I've been collecting for a really long time now, since I was a kid actually. And finally, I know what they mean.

I'm talking about those people who would look at things I liked as a collector and say, “Why do you want THAT?” These less than enthusiastic airings of opinions started with my interest in depression glass a long time ago and eventually led into my vintage costume jewelry collecting habit during the last 15 years.

From psychedelic sofas and curvy plastic chairs to domed record players, this stuff doesn't appeal to me in the least for my own home. But, I do have the good sense to study this phenomenon and pick up a few things here and there that others might like to buy. I guess it's just the antique dealer in my soul.

Recently I paid $10 for one of those mod donut phones, actually a Western Electric Sculptura design, in bright yellow at a garage sale. It even had a rotary dial. My best friend had a brown push button model in high school during the late '70s, so I knew about how old it was as soon as I saw it.

While I knew these types of phones were collectible now, what I didn't know was that yellow rotary models were on the hard to find side. My donut phone sold for $96 in an online auction, which was great because it was definitely something I hadn't planned on keeping.

Now I can understand the resurgence of interest in the mod era, especially since those silly-yet-entertaining movies featuring Austin Powers came out a few years ago. There's another one in theaters now, supposedly the final installment in the series, in case you didn't know. And of course, the popularity of "That '70s Show" has helped move things along as well.

Nowadays, younger folks who don't even remember the era in the least want to recreate some of the funky drama associated with the late '60s that led into the '70s. They look for electronics with space age design features, anything decorated with smiley faces and even light fixtures shaped like huge light bulbs, among other interesting pieces.

Like most other collecting categories, decorator items in great condition that can be associated with a noteworthy designer often hold the most value with avid, affluent collectors.

Names to watch for: Joe Colombo, Verner Panton and Pierre Paulin. The early works of Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce and Frank Gehry also have potential in this game. If you've never heard of any of these folks, just hold on. They'll probably be as well known as Herman Miller and Eames within the next decade or so.

Of course, average items like original Lava Lamps and round AM radios, the “Panapet” model by Panasonic being a popular design, all hold value now.

A good resource to tap when learning more about this area of collecting is the Collector's Compass book, '60s and '70s Décor (Martingale Press). Not only do the panel of authors list the most popular designers and show examples of some cool styles, they include some great information about finding mod pieces and who is in the market buying them.

In fact, I'm not sure how they figured it out, but they say that men are far more interested in this type of décor than women. Now I'll have to start paying attention to see if this assessment holds true.

One way or another, this is one collecting area that is prone to grow over the next few years. Soon, I expect that even those ceramic mushroom canisters and avocado green pottery soup sets used in mid to late '70s kitchens will be considered desirable.

By the way, I had one of those round Panasonic radios when I was a teenager, a Christmas gift from my older brother. I wonder whatever happened to that thing?

Western Electric "Sculptura" phone photo by Pamela Wiggins

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