kitschy | Crazy4Me - The Modern Bombshell Lifestyle by: Yasmina Greco

Thrifting Vintage Christmas Decorations: NOEL Sets from the 1950s-1960s

November 26, 2021 By: Fan

Forget about the new and what everyone else is doing. If you’re a true vintage lover then these old time Christmas decorations are just what you need to create that classic feel in your home this holiday season. Stock up now because most of these items will be gone by the end of November!

Hurry, don’t miss out on all the nostalgia!

Today’s post in our 2021 Vintage Christmas Collecting Series features some of my favorite vintage Noel sets that date to the 1950s-1960s and feature candle holders, bells, and figurines. Some of these sets were featured in last year’s Vintage Christmas Collecting Series of 2020 but have been updated with current pricing and colorways. When it comes to vintage Noel collectibles there are so many varieties and themes from Santa Claus, Elves, Poodles, Snowmen, Angels, Candy Canes, and even Pixies that there really is something for everyone and you can easily have a theme each year for your holiday decorating too!!

Note: Blog post has a lot of photos and pricing source is recent Ebay, Etsy, Worthpoint, and my own personal sales data.

One sure way to any collector’s heart is items that come with their original boxes. For me, the box can also be used as part of your vintage holiday decor as they usually have timeless graphics that add so much charm to your displays. Since these vintage items are usually 70 yrs old, if you do find an original box it will probably have some wear and tear or even water damage from being stored in basements and attics and that is completely okay and in my opinion, adds that much more to the story and history of the item.

Here are some of my very favorite Noel sets from my personal collection and I think they are just dynamite. Each set is so unique and has loads and loads of vintage Christmas charm. I actually have them up year-round in my cabinet and they always make me smile when I stop and admire them.

Stacked Santa’s NOEL Totem Pole Candle Holders

Vintage Christmas NOEL Santa Candleholders Napco Brinns

Near-and-dear to my heart are these vintage Santa Claus stacked NOEL totem pole candle holders. These have such fun, witty, retro charm. Pictured are two matching pair made by Tilso in Japan in the 1950s. The Santa’s have gold little curly-q’s in their beards, have expressive eyes, and each hold a letter to spell NOEL. Tilso sets (sometimes referred to as Brinns) tend to fetch $225-$300 each, having the original box really can impact the price.

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Collecting Holt Howard Pixieware and Whimsical Kitchen Kitsch

July 16, 2021 By: Fan

Yasmina Greco with her Holt-Howard Jam ‘n Jelly Pixieware Jar and matching T-Shirt

There aren’t many kitchen collectibles from the 1950s and 1960s that excite me as much as Pixieware does. From the jam ‘n jelly jars with their little tongues licking the sweet jelly residue from their lips, to the instant coffee pixie jar, relish pixie jar, or the jolly girl set, manufacturers like Holt-Howard, Davar, Lefton, Lipper & Mann, Norcrest, Napco and Menschik Goldman to name a few, displayed creativity at its finest and what thinking outside the box is supposed to be when it comes to dreaming up the colorful creations of the era. Pixieware has been a hot collectible and the enthusiasm continues till this day!!

Holt-Howard Relish Jar with Spoofy Spoon 1958

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Collecting Vintage Christmas Angels

December 17, 2020 By: Fan

Christmas is just one week away!! I don’t know where the month has gone but in one week it will be Christmas. I hope you have been following my Vintage Christmas Collecting Series where I have been sharing my collections and providing tips on collecting vintage Christmas items and I would love to hear from you so please send me an email or reach out to me on social media @crazy4me or @spicyatomicprincess and let me know.

Holt-Howard Ermine Angela Salt and Pepper Shakers — Holt-Howard Ermine Angels Salt and Pepper Shakers

Today’s blog post is for week four in our Vintage Christmas Collecting Series and today it is all about collecting vintage Christmas angels as Christmas and angels really go hand-in-hand. The majority of vintage angels in my collection date to the 1950s and were made in Japan by Napco, Norcrest, Ucago, Holt-Howard and Lefton when mid-century modern and kitsch were all the rage. Some angels have no markings and some are marked Japan or have a paper label that says Japan. Vintage Christmas angels have a lot of the similar spaghetti trim detailing with sponged gold accents like the Christmas decorations made during the era. Some angels are in the form of bells, Noel sets, salt and pepper shakers, and others are figurines. So far, in all my years of collecting, I have only ever come across only a couple of brunette angels and all the others have been blondes so, the brunette haired ones are the rarer ones.

Here is a super darling trio of baby angel boys made by Lefton and they each hold a holiday element like a present, candy cane and stocking and a wreath.

This brunette beauty is made by Napco and she has her eyes lowered, holds a lovely Christmas greetings wreath and presents. This angel is quite fancy with so much spaghetti trim on her robe that has the lovely gold sponged details and her wings are one of the most ornate pair I have seen on an angel as they are highly detailed and so very intricate.

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🎄Christmas 2020 Collection Crazy4Me Style🎄

December 15, 2020 By: Fan

We have been very busy over at Crazy4MeStyle and are so excited to share our NEW Holiday 2020 designs!! We’ve updated our customer favorite tee with a kitschy pink Christmas tree for our Rockin Around the Pink Christmas Tree tee and we have a brand new design, our Winter Wonderland holiday tee featuring the prettiest scene of trees, a lovely lady in a vintage holiday crimson red ensemble hugging her precious puppy dog, and there is a fancy sleigh filled with presents.

How adorable is our Retro Gingerbread Cuties tee with mid-century starbursts, gingerbread boy and girl full of joy as they decorate their tree and I love the mid-century details on the Christmas tree stand and the stool the gingerbread boy is on with hairpin legs. Sugar and spice really do make everything so nice!!

We are very happy to offer these holiday styles in sizes small-4X while they last. Shop Now!!

Collecting Kitschy Christmas: Noel Sets

November 27, 2020 By: Fan

Yasmina Greco with her Vintage Christmas NOEL Collection

You may have noticed that Christmas is in the air. That feeling of festivity and joy that comes with this time of year can be attributed to many things, but one of them surely has to be all the vintage kitschy decorations. For me, one of my favorite things to do is pull out the vintage NOEL sets that I have been collecting for years and display these treasures as I get my home ready for Christmas. If you love a touch of nostalgia with some Mid-Century flair then you’ll want to curl up with your cocoa and read our new blog post on Collecting Vintage Christmas: Noel Sets for tips on buying, selling, and searching for these treasures.

Yasmina Greco’s Vintage Christmas NOEL Collection Kitschy Mid-Mod Decorations

Today’s blog post features some of my vintage Noel collection that dates from the 1950s-1960s and features Noel candle holders, Noel bells, and Noel figurines. When it comes to vintage Noel collectibles there are so many varieties and themes from Santa Claus, Elves, Poodles, Snowmen, Angels, Candy Canes, and even Clowns, that there really is something for everyone and you can easily have a theme each year for your holiday decorating too!!

WARNING!! Blog has a lot of photos.

Here are five of my very favorite Noel sets from my personal collection and I think they are just dynamite. Each set is so unique and has loads and loads of vintage Christmas charm. I actually have them up year-round in my cabinet and they always make me smile when I stop and admire them.

1950s Grimco Japan NOEL Bells Vintage Christmas

This 4 Piece Noel bells set of boys and girls made by World Creations by Grimco Japan 1950s. This set is hard to find and very delicate, made from very fine ceramic so there may be light hairline cracks if you do come across a set. The facial expressions on these kids are so darling. In today’s market expect to pay $275-$325.

2. Christmas Cowboy Santa Noel Candle Holders set by Menschik Goldman in the 1950s. Santa is wearing his western hat with green and red holiday flair, his red suit complete with holster and pistol and his body spells out NOEL. This set is very rare, I have only come across it one time and in today’s market expect to pay $299-$350.

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Pyrex T-Shirt, Lefton Bluebird, Holt Howard, Catherineholm T-Shirt – a Collector’s Dream

November 2, 2019 By: Fan

The Pyrex t-shirt says it all “Searching for Treasure”, because that is what flea markets, estate sales, junking, thrifting, picking and antiquing are all about!! Tee features exclusive one-of-a-kind artwork that is screen printed onto a super soft and comfortable t-shirt. Art includes vintage Pyrex starburst, snowflake, and Catherineholm Lotus, Lefton and Topline Imports Bluebirds, and the beloved Holt Howard Pixieware jars with the tagline Searching for Treasure.

Makes a great gift for the Pyrex and kitsch collector!!

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