Vintage Indie

Vintage Collections - Dishes Taylor Smith, Steubenville & More

Welcome to another Vintage Indie reader submission, Vintage Collection Feature . Today we are visiting with Rachel from Tigerluxe. She has a gorgeous collection of various vintage dishes that she would like to share with you. I hope you will enjoy peeking into her collection and finding out more about it.

VI - What made you start collecting these dishes?
Rachel - I had an old bunch of mish mash dishes that I was using, and I came upon a box of Steubenville’s Fairlane pattern and i just loved it...it was mostly dishes, bowls, teacups and saucers, and like a gravy boat or something.  I just kept my eye out for extra
pieces and gradually collected pretty much the whole set. I had fallen in love with the
Colorway and pattern, and started seeing similar patterns and Colorways like Taylor, Smith & Taylor's Ever Yours "Boutonnière," which matched really nicely.  I also have a thing for Bavarian china, which often has a cornflower, bachelor's button, or dianthus type pattern in similar colors.  and a collection was born (even though i didn't need any more china).

VI - Do you know any of the history behind your collection?
Rachel - I've done some basic research, I know that Ever Yours "Boutonniere" dates to the mid '60s and Fairlane dates to the late '60s...it was really hard for me to track down any information when I first started collecting.  Now there seem to be so many more resources.  I have some pieces of Fairlane that were from my friend's grandmother's set, he had grown up eating off of those every Sunday morning for brunch.

VI - What's your favorite item out of your collection?
Rachel - The pieces that I keep out to look at and appreciate are my favorites (I have tons in storage).  I can see my china cabinet from my living room sofa, and I often find myself looking in their direction.  It's kind of strange I suppose, but they really are pretty to look at.  coffee pots, tea pots and sherry decanters are always a favorite of mine, mostly the fancy stuff.

VI - What's missing from your collection, that you dream about having?
Rachel - I would love to find a forgotten garage somewhere that held the whole set of each pattern in its original boxes,  but that's like finding the pot of gold I think!  I’m happy with what I already have and whatever I find.  I have a kismetic philosophy when it comes to collecting.

 

VI - What do you think makes a great collector or a great collection?
Rachel -  A great collection is anything that you have enough of to feel a sense of accomplishment, and enough of a certain thing that people react to in
some way...it could be 2 or 200 things.  and a great collector is someone who follows a personal passion rather than a trend, and who both loves
and can let go of it all.

A special thanks to Rachel for sharing her fabulous collection with us. Be sure to visit her vintage shop Tigerluxe. You never know when a piece of your collection may just show up!

 

Vintage Collections - Vintage Postcards

Welcome to another Vintage Indie reader submission, Vintage Collection Feature . Today we are visiting with Christine from Tangerine Chic. She has a gorgeous and quite large collection of vintage and old post cards. I hope you will enjoy peeking into her collection and finding out more about it.

Vintage Indie : What made you start collecting postcards?

Christina: I started collecting postcards after inheriting some from my dearest grandmother when she passed away 5 years ago. While going through her house deciding what to keep and what to sell/giveaway, I came across a small index file cabinet in her basement that was full of vintage and 1970's/60's postcards. I actually looked at quite a few and was sorting them out when I decided to just keep all of the vintage cards and the ones that she had of San Malo, France where my family immigrated from.

Vintage Indie: What kinds do you normally search for?
Christina: Honestly, I have not found many cards that I felt were worth buying. They must be from the 1910's to the 1920's if they want to hold a spot in my collection. I have Christmas, New Years, Valentines, St. Patricks Day, Easter, Birthday, and Thanksgiving. I think I have some few random ones in there that are just greetings. I also have a hard time knowing if I already own a particular card as I have at least 1,000 of them.  I really need to take the time to get them into some sort of archival file system so I truly know what I have and how many there are.

I truly hoard these postcards for myself. I could never sell them because of the emotional attachment they have to my grandmother. Plus, I just love the images, colors, little notes on the back . They even have a certain "vintagey" smell that reminds me of playing in my grandmothers basement when I was little. My girls and I will sit around and sort them into favorites by holiday and they will ask me to read what is written on the back of them. I also have used copies of the originals in some of my collages and cards that I sell. I have thought about making laser prints of some of them and selling them so others can have a piece of the love. I hope to pass them on to my daughters someday and hope they will cherish  them as much as I do.

Thanks Christina for sharing your lovely collection with us! If you'd like to see some of Christina's work you can visit her vintage shop on Etsy, Tangerine Chic.

What do you collect? Send us your submissions! Subject:Reader Collections

Vintage Collections - Vintage Box Purses

The Readers Collections have been a lot of fun. Today's collection feature is a look into the world of Vintage Box Purses. These come from Diane H. from Houston Texas.

Talk about a collection, Diane's variety of box purses is truly amazing, there are so many great photos to share, so I included a mix of her personal collection as well as her personal collection she's parting with. I hope you will enjoy them and a little of their history as much as I did.

Do you know anything about the history of when box bags first started being produced?

The Box bag, in one form or another has been around for over a hundred years. Looking a my purse history reference material, these bags evolved from 'Ladies Vanity Item's... First you had compacts, then compacts with storage for lipstick..add rouge...add combs...add mad money...add cigarettes and matches...add timepieces and so on. As the functionality asserted itself, the materials from which the
vanity item was made changed...tapestry fabric...leather...Bakelite..metal..plastic..WOOD. In tandem, shape changed as well.

                                                                                                                                                                            

I have a few leather purses from the forties, which are oval

boxes, or six-sided boxes, and a nice velvet one from the 50's which is 12" tall and shaped like a stove pipe. I classify all of these as box purses.

The majority of my collection in the photo's, are from the 1960's -early 70's. Some were commercially produced, others were home-crafted from kits being sold at that time. Enid Collins of Texas, started the craze for the Wooden Box Bag in the early 60's, and they were pricey.
So of course, the knock-offs followed, along with the do-it-your-self themes. (Japan produced many of the Collins look-a-likes.

What made you decide to start collecting these?
It was a natural progression, from the perspective of a minutely
obsessive personality, to get more of what made me happy. After the joy of using my first box purse, (an Enid Collins 'It grows on Trees',
which is a wooden box purse decorated with faux coins), I fell in love.That bag was so uniquely, feminine, that I had to have more. My friends all loved it...strangers would stop me and ask is that a purse?..Where did you find that?'. Of course this was in the early 80s, and women who had owned those bags when they were initially issued
(1950-70's), just smiled. They of course understood.

Diane also happens to be the owner GoodEye, a great vintage shop on Etsy. We'll also be back with Diane a little later to show off her store Houston Vintage & Costume
2609 Blodgett St.
Houston Texas 77004.

Thanks Diane for sharing your wonderful collection with us!

Vintage Collections - Compacts

Welcome  to another Reader Collection feature. Today we'll visit a collection that's very popular, Vintage Compacts. They come from Nicole a collector in Western Pennsylvania.

This is the oldest compact in from her collection.
A 1934 Chicago Century of Progress Fair compact.
Compacts were at their height of popularity after WW2, when it became acceptable for women to apply cosmetics in public

Why do you collect vintage compacts?

My earliest fascination with makeup and compacts started when I was young, seeing my grandmothers Coty Airspun box on her bathroom counter. My collection is reminiscent of a time when "powdering one's nose" was in vogue

This golden round compact once contained solid Estee Lauder perfume.Compacts held a wide range of cosmetics and substances, not just powders.

Souvenir compacts like this Canadian piece were made in the early part of this century when travel and vacation was still a novelty.
This Rainbow bridge compact was probably made 1940's, after Construction of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

Why do you love vintage?

I’m about a decade behind on technology and fashion, I don’t even own an Ipod! I believe vintage anything is a treasure waiting to be rediscovered. I love the “rediscovery” of vintage, everything old is new again.
My life is like a never ending treasure hunt.
I like the fact that recycling vintage, clothing, housewares etc.. Keeps our landfills from filling up. Vintage recycling is also good for our environment.

Thanks to Nicole for sharing your vintage compact collection with Vintage Indie. Nicole also happens to be the owner of a fun vintage shop. Vintage This Retro That, check out her shop for a great mix of vintage and modern supplies.

Vintage Collections - Lu-Ray Dishes

Back again with a Vintage Collection feature. Today brings you a gorgeous set of Lu-Ray dishes.  Heather from Peoria, IL is the lovely owner and I asked her a few questions about vintage and her love for these dishes.

Why do you love vintage dishes? 

The colors!  The blue-green called surf green is my favorite, with the rare gray color a close 2nd.   And I like to imagine my grandma(in one of the photographs behind the gray teapot) might have discussed a new set of Lu-ray with a traveling salesman.  It just reminds me of a different kind of lifestyle.  I would not have to drive a car everywhere and work would end at 5pm. 

 

Tell us about what you collect and why?

My collection started with an impulse buy at an antique store.  I had seen this beautiful green/blue colored plate at another store, but thought I would never see it again.  Then I found another one, so I decided to purchase this one I had found.  A little sugar bowl with blue flowers had also caught my eye.  I bought them both.  Then I looked up the name Lu-Ray, which was on the back of the plate, on ebay...my collection had begun!  Then I looked up the name Taylor, Smith and Taylor who made Lu-ray and found they also designed the boutonnierre sugar bowl I had found--another collection had begun.  I have gone on to purchase other designs like Dwarf Pine, ballerina mist, Hall refrigerator dishes, Brookpark melmac--I want to give them all a home. 

What's missing from your collection that you've just got to have? 

I would like to get a surf green Lu-Ray cake platter.

Thanks again to Heather for sharing this wonderful set with us! While your out doing some shopping check out Heathers shop on Etsy called rowdyharv . She's got some really great mixed media art and more!

Vintage - What do you Collect?

Chances are if you are here for vintage, than you probably collect something. As an avid thrifter and antique shopper I'm always on the lookout for something special, but I haven't really pinpointed something I would like  to collect besides glass juicers. My collection consists of two. I've hooked up with some avid vintage shoppers to find out what they collect and I'll be sharing their collections and stories with you in our new What do you Collect feature.

The first one comes from Martha from Chico, CA. She collects vintage cookbooks. I wanted to know a little more about her collection. Follow this for a short interview!

Why do you collect vintage cook books?

The first one I bought was the Chiquita Banana one,
about 13 years ago. I was so in love with Chiquita, I
even had her tattooed on my arm. So naturally I had to
buy this book. It really gave me a glimpse of life in
the post-war era- not as it really was, but of the way
it was supposed to be. Every woman was supposed to
want nothing more than a thoroughly modern kitchen, a
shiny new husband, and a steaming hot dish of Ham
Banana Rolls With Cheese Sauce (an actual dish). This
book could help her achieve that. I gradually began
acquiring more of these little books, and before I
knew it, I had a bona-fide collection. Each one I found
was a new frontier of inconceivable concoctions and
badly colored photographs. I went through a manic
phase where I couldn't get enough of them.
Fortunately, I have it under control now.

What draws you to purchase one, when you see it?

If it has a gimmick, it usually appeals to me. The
books put out by various companies to show you how
many things you can make with their product. "Why
Evaporated Milk Makes Good Food Better". "Cooking With
Dr. Pepper!". I'm also attracted to anything with the
words "Gel-Cookery", "Meat", or "Food For Victory".
And pictures. It must have pictures. Even if it's just
a good cover, I'll usually buy it. Old images speak to
my heart...even when they're unrealistic and sometimes
insulting.

Thanks Martha for a look into your collection! While your out shopping this year head over to Martha's Etsy shop Blue Rosetta Knits.