We were in SoCal visiting family over the winter break a few months ago - so yes, this post is overdue. My wife's family lives in DHS, a small town situated just to the north of Palm Springs at the base of the San Bernardinos where the 62 snakes its way up toward Joshua Tree. So we were close to some lovely mid century houses to go gawk at. That was one of our list of to do's while we were there: 1) gawk at mid century houses on Racquet Club, 2) hit Long Beach Flea Market and antique stores, 3) hit PS antique stores (which are overpriced now, but nicely stocked with more credenzas than you can shake a stick at), and 4) hit the local thrift stores.
Palm
Springs is one of the meccas of the Mid Century Modern ethic. From the
visitor's center in an awesome 1950's service station (shown to the
right as it was back in the day, Mt. San Jacinto behind), where you can
fill up on gaudy T-shirts, PS mugs, bumper stickers, and fridge magnets.
The Palm Springs Modernism Week, which happens once a year in mid
February, is a weeks-long celebration of mid 20th century architecture,
celebrity, automobiles, clothing, and, of course - furniture; in short,
pretty much everything vintage. The first time I went to modernism week
was either 2011 or 2012, and it was fantastic. The show - the showcase
of largely furniture, glass, and jewelry cost something like $20 bucks
to get in to, came with a nice glossy program, and had some amazing
pieces - including a Bill Curry hexagonal shelving unit for Design Line.
There is a company in England now that reproduces almost exact copies
of that, but they won't ship to the US. Bastards.