We are fascinated by the beautiful old water-slide decals produced in the 1930s through the 1960s, which offered ordinary people the chance to brighten up their homes with a great variety of colorful, fun design motifs that went along with the design trends of the time. Available in dime stores all over, these beautiful, inexpensive decals tempted us with beauty, elegance and humor. Now, in the early 21st century, many of us are anxious to recreate the look and feel of a 1940s, 1950s or 1960s home. There are many of the old stock water-slide decals around at thrift stores and estate sales, but if you try to use them now, the sad fact is, most of them just fall apart at the first dip in water. One of the chemists who helped develop the original formula told me that nobody on his team dreamed that people 40-60 years later would still wish to use the old decals!

I was so pleased to learn that a couple of modern-day chemists had developed a new formulation of the old water-slide decal emulsion that can be printed using modern ink-jet printers. Now there was a way to archive those old decal designs and to reproduce them in a way that they could be used. I have a license agreement with the most prolific and famous of the old decal printing firms to reproduce their vintage designs and offer them for sale.

In 2004, a collector of Depression-era kitchen glassware approached me with an interesting project: Building a collection of decals that would reproduce the old label designs for vintage spice jars. Some of these originally were decals, very fragile under normal kitchen use; many others were fired onto the glass and would wear away over the years. She offered me the best examples of the old designs from her collection so that I could scan and rebuild the designs to be used for collectors to refresh old labels or to use as place-holders in their collections as they searched for originals. The result is the beautiful collection of vintage kitchen jar decals in our store. To Lynn Mann, that collector who trusted me with her collection, long distance no less, tusand tak (a thousand thanks)!

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are your decals hard to use?
Nope, not at all. I include printed instructions with all orders. It's lots of fun to use decals. Just allow yourself some uninterrupted time for the project, because once the decals are wet, you have to get them positioned quickly before they dry, and if you go play a game of tennis or something you will probably come back to a crumpled, ruined decal.

Q: I'd like to put your decals on my dishes. Can I do that?
The short answer is, no. Decals wash off with water unless they are sealed with an acrylic coating, and acrylic coatings are not food grade. (Plus they still wash off eventually.) I once tried a clear epoxy coating from dickblick.com that was supposed to make decals dishwasher proof on glass, but it only took a few trips through the dishwasher before they were peeling off, epoxy and all. But you can certainly put decals on spice jars and canisters or on cabinet doors or shelves, things that you wipe clean rather than immerse. Spray them with a canned spray acrylic or use a brush-on acrylic clearcoat when they are dry and they will be quite wipe-able.

Q: If I change my mind later, will the decals come off?
That is usually the least of your worries! Oh yes, they come off. All it usually takes is soaking in hot soapy water for a few minutes. If you have used acrylic coating on them, you'll have to soak longer and do some gentle scrubbing, but even then they are not permanent. If the item is otherwise dishwasher safe, running it through a dishwasher cycle will make the decals disappear as though they had never existed.

Q: A spray acrylic coating? What do you mean, like Krylon? Can you mail me a can or two while you're at it?
Sorry, but due to postal service regulations, I cannot ship acrylic coatings. Ask your local hardware store for a clear spray acrylic coating. Krylon is just one of several brands out there and you should be able to find one easily. My personal favorite is Sprayway Plastic Spray Clear Fixative, usually available through auto body supply firms or art supply stores.

Q: What if I want to put your decals on a colored surface, like this beautiful bright-pink chest of drawers here?
I routinely print the decals onto clear decal stock, but if you are going to be putting them on a strong color that will show through and overpower the decal design, there is the option of putting them on white decal stock. It's unsatisfactory for most things (it's thicker and harder to work with), but it does have its place. If you would prefer to have your decals printed on white decal stock, just let me know.

Q: Can I use your decals in ceramics?
No, these are not ceramic decals. They cannot survive firing temperatures. You can put them on candles, though, or homemade soaps. How's that?

Q: I have this great piece of artwork that I cut out of a magazine and I want a decal made of it. Can you do that?
I probably could, but it would most likely be a copyright violation. I'm very careful about copyrights and will not make decals of any item that I don't have permission to work with. If you have original artwork that you did, then you can of course grant me permission yourself. That includes photographs you have taken of your pets or your house or your children or whatever. But if it is commercial artwork you downloaded from the Web or copied from a book, the chances are extremely slim that it is free of copyright. I'll try to help you figure it out if you are in doubt.

Q: I bought your decals and love them, but I don't want to buy more from you - I think I'll just scan them and print them out for myself. You don't mind, do you?
Hahaha! Funnnny! -- Oh, you were serious. Yes, I do mind. All my decals are under copyright. Buying the decals does not purchase the right to reproduce them. Exhaustive information on U.S. copyright law can be found on the Copyright.gov website. A very helpful overview of copyright law for the layperson can be found at Brad Templeton's "Ten Myths about Copyright Law" page.