A Collection a Day

Yesterday my copy of A Collection A Day arrived from Uppercase - and it's lovely! Everything that comes out of the hands of Janine Vangool is a winner - she being the designer and publisher of the hugely successful, Canadian publication, Uppercase Magazine (which you must have a subscription to - you must!) A Collection a Day is a gem of a book. Packaged inside a fabulous, embossed tin with a hinged lid - love this. The book fits neatly inside and lifts out like a perfect block. Each page is devoted to Lisa Congdon's collections and it really is a feast for the eyes! The collections are so interesting and varied - everything from fish lures and bingo cards to birthday candles and hair pins. It's totally fascinating. The whole package - designed by Janine - would make a great gift for your eclectic friends - here are a few pictures . . . .

Window Shopping - Factory 20

The simply wonderful, and huge, collection of vintage curiosities at Factory 20. Enjoy!

All images from Factory 20.

Small dogs

I'm not sure why I'm so obsessed with little dogs - I've never even had a dog! But I do love all these little dog figurines that seem to have made their way to the Cafe recently. This one and the other little treasures in this post are from Sadie Olive.

The weekend's vintage finds

So last weekend's vintage scores are heavy and spiky! Old flower spikes, or frogs. The large one is fantastic. It's 7" wide! I love these things they are so useful and fun - great for displaying pictures and postcards. I've never seen one as large as this - I expect it was for a rose bowl at one time. When we were kids, in Scotland, my grandfather - who we lived with - had an amazing collection of cloisonée rose bowls that he bought in India in the 1940s. He grew roses in the garden but he didn't use a frog to arrange them - he used potatoes - sliced in half, sliced side down - and we poked the roses into holes in the potatoes that we made with knitting needles! And no water - they lasted for weeks - there's a good tip for you!

Found - vintage, galvanized wire card spinner

Okay so some of you may wonder how a person could get so excited over a vintage wire postcard spinner. Well to a card maker and postcard collector like me this is the bee's knees. I've had my eye on this for so long in the local antique store. I keep asking the guy when he's going to sell it to me. So on Saturday, he flagged me down on Baker St and told me I could have that card spinner I'd been coveting for so long - yes, that's right - he just gave it to me. Some people are so kind and generous - I luv it! And it even came with a few old cards!

Can you see, it even has a little clip on the top to put a business card.

Found - vintage wooden box with great type

I bought this box on Ebay yesterday. I'm quite excited to get it. I presume it's a cigar box (á la Deadwood, wouldn't you say?) The type is fabulous and, inside, the type is gold. I will steam the lid to flatten it out and it will hold lots of vintage treasures in no time.

I have a slightly similar box, below, that I love - even though the vintage type is upside down. It's quite ratty and old but I love the dovetailed corners and the colour of the wood. The little leather strap and nail hold it closed. It's stuffed to the gills with vintage postcards.

Found - vintage clock faces

Who doesn't love a vintage clock face? And this Etsy seller has the motherload - Clockwork Universe. I thought I mostly liked clocks from the 1930's but when I saw the watches from the 70s I was quite smitten - some of them look like current designs from Fossil don't the? Enjoy!

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Found - Bellalulu

A wonderfully curated collection of vintage stuff - with great prices - my kind of stuff - at Bellalulu

inspiration - vintage containers and props

This is a fun post. If you've ever wondered where people get all those cool vintage containers and props for their eclectic/boho style studios and workshops, well look no more. Three Potato Four have an amazing selection of really interesting vintage pieces - in multiples - that could make your studio look fabulously interesting and inspire you to be fabulously more creative. The selection is almost endless - boxes, trays, bottles, cans and props . . .

You may notice things getting a little sparse around here over the next few days. My vacation officially starts soon and so I will be taking a little bit of time off from work and blogging. It's great to have a rest at this time of the year and then come back relaxed and inspired - full of good ideas. I'll be here for a few more days and then off next wednesday - I'm just giving you a little heads-up :-)