Today, is an exciting day as the staff at TwinPeaksBlog.com has grown by one. Please welcome fellow Bookhouse Boy (and talented musician) Vinnie Guidera. By chance, we met in person during my trip to Snoqualmie Valley in September 2019. I quickly learned we share a passion for props and places from David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks. After he recently launched an Instagram account (@TwelveRainbowTrout) featuring his collection, I thought his stories would be a perfect fit for this blog. Without further ado, here’s Vinnie discussing a prop found in The Johnson House.
SUNFLOWER NAPKIN HOLDER PROP
Shelly and Leo Johnson apparently value retro kitsch over other home essentials, such as walls.
One of my favorite props in the Johnson house is this resin sunflower napkin holder made by an American company called New Designs, Inc. in 1969.
This was a lucky find, as I had no information about the manufacturer when I started my search for a replica and only had a physical description to work with. That was fortunately enough.
I was pleased to find a label with more information when this replica prop arrived in the mail.
APPEARANCES OF NAPKIN HOLDER IN SEASON 1
It is consistently visible on the kitchen table throughout the first season.
The napkin holder is turned sideways on the kitchen table in episode 1.007.
APPEARANCES OF NAPKIN HOLDER IN SEASON 2
In season two, it migrates to the counter, and is inexplicably replaced by a different napkin holder.
NAPKIN HOLDER IN TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME
This is one of the few props I’ve noticed that appears in both the series and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
MUSHROOMS BY NEW DESIGNS INC.
Curiously, a Google search for “New Designs napkin holders” also turned up a similar mushroom design on Etsy.
That one would’ve fit well with the Johnsons’ mushroom wallpaper.
I love that the upside down pinecone wall pocket, from the oven wall, and the celery salt and pepper shakers are used in place of the sunflower napkin holder in season 2. Looks like a quick solution for a broken sunflower (if you absolutely had to have napkins on the table).
So many financially-poor young couples started out on a houseful of handed down bits and pieces back in those days. We were just the same! This was before those objects became desirable kitsch, of course. My girlfriend bought a horrible old picture of a cat to cover a rough patch of wall in our hallway in 1987. It cost ten pence at a jumble sale. I saw the same design print on eBay last year – priced at £30.00!