About
The Beginning
Mint began life as a real life shop, situated in the heart of Glenwood, Durban. The germ of the idea started when I moved into my first house and decorated it entirely with restored retro furniture and accessories (see my ‘house pics’). Visitors were excited by the way that I had furnished my home and wanted to know where they could find similar items, so to satisfy the demand I left my steady job, and entered the freefall world of retail. Mint sold everything from retro ice-cream scoops to 50s light-fittings and Scandinavian dining room tables, with the idea that everything in our homes should be beautiful, functionality never being enough.
The Philosophy
The premise of Mint is that old things were made to last. If you buy something today it might look good now, but it probably won’t be around in a decade’s time. Very few of today’s mass produced items will make it into the retro markets of the future, with the majority of modern goods being designed to self-destruct.
Before the concept of built-in obsolescence was incorporated into the modern economy, attention was paid to both design and durability. The items on sale through my blog are a showcase of twentieth century design, reflecting a time when everything was designed with thought, consideration and style.
Another part of the Mint aesthetic is the recycling principle to which a growing number of retailers are fortunately also paying attention. Instead of adding to the planet’s ever-growing mounds of plastic, Mint finds beautiful objects from the past and loves them back to life.
The Blog
Sadly Mints’ byline, “The Retired Goods Company”, came to fruition after 8 short months when I got lured back into the corporate world, and we closed our doors, and auctioned off the stock (this still makes me a little tearful).
Somehow though, I seemed to forget that I no longer had a shop to stock, and continued to trawl the carboot markets and church sales for treasure. After a year of hoarding I realised that I had to ultimately have a way of passing on some of my collection, and so with a push from Niall, my housemate and avid blogger (check out www.sprig.co.za), I started the online version of Mint!
Due to postage constraints I sell mostly smalls on my blog, but the occasional light fitting or mirror does slip in. New items are posted every week day.
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