Flexible Flyer Sled
Everyone loves the classic styling of a Flexible Flyer Sled. The below Flexible Flyer is now for sale at the Reston ReStore shop.
Flexible Flyers are wooden sleds on steel runners. You can either sit or lie on your stomach when going down a snowy hill. The steerable sleds also have a bumper to prevent crashing into the sled in front of you.
Brief History of the Flexible Flyer Sled
Samuel Leets Allen first patented the Flexible Flyer in 1889 in New Jersey. Allen began to manufacture the sleds to keep his farming equipment factory workers busy during the off farm season.
At first, the sleds did not sell. The sleds only became very popular when Allen sold the sleds as a toy for children.
Children loved to steer the sleds by pulling on the ropes and pushing the wooden bar with either their feet or hands. Other sleds such as goose neck and toboggans could not be steered.
The S. L. Allen Factory closed its doors in 1968 and the Flexible Flyer name was sold many times in the years since.
Memories of Flexible Flyer
Farmhouse Magic Blog has a Flexible Flyer in the basement which was purchased in a yard sale. One snowy day, we took the sled to a sledding hill in the neighborhood and had a great time. However, we were the only people using a Flexible Flyer.
Flexible Flyer as a Holiday Decoration
Now, I bring out the Flexible Flyer to use as a holiday decoration so it serves another purpose. I tie some greenery and a red velvet bow on it and put it near my front door. This makes an unusual and cute holiday decoration.
Plow & Hearth Serving Table
The next item is a black bear table. The bear is holding a wooden slice which serves as the table and is marked with a Plow & Hearth tag.
Plow & Hearth is a company out of Madison, VA which has been in business since 1980. They create cozy and comfortable spaces for the home.
This “butler” bear would look great in an informal living room or child’s room.
Art Deco Furniture
This morning I was chatting with Eric, one of the sales associates, about the art deco pieces for sale in the store.
Today Restore had a Art Deco style bedroom set and this china cabinet piece.
This piece looks like a vintage early 20th century art deco waterfall china cabinet. It has a decorative wooden insert over a glass panel, 3-shelves, a drawer and a cabinet with two handles in the bottom. If I’m not mistaken, the four round handles are orange Bakelite pulls.
Use this piece as a china cabinet, bookshelf, or for display.
Waterfall Pattern?
Furniture made in a waterfall pattern has rounded edges at the top to mimic a falling waterfall.
Art Deco Movement
Art Deco movement was the craze during the 1920 to 1930’s and originally began in France. What marks a piece as being Art Deco, is that it is pleasing to view, sophisticated, and luxurious.
Old Stool
Some people see trash when they look at this old stool, but I see treasure. I’ve been trying to make out the red design on the top of the stool but so far can’t figure it out but the varnish on it looks old.
Photograph of the front of the old stool
Glass and Plate Set
These glass and plate sets were popular for holiday parties, garden club meetings, and teas parties during the 1950’s and 1960’s.
The dish has a circular area on the top to prevent the glass from sliding off while the plate sits in your lap.
This set sure beats using paper plates and cups at a party.
Ending Comments
All items on today’s blog are for sale at the ReStore shop in the Reston/Herndon area.
However, time and again, I never know what goodies I am going to find there.
A Special Thank You to Paul of the ReStore shop for allowing me to blog and to take photographs in the store.
wikipedia.com, edmondhistoricalmuseum.com, hiddencityphila.org and Britanica.com online sites were used to research today’s blog topic.