Gone Junkin'

Last Sunday I allowed myself the luxury of heading out the flea market to poke around with Dede, and wasn't disappointed. The weather, although really windy and terribly cold in the early hours, settled down to crisp sunshine by midday and we walked the aisles in relative comfort. At right are some of the little treasures I picked up, a lovely celluloid comb, mother of pearl buttons (can we ever get enough?), and a dear little pair of ivory gloves with tiny buttons up the side. I was also tempted and succumbed to a wonderful Victorian spreader with a mother of pearl handle and engraved blade...too good to pass up.



We saw Tami Hichman while we were there and spent a few minutes chatting with her before we dove into some more boxes. I came up with some wonderful Victorian glass nailheads with a little luster on them and faceted tops. I also came away with some little round ones, and some in red, too. Biggest score of the day was an entire little bag of vintage rhinestone drops, one of the things I love most in life and hunt the hardest for!



The Anna Griffin papers are here and are to die for...very swoonish florals and prints, all with her signature style that is so elevated, you would hesitate to say the "s" word...

The Somerset publications are here, too, and I have been poring over my copies of Somerset Studio and Somerset Life. Celia was good enough to review the Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine, and has pronounced it absolutely scrumptious and refused to part with the sample copy. I will be adding that to our list of reading matter! I also got an adorable table for the books, shown here....

I found it in the Ballard Designs catalog, and couldn't order fast enough. If you want one of your own, they also come in a distressed white, and are called the "Louis Bookseller's Table." I had been on the hunt for one of those little book tables with the V-shaped shelf but had not turned one up yet, in spite of enlisting other people on the hunt as well. It was just too perfect for the store. Lots of new books in it too.


Barbara sent another delicious packet of her antique filigrees and stampings to me, arriving today and being torn open while the postman was still filling out the shipping receipt. Oodles of incredible stuff, again, just proving that this stuff is still out there in some people's hands...you just have to find them! This stuff went very fast last time, so come in when you have a minute to see these incredible pieces of antique metal work. Truly some stunning designs, and beautiful patinas on all of them.

In the Company of Women

Yesterday's class couldn't have been more wonderful...my friend Dede teaching, the chatter and laughter of the women at the table, all a wonderful backdrop for my birthday! The altered books were fantastic; Dede's plan for the beautiful little books took on each person's special touches, with each one beautiful and unique in its own way. Pictured at right is my wonderful Dede, along with Diane McKillip, Lora Gramberg, Amy Bauer, and my friend Theresa McCart, all talented women in their own right.

Here's a picture also, of the absolutely exquisite flowers by Wendy sent me on my special day. She was working and couldn't be there, and was the only icing missing from my cake! Lavenders brought them over to the shop, and Wendy related her very specific orders to the flower shop: it must have green in it (my favorite color) and a lily (for our Lily, of course!); the tiny furled roses tucked in here and there were absolutely angelic....

Thank you everyone for a perfect birthday! I'm sending out all of the pictures in an email ~~~ too many to post here!

Spring Has Sprung!

How lovely has this weather been? I'm enamored of spring and all the good things it is bringing...balmy temperatures, sunny skies, breezes, and after all our rain, greenery and blossoms everywhere. Pretty inspirational stuff, and I couldn't resist pulling out the tubs of millinery flowers that have been languishing in storage for months and turning on the steamer. In an effort to spring clean at home, I started with the front patio and in the process reclaimed an adorable wrought iron screen and plant holder that was in the wiry grip of the last, die hard morning glory vine that I just can't seem to eradicate. Scrubbed and revitalized, it is now gracing the front window of the store, loaded with clay pots and vintage millinery flowers by the armload.

Daphne is looking out over this lovely vision surrounded by flowers and more flowers herself. She is wearing the most delightful vintage designer chapeau with tiny blossoms dotted across the veil, and is layered with net and roses, against a background of corsage boxes holding very special flowers from my own collection.

Easter is coming soon, too...very quickly it seems, as are all the holidays in this leap year. The table is layered in pale pastels: new colors of German glass glitter in yellow, sea shell pink, pale blue and chartreuse; bolts of vintage ribbon in easter egg colors, and the little vintage hens and chicks have come out of storage, too and are posing in the Easter tableau. I am anxiously awaiting the German scrap shipment and the papers that are due to ship in March, but there is no hurrying them...

Good News! The Stampington publications Somerset Life and Somerset Studio arrived yesterday and are available in the store. We are a little store, so there are limited amounts of each for sale. Very inspirational stuff, and all about the things we love! I have been leafing through them and seeing inspiration on every page. The Dover archive has also arrived, and you can look through these lovely collections of images and order your own books with CDs if you want. They have an incredible archive of images and artist's references that spans centuries and have been in the process of translating it into digital images. Truly a stunning result!

Only a couple of days until Dede's class on Saturday, which will be my birthday, so it is all like a big gift to have so many friends in the store on that day. It will be a full table, and I am looking forward to all the laughter and creative energy....