The term Fancy Goods is a strange one. It featured heavily in my Sixtiies childhood as my Dad ran a warehouse stuffed with them. But I'd forgotten the term.
Yesterday I remembered it when I saw several shops in the Todmorden and Hebden Bridge area selling. yes, Fancy Goods. Even more, the term was advertising those goods on the shop title boards, which ran something like 'Fancy Goods: Electricals: Toys' [are toys not fancy goods?]
The windows were crammed with all-sorts of boxed paraphernalia, which you probably don't need or even want: plastic candles, steel ash trays, shiny serving platters, multi-coloured beakers and a plastic church.
This is just how I recall my Dad's warehouse, which stocked shops like this fifty years ago! Glorious tat the lot if it and stuff which powered an entire generation!
One name stood out back then in the Fancy Goods stakes: Pifco. Pifco were everywhere and were the Kings of plastic: electric hair dryers, car coffee makers, electric blankets, Christmas lights. You name it they made it. Pifco even made a plastic space pistol called the Zeta ray gun.
Fancy Goods then. It's funny how many memories can be stirred up by two words. What do they mean to you in your part of the world readers? Have you got the equivalent?
We have a chain of stores in the Eastern U.S. that I think fits this category.Spencer Gifts has been around since about the sixties,and has always been the source of unusual goods.The scope of their wares has changed a lot over the decades according to the wants of the current generation.One type of item that has always been available is the ultraviolet light(or BlackLite) and things that glow in the blackLite such as velvet posters with psychedelic designs.Also an assortment of lurid"adult products" has always been available,such as body lotions,underwear,and kinky games to play with your significant other.I've always had Spencer Gifts nearby all my life and I have noticed emphasis on certain items or themes in certain decades.The 70's focused on Lava Lamps(familiar with them?) and thinly disguised drug paraphernalia.80's focused on Science Fiction.In the 90's there was a boom in action figure lines,such as Mcfarlane Toys Movie Maniacs.2000's were all about the Rave club culture.Today it seems body jewelry for the young set is king,which doesn't interest me much,but I still occasionally stop in to look at other stuff. I did recently have fun letting my grand daughter select a Lava Lamp for her bedroom.
ReplyDeleteUpdate:According to Wikepedia,Spencers Gifts opened 14 stores throughout Great Britain in the early 2000's Apparently they weren't very successful and only lasted a few years.
ReplyDeletefascinating that Brian. I so recall those infra red lamps. They were everywhere, like fondue sets and multi-stranded nylon lamps! I've never heard of Spencer Gifts. It's odd they didn't make it 'cos Fancy Goods seem to be alive and kicking still here. My blog colleague Bill is a big Lava Lamp fan. I think the firm he likes is Mathmos maybe, which if I remember rightly is the name of the flowing ether in the film Barbarella! Dp you think toys can be fancy goods?
DeleteAbsolutely.I ve taken the words at face value and decided that anything you don't need,but take a fancy to, can be fancy goods.A large part of Spencer gifts'inventory can be classified as toys,but more for the adult collector as these toys contain small parts and sharp edges that may not be suitable for children.
ReplyDeleteI used to love leafing through my Mum's thick catalogues of fancy goods in the Sixties and Seventies. I think my big Sister was an agent for one of the firms. Did ordinary people do that in the States, be agents for fancy goods catalogues and take orders from family and friends?
DeleteIndependent sales agents were scarce,but not unheard of.Some business names were;Fingerhut,Amway, and Avon,which I seem to remember you mentioning once.All of these businesses employed friends and members of my family at one time or another.An agent could be asked to host a party at your own residence and you could invite anyone you wanted to the party. There, the agent displayed the goods and took orders which were delivered later by mail.I remember these parties as being a lot of fun.Sadly,I don't believe this is still a practice.
DeleteYes, Avon is still a going concern. There's even a catalogue on the table where I work! I know my Mum went to Avon parties and may have thrown a tupperware party. Its a clever idea, mixing spending money with socialising. I can't think of any male equivalent really. A car parts party? ha ha! A vintage toy party, Yes! That would be cool. Fingerhut is German for Foxglove in case you didn't know. BTW would you have a party in the 'den' in the States or is that just for watching TV?
DeleteHmmm,good question.1970's Brian remembers having a "living room" which was used for watching TV and also entertaining crowds.we had some wealthier friends who had said living room plus a "den" which seemed to be more for the immediate family.It was usually smaller,and often featured things like a fireplace(hearth),a hi fi stereo, or perhaps a bar.One family I knew had a fully functioning wet bar with a sink,Beer and soda on tap,a fridge,and an electric train set.The owner was a banker that used the bar to entertain clients,but I digress.Nowadays, all these features have sort of melded into a "great room",which is what I call my area for TV or entertaining.So, I would say the room that could accommodate the most people would do for a party.BTW,my grandmother was a Tupperware Lady,she was also issued Tupperware sales car to use for business or private use.You had to be a GOOD Tupperware sales Lady to get the car!
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