Saturday, February 26, 2011

hedi schoop


I found this little guy lurking among the dingy glassware at Gee-Dub (my local Goodwill store) today, immediately fell in love with all ten inches of his lucid creaminess, charming shape and couldn't pass him up for just $1.99.  The best part of Gee-Dub shopping is doing a bit of sleuthing, once I get home. I discovered that he is a Dutch boy vase, (there's an opening in his backpack for flowers) designed by Hedi Schoop in Hollywood, circa 1940.

Schoop was born to a prominent family in Zurich, Switzerland.  Her father was editor of the Neue Zurcher Zeitung and president of Dolder Hotels. She studied sculpture, architecture, painting and fashion design at several European institutions, including Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna and Reimann Institute in Berlin. She was also an accomplished dancer in Germany, as was her sister, Trudi, a comedic dancer who pioneered the treatment of mental illness with dance therapy.
Frederick Hollander and Hedi Schoop
Schoop was married to well-known composer, Frederick Hollander. In 1933 she and her husband fled Nazi Germany, settling in Hollywood, where he eventually wrote music for over one hundred films. Many of his songs were made famous by Marlene Dietrich. Hollander can be seen as the piano accompanist in A Foreign Affair, 1948where he speaks a few words of dialog. He received four Academy Award nominations for composition.

Hedi began experimenting first in plaster and later in pottery, and soon became one of California's most respected manufacturers of ceramic products. She personally designed nearly all the pieces produced at the North Hollywood factory.

At her studio's height in the 1940s, Schoop employed over fifty workers and produced over 30,000 gift ware items per year, including such items as such as planters, bowls, ashtrays, candy dishes, and lamps. Sadly, a disastrous fire destroyed her factory in 1958. She chose not to rebuild, instead selling some of her molds to other local manufacturers, and began to focus instead, on painting. Schoop died in Van Nuys, California in 1995, at the age of 90.

top photo: taken by me
following photos borrowed from Google images

52 comments:

  1. Totally fascinating! My daughter and I are going sleuthing tomorrow morning at our local Goodwill. And my daughter and I both agree he would look fabulous with flowers. Great find... wish us luck!

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  2. You live near one incredible
    Goodwill store!

    I am always happy when I learn something new like this here:)

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  3. Quaint. He looks like a Bell Hop!

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  4. Love the way he stands; hands in pockets. where are you keeping it ?

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  5. What a great little find and what lovely research to find the history. Heidi was a very beautiful woman in a number of respects.

    Nice one my dear Willow.

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  6. What a find and you are an amazing treasure hunter!

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  7. I love finding forgotten treasure...he is wonderful.

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  8. Bonjour, Willow!
    Wow! It isn't everyday that one learns one more fascinating tidbit of one's hometown-North Hollywood. That little ceramic fellow of yours has travelled far. I'm sure he's grateful to be in such appreciative hands.

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  9. Great find! Mine this week was a black stud belt for $1.99!

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  10. That is really good! I go to our local thrift shops to try and find treasures, but all I usually leave with are Hawaiian shirts...

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  11. $1.99? Why not $2? It doesn't sound any cheaper, and you end up with loads of small coins in you pocket.

    I hope you got your change!

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  12. He's great! Nice find. And I love the fact that you've given us all this info. Brilliant!

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  13. Your Dutch Boy looks such a happy little chap. Happier still, now he's at home in the Manor.

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  14. Okay, that is a great find! I love the "Gee-Dub" name for Goodwill, a place where I've made some remarkable scores over the years. I have never heard it referred to by that name before and it has now joined my vocabulary once and for all. Your little guy is charming, and I enjoyed learning about its creator. Any idea what his market value is? Reggie

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  15. I agree with Elaine .. he looks like one very proud porcelain Bellhop! It's lovely Betsy & has an interesting story connected to it!
    Great buy!

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  16. I've just had another look at him. He's not playing 'pocket billiards' by any chance; is he?

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  17. I could guess at first glance that he was a Hollander boy by the shape of his trousers. What a find.

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  18. I've seen the vase before, but knew nothing other than it was a Dutch boy. Fabulous backstory to the designer! Thanks willow.

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  19. What a score! I can see why you were drawn to the piece, not only is it adorable but it has such an interesting story. What a woman Schoop was and what a life she seems to have led, completely fascinating. Still think it's quite fun that you also call GW by our family nickname for it - well what I THOUGHT was "our" family nickname anyway :)

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  20. Cro, he must have been playing pocket pool at night, because I haven't noticed. Boys will be boys, you know.

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  21. Jeanette, we've adopted "Gee-Dub" from you!!

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  22. What a wonderful "find". It will be wonderful filled with tulips and the promise of spring...soon, please.

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  23. I Dub you the luckiest person ever. And I love tulips and what a wonderful place to put them! And I a glad to learn about Hedi Schoop. Great!

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  24. Reggie, I found some of Schoop's full painted Dutch boys online, in the $35-50 range, but none like this creamy white one, which might be a bit more rare.

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  25. Your Goodwill store must be awesome. I don't find these treasures at mine.

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  26. Intriguing tribute. I love the playing card inspired King and Queen, I'm guessing, candlestick holders?

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  27. you definitely have a good eye. picking up this fellow for a song and then finding out all this history behind him. wow.

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  28. Tess,
    Goodwill just opened a super-sized store 8 minutes from my house. That sounds far, but it's the nearest retail area to me. You are inspiring me to haunt, hunt and forage for treasure and art/collage supplies.
    Guess where I'm going this afternoon?!
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    KIM

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  29. Damn, and I was looking forward to a video of Salt-N-Pepa's "Shoop" song... or at least Cher's "Shoop Shoop" song! 8-) How could you resist?

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  30. hmmmm, are these pretty commmon? I feel I have seen this many times but upon really THINKING on it I cannot remember WHERE.

    LOVE to find treasures like these!

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  31. tess doesn't it blow you away that such rich objects come your way - as if they were meant to be with someone who truly appreciates them. steven

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  32. What a great find, you're quite the treasure hunter.
    the wanna be country girl - Caroline

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  33. What a great eye you have! The little fellow is quite fetching, and he should manage a few tulips this spring quite happily!

    My favorite find at Gee-Dub (okay, I have to start calling it that, too) was a Betsy Johnson original dress for my daughter for $4.50. The lady at the counter apologized that it was marked a dollar more than the other dresses, "probably because it's in perfect condition," she said.

    GREAT post, Tess. You scratched up a lot of info on that little fellow.

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  34. You are an amazing detective with an incredible eye. I never know what I am looking at. We have a ton of stores here in Springfield that have relics from the past and once in a while I find things but I never know if they are good finds or not.

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  35. Tess -- great investigative skills. What a fascinating story about hedi schoop and her long and fulfilling life. -- barbara

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  36. What a find, Tess! And what a back story. Thanks for this.

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  37. A GREAT find! He needs some tulips! :-)

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  38. Julie, he DOES need some tulips! Still snow in this neck of the woods, though.

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  39. I love finding stuff like this. I'm currently collecting table lighters from the golden age of smoking.

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  40. Robin, table lighters? What a classy item to hunt and gather. You must show us!

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  41. I would never have given that piece a second glance,
    and yet after reading this...
    now I see the beauty. Why is that?

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  42. fascinating. you have such an eye.

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  43. neat-o. i like finding knickknacky stuff for my garden...things the snails can play on.

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  44. A few red tulips would be just the thing! And what an interesting history!

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  45. Now he is a winner! Thank you for the background story.

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  46. My kind of post Tess : You start off with a figurine and see where it takes you. Wherever it might be it is guaranteed to be fascinating.
    (By the way, the deed is done)

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  47. Lovely piece! It makes me smile. And what an interesting tale about Hedi Schoop. I wasn't familiar with her. Thanks for the education.

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  48. How love your Gee-Dub and the way the treasures you find there make their way here - complete with history and brilliant image!

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  49. Local Good Will stores have the option of putting up more valuable items that are donated to their own "eBay" store.

    Check out www.shopgoodwill.com.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)