Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for February 24, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TABBY GIRL!

I would have guessed Gramma’s furniture would be pretty retro already!

Happy birthday, Tabby!

Be thankful for the furniture you are given….when you grow up, buy your own furniture with your own money made from WORKING!

The best chairs I ever had are the ones I got from my father’s old office when he retired in the 80’s - good heavy wood, solid as a rock. Everything else - wooden, plastic, metal - falls apart, and not that slowly, either.

RinaFarina That’s because things were actually made in the US back then by people that actually took a little pride in their work…..all the bleeep you buy now is imported

That is what we call a minimilist look!

That’s one reason allmost all the hard funiture I have is either passed down or purdhased used- not beds or appliances though;-)

This kids acts as if she’s got an income.

Happy birthday Tabby. For some funiture makers wonder how stay in business with so much made not in US. We had one couch from a department store not sure where made but after a year of wear it started falling apart.

I was a fool to turn down all the relatives furniture offers. Oh, my furniture is new but it lacks any character.

I join the group: Happy birthday Tabby! By the way, who is Tabby?

you want retro chic? my living room chairs (which i’ve had since 1979) were the first chairs my parents owned back in 1954. they’ve been recovered twice, and are still in wonderful shape. THAT is quality construction.

oh, and Tabby? gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag! (the grammar is probably wrong, but i didn’t speak much Dutch growing up so excuse it, please.)

I bought myself an older birdseye maple dresser because I couldn’t stand the new stuff–I’ve already had it more than 15 years and it’s still in great shape! Happy Birthday, Tabby!

I agree! Older/antique furniture is definitely superior quality, and it was made from better wood.

Happy Birthday, Tabby!

THANK YOU ALL OF YOU!

I am Tabby

sorry to be late. Happy Birthday Tabby!

If the girls’ mom is suggesting to let Holly sleep on the floor, then I advise to Holly to not go to bed with her feet uncovered for the rats will come and eat the soles of the feet (The Other Side of Heaven).

Whoe’er this “Tabby” is, Happy B-day.

The decline in quality is not so much simply due to where the product is coming from, it is due to the change in philosophy from craftsmanship to consumerism. Once companies realized they could make more money by having customers buy the same (or similar) product over and over again, rather than just buying it once and it lasts a lifetime, that was it - game over.

I agree with many of you. I LOVE the craftsmanship of older times and I also wish a HB to Tabby Lynn;-)

I have always admired the skill shown by previous generations, as well as their pride of workmanship. I am mostly budget driven (especially now that I just free-lance) but the most basic equipment used to have lovely details even though few ever saw them. I am especially appreciative of the oldest air conditioning equipment - with huge (over 6 FT diameter) flywheels and such that had beautiful scrolls and embellishments. Even the valves were made individually by hand…

Noname has got it right. They are perfectly capible of making things that last, but then we wouldn’t have to buy replacements. As it is I left my 1st cd player that I bought in the late 80’s w/ my ex bf and it was still working.

NoBrandName, yeah, remember the old Westinghouse fridges - my grandmother’s one lasted for about 60 years! Now one is happy about getting 15 years out of a fridge.