Remembering Mood Indigo

At the former site of Mood Indigo
(New York, 2024)

Prized midcentury Alvino Bagni vase,
a rare find from Mood Indigo.
All items shown are from my collection.

Mood Indigo, a dreamy boutique once located at 181 Prince Street in Manhattan’s Soho district, was more than a store. (The name is a nod to one of Duke Ellington’s signature tunes.) It was, by turns, a collectors’ paradise, a vintage oasis, a Midcentury Modern gallery—and the perfect place for me to loiter at a time when my tastes were in their nascency. 

Ashtray, 1950s

From my late twenties to mid-thirties, when I lived in New York, I coveted everything in sight. Regular visits to this enchanting shop near my apartment opened my eyes to the tantalizing world of 20th-century collectibles. 

The treasures I acquired at Mood Indigo are among my prized possessions and sparked my passion for midcentury ceramics, barware and cocktail shakers, World’s Fair ephemera, New York City nightlife souvenirs, Bakelite jewelry, napkin rings, salt and pepper shakers, and vintage Fiestaware. 

Bakelite napkin rings, salt & pepper shakers

The proprietors were an easygoing couple named Diane and Bob Petipas. Diane was the heart and soul of Mood Indigo. In some circles, she was known as “the Fiesta Queen,” who impressively introduced vintage Fiestaware to the New York collector’s market.

Diane with Fiestaware and
Russel Wright pottery

Steven Spielberg and Diane Keaton shopped at Mood Indigo, but the vibe was always low-key and laid-back, partly due to Diane P's acute shyness.

Bakelite cocktail stirrers, 1950s

During a December 2009 trip, 12 years after I left New York, I intended to take Joe to see my favorite store, but it had disappeared. Skyrocketing rents had forced out many of the charming boutiques that once filled Soho. 181 Prince Street is currently a coffee shop with two squandered display windows in the front.

With Diane, 2009

Later that same trip, I made a happy discovery in an antique mall opposite the late, great 6th Avenue Flea Market site. From the other side of the showroom, a colorful vintage Fiestaware display beckoned me, and I told Joe it reminded me of Mood Indigo. When we got down the hall, a streamlined version of the store I had loved awaited us. I even saw Diane, who had taught me so much about 20th-century collectibles, for the last time.

She died in 2016 after a long struggle with rare health issues.

Remaining Mood Indigo inventory
at Heart of Ohio Antiques Mall, 2024

Around 2020, I had another unanticipated encounter with Mood Indigo when I found their wares in an unattended consignment stall in Springfield, Ohio’s mega antiques mall. I was astonished to see Mood Indigo in my home state of Ohio.

I made my final haul from Mood Indigo in November 2023. The Ohio stall was being liquidated, and while the pickings were slim, I acquired two 1939 World’s Fair collectibles and a couple of vintage salt and pepper shakers—for old times’ sake. (A small selection of remnants lives on eBay.)

With that, I said a sad farewell to Mood Indigo and pondered how my long journey with them had improbably taken me from urbane Soho to rural Ohio.

1939 and 1964 New York World's Fair ephemera

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