A few minutes later, during the scene when Wendy is talking to the pediatrician in the living room, one of the lacquer canisters is on the counter over Wendy's left shoulder, and the set of hanging utensils are on the wall over her left shoulder.

In a wide shot, the saucepans with lids, timer, and cooking utensils are clearer to Wendy's left, but the canister is out of the frame.

You may be aware of the legion of theories and conspiracies surrounding Stanley Kubrick's work. The folks over at EyeScream.com took a moment to focus on Neil the frog, his placement in the film, and analyze what it all means. No matter your thoughts on Kubrick's intended or unintentional messages, it's exciting to spot another kitchen coordinate on set, and in such noteworthy movie!

Called a sprinkling can in the Sears catalogs, an enameled metal Merry Mushrooms watering can sold on August 15, 2023.

A wooden ware kitchen secretary to organize notes, mail, coupons, and keys sold on August 15, 2023.

This complete set of glass canisters, covered in their own blog, sold June 26, 2023.

Live greenery indoors is also an element of the growing Maximalism interior decoration style, a style which emphasizes joy, comfort, personal interests, and familiarity. Both houseplants and Merry Mushrooms fit cozily into this reemerging style as they both lend personality, color, and, in some cases, nostalgia, to our homes.

Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, our favorite mushrooms appear on several indoor plant items: three different hanging planters (two mushroom-shaped and one egg-shaped), one planter/saucer, a plant spike/water dispenser, mist sprayer, a sprinkling/watering can, and even a miniature planter and saucer. One could argue the indoor/outdoor thermometer is also plant-related.

It wasn't until early 2020 when researching for the private project which then turned into the book, "A Collector's Guide to Merry Mushrooms," that the true identity of this item was discovered hidden away in an old Sears and Roebuck catalog.

There it is! Number 13 in the 1976 Wish Book, called Plant Tool Kit. It also appeared in the 1977 Spring Summer Catalog. The three tools were original and my weird little item was part of the Merry Mushrooms collection!

The plant tool holder is made out of white hardwood and has a curved top. Three holes are drilled into the top edge of the curved top for holding the tools. On the front is the Merry Mushrooms decal and the back is plain white. The three-piece silver-colored metal tool set includes: shovel, rake, and spade.

The holder without tools stands 3-1/4" tall at the highest point and is 11/16" wide. The base is 3-1/8" long, 1-1/2" wide, and 3/8" high. The height with the tools varies depending on which tools are where. When placed in the order shown below, it stands 5-1/2" to the highest point, the tip of the spade (narrow shovel)

Looking at the bottom for the first time in at least a year, I was pleasantly surprised to find both gold stickers were still there. The larger one reads, "© Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1976," and the smaller "MADE IN JAPAN."

Since the tools are not marked stainless steel and there all have a very minor amount of corrosion/rust, they might be made of a ferrous metal like carbon or alloy steel and coated in nickel. Only the shovel and spade are stamped "JAPAN" on their respective backs; the rake has no marks.

The spade is 4-3/8" long and 11/16" wide. The rake is 3" long and 1-5/8" wide. The shovel is 5" long and 1-9/16" wide.

Now that the short answer is out of the way, let's take a closer look at what lead is and why it was used in so many products. Knowing this will help explain why Sears Merry Mushrooms and other vintage goods manufactured and imported in the 1970s and 1980s likely contain lead and may help you determine how to avoid it, if you choose to.

Here in the United States, Wisconsin's state mineral is galena (lead) due to its importance to Wisconsin's economy during its territorial days (1836-1848). The discovery spurred settlement of Mineral Point and New Diggins by Yankees, people from New England, and European immigrants. Galena, Illinois is part of the same lead field and settled at the same time. To find our more about the importance of lead mining to Wisconsin, check out the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Fast forward to the late 20th Century. Due to growing concerns about how lead does affect us, especially young children, the United States federal government began to phase out lead in gasoline in 1973 and finally eliminated it in 1996. The manufacture of lead-based house paint was banned in the United States in 1978. In 1986, the government restricted the lead content of solders, faucets, pipes, and similar materials. In ceramic glazes, lead was slowly phased out of ceramic glazes, though it appeared in some markets until the 1990s.

For an interesting and informative science project, you can purchase a lead testing kit in a hardware store or online and test your vintage pieces.

Read more about lead here:
Questions and Answers on Lead-Glazed Traditional Pottery (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Questions and Answers about Lead in Ceramic Tableware (Contra Costa County, California Health Services)
Lead Poisoning: A Historical Perspective (EPA Journal, May 1985)

After a moment, shock and disbelief turned into suspicion since they were so impeccable. However, inspecting the photos as closely as possible, they certainly seem legit. Nice!

Available in the 1982 and 1983 catalogs, this set of four clear, cylindrical glass jars have clamp lids and range from 5½" to 10" high. The lids are white with the Merry Mushrooms decal in center.

Among some of the last new pieces offered, the glass canisters fit well into the somewhat popular rustic, country style of the early 1980s. Other Merry Mushrooms in this new country style were wooden canisters, the spice and coffee mills, and the blackboard.

UPDATE 7/2/2023
It has been confirmed that the lucky winner of the glass canisters is collector maven, Andrea Tippets. She kindly sent more photos of the jars and provided additional info. Thank you, Andrea. Congratulations on your amazing score!

The lids are confirmed to be ceramic with the decal design. A rubber seal would be around the lip on the underside to lock in/out moisture and bugs. In the catalog picture above, there is a thin pink-brown line between the lid and the top of the canister, suggesting they were sold with seals. Seals are easily purchased and replaced if desired.

On the bottom, the jars are stamped with the factory name, "Carlton Glass USA," and their capacity: 2L, 1.5L, 1L, and 3/4L. They are much larger than the stoneware clamp canisters, which are 24oz. and 16oz.

To sell that everyday American look, Sears used a kitchen set fully furnished with cabinetry, hardware, flooring, lighting, appliances, and accessories, all conveniently available for purchase in the very same catalog. Kitchen sets allowed the consumer to dream and imagine it in their own home. When people were included in the catalog and magazine ads, they were depicted smiling as they loaded their state-of-the-art dishwasher, or gazing out the window at their equally picture-perfect yard and gardens, while standing at their gleaming new sink.

Let's take a look at some of the fabulous kitchen sets featured in 1970s Sears catalogs and, if you look closely, you might recognize some familiar coordinates! What does your dream kitchen look like?

This 1970 kitchen featured in the Fall/Winter catalog has lots of texture in the form of brick, linoleum, and wood (and the look of texture in the wallpaper) but is unified by avocado green, dark stained wood, and white brick. It might be considered jarring to today's eyes that are used to grey, beige, greige, grey-blue, slate grey, and white made popular by the modern farmhouse style, but we can look to the past as color is reintroduced to our homes. Looking to the wall on the right, there is a wall collage of "old-timey" wooden kitchen tools and a house plant.

This model kitchen is also from 1970 (the Spring/Summer catalog), but is a bit more monochrome, primarily yellow and brown. It is still visually interesting to the eye with the wide variety of textures: bead board cabinet doors (a style called Mediterranean in later catalogs), brass door and drawer pulls, terracotta tile floor, "brick" on the wall, wooden ceiling beams, and decorative curlicue metal grill over the window. The stylistic lighting, while impractical for an actual kitchen, highlights the moody, rich, and Mediterranean/Spanish look of the time.

By the 1973 Spring/Summer catalog, full-scale model kitchens were replaced with smaller setups with, sadly, fewer accessories and architectural details. Still, plenty of textures and colors are visible: window curtains in different arrangements, floral and striped wallpaper, linoleum flooring, and wood grained appliances. On the bright side, Sears' very own kitchen coordinates start appearing on countertops. Festive Fruit, Merry Mushrooms, and, in the black and white ad, what looks like Bewitching Butterflies. For more on the other kitchen coordinates, visit my blog post One Pattern for Stove Top and Table.

A couple years later, in 1975, the Needlepoint kitchen coordinates make a guest appearance in the Grandee II Style display kitchen on page 1052. In all kitchens, the dark cabinetry has different types of recessed panels and heavy brass hardware, or none at all. On the wall, brick and loud wallpaper patterns still lend visual interest and texture, with contrasting curtains. Now, though, appliances are available in unassuming black or wood finishes in an effort to blend in.

By the end of the decade, some kitchens grew a bit more subtle. While appliances and walls were still yellow and brown, cabinets could now be stained lighter, countertops might be off-white or solid color, appliances in ivory or off-white make an appearance, and wallpaper and curtain patterns become smaller and less bold. This shift foretells the coming "country" look of the early to mid-1980s.

Arnel’s Pottery, based in Beaverton, Oregon, produced ceramic molds for hobbyists beginning in 1953. They also sold unfinished or bisque-finished ceramics to craft stores, art classes, or to other companies who would glaze and sell finished products. Though it is unclear whether or not the company is still in operation, or even what its correct name is (alternately called Arnels, Arnel’s, or Arnel and combined with one of the words Pottery, Ceramics, or Molds), Arnel’s molds are still available through several ceramics suppliers.
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Even though existing pieces vary greatly in color and quality of finish, dependent on the skill and preference of the artist, Arnel’s pieces are easily identified by the “Arnel’s” usually inscribed on the bottom, and by the lid knob consisting of three standing mushrooms. There is a version of make-your-own-pottery with a prostrate mushroom on the lid (like Merry Mushrooms), which may be Arnel's or another mold maker. Artists usually add the date and/or their initials.

Called "Empress by Haruta" because of the surviving black and gold shield-shaped import stickers found on many of the pieces, this mushroom line remains a bit of a mystery, albeit a fascinating one.

A reference to a ceramic importer with Haruta in its name is found in the May 1968 Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, where the full name is listed as "Empress China & Design. Haruta & Co., Inc."

Another reference to Haruta & Co. is in the Catalog of Copyright Entries from 1931. Wildly, the description of the trademark matches the Empress China maker's mark that has been attributed to Charles Sadek Import on Figurines-Sculpture.com. The "H" in the center of the red mark may be a clue that it's really the mark for Haruta & Co. Maybe?

Switching gears and searching by the design of the import sticker led to two red and gold import stickers on other non-mushroom ceramic and porcelain items, "Empress by YMM" and "Empress by Haruta Taiwan." According to pictures of a box of porcelain coffee mugs featured in an old eBay listing, "Empress by YMM" is apparently YMM Napoli Import. No searches have shed light on YMM Napoli Import other that perhaps it's an Italian producer.

Because of the nearly identical design, it can be assumed that all three shield-shaped import stickers are from the same company, but denote different design lines or import channels. The "Empress by Haruta Taiwan" sticker is likely on items imported after 1979, following the United States Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) which created unofficial relations with Taiwan, including trade. Is that company Haruta & Co., Inc.?

This style of mushroom decal on this type of cookware has been identified by collectors as sold by Fingerhut. Fingerhut Companies, Inc. was founded in 1948 and, in 1952, became a mail-order business offering towels, cookware, and electric drills. In 1979, it became a subsidiary of American Can, Co. Their pots and pans appear to be marked "©FINGERHUT" and the year underneath the handle(s) in black. Unfortunately, identification and date(s) for the mushroom pattern has not been verified due to an absence of sources like catalogs or other advertising at this time.

GHC is the General Housewares Corporation. By the early 1980s, they were the only US producer of enameled cookware. It is possible that GHC produced some Merry Mushrooms cookware pieces for Sears. However, beginning with the 1976 Sears catalog, Japan is listed as the country of origin for the cookware plus all the Sears cookware boxes are labeled as made in Japan.

When compared to authentic Merry Mushrooms, the colors of the GHC pieces are too bright, almost garish, and the posture of the mushrooms themselves is a little unnatural and psychedelic, not the pleasant playfulness of Merry Mushrooms.

Himark Enterprises, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and operated until 2000. Based in Hauppauge, New York, they were a self-described "small importer of housewares and gift ware articles" like platters, kitchen tool holders, coffee mugs, wall plaques, canister sets, cake plates, serving bowls, and soup tureens. These items were bought from factories in Japan Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Portugal, and Italy. They grew to have showrooms in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Dallas, and a distribution center in Ontario, Canada, but dissolved in 2000 citing U.S. retailers' ability to buy directly from producers in China.

Interestingly, in 1988, Himark's director of imports Brian Leupold, along with witnesses from Williams-Sonoma and Pier 1 Imports, testified before the Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigations for the hearing on lead and cadmium in housewares in 1988. If you want to come down the rabbit hole, here is the official report and transcript.  The C-SPAN video of the hearing is also available.

Himark representatives also sat on the Committee of Independent Cookware Importers in 1986. The report is here along with other U.S. International Trade Commission reports. Included in the same report is a complaint filed by Warner Brothers, Inc. against entities selling unauthorized likenesses of characters in their hit 1984 movie, Gremlins.

Lefton China (the material, not the country) pieces were produced from 1946 to the 1970s. During the 1980s, production moved to Taiwan and Malaysia. Some of the last items made in Japan were the Mushroom Forest pieces, most of which are marked 1970 and offered in the 1973 Lefton catalog.

This robust line included canisters, salt and pepper shakers, a butter dish, different pitchers, a gravy boat, a soup tureen with ladle and plate, mugs, an egg plate, an appetizer plate, and a serving platter. All items are embossed ceramic with wood grain detailing, including knots, and glazed yellow-brown. Most of the pieces are decorated with light brown, dark brown cap, and orange cap black-spotted mushrooms, light and dark brown acorns, and leafy fern-like greenery.

Funky and unrealistic mushrooms grew in popularity in the early 1960s as the counterculture in the United States gained momentum. These mushrooms had exaggerated sizes, colors, and greenery. They could be bright blue, green, yellow, red, hot pink, or resemble the trendy patchwork look of gingham, polka dots, and paisley.

In the 1970 Sears Wish Book, a collection of psychedelic mushrooms including canisters, a potholder, towels, mugs, and salad bowls appear on the same page as the Merry Mushrooms cookie jar and a number of other mushroom items.

A division of Samson Import Co. in Chicago, Reliable Glassware & Pottery Co. (Relpo), was yet another importer of doodads in the early to mid-20th Century, and best known for their head vases. Pieces are marked with "©SAMSON IMPORT CO" with the year and pattern/item number underneath, plus a gold and black import sticker reading "Relpo, Chicago ILL, Made in Japan." Based on the years stamped on the bottom, it appears Relpo stopped importing in the late 1960s.

More recently, while researching for a future blog, I combed through countless websites and library books searching for a particular import sticker. Though I haven't found that sticker, I did have a sudden pang of recognition at this mark.

After spying them, I try to identify them. Not to eat, mind you, but because I appreciate the huge variety of delightful decomposers that tidy our outdoors. Identification is challenging not only because there are thousands of mushroom varieties, so many that some are simply lumped together (e.g. little brown mushrooms), and also because the appearance of mushrooms changes from day to day, and depending on environmental conditions (dry/wet, sunny/overcast, windy/calm).

Applying the same technique of identifying wild mushrooms to Merry Mushrooms, I busted out my trusty Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest guide by Teresa Marrone and Kathy Yerich.

Let's take a fun but, admittedly, very deep dive into an artistically rendered fungi!
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The closest to the basic shape is a bolete mushroom, though they don't match any other characteristics. Another, better, possibility is oak collybia which matches shape and gills, and, though the stem isn't grooved, it is a little wider at the bottom. A third, and pretty close, choice is Big Laughing Gym. It has gills, a slightly bulbous and textured (not grooved, though) stem, and a sort of domed cap with texture and/or streaks.

There are plenty of other possibilities, but these are the top three. Any mycophiles out there who want to weigh in?