DECORATING WITH VINTAGE THERMOSES
Vintage thermoses are perfect for fall decor
How did it start, this love of vintage thermoses? By the time I was taking my lunch to school, the plaid style was already outdated. Our lunch thermoses were decorated with cartoon heroes and TV stars. But sometime after I moved to Ohio, I started finding the traditional plaid styles at garage sales, and before long, a collection was born.
The history of the Thermos
The Thermos was invented in the late 19th century as a medical device but quickly became a helpful household tool to keep soups and beverages warm or cold. Read about the invention at Thermos.com
Decorating with vintage thermoses
I love mixing plaid thermoses – different thermos styles, heights and plaids. They’re beautiful filled with flowers, but they’re also fun simply displayed on the table.
Here in Southwest Ohio, the Skotch Kooler often pops up at tag sales and flea markets. These large plaid coolers were made in Hamilton, Ohio, by the Hamilton Metal Products Company, one of the many innovative manufacturers based in the Dayton-Hamilton-Cincinnati region in the 20th century. They stopped making them in the late 1970s. But lucky for all of us plaid lovers, a new company started in 2017 to recreate the iconic Koolers. You can buy reproductions here. They’re a lot pricier than the vintage version but so much nicer.
Using vintage items for tablescapes
Here are more ideas for repurposing vintage items for original tablescapes.
