My Tiny, Twee, Swiss Chalet Music Box Collection

A veritable village of music boxes, some original, vintage ones and some newer reproductions. 

I remember playing with my Gran’s Swiss Chalet music box at her house on Saturday evenings, but I can’t recall when I started my own little collection, but it’s definitely a tribute.  

I think my favourite one is the cute homestead on the middle shelf on the right with the white stag heads. 

The top, left chalet is a weather predictor! (It doesn’t work, sadly). 

If I buy any more, I’ll need a bigger cabinet. 

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Take a Nosy Inside My Home, The REAL World of Kitsch: Taxidermy Piranhas, Castle Grayskull, & Haunted Paintings from the 1970s

My blog, when it started out in August 2009 was a place where I posted the charity shop finds I would return home with triumphant every weekend after scouring the Oxfams and Heart Foundation stores of whichever town we would drive to on our family day out.

I would have certain things in particular I’d look for. Art work wise I would keep an eye out for anything 1960s or 1970s, JH Lynch, or Shabner, the gypsy women, or glamorous glossy haired beauties that hung in every home in those decades, mass produced much like the more famous Tretchikoff Green Lady, which ironically I don’t own.

So I have a nice little collection of Shabner and JH Lynch ladies. I’ve also a small collection of Dallas Simpson big eyed kids. 

So, anyway, years ago I shared all my Kitsch items as I bought them, but I realised recently my blog is The World of Kitsch, and I blog about things like Karen Mabon, and Magda Archer, but really my newer readers might not know me as being truly a Kitsch lover, which is why I would love to share with you my home, and invite you to my Instagram account here, where you can see that side of me, and see more of my home and life, where you can see that side of me. 

So back to the art work. Two of the Shabner girls are downstairs but most of my 60s and 70s ‘faces’ are now upstairs in the third bedroom. Our house is a rental, and this spare room is a little empty. One wall is all book cases, and I use the other wall as a dressing table with makeup, so I’ve arranged the ‘faces’ as a kind of wall of them. 

In the decades of their popularity there was an urban legend about the portraits of sad children and that if you had them in your homes your house would burn down. I like to think if you have two then they cancel each other out.

So what else do I collect? Well I love taxidermy. I know it’s a controversial one. It skirts the topic of fur. It’s also very rare to find it in a charity shop, and you won’t find it in somewhere like Oxfam, but maybe somewhere like an ‘unbranded’ smaller charity shop, a junk shop, or house clearance. There’s always the auctions, and where I’ve found my pieces is either eBay, or car boot sales. 

Taxidermy isnt cheap, and that’s why I own very little. I have a fox head, a two headed duckling, a duck, another few birds, a stoat, another few other small pieces and a fake full size flamingoes. I would of course love more. I would love a house full. I’ve also two piranha that Smix hates with a passion. Oh! And I’ve a jackalope too! How could I forget!

Candle by Kat Kirk Addiction Tattoo Bangor

I also have three cabinets filled to the brim with Kitsch which I am refeaturing on Instagram at the moment, and a snowglobe collection. I started collecting them a few years ago cause I wanted to actively started collecting something properly tacky on purpose.

I’ve one cabinet that’s filled with awful properly mad Kitsch stuff, including a rotating glitter Last Supper clock, and another cabinet (a few photos below) which houses vintage Fisher Price toys and a Castle Grayskull. 

I also love World’s Fair souvenirs because of the retro furturistic stylings of all of the stuff to do with it. I have trays, ashtrays, scarves, and of course, snow globes.

My absolute pride and joy piece of furniture, which my parents bought me for my 30th birthday is my 1960s home boat bar. It’s amazing. I don’t even drink but it’s just the best.

So come join me on my Instagram and I’ll share a photo of it this week, I need to get a good shot of it! There’s a clothes’ horse in front of it right now! 

*Edit* here it is! Plus some more snaps from this week

Want To Get To Know Me Better....?

Tonight I'm being a bit meta and the topic I'm promoting is- myself!  My Instagram account to be exact. My username is @rudedoodle and on there you'll see snippets of what's coming up on here, but also bits and pieces you don't get to see on my blog.

For example this photo from last night, when Smix had a go at putting fake eyelashes on me. I was hoping that I might secretly have a little beauty technician living under my roof, but sadly not!

So you'll see me, more than I am in photographs on here. I also love snapping new and cool products when I'm out an about so my Instagram is a wonderful place for ideas. You will definitely see plenty of cliched food pictures, and the odd bit of beauty too. 

Mostly you will see what Smix & I get up to of a week, so  come on over, you'll be most welcome.

The World of Kitsch- 2015 in Review Part 1- January - June

Our Scotland trip

A look back over 2015 in blogs. From January to June we were still pre-Smix's vlogging career, and in our first half year living alone, just the two of us. We were finding our feet, sorting out our reshuffled family set up and settling into the twosome super-team we have now. Things were different,  but over the months the change showed itself to be a positive; who would've known? 

Blogging was slow as we had so much else on in  'real life' to get on with! Here's how January until June looked for the two of us.

Our new living room- all kitsched up

Lovely big kitchen space  

In early February Smix & I moved home, from Carnalea to Bangor West, closer to my parents' house. Having M.E. means I need help sometimes. The stars collided with a guy from my year in Sullivan happening to be renting his home right as we needed one.

Lidl launched their fashion range in spring of 2015, adding clothing to a dossier of bargain ranges. Everyone was wondering would it be any good? Now a couple of collections down and with several pieces bought at excellent, competitive price points I can let you know their fashion buyers are doing a great job. The only hard aspect is catching the right week when the items you want hit your local store.

March also saw the famous Teenage Dreams mural reappear in East Belfast.  

Smix finally learnt to ride his bike.

Yo Sushi opened in Belfast and straight away became our favourite place to dine. They are our first choice eating out destination above all others. We are both hooked and the staff even know us to see now. Smix brings his own chopsticks that my friend Gill kindly sent him.

Smix also made the Belfast branch in Minecraft and sent them his design, which in turn they showed all the big bosses! Very cool. 

Judy giving me a hand

In spring I made some bunting with oil cloth with a step by step guide. It didn't last too wonderfully during the summer though. Will need more next year perhaps in a darker colour so weathering doesn't appear so obvious.

I tried making sushi at home- it was a disaster! We actually still have the Yo Sushi! Kit to try mind you. Maybe a Smix Brix project over Christmas?

In May we looked at two classic toys, a Brio Wooden train set and the Playmobil Victorian Mansion- the latter of which Santa brought me at the old age of 12-and I still was thrilled with it!

When we moved to our new house, it turned out it wasn't so new for one of us.  A story so strange the local newspaper even featured it. Find out the curious secret in that blog post from May.

June, and the summer started with a bang as Stena Line sent us both on a day trip to M&D's theme park in Scotland! It's a long day, but we loved it and I think we will make it an annual trip.

One of my favourite brands to work  with, who I get to do so with every couple of weeks, is Marks and Spencer. I absolute love trying their new Food Hall items, and at the end of June we had a fancy BBQ with their newest range.

June also saw the opening night of the Titanic Robots exhibition which ran all summer.

My favourite small trader this year has been Snixxy Swoons who operates on Etsy and EBay. She kindly sent me pieces to blog about, but I've also made return purchases as I love her chunky, wood cut, large statement necklaces & brooches.

Snixxy Swoons bird brooch £20

We had fun when we went along to learn  Ground Espresso put together their summer drinks. With branches opening in our home town of Bangor, we will now be able to be more frequent Ground customers.

Smix didn't launch his YouTube channel until the second half of 2015, but before that he still helped me out with any toys that needed reviewed, like Yummy Nummies. 

Second half of 2015 coming soon.

Pirate Golf & Blue Cheese Burgers. A Little Life Update Behind the Scenes of The World of Kitsch.

I haven't blogged much since the new year. There has been a lot going on in the background that my Twitter followers might know a little of, but that I haven't really gone into a great deal of detail about anywhere. In November past my son & myself had a big shock of our family being split apart. It wasn't something I wanted, expected, or had a choice or say in. Now I am a single parent, the main carer of my son, and we have even moved house to our own little kitsch home that we love. 

Things have been hard, but we are in a better place than we were, and we are strong together, but mostly thanks to my mum, dad, brother and his wife supporting us every step of the way. 

So thank you to all four of them, and an extra thanks to my brother Michael for taking Smix and I out this evening for some pirate golf and burgers & ice cream. I love you. 

We ate at Wolfe's in Dundonald. I really need to hit them up for a proper review blog post, because the food was outstanding. 

Merry Kitschmas from The World of Kitsch

This year, especially the past two months, has been terribly hard for me and my son in our personal life, and so many of my PR contacts for various big brands have been absolute angels this Christmas sending us little notes & gifts to brighten our day. 

I've been so busy with real life problems I haven't even sent a single Christmas card, or managed to buy any for my closest family either, so this post is a big, all-encompassing THANK YOU card to everyone who has worked with me and supported me this year.

The brand PRs who send me wonderful treats (Jane xo), or set up collections of products from local stores for me (Nadine xo), everyone who takes time to vote when I've entered yet another blog competition, and the people who RT my links to blog posts and those who hit 'like' on my Instagram photos.

Have a very wonderful, merry Christmas and here's to a prosperous 2015 and all the blogging it brings.