romantic pragmatic

I am not particularly a fan of this "holiday." I'd like to think we celebrate love, friendship and romance every day.

That said, I'll take any excuse to go out for a nice dinner with my honey. Who did give me a very cool Valentine (a Memphis postcard book from 1955), roses, and chocolate this morning.

And any excuse to celebrate the things I love is a good one.

And to bake. (Black-bottom cupcakes via Smitten Kitchen)

Happy Valentine's Day and lots of love to everybody, every day!

xo
K

rugged boots and bags

We take a break from our usual postings of girly things to bring you some nice rugged boots and leather bags...with some mary janes and pumps tossed in!


1980s nicely-distressed forest green velvet Doc Martens.

Black suede mary janes.

Justin kiltie roper boots.

Metallic dark brown Hush Puppies bow pumps.

Black leather camera bag.

Kodak Instamatic X-90 camera.

Old brown leather Polaroid camera bag.

Brookpark spring green confetti melmac bowl.

xo
K

art school

We're going back to school for art history in this week's shop preview--there's Fauvism, Impressionism, art deco--maybe even a little pop art. And to get you in the mood for spring, lots and lots of flowers!



1960s plaid and ruffles schoolgirl dress.

Flower print Catalina jacquard cardigan.

Brown flower Fauvist dress.

Strawberries sweater.

1960s red herringbone tweed dress by Lanz.

1960s taffeta paisley button-back blouse.

Mint green 1950s dress.

Pink carnation print blouse by Shapely Classic.

Black-and-white houndstooth print drop-waist dress by Ilene Ricky.

Pouf shoulder sweater.

1950s sky blue and rusty red plaid dress by Heritage.

Vera Neumann snapdragons blouse.

Drop waist red and olive paisley print dress.

Orange and gray flower print blouse by The Villager.

Silky 1950s khaki paisley print dress.

Red and blue print shirtwaist dress by Chuck Howard.

Gold and silver art deco print dress.

1960s mod aqua dress by Bill Atkinson Glen of Michigan.

Paisley headmistress dress.

Glen plaid coat dress.

1950s Monet's Water Lilies dress by Jonathan Logan.

xo
K

lucienne day

Lucienne Day, Fall (1952)


I learned today (via Twitter friend @SllabStudios who has a great blog, ArsLonga, dedicated to modern design and "thrift shop archaeology"--love that!) that British textile artist Lucienne Day had died on January 30, at the age of 93. Day was considered the leading female textile designer of post-World War II Britain. Her colorful, abstract designs show echoes of two of my favorite artists, Joan Miró and Alexander Calder.

You can read more about Day here, in her obituary in The Guardian.

Lucienne Day, Apollo (circa-late 1950s)


I first learned about Lucienne Day last January when my parents, Andy, and I visited the fabulous Designing Women of Postwar Britain exhibit at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Day--whose designs have been featured on everything from whimsical tea towels to Converse Jack Purcell sneakers--was featured along with fellow textile artists Marian Mahler and Jacqueline Groag. I took the photos shown here on my blog at the exhibit.

Marian Mahler, Untitled (Mobiles), ca. 1952

Marian Mahler, Untitled (Bird Chair), ca. 1950s

Marian Mahler, dress made of Untitled (Linear Flowers), ca. 1953

Lucienne Day, l-r: Larch (1961), Sequoia (1959), Plantation (1958)

The exhibit was a total feast for the eyes. I could have easily spent the entire day there, dreaming of covering every wall of our home (and my self) in these incredible textiles! Happily, my mom bought me the full-color book of the exhibit, so I can open it up and peruse these works whenever I feel like it.

Lucienne Day, Linden (1960)

If you follow the links here, you'll see many more examples of Day's work. And if you search Lucienne Day on ebay, you'll find those really cool Jack Purcells. I'm very tempted to get a pair!

xo
K

newbies

When you visit the front page of the Etsy website, you are looking at a collection of photos someone on Etsy (either a member of the Etsy staff, or an Etsy buyer or seller) made. This collection of photos is called a Treasury, and if one of your items is in a Treasury that gets on the front page, you get some great, free exposure. I make a lot of treasuries, but only a few have made it to the front page.

Etsy has another very cool feature called Pounce that allows you to view (and pounce on!) listings from new shops that have not had any sales yet. I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't made much use of this feature when I saw this blog post from my talented bag-making teammate Jenny. She featured some cute Valentine's Day items she found using Pounce.

Inspired by Jenny, I decided to give Pounce a trial run by making an all Pounce Treasury. The results are above, and they're pretty dang great, if I do say so myself! I found some wonderful vintage sellers (including a new shop focusing on vintage menswear with great photos and the fabulous name Shabberdashery), gorgeous ceramics and artwork, and a shop called AbandonedHouses that specializes in beautiful photos of--you guessed it--abandoned houses. And the number one item on my wishlist right now is the two-headed lamb pillow from Somebody'sDarling.

So please do click here to visit my treasury and take a look at these fresh new shops. And maybe give someone his or her first sale!

xo
K

if you were a pill...

I'd take a handful at my will
And I'd knock you back with something sweet and strong
Plenty of time you wake up
In February makeup
Like the moon and the morning star you're gone
Tonight makes love to all your kind
Tomorrow's making Valentines

--the Replacements


Even if you feel nothing but angst and cynicism about the upcoming lovey-dovey Hallmark holiday, you can still get cheered by vintage clothing in shades of pink and red--especially clothing that will help keep you cozy during these last gray and cold days of winter. (Because--no great surprise to those of us in the snowy Great Lakes--the groundhog saw his shadow yesterday.)

Oh and hey: I like you! You're my Valentine all year-round.




*Vintage 1960s Red VELVET Party Dress XS
*Vintage Miss CHERRY BLOSSOM 1955 Hat
*Vintage Pink COLLEGE PREP Cardigan M
*Vintage 1960s RASPBERRY Plaid Full Skirt 25W




*Vintage 1950s BLACK ROSE Sateen Dress XS
*Vintage GARNET Suede Mary Janes
*Vintage 1960s Red HOUNDSTOOTH Flower Sweater L-XL
*Vintage PINK LADY Dress BOW Belt L-XL




*Vintage 1950s Pink and Red Velvet SKI BUNNY Outfit XS
*Vintage Pendleton Red PLAID Cropped Jacket M-L
*Vintage 1960s Cherry Red SERPENT Loafers
*Vintage 1970s BUBBLEGUM Plaid Jacket M-L


xo
K

a sunday kind of love

I love Sundays. Andy usually makes a special dinner. Masterpiece Theatre is on the TV. I get to take my Sunday bubble bath.

And I post Etsy shop updates!


1950s black eyelet wiggle dress.

1950s plaid blouse by Ship 'n Shore.

1960s red houndstooth print dress.




Oatmeal wool cardigan with dark chocolate brown trim.

1950s olive green baroque print dress by Nelly Don.

The cutest! 1980s sweater with bunnies and carrots.




1980s fuchsia career girl dress with bow belt, by Henry Lee Petites.




1950s folklore birdie print blouse.




1960s mustard swiss dot and lace babydoll dress.




1960s mod swirl print dress by Sonni California. (This one reminds me of all the swirl-shaped jewelry we saw at the Calder exhibit!)




1950s navy and olive plaid schoolgirl dress.




India print maxi-dress.




1950s or 1960s L'Aiglon cerulean pucker chiffon dress.




1960s black-and-white striped mod dress.




1950s nylon red polka-dot dress by Shelton Strollers.




1960s pumpkin pintucks babydoll dress.




And finally, my favorite find of our road trip, a 1950s black taffeta party dress with beaded skirt!




xo
K