Tag Archives: collecting
Thrifting Thrifting thrifting
I am very excited to have found this carving for my collection. She looks like a girl I know…
Thrift season is in full swing. And we are seriously hounding garage sales (Arabia Finland Crown Band, incomplete setting for 6)
estate sales (Glasbake colorful Lipton Tea mugs)
thrift stores (Dansk Denmark teak wood cheeseboard with knife designed by Jens Quistgaard)
thrift stores (I ran back in for this piece of art pottery and pulled it out of the window)
flea markets (pretty little tiny rug)
and flea markets. (old globe) We are very tired tonight because we shopped and shopped all weekend.
Doesn’t my mother-in-law have good taste though? This is from her collection. (Aubrey Beardsley repro fabric ca 1970s.)
We will be watching this tonight

Sherlock
Spring finds
A new painting for my folk art collection. This is also carved.
Also these embroidered sun bonnet sues by a talented seamstress. I wish she had finished this quilt..
Sometimes embroideries are interesting even unfinished.
I found this lovely book for my paperback collection at an early garage sale.
Those bird houses were only $3.00.
Mad Men Era Wednesday
We have become heavily invested in some classic mid-century items recently. So expect some Mad Men type glamor in our store suddenly.
George Nelson for Howard Miller cigar shaped bubble lamp (rah!). I love this designer. He was quite a character and very devoted to his trade (though not very committed to giving credit to the designers on his team.) He credited the design of this line of lamps to not having the $125.00 to buy a silk Scandinavian lamp for his office.
George Nelson Sunburst clock. This was actually designed by Irving Harper, who worked for the George Nelson Design Studio and designed some of the most iconic products of the company.
The big teak wood sculptural ice bucket designed by Jens Quistgaard for Dansk.
Tangle toy sculpture designed by Richard X. Zawitz.
A Copco skillet designed by Michael Lax. I think this is one of the most (if not the most) beautifully designed skillets ever. I especially love the dark chocolate glaze on this one. I would like to do a post on this line in the future because it is just so gorgeous.
This Dansk Kobenstyle pitcher (Quistgaard again) is already for sale in the store now. I just like to look at the aqua with the brown.
Marimekko fabric in the Lokki pattern designed by Maija Isola in 1961. This little quote about this particular design from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maija_Isola:
Lesley Jackson, in the aptly titled chapter Op, Pop, and Psychedelia in her textbook Twentieth Century Pattern Design, writes that “from Finland the exuberant all-conquering Marimekko burst on to the international scene” in the 1960s; she illustrates this with one pattern by Vuokko Nurmesniemi, and three by Isola – Lokki, Melooni, and inevitably Unikko.[12]
Of Lokki, Jackson writes “Isola revolutionized design with her simple, bold, flat patterns, printed on a dramatic scale. The design, whose title means ‘seagull’, evokes the lapping of waves and the flapping of birds’ wings.”[
Sunday’s Best – Market shopping
“Every day is just like the rest, but Sunday’s best” (Elvis Costello)
We have a local farmer’s market on Saturdays that turns into a very good quality flea market on Sundays. We visit the flea every Sunday. Yesterday I went to the farmer’s market in search of some interesting wintry bouquets. I want to thin out my glass collection, which is not substantial but we collect a lot of things, and everything needs to be cut back.
Well winter is a slow time for farmers but a busier time for antiques. So half the market was taken up with a toy show and the farmers were short on space. There were no bouquets of any kind. No branches, no dried weeds. Long story short, I pulled out some spindly early rhubarbs and too fat leeks. There was a plant vendor who helped me find a few lovely items. So I was able to get some pretty good photos (do you think so?) And the plants are really pretty to look at.
My son is really hoping for some strawberry/rhubarb shortcake and potato leek soup. I will see how busy my day gets.
I decided against selling this iittala bird vase, but the glass flowers will soon be in my etsy shop.
This is like selling a bubble or air.
My husband went to the flea market at 5 this morning and paid good money for this beauty
He thought we would sell it, but I’d rather sell another clock instead. He paid much more for this (the larger of the 2 clocks) but it is unusually big.
We love George Nelson. We plan on keeping the large one and selling the 2 smaller ones we have to pay for it.
The end.
More pillows
I am very happy. My goal this last weekend was to make 3 pillows and I happily only made 2. But this is 2 more than I’ve been able to make in the last 4 months. This is the 2nd.
Now I have 2 of the 3 fabrics that represent my current obsessions. Farms and folk style and native american motifs. I find these really inspiring. And I have heaps of vintage fabric to work with.
Alessi. This tea kettle has a cloud influenced handle and its whistle sounds like a train. It’s rather delightful. Designed by Richard Sapper.
This handbag is one of my favorite things. It’s from the 1970s, I’m quite sure.
Sewing and Selling and Thrifting
I did make one of the 3 pillows I wanted to make this weekend. Hand sewn in the middle of the night listening to Leadbelly (“John Harding was a desperate little man..”) this is my 1970s native american fabric pillow

This pillow – beautiful crewel on old black velvet, thrifted in Saturday’s beautiful sunlight. (We have had an amazing amount of sunlight this February here in Michigan)
And a new Cathrineholm plate from the Sunday flea market.
I started collecting vintage cookware because I like having beautiful useful things. This enamelware is a little fussy though and you want to treat it kindly, because it has lived already a long time and given good service.
I am not sure which picture I like better
I wanted to put our new sputnick lamp here, but it would bump our heads going down the stairs, sadly, sadly (though I love the blue).
I love this fabric. I just found it again at the bottom of a heaped up shelf unit. I will try to make a pillow with this soon.
Now I am going for a quick walk while we still have sunlight.Tomorrow is Pączki day.
Sunday Is Best
“Every day is just like the rest, but Sunday’s best” (Elvis Costello)
I am going to make some small pillows this 3 day weekend. I am inspired by a couple of fabrics in a basket. My pillows are hand sewn because it’s peaceful while watching old movies. This is my favorite pillow so far.
This needs to be redone because it is too snug for the pillow and I used the wrong backing (but such a lovely blue for the pattern)
My husband has been bringing home some fantastic things lately. This will go up for sale because we already have one
This we are keeping. I love it! It is so surprisingly solid and and even though it is 1950s space age, it is also evocative of 1930s futurism (although maybe less so, once its been all polished up…).
Our bird houses in use. They drive our cat crazy.
I would really like an old fashioned roast beef dinner, but I am probably going to eat vegetables.
Mementos, etc.
When people get older time passes more quickly and even stops sometimes I think.
Someone older who saved too much had these. It is practically historic food, ca 1960s. Cool to look at for sure. But this was saved for food. This makes me worry about what they were eating.
I bought this book for real at the flea. It is full of lovely awkward drawings.
and this

This is a memento that opens your beer. It used to belong to a tall handsome guy who liked to fix things.
Little Hippo
My husband did well yesterday, bringing this home. Kay Bojesen made these : http://www.kaybojesen-denmark.com/The_family.aspx
I think even the hippo looks quite happy about it.
Last night at the thrift store I had some fun! It is terracotta but beautiful.
Maybe some of you like me have small things you want to display. Hearts are appropriate now and at any time. The little carved figure my husband brought home for me awhile ago. She is so sweet.
I will use this for cream. It is from our friend’s booth at the flea.
This book makes me quite giddy. I love her story. I wish I could have heard her sing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind
And watch this! http://www.filmsite.org/awfu.html































