the tune on the Thomas organ:

Well, do you suppose that's just for starters? With a song this catchy I have a feeling it hasn't fallen out of favor yet... but I think this covers most of the very early versions...? If you know of anymore, please post a comment.