25.4.16

Swanning about

I thought I was coming out of my vintage tat phase, but alas possibly not.  Concrete garden ornaments were genuinely fashionable in Australia for about five minutes in the 1950s and then by the 70s, certainly, they were more likely to bring joy to lovers of kitsch, people from Mediterranean countries and old people who hadn't moved on, in more ways than one.  Thank goodness.  They are always a delight to find tucked away in a garden.   Usually still there because they weigh as much as a small car and Granny's just worked around it since the 60s. 

This episode of ABC's blueprint for living (available to those in Australia) deconstructs the fetish for concrete garden ornaments beautifully.  I couldn't have said it better.   Tyre swans.  I'd forgotten they ever existed until I heard this and then had a sudden urge to consider making one.  Maybe not.

However, yesterday I was poking about in a second had shop (I know! I know I said I never would again!) and came across this. 



I'm struggling to think of much else, and how wonderful it would look in my front patch with a bit of old-lady-plant of some description cooking away inside.  Hmm...




2 comments:

  1. I am (almost!) over vintage kitschy tat too P, bu that's inside the house - it's another matter in the garden! I love 50's concrete gardenalia and am the proud owner of two swan planters, a pair of flamingos, a Neville (concrete Aboriginal), a frog, a penguin, a few bird baths and too many concrete pots to count.
    Buy the swan, you're right it will look fabulous potted up with something nana-ish inside.
    (pricey? I can't believe how much these things are in vintage shoppes! Mine cost $12 and $7 from memory. $250?! You've got to be kidding!)

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    1. So Jealous! A Neville (never heard that but if you say so) must be surely be the jewel in the concrete reinforced crown of gardenalia. So comforted too that I have found a way that I can secretly continue to hoard away vintage treasure without having to dust it. $250? No f#@^ing way, this guy wants $135 but even that's a bit steep. Somehow the pleasure of ownership is thwarted by the knowledge that one has paid stupid money for something.

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