Have you ever known someone who collected a color? Maybe it was that kind of wacky, but sweet neighbor who collected anything purple. Maybe she even had a purple toilet! Maybe it was your grandma who collected blue bottles, blue dishes and little blue salt and pepper shakers. Or maybe it was someone who collects pink!  If there is a color to collect, pink is probably the most popular. It’s so cheery. So sweet. And it includes pink elephants!

There’s pink Pyrex and other assorted serving pieces.

Pink kitchen utensils can make it more fun in the kitchen.

… and speaking of pink kitchens!  Check these out!

During the holidays you can get out your pink Christmas trees and ornaments.

 If you’re really lucky you might find some pink furniture.  

And don’t forget the fancier stuff like antique pink lustreware and depression glass.

And of course those adorable pink elephants. They are somewhat elusive, but they can be found.

It’s really fun to collect a color. You can go into the antique mall and usually find something to add to your collection.  I’ll bet there’s something there right now!  

Carol Fenn 1-2017

Most of us who live in Tucson have enjoyed the Festival of Lights in the magical Winterhaven neighborhood. But did you ever wonder how it all began?

 In 1949 Mr. C. B. Richards created a cooperative water company and a modern residential development *north* of what was then Tucson. He named it Winterhaven. That’s right. The Winterhaven neighborhood not only has the Festival of Lights for two weeks every December, but it also has it’s own water company. This is why most of the homes have green lawns, as opposed to the usual Tucson desert landscaping. The residents are required to use the water that is supplied to them at a relatively inexpensive rate to keep their lawns lush.  

Mr. Richards was inspired to create the Festival after visiting a similar display in Beverly Hills, California in the 1930s. He purchased the first set of Christmas lights in 1949 and donated them to the neighborhoods. He purchased the now very tall Aleppo pines from a local nursery that was going out of business. They were planted at regular intervals throughout the neighborhood and electrical connections were hooked up near each tree for the Christmas lights.

So, this year, when you join the other 60,000 visitors to walk, bike, or drive through this sparkly, wonderfully enchanting, Christmas neighborhood, perhaps you’ll think of Mr. C.B. Richards and his wonderful light filled vision.

    
If you see a single lady head vase you might think, oh that’s cute. But once they are put together into a collection they look wonderful! And, what fun it can be to find them. One here. One there. One at an estate sale, a yard sale, or your friendly aunt gave you hers. Or you go in an antique mall, search space by space and you find three of them! Oh how the ladies at home will love their new friends!

The terms “head vase,” or “lady head vase,” refer to a style of vase popularized during the forties and fifties. Originally, head vases were produced by florist companies to hold small bouquets of flowers.  

Early American head vase manufacturers include Betty Lou Nichols, Ceramic Arts Studio, and Dorothy Copley. Betty Lou Nichols opened her first ceramics studio in 1945. Nichols’ highly desirable vases often are ladies with intricately curled hair and fancy fabric ruffles along with pouting lips and three dimensional eyelashes.

 
Head vase subjects range from Disney characters to exotic foreign females to the Virgin Mary. Many of the most collectible head vases are of famous figures like Lucille Ball and Jackie Kennedy.

After WWII they were produced in Japan by the likes of Enesco, Lefton, Napco, and Ucagco. These imports were generally much cheaper to make and of a lesser quality but they are still very cute today.

If you want to add to your knowledge there are some nice books on the subject.

By the seventies head vase manufacturing ceased so now the only way to add to your collection is to go out and search for them. One at a time. Here and there.  The Midtown MM Mall is a good place to start building your collection. Come on in. I walked around the other day and saw quite a few lady head vases that you can add to your collection.  

Carol Fenn 1-2017