A New Idea for Your Old Vintage Travel Brochures – Coasters ‘n’ Trivets!

You can take the girl away from the blog, but you can’t get the blog out of the girl! Case in point, as soon as I saw these cool tiles at the Wellfleet Drive In Flea Market I knew I had to share my find with you Retro Roadmap readers!
Massachusetts-Trivet-Vintage-RetroRoadmap

If you’re a fan of the vintage roadside like I am, you may have some old pieces of memorabilia you’ve picked up – brochures, post cards, menus, placemats- what-have-you. I love finding this type of ephemera with its reminiscence of an earlier age and great graphic design, but once I own them they seem to just get stuck in a box/pile/folder.

So when I saw these great trivets and coasters – made from vintage travel guides and maps – I knew I found a great practical use for some of  my vintage paper collection! Thanks to On The Fringe owner Wendy Howard for doing the hard work for me – using her own collection of old travelabilia.

International Travel Brochures Trivet / Coaster

As you can see, vintage travel guides fit perfectly onto 2 coaster sized tiles, and when decoupaged with multiple layers of clear covering make for great display pieces, trivets or drink holders. According to Wendy:

These handcrafted coasters and/or trivets are made with the original vintage map / decal / comic / travel brochure or atlas page – not copies or heat transfers. The vintage maps and brochures range from the early 1900s to the 1990w and each coaster/trivet is one of a kind!”

Manhattan Map Trivet / Coaster

While we were there a customer was picking out a set of New York City themed coasters for a wedding gift- what a great idea! My sis found a coaster with her town on it, and I bought the Massachusetts trivet seen above.

Perhaps you’re looking for the perfect remembrance of a fun trip you’ve taken? Or a present to remind a friend of their honeymoon, or where they grew up? My sister’s parents-in-law actually met at the 1964 Worlds Fair, and we immediately thought of them when we saw a trivet made from one of the fair’s events!

US Map Trivet / Coaster

Wendy- who splits her time between The Cape and The Big Apple – has been decoupaging and making these great vintage travel treats since 2004, and also creates trash cans, tissue box covers and record bowls with that fun vintage feel.

You can find these fun  and funky items on her website On The Fringe year ’round, at the Wellfleet Flea during the summer, and at the Green Flea Market and Hester Street Fair in NYC.

Azalea Trail, Amazing America Trivet / Coaster

She also loves to do custom work, so contact her if you want to have her create something useful and beautiful from something from your boxed up vintage collection. And tell her Mod Betty at Retro Roadmap sent ya!

Cape Cod Adventure, Gentle Islands Summer 1970 Trivet / Coaster

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  • Mr. Modtomic
    August 17, 2011 at 8:26 pm

    You’ll probably like these cool coasters I got in New Orleans at the French Market. They weren’t cheap but I had to have a set and I enjoy supporting indy businesses / artist.

  • Lizzie
    August 18, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    I’m really, really loving the map ones!

  • Tom Hoffman
    August 24, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    I have quite a bit of this stuff, particularly postcards. Thousands of postcards. I was selling them on eBay until the economy tanked a couple of years ago, and no one was buying. So I got caught with a huge inventory.

    I sold a few of the travel folders too, but I still have quite a few packed away here at my house. Most are from places that I went to as a kid on family vacations, vintage early to mid 1960s.

    • Mod Betty
      August 25, 2011 at 10:25 am

      Tom – I too have a collection of these folders and postcards, and they just sit in boxes hidden. When I spoke to Wendy she mentioned that she could create items like these from someone’s own personal collection, so if you need some coasters or trivets you might want to take a look at your collection and see what would be good for this application!

      Funny thing is – I do have a very hard time “destroying” some of the items I’ve collected – plates, postcards, pamphlets, etc – so it’s always a relief to me when someone else has done the “breaking” for me. Sometimes there are good ingredients to be used to make something even better than the original, but I myself can’t seem to make the first cut 🙂

  • Traci
    August 31, 2011 at 11:53 pm

    I love these new uses for such great art. I have framed some vintage maps hanging on my walls, and I also felt uneasy tearing apart the original piece!

    • Mod Betty
      September 1, 2011 at 12:53 pm

      Glad I’m not the only one who has an issue tearing up the original stuff, but luckily now I can send the stuff to someone else who can do it for me 🙂

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