PLACE REPRESENTED: Pattaya , Thailand
ITEM: Keychain
NOTES: A memento of the Holiday Inn Sands Hotel at Pattaya. If you google Pattay don’t do it with the “images” tab on, well, not with kids around.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: plastic and steel.
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 10cm long (including chain)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Gold Coast, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Coin Wallet
NOTES: Cute retro coin wallet from the days before Australia had $1 and $2 coins which is why it is quite small, perhaps. In any event, it’s not an issue for a tourist as you aren’t likely to come out of the Gold Coast with any change.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: vinyl , steel (springback)
MADE IN: Hong Kong
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8.5cm across , 7.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Fiji Islands
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: A stand up very simple wood carving of a traditional (?) Fijian beach village. Despite the handcraft in this, the slightly slapdash nature indicates these must have been churned out at a rapid pace. It’s as if the craftsman could see the boat load of tourists on the horizon.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Fiji (probably)
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 15.5cm across x 12cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Greece
ITEM: Wall Hanging
NOTES: A beautifully detailed and painted wall tile depicting a traditional scene in a Greek village. Though it could be from any number of countries in the eastern Mediterranean. Is it idealised? It matters not, it is very stylish.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Greece
MANUFACTURER: Knossos Ltd / Katsidoniotis Bros
DIMENSIONS: 7.5cm across x 15cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Magnetic Island, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Cap
NOTES: Magnetic Island off the Queensland coast (in the Great Barrier Reef) was the place to go back in the 70s (well, for Queenslanders at least). It’s still there and still very pretty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_Island
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s MADE FROM: cotton
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 58cm Adjustable size.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ipswich, Queensland (specifically The Ipswich Courthouse), Australia
ITEM: Souvenir Spoon
NOTES: The old Ipswich City Courthouse built in 1859. There have been two subsequnt courthouses built in Ipswich. Ipswich needs courthouses. The souvenir spoon may come in handy for those trying to dig their way to freedom from a holding cell whilst awaiting sentencing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ipswich_Courthouse
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 13cm length FOR
PLACE REPRESENTED: Israel
ITEM: Candle
NOTES: I doubt this blog will create an international incident but it would be good if you could enter Jerusalem in as a “state” unto itself even though it is the capital of Israel, and, err, Palestine. It depends on who you ask but some will say that Israel is the owner of Jerusalem, others will say Palestine while some will say that one country owns a part and the other owns the rest. Before 1948 it was all Palestine. But, Palestine was never a country. The historical Jerusalem had been part of the region of Palestine until 1967 when Israel annexed it. Though, historically the Jewish people have lived their thousands of years before the Arabs of Palestine. Yes, a difficult one. But it is Israel now, so …
This quite a nifty little candle in a ceramic holder. It may have some sort of a religions significance I do not know but the representation of Jerusalem around the base is nicely detailed.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 5cm diameter, at it’s widest x 6cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Thunder Bay, Canada
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada celebrated in wood craft (that looks to be pyrography – the art of decorating wood or leather by burning a design on the surface with a heated metallic point … or it could be drawn). Primitive and naive it is. It must be a one off. No two would be the same. They must be proud of their ducks in Thunder Bay. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_Bay
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Canada probably
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15cm x 12cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Tasmania , Australia
ITEM: Drink Tray
NOTES: I love these drink trays, come wall plates. Great photos of Tasmania in its pristine beauty.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 28cm across
PLACE REPRESENTED: Nambour, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: Do it yourself tourist trinkets? The “Nambour” looks like it’s hand painted on.
And, why would you want the “work fascinates me, I can watch it for hours” sentiment applied to your town I have no idea. Still, it pretty much sums up Nambour (100 km north of Brisbane) …just kidding Nambourians.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Japan
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15cm across , 8cm high