327 Queen St. East, between Parliament and Berkley streets, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA. 416.778.6608. email: info@ethel20thcenturyliving.com
Hours: Mondays by appointment, Tue - Thurs: 12pm - 6pm, Friday: 2pm - 7pm, Sat: 12 - 6, Sun: 12pm - 5pm

8.31.2011

New Atomic Ranch is here!


We just got in the Fall 2011 issue of Atomic Ranch, and as usual, it's chock full of vintage goodies!
A profile of designer Isamu Noguchi, a "pets on mid-century furniture" photo contest, and of course, lots of stories on mid-century houses and the owners that love them!
So drop by the store to get your copy before they're all gone.
See you at the store!

8.27.2011

More Meow!!!

After our feline post a few days ago, we ended up with more kitties in the store!

For those of you not familiar with Witco, it’s a company that manufactured wood decor, generally made out of red cedar with dark walnut stain, back in the 50’s & 60’s. Specializing in carved furniture and wall art, this company was best known for it’s polynesian and jungle style furniture and accessories. In fact, the Jungle Room in Elvis’s Graceland is entirely furnished with Witco. One of the most popular and sought after wall art pieces from Witco, is the world map, with the continents being carved out of wood, mounted onto a painted blue background. They also did viking ships, tiki masks and quite a few variations on the feline form.

This trio of kitties is priced at $225 and is stamped Witco on the back


We also got in yet ANOTHER panther lamp. Well, this would could be a cougar, or maybe a mountain lion... we’re not experts in big cats of North America. All we know is it’s as kitschy as all get out, and we hope it gets along with the other three big cat lamps in here!



Cougar lamp is $65


So, if you love kitties as much as Ethel, come by and say “hi” (or meow....)

See you at the store!

8.22.2011

Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic....


We always say that orange was Frank Sinatra's favourite colour, but today, it's Ethel's favourite colour. Not everyone will agree with his politics, but we can all agree on his last message.
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." - Jack Layton
RIP Jack. We'll miss you.



8.20.2011

Meow!

Ethel loves her animal friends and while we don't currently have a store cat (remember Edyth?) we do have other kitties to keep us company around the store.

We love this vintage ceramic panther lamp, complete with it's original shade. Perfect for that rockabilly lounge or that exotic jungle room!

Panther lamp is $125
UPDATE: Panther lamp has sold!

If you like your felines a little more domestic, check out this folk art pen & ink drawing. 5 cats instead of one, and they don't shed!
Cats by Pat is $45
UPDATE: Cats have sold!

If these cats are a little too abstract for you, how about this pair of big eyed friends? By kitschy "Big Eyed Art" artist Gig, these prints are from the Donald Art Company and are mounted on half inch thick corkboard with a hole for hanging. Perfect for that 70's Brady Bunch bedroom.
Pity Kitty and Pity Puppy are $15 each
UPDATE: Big Eyed kitty & puppy have sold!

If the big eyes are making you sad, then how about this black cat screened pair of salt & pepper shakers? This wooden set would add some feline fun to your knotty pine kitchen!
S&P shakers are $12 for the set
UPDATE: Salt & Pepper shakers have sold!

So, remember, it may be a dog eat dog world out there but kitties are always our friends!

See you at the store!

8.13.2011

Daniel Boone rides again...


We have a knack for finding the right homes for our vintage goodies.

This cool biker dude walked in the store with his wife, and while I doubt he was interested in 50's prom dresses, I knew he'd love this fringed buckskin coat we had at the clothing pop-up. I pointed it out to him, and he said he'd been looking for one! Once he tried it on, it was a no-brainer.
So it just goes to show that there's a buyer out there for everything. Also, his wife bought some vintage chalkware fruit, and she told me she had a big collection at home, so it also goes to show you that you can't judge a book by its cover!

See you at the store!

2 days left for vintage fashion...


Only two more days left for the House of Shaude Vintage Clothing pop-up shop!
Shannon would rather sell it instead of pack it all up on Sunday, so come on down and make her an offer on that 50's prom dress, hawaiian shirt, 70's sequined disco top or vintage rhinestones!
See you at the store!

8.11.2011

Beaded glamour!

We just can't get over all the lovely vintage clothes here at the store!
Today we're featuring a pair of cashmere/angora beaded sweaters, straight from the 50's.
Check out this gorgeous pale mocha coloured sweater, with coordinating beading in brown, and gold, with brown satin piping.
Our favourite is this pink number with white satin piping, and coordinating beading in pearl and silver.

Each sweater is fully lined with invisible hook and eye closures and satin piping around the cuffs, collar and edges. The beading is around the cuffs, collar and edges on both, and is in near perfect condition.



The sweaters were both made in British Hong Kong and are a small fit, but would work beautifully as a shoulder shrug over a dainty summer cocktail dress (or one of the vintage 50's prom dresses we have right now.
Each sweater is $85.
UPDATE: mocha sweater with brown and gold beading has sold!

See you at the store!

8.10.2011

Chrome for the Home


We just got in two of these groovy 70's chrome framed arm chairs.
Manufactured by Patrician Furniture Company out of High Point, North Carolina,
this pair of glamorous beauties would look great in a swanky bachelor pad or sophisticated 70's inspired space. We're pricing them at $250 each or $400 for the pair.
UPDATE: Chrome frame chairs have sold!

Also, only 5 days left for the House of Shaude vintage clothing pop-up shop! So if you're in the market for a little tropical fun...

Hawaiian shirts - priced between $10 to $40 each

Or if you're headed out to do a little cowpunching out on the range...
Western shirts - prices vary

Come by the shop and check out the vintage fashion. Hey, you may not have room for a new sofa, but there's always room in the closet for a little vintage fun!

See you at the store!

8.06.2011

Ethel's closet

First day of the House of Shaude vintage clothing pop up shop and things are flying out the door!

We have our eye on this gorgeous hand embroidered shawl in black and fuschia.
Shawl is $250.


Wouldn't it look fantastic over this vintage pink prom dress?
Prom dress is $150

Or perhaps we could funk it up with a a stylin' vintage Biltmore hat.
Biltmores from $35 to $50

We also have lots of hawaiian shirts for the tiki lover, western shirts for the cowboy, eighties glam for the high powered executive and 70's sequins for the disco queen.
So drop by the shop and check it out.
See you at the store!

8.02.2011

Legs L'amour

We just got this lovely leggy lounge chair in and we wanted to show it to you.
Originally in a 1960s orange weave, it had seen better days and needed some Ethel (and Princess Perfect) love. We went with a hard wearing dark green chenille corduroy with a coordinating pattered box cushion for the seat. We love the legs on the outside and think it gives this otherwise masculine chair a sexy edge.

It's priced at $1200.

You can come see it this weekend at our vintage clothing pop-up sale!

See you at the store!