Not Your Grandmother’s T-Party: Karen’s Tupperware Extravaganza

Submitted by Rusty April 17th, 2011
Certifikitsch WinnerClassique d Camembert

Was a lovely day in the neighborhood, Karen Finlay’s neighborhood that is…! For those of you that don’t know, Karen runs the most fabulous retro Tupperware parties.  Today she had one at her place here in Oakland, California. It should be noted that it was last year at this time that I met Karen…when she had a Tupperware party at my home! (Allee will be happy to see her “new” Bambu ware proudly displayed in the background on that page. I digress…) Back to the Tupperware!

Look what cuteness greeted us on the way in… anthropomorphic  Easter bunnies.

There was so much kitschy goodness inside of her home, I thought I would die. Instead, I opted to forgo small talk with the other lovely attendees and went crazy shooting the place. First stop: Bowling kitsch! Yay!

And what home can be without big eyed cats and sleeping Mexicans? 

Or a giant child-size creepy harp-playing elf?

That cute little card in the middle is Karen’s super adorable Tupperware business card.

Then there was the bar. This is a little barware set in the shape of a drumset. 

I mean…c’mon…how fabulous is this Burgermeister flip-do beer drinking vintage bar light?

A “flask with class” indeed!  And Dice D’Amour, you know he will be tamed tonight if that Hot-Nip Hussy has anything to say about it.

Now, we’re off to the kitchen and what California isn’t complete without a Hearst Castle souvenir?

Garlic Gus…where have you been all my life?!

Look Allee! Bambu shakers! Myself, I am lusting after the cutie corn shaker set.

Oh! There’s a party going on! Here we have Kooky Kitsch‘s Jessica and Carried Away with Vintage Gourmet‘s Carrie probably discussing the finer points of Tupperware’s famous ‘burp’.

Cheddar-Topped Apples, oh YES!

Ok, back to the tour. Here we have, yes, the bathroom! Look at this stuff. Makes me want to weep little mermaid tears in joy.

Perhaps you prefer a little pulp fiction? “Jailbait” is singing out to me. Ok, not really.

Wait! There’s cupcakes?

Of course my six year old daughter, Scarlett and her friend, Lucy, found them. I swear kids can smell sugar a mile away.

It’s almost time to start the show! Champagne and lemonade drinkers, Irene and Carrie, eagerly await for Karen to begin showing her Tupper…wares.

We all get a copy of the Tupperware catalog and as we find out, it’s a little less than retro and more styled in the fashion of New Jersey housewives.

And here she is…our Hostess with the absolute Mostess, Karen Finlay! She’s showing off her “Forget Me Nots”. I can’t make this stuff up.

Just look at all of these beautifully colorful pieces of Plastique. Right here and now, I’ll just say how much I adore that can opener right there. I got one last year and I use it all the time. It unseals the lid rather than cutting it.  You need one and you don’t even know it.

Now that we are in the living room, I have spotted something not quite leather…a Naugha!

Now I know this lamp has been on AWMOK.com before but I would be remiss not to include it here again.

As if just being in her lovely home wasn’t enough, our hostess had door prizes as well. Jessica scored some wonderful things, including a “Made in Chian” (that’s not a typo on my part) apron.

Scarlett also won an apron and she couldn’t wait to wear it.

This little honey found a prize of her own…

A ladybug!

And that’s it, the end of our time at Karen’s Tupperware party. I am SURE you will agree it was magically kitschy. If you ever have a chance to go to one of her parties, GO!

19 Responses to “Not Your Grandmother’s T-Party: Karen’s Tupperware Extravaganza”

  1. Allee Willis

    Judging from the flare skirt that Karen Findlay wore to your party (https://www.alleewillis.com/awmok/kitschenette/2011/02/17/allee-willis-kitsch-o-the-day-junk-food-supreme-at-a-kitsch-lovers-party/ and scroll down to see) in Alameda where I met you both a couple of months ago, I had no doubt that this was going to be a thrilling submission. MY EXPECTATIONS WERE WELL EXCEEDED!!

    The bowling planter and companion whatever-she-is in the second and third photos are wonderful.

    Excellent big eyed kitty in photo number four. Is that a big eyed owl one-eyeing us on the shelf next to it?

    Always good to have a Kit Cat clock. Mine have been in red.

    I’m not a fan of those harp playing elves in photo number six. I don’t know how they got so popular but judging from the number of them I’ve seen in thrift shops over the years they were VERY POPULAR.

    I’m SO not a big elf collector but I do like when they appear in insane objects like the green creamer or what ever that is in photo number seven. I’m hyperventilating from the ashtray in that shot. And I would expect no less of Karen’s Tupperware card.

    I’m pretty sure Karen has posted that ashtray here already at AWMOK but I’m too bleary-eyed to search through the hundreds of stupendous ashtrays here. I’m dead certain though that she posted that drum bar set in photo number eight in because I remember needing sedation when I first laid eyes on it. If it wasn’t a separate post it was clear enough in a photo of the bar it sits on that she was submitting… Yes, I just found it. Here it is: https://www.alleewillis.com/awmok/kitschenette/2011/02/26/bar-none/

    The Burgermeister sign is incredible. Thank God I don’t have to hit the jealous button as I own a very similar one that’s laid out vertically; same model in a different pose, same logo and amber colored plastic piece but no glass of beer.

    As for photo number 10, thank God I not only own Hot-Nip but her husband Hip-Nip. https://www.alleewillis.com/awmok/kitschenette/2010/05/17/hip-nip-and-hot-nip-plastic-flasks/.
    And I got myself eight Mr. Bali Hai’s too. https://www.alleewillis.com/awmok/kitschenette/2009/07/26/mr-bali-hai-tiki-mug-for-two/

    As far as the Hearst Castle souvenir in photol 11, I have none of those. I would like that giant indoor mosaic swimming pool that’s there as a souvenir.

    I love how no sense it makes naming a garlic clove holder with an elf sitting on top of it ‘Garlic Gus’. I’ve never thought of Gus as an elf name.

    Shakers in photo number 13: I have two sets of the Bambu shakers. Also, the umbrella stand and beer bottles on the top shelf and am jealous of all the rest.

    It looks like Tupperware-appropriate food was served. I want Jessica’s T-shirt. And, I always like a hostess who displays the recipe next to their dish.

    Love the fish, love the mermaid, love the little guest towels in photo #16. Is that a poodle, a dachshund or a rat on them?

    Excellent reading material in #17.

    Love the look of those handmade cupcakes. Excellent that they’re coming out on a cupcake tray. But not as excellent as that insane dish or fruit bowl or whatever it is next to it, as well as that scalloped pink serving plate with brownies in it.

    I hope Scarlett and Lucy picked up some entertaining tips And didn’t drink the champagne.

    Karen and her forget-me-nots look excellent as always.

    As much as I hate that Tupperware has modernized itself, the stuff still looks great.

    I have a green Naugha. He’s sitting about 10 feet away from me as I write this.

    The lamp in the 2000th photo is making me drool as much as when I first saw it when Karen posted it here. Is that a drawing/print/painting of New York up on the wall above it?

    SO JEALOUS OF THE MADE IN CHIAN APRON! Completely nauseating stars and moon on what looks like a kitchen curtain only exceeded in excellence coming from the country of Chian.

    Love that lady bug last photo. So sweet.

    • Rusty Blazenhoff

      Yay! Am so glad you enjoyed the post. I was there, with my camera, going “Wait until Allee gets a load of THIS!” :)

      And, I agree, naming an elf “Garlic Gus” didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either.

      I’m sure Karen will pipe in here about the New York art and Tupperware. When you come back this way, I’ll host one at my house so you can join in on the fun. It really is a blast.

  2. Michael Ely

    Loved looking at all the photos. The bathroom decor is awesome, like being in an ocean of kitsch.

    I love Tupperware, both vintage and new and everything in-between.

  3. sparkleneely

    Ooooh, Rusty, this is so fun! Thank you so much for coming over and taking such marvelous photos — you make our stuff look like true, glorious kitsch!

    Allee — I hear you on the harp and elves. This guy, however, is Twinkles — he was part of a department store display. He was SO scary I had to have him. And Garlic Gus — I never thought of that before. I wonder what name would be better — Garlic Gustav? ;)

    That sketch was actually my parents’ — the glass broke and they never fixed it, but I’ve always loved it. It’s actually Chicago, their hometown and my kind of town, Chicago is.

    And yes, please come up, Allee, and we can have a Tupperware Extravaganza! I hate that it’s modernized, too, but there are still a lot of the classics. It’s GREAT STUFF, and I love it for an even bigger reason now — it’s how I met Rusty and the rest of the lovely Dames in our circle!

    Thanks again, Rusty! And especially for taking all the photos — I’ve been meaning to for ages and to post, and I’m so glad you did — and that’s the best capture of our bathroom EVER.

    Wheeeee!!!!

    xoxox

    • Allee Willis

      I’m definitely ready for round 2 up there. And you gals must come down here to Willis Wonderland. Do you ever travel in this direction?

  4. sparkleneely

    And oh… I have to tell you the story of that big eyed kitty. I used to have a ton of Keane and Big Eyed stuff, but had to pare down my collection. This, however, I will never part with. A friend of mine lived in an apartment in San Francisco down the street from mine, and his next door neighbor was this old lady, a total character named Iris. Well, Iris, um, died. As the coroner (or whoever) and landlord were in the apartment, the door was open and Mark peeked in. He saw the kitty, grabbed it, and brought it over to my place. He said that Iris would have wanted me to have it, and I know he was right — I think Iris would be so pleased that Big Eyed Kitty has been loved and displayed on my shelf for almost 20 years. And the story behind it is so great!

  5. denny

    I am completely overwhelmed and will directing my finger to the jealous button right away. I would have been so distracted by all the kitsch here that I wouldn’t have been able to focus on the tupperware.

    I love pixie’s!

  8. k2dtw

    This is the best post…everything is so wonderful. I LOVE all the vintage textiles!!!