All Saints

On Saturday we were having a wonderful wander around SF with our friends Martin and Cate from Blanket. It was the only wet day that we had on the trip so we spent a lot of time in shops, restaurants and wine bars! Cate and I squealed when we ran across All Saints (Cate used to live in London so she was very excited to see a familiar shop) So if you look carefully at these images you can see that every window of this tall storefront is filled with cast iron, victorian, sewing machines - seriously there are hundreds of them! This is so up my alley I couldn't wait to explore the interior. So I sent Doug on a photo shoot while Cate and I drooled over the bags, shoes and jewelry(not so much the clothes, that seemed to be a bit 'Goth' for us.)

Note the sewing machines in all the windows.

How cool is this traditional white and gold window decal?

Sewing machines, sewing machines, sewing machines . . . .

Can you see the wooden spools on the wall? - there are hundreds of them(below)

The retail space itself is so impressive with huge industrial fixtures, tables and signage.

All Saints, 140 Geary Street, San Francisco 94108

There's an Anthropologie hidden away in a lovely little shopping plaza in Carmel. My trusty photographer likes shooting in Anthro because everything is so beautifully styled. Often I am finished shopping and I have to wait for 20 minutes while he continues to photograph all the loveliness. I don't buy much at Anthro because much of what they sell is made in China. But I definitely appreciate their style. I really liked these cups and plates. The cups have tiny sailing ships like tattoos inside of them. And ancient looking red seals on the bottom/inside is very cool. Then, you flip them over and they have giant octopus tentacles wrapping around the rim. If you know me at all you know that I LOVE vintage engravings used in a contemporary application - so these are - simply - fab - fab - fab!

Another thing that caught my eye was this pillow cover which I think is quite superb. It's a contemporary illustration using a vintage style of no particular reference and it is quite brilliant. I hope these pictures do it justice because it's so very unusual and simply stunning up close. My trusty photographer assured me that the light was awful and this was the best he could do in the situation ;-)

La Sirena Antiques

Hello everyone! Thanks for tuning in while I'm on vacation!

I really wanted to interrupt my fun to tell you about this wonderful store I stumbled on yesterday - La Sirena Antiques in Davenport CA - which is just a few miles north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1 - right across from the ocean. Doug and I had a few days in San Francisco and then picked up a car yesterday morning and started our drive down to Carmel. We loved the first part of the trip from SF to Santa Cruz - really beautiful, narrow highway along the curvy ocean front. We stopped in Davenport to grab a snack and a coffee - there were only a couple of cafés and an antique store(which, of course, is good reason to stop anytime, anyplace!) It's funny because, as I walked into this wonderful store, it took me just a second to realize where I was - not sure how it all became so familiar, so quickly, but my intuition was right, and I found myself face to face with Kim Kempke, one of our Cartolina retailers who I happened to have spoken to on the phone a couple of times, amidst her amazing collection of treasures. It was a wonderful coincidence and a great opportunity to chat to a Cartolina buyer - and one with such good taste, no less! So Doug took some pictures and I drooled all over the vintage french fabulocity. Kim travels to France and brings back some very impressive pieces, everything from fine jewelry to brocante. And her store is so beautifully merchandised. Our Cartolina Cards looked so perfect amongst all the pretty vintage pieces. If you live in the Bay area or south towards Monterey I encourage you to take a short road trip to La Sirena Antiques. You will not be disappointed. And Kim, it was great to meet you - what lovely surprise!

La Sirena Antiques, 500 Highway one, Davenport, CA

http://www.lasirenaantiques.com

Time for a trip

We are heading off to San Francisco for a week - leaving tomorrow. We are actually taking a proper vacation - no work involved - no trade shows - OMG! I can't wait! I hope to do some blogging and Tweeting while I'm gone. I like blogging on trips and staying connected when I'm gone. So stay tuned - hopefully, in the next few days, I'll feature a selection of pretty shops and fab restaurants from SF and Carmel. You can follow us here on Twitter. Have a great weekend!

I like this shot of our owl print from the Cartolina Etsy shop. It really suits the green frame, doesn't it? I'll be back on a regular schedule on the 14th but, as I said, I'll be popping in and out over the next week.

Congrats to Urubbu

Congratulations to Geraldo and Craig from Urubbu for having their cards featured in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living. I'm a big fan of their work and am so happy for their success. Way to go guys - what good taste Martha has :-)

Viewfinder

I knew what these were as soon as I spotted them via Hanna Sandvig's favourites in Etsy. This wonderful Viewfinder fabric design is from Kokka via Matatabi.

I love this idea - for $30 you can get 16 brand new pretty hankies from House 8810 "Get creative and frame multiple hankies in a row around the house or in your kids room! You can wrap up small treats in a hankie, and tie with twine for a perfect party favor!" Love the idea of using them for gift wrap! Aren't they cute? And, one more thing, you should see the other repro vintage linens they have - the best table cloths!

Busy bunnies!

Just when you think you've seen all the vintage fabric, a 'new' one shows up. I've never seen this pattern before and I love it. It's beautifully illustrated and really interesting - that's a lot of bunnies doing a lot of different things! I found it here at Chenille Bliss.

Put a bird on it!

I had to laugh when I picked up this vintage box of matches at the junk store the other day. I suppose you have all seen the "Put a bird on it!" video on Youtube by Portlandia, if you haven't it's very funny. here's an original case of "Put a bird on it." from Eddy's Redbird Matches which have probably been around since the 1930's. Great logo and type.

Vintage Sewing Secrets

I thought this was very cute when I saw it at Sublime Stitchin. Great, vintage 1930's Sewing Secrets cover from Dominus Vobiscum's Flickr stream. I love that anyone would take the time to do a corded buttonhole! And note the instructions for a 'slide fastener' - not a zip!

Peculiar Fretwork

I found these interesting template patterns on a site called Peculiar Fretwork via ffffound.com. Yes they are odd, I know, but I just thought they might inspire one of you in some way today that it was worth featuring them here. I've seen lots of paper doily/cutout designs recently appearing on all sorts of surface patterns etc. So here you go . . .

This is so sweet! And embroidered pendant from September House. What a pretty and unique idea!