Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Give, or enjoy receiving, the gift of vintage!


 I’d like to re-introduce my passion with some exciting gifts from Christmas.

Holiday gift giving can be exhausting. I truly believe that we all start with the best of intentions, to find personal gifts that will put smiles on the faces of those that we love, but the crowds, packed schedules, and hard-to-stick-to-budgets can leave us reaching for gift cards and closet re-gifts. Sometimes it takes receiving a great gift to remember why the effort’s worth it.
Great vintage gift 1 of 2:

One item that has been on my vintage wish list FOREVER is an old, rusty fan in working condition.  Unlike my still banks that are more difficult to come across (even more difficult to find one at a reasonable cost), I see these fans everywhere. More so, I see them all at the same price range.  It is this frequency that has prevented me from committing.  Why buy one now that maybe I’ll see somewhere next week, or saw last week, for twenty bucks less? Well, that potential to save $20 on the fan has gone on for at least three years now!
My home probably would never have been graced with one of these industrial masterpieces had it not been for receiving it as a gift. Not only did I receive the perfectly rusted, perfectly sized, perfectly operating fan, but a fan with a little American history.  Thank you Evan!!!!

The Emerson fan company has been making fan in the United States for 113 years.  Their organization even manufactured the first electric motor to run on alternating currents!  I honestly, don’t really know what that means but I do know that the little fan I now own by Emerson is the quietest fan I’ve ever heard; even compared to modern models. I'm still a little nervous to use it, but love it as a beautiful piece of American history in our living room.
This was definitely a gift that made me squeal with delight upon receipt. Receiving a thoughtful gift makes us feel loved.  It shows that the gifter listens to you and engages in your interests.  That they want to do something that makes us smile.  Receiving a gift like this makes us want to return that feeling to those in our lives.  It makes all of the craziness in holiday shopping worthwhile.  It’s not really about the value of what we give or receive but showing that we appreciate what makes those around us special. So next time you’re about to reach for a famous-coffee-company-gift-card-, rethink if a latte is really what would let that person know you listen to them.

A little blurb on my model, The Emerson Junior 2660: “This incarnation of the Emerson Junior was a styling update to the fans of the Seabreeze line from the 30s. It used the cloverleaf base and the stamped steel two bearing motor. It added new rounded almost overlapping blades, a bullet back, and a deco styled V cage. These fans came in 10" and 12" sizes. They were the first Juniors to have type numbers, 2660 and 2650. They also were the first Juniors to come in an assortment of metallic colors including bronze, and green.” http://www.fancollectors.org/info/junior_history/junior.htm

Monday, September 24, 2012

It doesn't hurt to ask! You just may need to chase out the bugs...

It doesn't hurt to ask!

My mother acted like every store she visited was the flea market.  Growing up this mortified me to no end.  She always haggled prices, or asked, “Is this the best you can do?”.  Shopping at the mall with my mother felt more like an episode of “Lets Make a Deal” than a simple shopping trip. While I agreed that at a garage sale this was perfectly acceptable behavior (although rarely did I try it), who went around asking the calendar kiosk if they could have a BOGO special? Nancy Marie did!

As I’ve grown up a little, got a lot more confident, and had to start stretching my money across more than retail excursions I too have become that person. After all, it doesn’t hurt to just ask, does it?!

While you don’t always get what you offer sometimes you can get even more than expected. My recent acquisition of packing crates proved that idea just this past week.

I’ve been eyeing old crates for a while but couldn’t accept the price tags on those found at the antique stores.  Working at a farm, we have lots of wooden packing crates.  For shipping, storage, decoration or just because! I began noticing they were everywhere, but being my first two weeks on the job I wasn’t quite confident enough to ask if I could buy them.
Finally, one bold morning I asked if they would consider selling any, or, if not, where they got them. “Buy them? There’s two in the lawn that we forgot about that have been rotting away- take those!”. I could have hugged that farmer (and told him so!). 

Alone, truly weathered by the elements were two wooden packing crates.  Maybe not vintage, but outside long enough to pass as! After using a very long stick to chase out some spiders and other creepy-crawlers I packed them into the truck, squealing with excitement the whole time.
Yes, that green bag was left by a dog's owner trying to hide the evidence behind my boxes!

I cleaned them up with some light sanding to get rid of dirt and debris.  While I’m not sure if they’re going to get painted, lined, or something else I’m pleased-as-punch to use them to display my treasures for now.  Remember, a project is never really finished…


Monday, September 17, 2012

My rewards in the bank! The Buffalo Bank that is...

My rewards in the bank! The Buffalo Bank that is...


I have some new woes being a working girl.  Yes, woes of a WORKING GIRL! The woe-iest woe has been the neglect of my blog.  After a lot of deliberation and courage I took a completely different direction in my career.  I left a large organization to work a multi-tiered role at a family owned and operated farm and vineyard.  This change, while exciting, has been exhausting! As I’m getting the hang of my new schedule, I’m going to do my best to continue my hobby-passions in vintage and such.

Usually in celebration of a promotion I’ve been presented with a gift of encouragement and recognition of my hard work.  For my first management role, a proper watch.  For my first national role, an amazing designer trench coat (a very generous reward indeed!). And while I had been eyeing a TUMI brand luggage piece for the next rung on that ladder my upward path changed. Not that my path will be any less rewarding, but the rewards are very different than those offered by the large organization. Rather than a ladder it’s more of a wild path I’ll be traveling with a lot of turns and half of it still untraveled.

So how do you, responsibly, reward this change? I already “invested” in the practical, durable shoes needed for my uniform of jeans and t-shirt every day. So what to get a tour coordinator/cow train driver/wine sales/wedding coordinator/CSA helper…

Rather than something needed for the job, my loving finance appealed to my heart- with vintage. Remember my post on still banks? Remember that Buffalo bank in the window in Leesburg? You know, the one that inspired the love for those little banks? That was way too expensive to buy? Well…it’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine!!!!

After having it in the window for a couple years the price became much more realistic. So with me turning away from “corporate life” and taking the risk to follow something I love, this gift was the perfect congratulations.

I also must make a tiny correction.  It’s ours, not just mine.  Another flashback, remember that post on not being a ball hog and sharing?  Turns out, with Evan’s Oma being deeply ingrained in our collection (literally, ½ of the collection of 4) he’s really into these things too. After presenting me with the gift he began talking about how we need a shelf to display our collection.  I’m sharing this hobby too, which means I’ll also have a partner to hunt with.

I already have a great idea for a display shelf made of packing crates. Stay posted for that project….

 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

My Alien-Pod-Yarn Project


Alien-Pod-Yarn Project
Another fun piece to hunt for at thrift/vintage shops are craft materials.  Many hobbyists donate unwanted fabrics, buttons, beads, etc. While they're not always less expensive than purchasing from your chain craft store you may find materials that are unique or reminiscent of another era.

For this project I opted to purchase my craft material at a chain (in this case it was cheaper and you all know I’m on a budget these days!).  After the use of 40% of a full priced item coupon the project total cost was around $4.00.

I originally found the idea on the blog of one of my favorite clothing lines, Free People. I suggest visiting their site since it provides detailed instructions. Below I’ve added more materials than their directions suggest but also lessons learned for anyone who may want to try this:

Materials Needed:

·         Yarn

·         Elmer’s Glue or similar

·         Balloons (I suggest a color that matches the yarn so when pieces stick it’s not so bad)

·         Thumbtacks to hang from ceiling

·         VASELINE (I did not follow this step and regret it!)

·         Plastic cup with lid (just save your next soda cup from your favorite fast food restaurant)

·         A tarp (or other object you don’t mind getting glue all over, I covered a counter top with an old towel)

·         Fishing line or other clear string to hang when complete

Lesson 1: Despite my best efforts the yarn always got tangled following the provided instructions. What I did instead was placed my yarn in the cup, topped the cup and put glue on the lid.  Then as I pulled yarn out of the straw hole I ran it through the glue and my used to my fingers to thoroughly coat each strand.

Lesson 2: Trying to wrap the balloon while it hung was impossible. It’s a balloon; it’s not a 20lb medicine ball that stays in place as you paw all over it. I opted to just grab on to the dang thing and use the hanging technique for it to dry. This made it messy and gave the effect of peeling skin anywhere the glue touched my body (i.e. everywhere my skin my exposed).
 

Lesson 3: They do not pop into pretty shapes right away.  I had to gently pull apart the yarn so that it reshaped into the pear-like shape desired. I think this may be were Vaseline helps!

Overall I think it came out pretty. I do regret using white only because Evan said it looks like I hung alien pods from the ceiling. I do look forward to trying it with a different color in the future to create a collection of these in a bare corner of our bedroom.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Follow up on the Freedom to Choose Your Reaction



Although it was too hot to wear the wool hats while riding they still made for good pictures! Yes, that's the horses backside in my view while Aunt Lisa at least had a body shot in the background.

I would say that this was a $1.00 well spent.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Shop for a Cause


Shop for a Cause

You may or may not have known this, but many thrift stores give back to the community.  Not just your big names like Goodwill or the Salvation Army either.

One of the requests my aunt had during her visit was consignment store shopping.  You can imagine my excitment! While I’ve lived in the area for over four years I only have a handful of “go-to” antique/thrift shops.  Her request prompted me to search the web for new shops to suite her vintage preference- clothing.

In sifting through the search results I began to notice a trend; many of the thrift/consignment shops were linked to a non-profit organization.  From homeless humans to homeless pets we had the opportunity to shop for any number of good causes.  Trying to stay in the same region we narrowed down a few stores to visit.

An organization, The Good Shepard Alliance, was the first of these stores to visit. The 100% leather satchel (below) that I scooped for $5.00 will go towards assisting the homeless or those in transition within our county.  Aunt Lisa left the store with a silk blouse and picture frame also spending under $10.00.  A subsequent trip to another Good Shepard location had her packing with a silk dress, embellished tank top and faux pearl beaded necklace.
 

As we ventured into historic Leesburg to browse some of my trusty antique shops we also wandered into The Resourceful Woman. While this store did not offer my usual beloved vintage style we were pleasantly surprised with what it did offer.  Many of the local boutiques and even big name department stores donate to the local shop where 100% of the proceeds benefit the Loudoun Abused Woman’s Shelter.  Alright, so we did not get ANYTHING vintage, rather, we got merchandise that still had the tags on it!  I left with originally priced $168.00, Stiches brand, green, corduroy pants for $10.00 and Aunt Lisa a Coach purse for $50.00.  Let’s not forget, all of those dollars are going straight back to community non-profits. 

 

So with a mix of vintage, and just really great finds, I discovered a another benefit to looking for vintage- it can benefit those in need. Now that is a good reason to shop, a good reason indeed.

Friday, August 17, 2012

The freedom to choose your reaction

While I hate to be “one of those people” that goes around reciting the cliff notes from every clique business/self-improvement/help book that was ever written I am going to do that today.



Earlier in the summer I participated in a leadership course based on Steven Covey’s 7 Habits for Highly Effective People. Habit 1: Be Proactive, “Proactive people pause and allow themselves the freedom to choose their response based on principles and desired results”. Ironically, I had to use that space in-between-the-response wisely when my former employer delivered the news that I did not get the job I recently interviewed for.



During that space I could have: been angry/bitter/desperate/sad….or a whole bunch of other socially acceptable responses for someone in my situation. Rather, I used that space to reaction with the decision to shop. Vintage of course.

I used that pause to decide I was not going to take myself so seriously. Most of the world doesn’t so why should we? Sometimes people respect you more when you just grab the reins and make the most of the ride!



Knowing my aunt was coming into town and desired a day horseback riding I went out seeking “proper” tacky equestrian entire. I succeeded. With 3 for $1.00 hats and $1.50 scarf we will not only look our best on those horses but the photos are sure to be priceless. I am also confident that no one will be taking me serious with that on my head!