Getting ready for company....

This weekend we'll get to see the lovely and talented Riki Schumacher, who is coming down to teach some classes on Brookdale. We still have a little room left in our Sunday workshop entitled, "Wrapture." If you'd like to join in the fun, call Dede at 714-757-0558 or email her at dedewarren@hotmail.com. Full details can be found here....

Catching up a little

Between work, helping mom out a little, and a few computer tics that have me hopping between new system and old, it's been hard to pull together a post. I generally blog from home, but CS3 is not cooperating on the new system, so photos must be downloaded and processed at work, and I don't always have the uninterrupted time to get them from camera to Photobucket. Yesterday was cooperative, and I managed to get a little bit done.

 

Some lovely things have been arriving at the store, including these old watch cases and parts. I don't run across them very often,and was happy to land on some.

These little beauties have been in the store before, but I found them at a place back east in quantity. These are raw brass, and they patina beautifully. The little crystal centers show off nicely against the brass when darkened...

These little beauties came from the same warehouse. They'll be in the drawer with all the crosses. What should we put in these little lockets, I wonder...

The week has held cleaning, too, with the back room producing things I thought were lost, like these beautiful silk ribbons for pendants. They are finished on both edges and taper to a point at the ends...

I also uncovered a big bag of vintage stamens that were languishing under a stack of stuff...

There were some lovely ones in the bag, fine tiny ones with two colored tips, and big sprays of the long pearl-tipped ones I love. The best surprise was the tiny mushrooms...love them!

Last to come out of hiding was some vintage organza trim with shaped edges and cutouts. It's a lovely color, with just enough age on it be perfect...

On their way...

Loads of pearly goodness coming our way, as the last of these are making their way to Lily this coming week. I couldn't resist them, and I have to admit to being very foolish when it comes to pearls, especially old stock pearls from Japan, and even more so when it comes to Haskell pearls. When I get a phone call about pearls, all reason flies out the window, caution is thrown to the winds, and my checking account is left tattered and wheezing as a result.

I can remember the first boxes I received from my Haskell contact. We'd talked several times on the phone, and she was hedging on taking pictures and all that nonsense, finally paring the initial transaction down to a succinct, "You send me $500, and I'll send you some pearls." As ridiculous as that may sound, that is exactly what I did. Sight unseen, I sent my money off into the void and hoped for the best.

Everything arrived in flat rate boxes, which held not only pearls, but glass beads, chain and findings. Everything was beautiful, but the most wonderful things were in the last box that held stampings and filigrees. I turned one of the filigrees over in my hand, and saw the small oval cartouche with Miriam Haskell's name on it. They were authentic.

Authenticity is rare. Everything has a story, a story of it's own. So I guess part of my job is being a story teller. I think I like that.

If you can't take the heat....

Chef Jamar takes his cooking seriously, and proved on Saturday that he can take the heat. Here you see him deglazing the pan that just held our filets for steak au poivre with a little cognac and a lot of fire...

These are things best left to experts, ones wearing a big "Pit Mitt" he received from my sister for Christmas. This procedure involves swirling a pan full of dripping with some stock, then pouring in a good portion of cognac, and deftly tipping the pan toward the flames until it bursts into flames itself. The fact that I got close enough to take the picture says a lot for my cajones, girls...

What Pretty Things...

Dede and I had such fun the other day plucking things from the shop for some boxes we wanted to make. These Valentine themed boxes were inspired by the little red silk tassels with the boucle bobble at the time, and the beautiful ivory trim with the red silk check....

Working in theme and color is such fun, and we decided to name our little boxes of lovelies, "Quelques Belles Choses," which means 'what pretty things.' And indeed, pretty things they are...

Tucked in each of these limited edition boxes are yards of vintage trims, ribbons, laces and embellishments; old appliques, Miriam Haskell pearls, vintage brass stampings, charms and lockets; an antique valentine, German Dresdens, and vintage Valentine scraps, plus old romantic photos, Japanese flash cards with charming phrases, millinery florals, crepe paper, satin and velvet leaves, and German glass glitter. There's some of my favorite Lacelon gathering trim, an old West German beaded flower, a selection of buttons and a buckle from the 1940s, a little silver bird, and lots and lots of red and white baker's twine wrapped around a vintage store tag. A lovely old paper doily completes the offering.

We have only four of these available in our store, but we will be happy to ship one to you if you are out of the area. Call our store at 714-680-8893 to reserve or arrange payment and shipping, or email us at gildingthelilyvintage@yahoo.com.  $65.00

Okay, so I missed January...

I've been a very bad blogger.

A very, very, very bad blogger. But now I'm back.

I've been feeling a little tattered lately, and pondering life a little. You know life...the stuff that happens.

I have always felt that my little store 'happened' to me. It wasn't as much a conscious decision as it was an unconscious one. I bought two hats. You don't think much about buying two hats.

Then I bought a hundred hats. I found feathers, and veiling, and bolts and bolts of ribbon. Then paper beckoned, and pearls, and heaps of chain and metal. Since the day I opened my doors as a real brick and mortar store, I always felt like it was its own entity, and I raced after it trying to catch up to what it was becoming.

I think it seems like its own self because it is really made up of so many things, so many ideas, and of course, so many artful people. Everyone who steps through its doors brings some vision of what it can be: for them, for others, and ultimately, for me. I think if we had to give Lily a face, it would be one that shimmered slightly, and changed constantly. And in her visage, I would see glimpses of all the women I know.

This year is going to be interesting. It already is.

Just look around you.