Advent 5

Put your tree up yet?

Before real trees came back into fashion, in the mid 90s I suppose, 'real looking' artificial trees were the thing in a phase that lasted from the 80s onwards. You can still get them and many folks still use them as they're convenient and don't have to be purchased anew each year. We've got five that we've collected along the way.

But, before the fashion for 'realistic artificial' trees came along, artificial trees were somewhat different. Quite minimalist and you could say, 'Space Age'. Considered very fashionable alongside the Scandinavian design furniture, and from the U.S., Eames influenced household designs.

Needless to say this kind of tree in original condition, with the fake red pot and Pifco lights, concave baubles and thin tinsel is the height of fashion once again in certain quarters ..

Reminds me of  'Christmas on Tracy Island'.

Advent 1

I was wondering what to put here to create a kind of Advent calendar. I've decided on some pictures of a nostalgic and vintage theme, with just a few words.

So to kick off we have a few old fashioned (vintage!) Christmas light bulbs. I'll probably put some more of these up in the next 23 days as I like them. This kind of bulb is usually in a string of 12, being rated at 20V (for anyone reading from overseas, domestic UK power is 240 volts).

They have been produced in this voltage and fitting (MES) format since at least the 1930s, and many of the original bulbs are still around and working today, having had relatively little use in total during the past 80 years.

This type of decorative bulb, called 'figural' when representing a particular item, person, or fruit, are an interesting and attractive thing to collect. It's even better if they're still working. So if you're looking around flea markets, reuse shops or car boot sales - my advice is - always carry a 9v battery.