XYZ Workshop Corn Plastic Robbie Robot Planter

The kids love these machines, seeing doodles come to life.  Courtesy: XYZWorkshop.com

Ohhhhhhhhhh look, a plastic fantastic machine --- well, not exactly.  In a nutshell these fabulous little machines print scribbles and doodles in 3-D, making them into the next best plastic made of corn. Yes ,we said a non toxic plastic ! How wonderful!

Robbie the Robot is fantasy turned reality, and is available on Etsy for $35

The Dinosaur is printed from Corn Plastic and is so super cool!

All of this is made available by XYZ Workshop! XYZ Workshop was formed in early 2013, by Australian Architects, Elena Low and Kae Woei Lim. This husband and wife team were intrigued by desktop manufacturing and spent their time out of their architectural work tinkering around with their kit assembled 3D printer from Ultimaker. Much like Architecture, they were drawn into the potential of 3d Printing as it fused aspects of Art, Sculpture and Technology.

Will this be the next plastic fantastic thing, collectible 50 years form now? Or will all that corn simply compost back into the ground? Guess we shall see..........

Check them out: 
XYZWorkshop.com
XYZWorkshop on Etsy

No Need for Plastic Knobs Concrete is Here

Are Fantastic Plastic Cabinet Knobs Soon to Be a Thing of the Past? Find these at Peleda.etsy.com

I often sit writing this blog on plastics, melmac dinnerware and everything vintage and sweet plastic fantastic I am often plaqued and find myself in a Catch -22.  My primary goal is to create a likeness for all-things-vintage-plastic and to find a use for them, to keep them out of the landfill and in reuse as a method of living greener.  The flip side of course is that I'm actually a huge environmentalist who thinks one plastics blog is not enough! Although I do my part to try to reuse the vintage plastic in my home, in my life, and in my art, there's just too much new flooding the market out there.  There's just so much of it that even if somewhere were to write a blog 100 years from now and put the love back into old television remotes, our landfills would still be a mess.

I still can't believe this is made of concrete, find them at KastConcrete.com

Now imagine my surprise when I found Greg Hensey out of Alabama out of his Kast Concrete Decor Etsy Shop  has decided to go up against plastic one small knob at a time. He's taken something that we normally don't think of as being able to be "dainty". When I think concrete I think of my uncle, a stone mason, who pours basements and steps, and walls, I never see the tiny details that Greg has managed to encompass in a single, teeny, tiny knob. How could he make it so gorgeous in design when in fact it's made of concrete?  It is true now after seeing this I fear for the lives of plastic knobs.  Will they soon be defunct because of Greg's gorgeous designs?

On Etsy you can find these knobs at KastConcreteDesign.etsy.com

 
I suppose I should back up first.  Originally pre and during World War One plastics plants were molding everything from telephone handsets to plastic knobs. Mainly in the beginning everything was brown or butterscotch.

Brown vintage radio and tv knobs available at carriesattic.etsy.com

This old butterscotch bakelite knob has held up quite well. It goes on your car, find it at RelicsAntiques.etsy.com

These knobs went to everything and anything you could think of from car radios, to televisions to airplane controls. Some kitchen cabinet or furniture drawer knobs originally dating back to 1930's to 1940's were made of bakelite. Often becoming brittle and disintegrating over time, they were hard to repair or find replacements and the colors were limited until the late 1940's when Bakelite began introducing more colors--moving into stronger plastics production and the cool 1950's colorful era of knobs. Most radios still had clear knobs for instance if you bought a pink radio, sometimes the plastic knobs were clear and not pink, but in the rare case of this 1950's model (below), you would have the best red knobs yet:

BigRiverMercantile on Etsy has this great 1951 radio just waiting for you.

Over time the strength of the plastic improved but still, most kitchens upgraded to polished metal by the 1950's (although stove knobs were a mix of plastic and metal) Keep in mind those metal knobs would dull or show rust over time, so moving into the 1960s-1990's harder resin plastics and wood became more and more acceptable in the kitchen.   Now, if you are wondering, just where did all those gazillions of  old plastic knobs go?

Stores like CaityAshBadashery on Etsy sell old plastic knobs to artists to make things.

They are floating around in vintage shops on Etsy it seems. We hope that the artists come and save the day.  Old dirty plastic knobs pulled from radios, televisions, air conditioners or stoves end up in use for artist sculptures thanks to assemblage and mixed media art.  Wouldn't it be better however in the future if all knobs were made of concrete? Then perhaps one day, if you happened to walk in a landfill, you'd find a pile of stone rubble next to a pile of cracked up plastic and know just what was what.

Enter the Roxanne Knob. Oh yeah. Only $8 each at KastConcreteDecor on Etsy.com

Wow. R.I.P. little plastic knobs. It was nice knowing you.

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In the meantime, listen to the retro redhead!

Old Plastic Signs Find Homes Again

Old apartment sign, from vintagesweaters1 on Etsy.

Vintage plastics that are extremely collectible like bakelite jewelry, melamine dinnerware, kitchenwares, or old radios are a given, but what about the items we don't give much thought to?  You know the ones...we don't stop to think much about, or take for granted every day?  If you stop what you are doing right now and look around to see how much plastic (or forms thereof) are really around us. Are your keyboard buttons on your computer plastic? What about your cellphone cover?  Your slipper or shoe soles? Your cable remote ? The door to your microwave?  A connector on your pet's collar? Your child's toys? The flat on your mailbox? The mud flaps on your truck or bumper on your car? Here today, gone tomorrow, what will be vintage in fifty years?

Old plastic sign numbers from Chomp Monster on Etsy, surely they have a use for something!

The goal is to keep these old plastics out of the landfills and find a use for them.  There's a whole bunch of crafters and artists who would love to get their hands on the old sign letters above, for use in artwork and scrapbooking. A new hip trend is merging them into your design and decor.

 I wish I had this in my Italian Kitchen, it is the equivalent of "Pizza Pieces" found at hlalalebrocantage on Etsy! In fact, if you look hard enough you can really vintage-tize your home by shopping for old plastic store signs, or parts thereof.  Nothing like making a statement with a giant plastic letter!   I was writing this post and literally bought two of these giant blue letters (below). Not only will they look great in my home as a statement but husband will be perplexed by them so it makes it all worthwhile.  Dare to be different.

These gorgeous blue big letter signage ($26 each) at vinagecollectorlover on Etsy are a must have to make a statement. The signs are metal cased but the plastic makes them pop. Would love to sit on next to my vintage glove mold for a modern look!  You can even decorate other rooms in the home. Hey, what about this on your bathroom?

  MojeArt on Etsy offers this sign. Reminds me of something you would have seen in an old diner.

Lately I've seen a lot of people selling old gas station signs. Think of how many gas stations there are and how many giant plastic numbers that are floating around out there. Surely you could find something do with them?  They really look good if placed properly. 

 This great numeral from a gas station is rigid plastic and found at simplychi on Etsy.

The bottom line is dare to be different and merge a little plastic into your life. You won't be sorry. Signs are the new trend, and they don't always have to be wood or metal.

Orange Toaster Kitchen Plastic Fantastic

Hello, what's this? An orange toaster from Hunter's Kitchen on Etsy.

Orange is making a comeback. I wasn't ever really a fan of orange, until now.  I grew up in the 1970's and Mom really overdid the orange-lime-yellow thing. I guess that's why I thought orange was "gross." Of course I was still in shock from the old 1960's kitchen we had which was olive-brown-drab so the orange should have been a nice change for me.....but for some reason I didn't like orange.  Now it's sort of growing on me. I especially like the orange and white combinations.

Orange and white thermal cups by Olive and Frances on Etsy!

Orange plastic dish rack from Etsy seller WaikikiKitsch

It's no surprise that everyone loves Ashton Kutcher since his big takeover on Two and a Half Men.  Of course you may remember "That Seventies Show" and perhaps if we asked Kitty Forman she wouldn't mind having these items in her retro kitchen.

Retro timer puts a little orange into your life. Get it at ThisandThat4U on Etsy!

What do you think ?  Is Orange in, or out?