Saturday, June 23, 2007

Summer Reading

Under a shady tree or cottage bound, here's a retro spin on picking up a good book this summer. Most of us remember some series of books that obsessed us through childhood. My mom was a Trixie Belden girl back in the day, and I read a few of the books that were still around when I was growing up. I loved the colour illustrations that wrapped around the whole cover.


I grew up in the seventies, and Shaun Cassidy made me a devoted Hardy Boy reader. My grandmother would treat me to a new mystery when we went to Coles bookstore at the Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon. I collected every single one. When I was a little bit older, I discovered the earlier editions of Hardy Boy books with the "burlap/tweed" covers. Very vintage cool...



Not too long ago, a woman came into the shop with her two young sons. In their best "Duuude" voices they exclaimed, "She's got Hardy Boy books!" She quickly told the boys to pick out the ones that they hadn't read and they both flopped to the floor and picked out six or so books. It was great to see kids get excited about BOOKS.



Who are the Power Boys? No idea.

A closer peek at "Halifax Adventure" revealed a Canuck connection in the world of teen mystery novels. The Brad Forrest Adventure Series (this Halifax volume was a gift to David MacDonald from his dad in 1968) follows a young U of T student who works at his father's newspaper business. Brad travels the globe covering stories for the paper, solving many mysteries along the way. He's Canada's answer to the Hardy Boys. Who knew? I've got to find me some more of these books!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Wondermom @ Winkel!



Mother's Day weekend brings Wondermom events to the Leslieville neighbourhood. Winkel will be offering special discounts, a free draw for a Thai herbal massage and Spaah! treats, free roses for Mom and a "Mean Mommie" movie marathon.

Check out East End Noise for details.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Winkel Goes Global!



When I came across a collection of 170 snow globes I simply couldn't resist. I loved the idea of spreading them out in the front window and watching people smile and explore all the destinations encapsulated in plastic.
My favourite story so far is a woman who bought a New York City globe. On a childhood trip to the Big Apple she wanted to buy a souvenir at the top of the Empire State Building, but when she got up to the cashier she found out that with the additional taxes she couldn't afford the snow globe. Heartbroken, she left empty handed.
Many, many years later she spotted an almost identical globe in my window and fulfilled her childhood wish. She bought the NYC globe for five dollars, no tax.



Snow globes first appeared during the early 1800's in France following the popularity of paperweights. In 1889 the first Eiffel Tower globe was produced to commemorate the International Expo in Paris.

Snow globes crossed the Atlantic in the 1920's and were marketed in America as collector's items. Many of the globes available at the time were made by Atlas Crystal Works, which had factories in Germany and the States. Perhaps the most cinematically famous snow globe appeared in opening of "Citizen Kane" in 1941.



I have a few snow globes that I like to keep around to remind me of special places. On a shelf or a desktop, they can whisk you away for a moment and make you smile.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Think Warm Thoughts....


As the temperature is supposed to creep up to 6 degrees this weekend, I'm thinking warm thoughts in hopes of SPRING. I've never been a snow bunny, even growing up with minus kajillion winters in Saskatchewan. I feel like I've done my time with cold weather, so by the end of February, I'm done! This is why I get a little wistful when I see things that remind me of warmer temperatures.....

Pour me a cold glass of sangria while I soak up the sun..............

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Fine Dining



Chicken ala Tramp? Flaming Sword Dinners? Just a few of the tempting dinner suggestions in this 1953 menu from Nick Yanko's restaurant in Akron, Ohio. This is just a sampling of the HUGE collection of menus that I brought into the shop. I love the graphics inside and out!


This lovely from the New City Restaurant and Hotel in Georgetown, British Guiana is one of my favourites. It's a small menu, but the texture of the card stock and the cover image are sublime. Many holidays, many meals, and what a great souvenir from your travels. Plain paper printouts seem to be the norm these days, and if they put this much money into their menus you certainly wouldn't be allowed to take one home!





"All Fancy Dishes and Drinks Dispensed by Experienced Men" claims this menu from the Normandie in Quebec. Black Caviar on toast for a mere 75 cents, too!





Classic Trader Vic's. Swishy cocktail selections....





Dressed in your best, white linen tablecloths, the warm glow of tiny lamps on each table, AND a ceramic coconut for you to take home! Evenings out were such a classy affair.




















The Brown Derby. Old Hollywood Glam. I love it! Please, someone open a restaurant like this NOW!


The Painted Desert Room at the Desert Inn in fabulous Las Vegas! I have three different menus from the Painted Desert. They would reprint them regularly to change the cover image and to change the headline entertainment information inside.








Jimmy Durante was on stage Sept. 1st, 1958, following Ed Sullivan who made his appearance on July 1st.









The Desert Inn was opened April 24, 1950 after four years of construction and 6.5 million dollars. In 1966, Howard Hughes bought the Inn for 7 million dollars, after having lived on the ninth floor for many years. Fast forward to 2000 when Steve Wynn bought the Desert Inn for a whopping 275 million. The Desert Inn closed its doors at 2am on August 28, 2000 and I believe the property has since become a golf course.
Progress.






Frame the cover or the inside menu to create fantastic original artwork for a kitchen, hallway or powder room. A great gift for those who love to cook!

Bon Appetit!

Friday, February 02, 2007

Booty-Licious!



Oh Baby, look at these booties! Handmade by my mom out west and exclusive to Winkel. The cowboy booties are my favourite, but the roller booties and hockey booties are pretty swell, too.



Perfect for the future Gretzky or Roller Derby Queen!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Winter Wallpaper



I've got a thing for wallpaper. Groovy, colourful, vintage wallpaper. Flocked velveteen wallpaper-yummy! This winter I've been digging out all of my sample books and scraps to create different decorations for the shop. My latest venture is the wallpaper sample quilt that now adorns the front window wall. I used brass thumbtacks in each corner which sort of "studs" the whole wall. The samples are from a collection of 1970's designs, but some feel quite contemporary.

Winter projects carry on.....

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Winkelbread House




Behold the Winkelbread House! Created for the shop by the lovely Linda of It's The Icing On The Cake, with windows illustrated by Marla, my valued employee. I have saved the facade and the miniature Hubble to be framed in a shadow box and kept for posterity.



December was very busy at the shop. Lots of holiday shoppers and many gift challenges solved. I wish all the friends of Winkel the best for the new year!

I've been hatching a few plans for special events at the shop this year. Coming up February 10 & 11th is the first Winkel Fabric Sale. I'm digging out all of my barkcloth, tablecloths, remnants and getting them ready to share with other textile addicts. Anyone looking for a groovy print to use in their winter projects is sure to find something.

Look for fresh and funny Valentine cards arriving at the shop in the next week or so, as well as new card selections from Bald Guy Greetings, Hello Lucky and Sidepony!

Time to go tend to the shop and watch the snow falling outside the window....