Alleghany Meadows refurbished a 1967 30′ Airstream in 2001 to house an exhibition of contemporary ceramic art. Since then, the Art-Stream has been taking contemporary art to the street!

Alleghany Meadows is a studio potter in Carbondale, Colorado. He received his M.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He apprenticed with Takashi Nakazato, Karatsu, Japan, received a Watson Foundation Fellowship for field study of potters in Nepal, and was an artist in residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.

The Denver Modernism Show will take place August 27-29th 2010 at the National Western Complex in Denver.

The showcase will feature dozens of vendors from around the the US selling collectable vintage modern objects like furniture, art, lighting,  decorative glass, pottery, retro housewares, kitsch, bakelite, airstream trailers, vintage radios, etc. It is a nice opportunity to see tons of period pieces all under one roof.

Just like the little ‘thing’ I have going for Vaseline Glass, I simultaneously have a fondness for Milk Glass. Unlike the Uranium Glass, I am able to actually find alot of Milk Glass at second hand shops on the cheap and low down. Two dollars here, 4 dollars there and I have begun to have myself a nice little colleciton. This amazing picture (I forgot where I found it-Living Etc?) complete with chandelier is where it all started. I hope this fuels your milk glass collector’s fire too- the pieces are so gorgeous…and granny-ish retro-y.

Milk Glass History:

Milk glass is an opaque or translucent, milky white or colored glass, blown or pressed into a wide variety of shapes. First made in Venice in the 16th century, colors include blue, pink, yellow, brown, black, and the white that leads to its popular name.

19th-century glass makers called milky white opaque glass “opal glass”. The name milk glass is relatively recent. The white color is achieved through the addition of an opacifier, e.g. tin dioxide or bone ash. Made into decorative dinnerware, lamps, vases, and costume jewelry, milk glass was highly popular during the fin de siecle.

I love antiques, antiquing and retro vintage and lately I have had a little obsession with vintage Uranium Glass. This pale greenish, yellowish glass was manufactured in the 1920′s into tableware and household items, but fell out of widespread use when the availability of uranium to most industries was sharply cut during the Cold War. Most such objects are now considered antiques or retro-era collectibles.

The normal color of Uranium glass ranges depending on the oxidation and concentration of the metal ions, Uranium glass is fluorescent under ultraviolet light and can register above background radiation on a sufficiently sensitive geiger counter, although most pieces of uranium glass are considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive. This radioactivity is what I find myself most fascinated with, the fact that manufacturing household goods out of a radioactive isotope was commonplace. I wouldn’t eat off of them, but I sure love them. Just to clarify, there is nothing eco about this other than its vintage-ness…it’s just amazing that it is nuclear!

Freeland Studios gives us a flash back retro style ipod dock.

These cars were all born out of necessity after World War II came to an end in 1945 and Europe lay in ruins. A shell-shocked population came out of the bomb shelters and faced an unimaginable scene of devastation and ruin. Talented engineers once in the aviation industry came up with these fascinating tiny solutions for transportation. Brilliant. Useful in the task of clearing away the rubble with shortages of food, raw materials, electricity and gas.

This Bruce Weiner Micro Car Museum collection is primarily focused on Microcars in the late 1940′s- pre-1964 range with Engine sizes of 700cc or less (many are 250cc and 50cc) and 2 doors or less. You may see the collection in person at Dubble Bubble Acres, 50 miles east of Atlanta in Morgan County.

These ornate chairs are made from old tin and soda cans. Haute reuse!

*As a follow up to the post, after having visited the store, I must say that Deb the proprietor gave us the biggest dose of aloha we could have ever asked for. Totally enthusiastic, creative and a recycling queen–I highly suggest going into her shop and exploring around. I am loving my purchases. Thanks again Deb!