Sunday, October 17, 2010

New on Etsy - Boy Scout Posters, Cardboard Signs, and More

I know I am a bit of a slacker when it comes to posting my straight to Etsy listings here on the blog - I think it is because I tend to post them on my Facebook profile when I list them, so I feel like I have already shown them off... Anyway, I've added some great new stuff lately so here I am to give you a peek! Click the links to see everything, I'll just post a few of my favorites as examples :)

I LOVE these - they are nice and large and have a great graphic impact!


These are so fun, I couldn't resist them!

Vintage Historical Figure Portrait Prints
These are a cool find, I'm guessing they were originally for use in schools...

Louisa May Alcott

Walt Whitman

Martin Luther King Jr.

Harriet Beecher Stowe



Eloise Wilkin Children's Book Illustrations
Wilkin is one of my favorite illustrators - she just brings back so many bedtime story memories!


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Vintage Burwood Word Clock - My New Holy Grail

I was innocently browsing through an old decorating magazine from 1978 this morning, when this ad jumped off the page and smacked me upside the head (click to enlarge):

Needless to say, these Burwood word clocks are now officially on my Holy Grail list. Especially that Tick Tock one - wow. I searched around online and couldn't find even a photo of either of them, let alone one that is for sale... they must be rather hard to find. Isn't that usually the way with Holy Grail scores though? ;)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

I Bought ... Furniture? Me? Really?

If you read my blog with any regularity, you have probably noticed that I almost never talk about furniture, or show furniture that I have bought, etc. It isn't because I don't like vintage furniture - I do. (Who doesn't!) The problem is that I don't have any ROOM for furniture. My house is crammed to the bursting point, seeing as how literally half of my living space is given over to the business.

With that being said, check out what I bought! :)

I won it at an auction, something else I don't do very often. It was an online auction though, through an auctioneer that is local. So I got to sit in my jammies and bid, which was very nice... I snagged the dresser for $21.00. Score!

It is currently at my parent's house, waiting for me to make room for it. It is looking possible - I just need to ditch the chest of drawers I have now (my parents are taking it) and move some things around to make it fit. I'll be back once it is all moved in to show you the final product!

I got some other things at the auction to list, so stay tuned for that too :)

Monday, October 11, 2010

Etsy Vintage Team Fall Homecoming Promotion!

 The Etsy Vintage Team is having a Fall Homecoming promotion through the entire month of October! Here is the description from the EVT blog, which is much more eloquent than anything I could have written for sure:
 
With falling leaves and harvest time comes the great American tradition of Homecoming, when alumni are welcomed back to campus and celebrations are centered around the big game with dances, parties and parades. For the Etsy Vintage Team and our love of all things retro, Homecoming means Varsity "V" for vintage!

We have gathered a fun and fabulous group of treasures for your shopping pleasure, all related to the Homecoming theme: including party dresses and accessories, sports clothing and memorabilia, books and ephemera, and fall party essentials.
 
I listed a few old yearbooks last night as part of the promotion:
 
 
 
 
 
Follow the fun by searching the term evthomecoming on Etsy - check back often, as new items will be added all month long!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Featured Collectible - Dorothy Thorpe Glassware

*Note - Since I published this post a couple of people have left comments saying that some of the items here are not from Dorothy Thorpe - I found one link stating that the faded pieces are not DT, only the banded ones are. What I couldn't find is anything saying who the faded pieces are actually by - if anyone knows leave a comment! :)

I'd never heard the name Dorothy Thorpe until I picked up this, which is currently up at auction on eBay:


Luckily a bit of quick research brought her to my attention, and WOW - talk about some great stuff! I guess Dorothy Thorpe items have been seen on the TV show Mad Men, which is, of course, super hot right now.


"Dorothy Thorpe was an artist who had a decorating studio in the Los Angeles area, and in her heyday (probably 1930's and on into the 1950's) she purchased glass from various companies, decorated it, and sold it. Most of her pieces are signed. She also designed glassware and ceramics.

She used a trademark of a large printed T in the center with a smaller stylised D on one side, and the same image in reverse on the other side. This trademark is often etched onto the side of the piece, near the design.

Many of her pieces have sand-blasted or deeply etched designs, but she also worked with silver overlay. Her designs are found on Heisey glass pieces, Cambridge glass, and many others from that period."

I'm completely smitten - let's have a look at some other Thorpe silver pieces that are up for grabs right now and have a nice drooling session together, shall we?






 Hmm, why do I suddenly feel like a drink? ;)




Thursday, October 7, 2010

Does anyone Tumblr?

I just set up a page on Tumblr - if you have one too leave the link in the comments so I can follow you! I'm still playing with it, I don't know what all I will be posting there... it seems pretty cool so far though! :)

Update: I just noticed a page on my Tumblr called Ask Me Anything - you can post questions there and I can answer them! How cool is that? So if you want to pick my brain give it a go!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

What the heck does Faux Bois mean?

I ran across the term Faux Bois a few months ago, and I had to scratch my head - is that a real thing? What does it mean? Off to Wikipedia I ran:

"Faux Bois (from the French for false wood) refers to the artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media."

It's a fancy term for fake wood grain! Who knew? It seems to be a more popular term on Etsy than on eBay, for whatever reason. I meant to write a post about it then, but it slipped my mind until I found this the other day:


I would say this set is Faux Bois at it's finest... And it's Lincoln BeautyWare - one of my favorite vintage kitchenware brands!

It's kind of surprising how many vintage items were made with a wood grain design - it all screams 70's to me, though I'm sure some of it was created in other decades. Here's just a few cool things I found with a quick search around:










I could go on and on - the lesson here is fake wood grain isn't just for basement paneling - and if you give something a pretty french name, it immediately ups the cool factor! ;)