PLACE REPRESENTED: Alice Springs, Northern Territory , Australia
ITEM: T Shirt
NOTES: Nice, striking graphics which captures the climate and even, the Indigenous spirit of the red centre (as Alice Springs is otherwise known) of Australia.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: cotton
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: Adult
PLACE REPRESENTED: Bundaberg, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Cap
NOTES: Bundaberg, the “Fresh Heart of Australia”. I haven’t heard that before. I only know about Bundaberg Rum, made from the dominant local crop, sugar cane. Goodling suggests otherwise “the heart of Australian food” and the “the heart of Australia’s fresh food”. Hmmmm, there are a lot of food bowl areas in Australia that would disagree. Apparently Tourism Australia is pushing Bundaberg as a culinary destination. Well, who am I to argue.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: 100% polyester
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: Headwear
DIMENSIONS: One size fits all
PLACE REPRESENTED: Valparaiso, Chile
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A vivid little painted print in relief of Valparaiso, Chile looking down to the harbour from the hillside districts. Valparaíso a once major port, and a home for European immigrants, was known as “Little San Francisco” and “The Jewel of the Pacific”. Now it is is known for its tourism, educational institutions, and supportive environment for artists (which this simple but effective ornament suggests). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valpara%C3%ADso
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: wood, paper
MADE IN: Chile (no doubt)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 19cm x 7cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Gold Coast (specifically Warner Brothers Movie World), Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Frame
NOTES: A picture frame celebrating DC comics superheroes and DC Comics Super-Villains tenuously linked to the Gold Coast via the theme park studio. The characters depicted are old school from the golden age of comic design and have a pop art immediacy about them, without any of the cynicism or irony many contemporary superhero variations have. Putting your picture in the middle says what? Or, am I reading too much into this?
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: plastic , cardboard
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: Warner Brothers
DIMENSIONS: 25.5cm x 32cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Coober Pedy, South Australia , Australia
ITEM: Cap
NOTES: A nicely detailed cap exhalating Coober Pedy, the “Opal Capital of the World”. Very stylish, as far as calps go ..and you will need one in Coober Pedy. Well, when you are above ground.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: 100% cotton, suede
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: Ace
DIMENSIONS: One size fits all
07PLACE REPRESENTED: Gibraltar
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Gibraltar … yet another British Territory (and city) nowhere near Britain. Gibraltar is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula (the south of Spain). Featured is the coat of arms, the Rock of Gibraltar, the Barbary macaque monkey and I assume, the National flower of Gibraltar which is the Candytuft. it doesn’t look like a Candytuft though it looks more like a Gibraltar Range Waratah which comes from Australia. I wonder if the designer used haphazard googling? Then again, what do I know about floriculture. By the way I think Albert Hammond (Gibraltar’s great musical export) should be on the plate.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
ITEM: Key Ring
NOTES: Medjugorje is a town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 25 km southwest of Mostar and 20 km east of the border with Croatia. The town consists of an ethnically homogeneous Croat population of about 2300. And like, just about, every souvenir from there, they feature the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1981, when six local children said they had visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Medjugorje has become an unapproved destination of Catholic pilgrimage. It is inscribed “Kraljica Mira” or “Queen of Peace”.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 10cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Jamaica
ITEM: Fridge Magnet
NOTES: A vivid handmade (the wood is plain masonite) and hand painted fridge magnet from Jamaica depicting a traditional Jamaican (?) bus the “tap tap”. The question mark exists because the “Tap Tap” is associated with Haiti. Perhaps the “Jamaica” at the top is the result of Haitian souvenirs exported to Jamaica. . Either way, it is quite wonderful, by fridge magnet standards.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Jamaica (maybe … it could be Haitian)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 9.5cm x 8cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Sabah , Malaysia
ITEM: Bookmark
NOTES: a nice rustic bookmark from the Malaysian state Sabah on the north of the island of Borneo. Simple and stylish and functional. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabah
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8cm x 4.5cm (bookmark) 26.5cm x 8.5cm (package)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Szentendre , Hungary
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Szentendre is a multi ethnic old riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, near the capital city Budapest. This is a nice piece of pottery relief. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szentendre
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: pottery
MADE IN: Hungary
MANUFACTURER: Kerámia dísztárgyak
DIMENSIONS: 12cm x 15cm