get cozy

A tweedy, woolly, and knit-filled shop preview, with a couple glimpses of party wear for those starting to look ahead to holiday festivities.  All these items will be coming to the shop over the next week.  (And I'm sending lots of warm thoughts and hopes for the power to be restored quickly to my many friends on the east coast.)

1940s blue wool swing coat with astrakhan trim.

1950s beaded black wool knit dress set.

1940s red velvet party skirt with pockets.

1960s golden rococo print dress, by Don Manuel.

1950s cardigan with yarn roses and rosebuds, by Glen Lea.

1940s blue linen jumper dress, by Forman & Gumner.

1960s pink plaid wool skirt, by Bobbie Brooks.

1960s paisley shirtwaist dress.

1970s appaloosa horse glitter t-shirt.

1960s black crepe cocktail dress with sheer sleeves and bow.

1950s Koret of California Botany wool skort with pocket.

1970s L'Aiglon glittery gold and black evening maxi dress.

1940s tweed jacket with mustard piping, by Youthmore Original.

1960s brown tweed sheath dress, by Mr. Simon.

1950s Guatemalan hand woven skirt, by Cecile.

Late 1950s or early 1960s plaid brocade dress, by Edith Flagg.

xo

k

four years of favorites

Today is the day, four years ago, that I signed up for an Etsy account.  (To celebrate, the entire Etsy shop is marked down 20% now through tomorrow, October 30, so go shop!)  It's been four years of interesting and beautiful finds, and I decided to look through the archive of sold items and pick some favorites.  This was not easy to do--as you can see by the large number of items I picked!  My favorites aren't always the rarest, fanciest, or most expensive finds.  I definitely have a penchant for print dresses, novelty print skirts, and sweaters.  I hope you enjoy sharing my stroll down memory lane--as well as the variety of photo settings as my skills have (hopefully!) improved.

And thank you again to all the wonderful buyers who make Small Earth Vintage possible! 

1 / 1940s pewter gray whitecaps print dress with rhinestone buttons

2 / 1930s sheer sepia plaid chiffon dress

3 / 1920s red chiffon flapper dress with red velvet and rhinestone trim

4 / 1940s navy swiss dot rayon dress with rhinestones, by Georgiana

5 / 1940s Lilli Ann gray chevron stripe skirt suit

1 / purple print party dress with asymmetric bubble skirt

2 / tartan plaid dress with sailor tie neck, by R&K Originals

3 / Danish modern print dress, by Adele Fashions

4 / cabbage rose print dress, by Jean Leslie Junior

5 / blue rose print party dress, by Vago Juniors

6 / olive and copper dot print chiffon party dress

7 / blue rose print dress with scarf neckline

1 / batik print silk wiggle dress, by Johnnye Junior 

2 / golden cheetah print dress, Claudia by George Halley

3 / sunflower print dress

4 / raw silk little black dress and jacket set, by John Galanos

5 / pique daisy print shift dress

1 / peacock print novelty skirt

2 / novelty print musical birds skirt, by Ethelle of California

3 / flannel hound dog novelty print skirt

4 / Paul Klee "Magic Squares" novelty print skirt with matching sash belt, fabric by Fuller Fabrics

5 / spaniels novelty print full circle skirt

1 / 1940s red pinstripe rayon blouse

2 / 1950s jade green and white Orlon sweater with bows

3 / 1950s mid century leaf print zip-up cardigan, by Petti

4 / 1970s tree farm novelty print sweater

5 / 1960s trompe l'oeil belt sweater

1 / deadstock 1960s Russian Princess tapestry coat with faux fur trim

2 / 1960s large round made in France tortoiseshell plastic sunglasses

3 / 1940s tooled caramel leather peeptoe wedges

4 / 1964 Enid Collins Money Tree X wooden box purse

5 / 1970s gold belt with brass sleeping dove buckle

6 / 1950s navy suede pumps with cut outs, by De Angelo

7 / sled dog cowichan sweater

8 / caramel leather accordion fold purse with contrast stitching

9 / early 1940s or 1950s Vera Neumann silk scarf

xo

k

four years!

Yes, tomorrow, October 29, 2012, is Small Earth Vintage's four year Etsy-versary, marking four years since I first signed up on Etsy.  I stepped into selling there tentatively, but soon began listing more and more items.  I quickly fell in love with the site, and how much fun it was both to sell and buy there.  Things have changed a lot on Etsy over the past four years, and though it's been fun, it's also at times been challenging.  Occasionally they've been of the "oh man, what now?" variety, but mostly, these challenges have had a really positive effect.  They've made me evaluate and reevaluate how I do everything, from taking photos, to writing listings, to what I sell, and how I market the shop--and overall, I think they've resulted in improvements to the shop.

So thank you to Etsy, and also, thank you to the thousands of wonderful, charming, vintage-loving customers we've had the honor of meeting on Etsy over the past four years!  We love you, we love that you love vintage, and to celebrate that, everything in the Etsy shop will be 20% off now through Tuesday, October 30, 2012.  (No coupon code needed; prices are already marked down in the shop.)

By the way, the above graphic was made using a tiny snapshot of our shop archives on Flickr.  I'll be sharing a (very difficult to do) blog tomorrow, showing off my favorite Etsy items over the past four years, as culled from the archives.  But in the meantime, you can feel free to peruse the archives yourself, over at Flickr.

xo

k

beer!

The Grand Rapids Public Museum has a great exhibit on right now, called "Thank you, BEER!" about the history of brewing in Grand Rapids.  I didn't give a hoot about "craft beer" until I moved here and saw how seriously Andy and all his friends took their beer.  It's apparently a grand tradition locally.

I loved the old photos of breweries and the guys who worked at them.  When you look at these photos next to photos of current breweries and their brewmasters, there isn't much difference.  Well, nowadays, the guys are in t-shirts and jeans or shorts, and seem to prefer the beard to the mustache.

There is also a great range of old beer advertisements on display.

Every ad for a German bock beer had a goat on it.  I had no idea why, so I did a Google search.  Apparently the beer now known as "bock" was first brewed in a German town called "Einbeck."  The Bavarian accent of brewers in Munich made "Einbeck" sound like "ein bock," which means "a billy goat."  Hence, all the goats!

These three dimensional shadow box ads are the coolest!

As a lover of both beer and nifty packaging, I could have spent hours staring at the giant beer can collection on display.  (I had a beer can collection, inherited from a family friend, when I was a child.  Obviously a harbinger for my later love of beer!)  Here are some shots of some of my favorites on display.

That Olde Frothingslosh Pale Stale Ale kills me!

So bummed my photo of these 70s gals on cans is blurry.

If you're in Grand Rapids, you should definitely check the exhibit out.  Apparently, they do beer tastings on Tuesday evenings ($5 for five samples).  It runs now through December 30.

xo

k

unquestionably good knitwear

It's knitwear season!  And I have become the lucky owner of a trio of knitting magazines.  The black and white photos are from a 1960 edition of New Hand Knit Fashions for Town and Country, and the color photos are from a 1975 and a 1976 edition of Knitking magazine.  I've decided to divide the photos from these gems into two blog posts: the unquestionably good, and the somewhat questionable/I'm not sure/kinda funny/just plain bad/scary.  (I know, the second category sounds like a lot more fun, doesn't it?)

For today, enjoy the Unquestionably Good!

I love that cardigan on the left.  I can't tell if the suit on the right looks super-cozy or super-itchy.

Wowza.  Knitting your own coat!?!

Love these dresses--particularly the one on the left!

Cute cardis!  I love the cropped one, and the contrasting collar and cuffs on the other.

The outfit on the left is a little bit questionable, but in the end, the loopy cuffs and hat kinda win more over.  Gal on the right is made of Total Win!

Love the little hoodie cardi, and her pompadour!

xo

K

ephemeral autumn

It's kind of hard to believe that the leaves here have already reached their peak fall color, and that Halloween is just around the corner!  I've been enjoying my favorite autumn drinks, apple cider and New Holland's Ichabod Ale, and have already had to break out the tights.  There's no doubt about it--this most beautiful of seasons (truly my favorite!) passes way too quickly!  This week's shop preview is all about autumn:  lots of dark, rich color and cozy fabrics...plus a rainbow glitter party dress.  All items coming to the shop very soon.

1960s velvet trimmed Teddy Girl three-piece skirt suit.

1950s cornflower and gold plaid wool coat, by Crestknit.

1950s navy blue shantung dress and cropped jacket set, Joan Doris by Rona.

1950s black beaded lambswool cardigan.

1960s blue and green plaid wool knit shift dress, by Ivan Frederics.

1960s orange and olive houndstooth wool front pleat skirt, by Jantzen.

1950s Tudor Rose print dress.

1960s op art cardigan with coin buttons, by Carol Brent.

1960s chevron print dress with Peter Pan collar and bow.

1950s honey heather wool cardigan, by Garland.

1950s black velvet stripe and rainbow glitter taffeta party dress.

xo

k