The glove...

I always try to relate the present to the past…and this week’s events surrounding Michael Jackson give me a unique transition to the glove.

On Tuesday at the weekly flea market scavenger hunt, I happened on a pile of gloves. As MJ tunes played from the boom boxes around me, I was amused about buying gloves on the day of his memorial service(no sequins in the batch though).

Everyone knows about his signature glove, but then I got to thinking where did gloves originate? Again, we go to the ancient past—the Egyptians had gloves available in the shape of bags, without finger holes and resembled a mitten. Egyptian women protected their hands during work and meals.

There are references to gloves in Homer and some of the other ancient poets, but the Middle Ages gave gloves status and power. Leather gloves were used for riding and falconry, and knights used them in ceremonies as well as throwing down the glove to challenge an opponent. If a lady gave a man a pair of gloves, it was a symbol of love.

Queen Elizabeth brought the gloves to the fashion front for women. She had over 2000 pairs, and which were looked after by a special wardrobe mistress. In fact, gloves were so popular that they were given as keepsakes to wedding guests, a tradition that continued into the nineteenth century.

After the French Revolution, the classical empire look fostered white or pastel gloves that extended past the elbow to accent the slender, high-waisted dresses of the period. Throughout the nineteenth century, gloves and fingerless mitts were essential components of a lady's wardrobe, worn whenever she went out in public. It could take half an hour to put on a pair of 16-button opera-length gloves, requiring the use of glove stretchers, powder, buttonhooks, and the nimble hands of a maid.
In modern history gloves retained their fashion importance through the 1950s. Many of the gloves in my current stash are from that period. Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Vivienne Leigh were all known for their gloved hands.
It still creates an air of elegance to see a woman dressed with hat and gloves, but it is a rare event. Or maybe we relate it to aging now, as Jenny Joseph wrote: ““When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me, And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves, And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.”
I have the summer gloves…you are on your own for the brandy!

4 for the 4th!

I am a day early in this week's post...but I wanted to do more than red, white, and blue. Independence Day…there is always constant chatter around this time of year about being independent. But indies…the new term for those who step out on their own in whatever fields that may be…indies struggle as they attempt to maintain a sense of self.

I am an "independent" retailer. I am a little box, not a big box, and, I think indies are better at entertaining as well as being in businesses. Indies give thought to their creations, and the small retailer works to make someone's shopping experience an adventure. Although I am responsible for daily maintenance, I have to give credit to many people along my 18 year journey, but I have selected 4 women I deal with now to give some insight about buying American. Everyone loves a bargain, but those bargains have driven jobs overseas and have closed many of the factories that provided. Historically, when we occupied Japan, we shut the doors on many of our pottery companies. Now, China fills the orders for goods as Japan has moved on to the tech world.

Since I am more vintage/antique than new, I do not have the dilemma of stocking the store with imports, but, when I do buy new items, I want them to represent my philosophy…support those who are trying to support themselves. These are not women who mass produce...they create...they design...they are indies who love what they do.

I want to feature Erica of Meadow Street first…I carry her handpainted silk and velvet roses and her handcrafted tussy mussies.
The roses are pins, but their beauty would give joy to a nightstand or tucked in display. Erica lives in California, and she has been a delight to deal with over the past year or two.

Next is a recent find…Sherri of Punk Rose Paper. She lives in Oregon, and she makes these wonderful tags that can be used in a myriad of ways. I have them tied around some plaster busts…and again…just laying on table with some treasures presents a beautiful sculpture. In this age of cyber print, how wonderful is it to have a beautiful handcrafted card.
My soap line comes from Marie of Savon Marie who is from New York. She is a fellow educator—a retired school librarian; I know I can call or email her, bounce some ideas around and come up with some amazing soaps…like my new Green Goddess soap…or my lavender line to accent my love of purple.



My fourth find is my “elf.” Ruthie is a muse who lives in my town! She creates wonderful birdhouses and benches from repurposing wood as well as reworking old shutters or giving life to an old worn table. I must give her credit for breathing new life into my shop also. She is my ever-ready bunny, and I am so grateful to have her.



And, yes, you can run into a big box and grab some merchandise off the shelves. But, sometimes consider the small shop...think about the artisans...those indies...who work tirelessly to create and display for you. I also appreciate the artists who make their work affordable, and my elf who will redesign my shop in exchange for lunch and chocolate...I know they are not making big money...but I get to showcase their work. So, in the spirit of America, I hope you enjoyed my 4 for your 4th!

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush...

These are the chores we'll do this week,
Do this week, Do this week.
These are the chores we'll do this week,
So early every morning.

This is the way we wash our clothes,
Wash our clothes, Wash our clothes.
This is the way we wash our clothes,
So early Monday morning.

I happened on an auction lot of washboards, and I thought I would give you a little insight into them, not to mention make you incredibly grateful for that machine sitting in your home even as we speak!

A number of myths surround the Monday wash day theme. You have the nursery rhyme which follows a week's worth of chores, and then there is story that the Mayflower landed on shore on a Monday, and you can imagine loads of laundry they were faced with after that voyage. Another thought is that, since Sunday was a day of rest, the women were ready for the task of laundry which was labor intensive. Imagine scrubbing the heavy clothes by hand and then wringing out...makes one tired just to think of it! But, the fires would have been going from Sunday, and the housewife could soak the clothes and have them ready for morning.

Before the mid 1800s, washboards were made by hand, carved from a single piece of wood.Washtubs or copper boilers were filled with hot water, and piece by piece clothing was scrubbed clean.
In the 1850s, pottery companies devised washboards from yellowware and Rockingham stoneware. I have never had one of these, but I know they can book over $200. From the late 1800s on, zinc, brass, glass and graniteware were manufactured. Graniteware is not easily found, and I have had cobalt blue and turquoise in past years but not recently. My stash today is more common, and these run in the $8-$20 range.
Smaller boards were used for lingerie or finer fabrics. Glass boards were also mass produced during WWII when metals were needed for the war effort. This board is odd because the 511 has a reversed 1 - unusual in the quality control department of earlier days.
The numbers supposedly indicate texture of ribbings, but I have also heard the lower the number the older the board.

Washboards are still in production...the Amish do not use washing machines, remember...and there are crafters who repurpose them into found objects of art.

But, as E.B. White wrote: "We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry."

Think of me...

Father’s Day…my Dad died over 10 years ago, but not a day goes by that I do not think of him. Even my Mother says that as long as I am alive, so is my Dad.
He made me a strong woman, and he did that before feminism was even in the vocabulary.

I do not have much in the way of manly things in my shop…but I did happen on a wonderful mustache cup this week at the flea market. It has “Think of me” on it…had to take two pictures to show you…

So, how about a little lesson on mustaches…which my father never had, but it is a "manly" thing…and I have to say I never dated anyone with one, and my husband never had one. Anyway, their history is interesting. Mustaches were all the rage in the Victorian era, and they were kept in form by applying melted wax to the curls.
When hot coffee or tea was brought up to the lips for drinking, the heat melted the wax into the cup. Coffee or tea candles anyone? For those whose mustaches were not full, the tea or coffee would stain the hair. Finally, Harvey Adams, a creative Englishman, came up with the idea of a mustache cup. The mustache guard kept the lip hair dry, and soon all the famous potteries were making these cups.
Some are mug form, and some are regular cup and saucers. They were also produced in silverplate, and there were even designs for the left-handed drinker, but according to my research, these are rare.

So, maybe that fortuitous find of a mustache cup really was a nice Father's Day sign for me...so, yes, Daddy, I do think of you...every day...

“But calm, white calm,

was born into a swan.” (Elizabeth Coatsworth)
I guess these unstable times call for calm, and I try to create that in my shop...although we can be a bit chaotic with "stuff" coming and going.
But I have always been a patient person, and perhaps that is why I am always attracted to swans, live or creative. I have always been fascinated with them as they glide gracefully in the water. Being an English major and having had to analyze Yeats' poem, "Leda and the Swan" where Zeus turns himself into a swan so he can have his way with Leda, and then studying the related Greek mythology, I think that Hollywood could use some of those plots to work with!!! The swan provides plenty of symbolic intrigue.
Swans are the largest members of the duck family, and one of the largest flying birds. Swans have a gland just above their eyes that enables them to drink salt water. The gland removes salt from the water and concentrates it into a solution that is excreted from the nostrils, which the bird can shake its head to clear. Perhaps those of us dealing with salt water intrusion may have to learn to do that!

Swans will mate for life. They keep their young with them until they nest again, some staying through a second clutch. Just like today...the kids don't leave...life is good at home! If one of a pair of swans dies, the survivor usually takes a new mate, and they form a dedicated pair.









Many glass companies created a variety of swans, and today they make wonderful accents for soap dishes or for jewelry or even candies.


Pottery companies also had a variety of swan vases, and my favorite is McCoy's early swan vase shown in pale matte green; it was produced in 1948 in softer colors. In the 1950s it was redesigned and made it in glossy black, white, and yellow, and they sold for $4.80 a dozen. Now the earlier version books at $40-$50 while the later one is $50-$60.

Then there are the swan vases that were probably sold in the dime stores that were imported from Japan. They are ceramic, but no less charming in their lines. Here is a gold over pink swan and a purely pink one!







There are several swan varieties in nature also, and one type...the mute swan only made grunts and that gives us a popular saying. Socrates wrote that the swan sung a beautiful song just before it died, leaving us with the phrase “swan song”. Plato said that Socrates had explained it as a song of gladness because the swan, sacred to the god Apollo, was shortly to join the god it served. So, although this is the finale for this post, it is not my "swan song"...and I hope that tune will be kept at bay for a long, long time!!!

Have you heard about Haeger?

I love pottery. When I was in my early 20s, it was wall pockets…then small cache pots…and now it has culminated in my shop with McCoy, Hull, Stangl, Gonder, RRP. I must confess that I am not into the buzz name potteries…Roseville, Rookwood, Fulper…but I do love what I call middle class pottery.

Last week, this beauty flipped into my shop! Being at the shore, we do have beachy kitchy accents, but every now and then a true decorative piece shows up. This is a Royal Haeger mermaid, and, of course, that brings in a little history.



Haeger Pottery is still in business, the company being run by the great granddaughter of the founder, David Haeger. He came to America in 1871 from Germany and founded the Dundee Brickyard. The plant was located 45 miles from Chicago, and, if you are familiar with history, the year 1871 was the year of the Chicago fire which destroyed nearly 18,000 buildings. Needless to say, Haeger’s company helped to restore Chicago, and yet few people are familiar with that part of the company’s history.

In the true spirit of American ingenuity, one of his sons, Edmund, began the transition from brickmakers to artisans. The company was making clay flower pots for the florist trade, but Edmund saw a market for glazed art pottery, and in 1912, Haeger Bricks became Haeger Potteries.

In 1938, Royal Hickman (yes, his name was really Royal) joined the company,
and Royal Haeger Pottery was born. He designed pottery for Haeger until 1944 when he moved to Florida and operated his own pottery, but it burned (ever note how many potteries go up in flames…kilns are hot!), and he returned in 1950 leaving in to go to California to join Vernon Potteries.

This one a Royal Haeger piece also...the man had a variety of styles!

Modern Royal Haeger is sold in department stores, and Haeger Floral Pottery is available to florists.

Above all, it is a family company still in operation...and in today's bizarre economy is that not a reason to support them...whether you buy vintage at a shop or new in a department store.

Speaking of supporting Americans, I had a talented woman redesign this blog for you so that it would be a pleasant blogging stop! Her site is http://shabbycreations.blogspot.com/. I need to update some of my pictures, but it really does reflect my style. I thought it was interesting in today's NY Times that of the 133 million blogs that a company tracks only 7.4 million have been updated in the past 120 days. So, 95% of blogs are abandoned...but, I am hoping that you enjoy reading this as much as I delight in coming up with weekly ideas!

Hands on...

When I go "flea-ing" (flea market), I look for collections that are being sold off. As a shop owner, it is an easy buy. The stash below was such a buy.
And, of course, such a stash is going to put my imaginative mind in gear...and I was thinking of all the phrases that have hand in them, and how different each phrase is.

Like, hands down....or have to hand it to you...or a bird in the hand...or give me a hand...the hand you are dealt...
This hand collection consisted of mid century ashtrays...from the days when women would get together for bridge parties or teas. I have never smoked, but I can picture a woman in a flowing rayon dress with a cigarettes in her hand...These hands are all made in Japan...some are right hands, some are left hands, and there are those that are right and left...and there is another saying...the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing...
These oddities in the ceramics world are usually Japanese. Made in Japan was stamped on many items after WWII ended in 1952. there is the exclusive hand painted Nippon items (Nippon being the Japanese name for their country) from 1891-1921 and the mass produced items with the Japan tag available after that. After Pearl Harbor, many Americans destroyed Japanese ceramics...you can imagine the hysteria...but, fortunately, not all was trashed. Sometimes you will find a piece where the Japan label has been sanded off!

So, let me hand it to you...

If you do not smoke, you could use the little ones...that are only 2.5" to hold a ring...or the larger ones can hold business cards...then there are those that are vases...I have none in stock since these do sell the moment they hit the table, but here is picture of some McCoy hands from the price guide...
and here is one designed to hold a bloom as well as some treasures around the base...
There are also metal hands, but these are not ashtrays...this is designed to hold calling cards or treasures.
Before things get out of hand here, I shall hand it over to you to read and contemplate...take a look at your hands and remember,“People say friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there.”

Memorial Day...summer's on...

Here at the Jersey shore, the Memorial Day holiday celebrates the opening of summer...and the enforcing of beach tags...no more roaming that sand for free...it does have with it the remembrance of those who served.
The very first memorial ceremony was held in Athens, Greece, in 431 BC when Pericles offered a funeral oration for the soldiers of the Peloponnesian War. The event was a large-scale public commemoration in which the entire city of Athens participated. "This type of wartime memorial pulls people together," he said. "Those who die in combat become the community dead - a group of people to be honored by all."


The Civil War spawned the birth of the commemorative event. Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, NY, got the shops in town close May 5 to honor the soldiers who were killed in the Civil War and were buried in the Waterloo cemetery. The citizens placed flowers, wreaths and crosses on the graves of the Northern soldiers in the cemetery.

At about the same time, Memorial Day, called Decoration Day at that time, was officially proclaimed on May 5,1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.


In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day and soldiers who had died in previous wars were honored as well. In the northern United States, it was designated a public holiday. In 1971, along with other holidays, President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday on the last Monday in May.

My father fought in WWII. I never remember his talking about it much. In Washington, DC, the World War II Memorial which opened in 2004 honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home. Symbolic of the defining event of the 20th Century, the memorial is a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people. The Second World War is the only 20th Century event commemorated on the National Mall’s central axis.
If you want to list someone on the WWII registry, go to www.wwiimemorial.com and follow the directions to register. Once verified, a page will honor that person's service...this is my Dad's.
So, as you bask in the sun, check out the sales in the stores, remember those who served...and those who supported those who served also...and, if summer brings you "down the shore," stop in and say "Hi!" We are waiting for you!

Everything old is

new again. We watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button the other evening, and it truly presents a fascinating concept...born old and grow young.

When I opened my shop the following morning, it hit me...antiques are Benjamin Buttons...they are old, and they become young again as they are repurposed into a new life. Unlike Benjamin though, they get to be reborn over and over as the centuries pass.

This suncatcher is made from an old faucet and lamp crystals...
A piece of sheet music and some old seam binding are reborn as a tussie mussie...fun for potpourri or for tucking some florals or little treasures.





















An old shutter gets reborn as a cabinet...


















Vintage teacups can still serve tea and give pleasure with their beauty.


Can you imagine all the food that was processed in these early 1900s canning jars?

One of the lines from the movie is filled with Button's philosophy when he says, "Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life. Some people get struck by lightning. Some are born to sit by a river. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim the English Channel. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people can dance."

It applies to possessions also...things can make a dent on your life. What makes people walk into an antique shop? Memories, of course...and then the connection with those things that can make you dance. The next time you pick up a vintage glass or an antique plate, you are giving it a chance to grow young again! Repurposing is more than recycling...because everything old is new again!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day…and once again we celebrate a holiday with its origins in ancient times…the Greeks honored Rhea, the wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities in a spring festival..
Ancient Romans celebrated a spring festival, called Hilaria dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess. The celebration, held on the Ides of March (remember Julius Caesar) by making offerings in the temple of Cybele. It lasted for three days and included parades, games and masquerades. The celebrations were notorious enough that followers of Cybele were banished from Rome…rather “hilarious,” I think!

In England Mothers Day dates back to 1600s. Mothering Sunday was celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor theVirgin Mary, and children brought gifts and flowers to pay tribute to their own mothers.

Custom of celebrating Mothering Sunday died out almost completely by the 19th century although in America Julia Ward Howe (she wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”) suggested that June 2 be annually celebrated as Mothers Day and should be dedicated to peace.

But it is Anna Jarvis who is recognized as the Founder of Mothers Day in US. Though Anna Jarvis never married and never had kids, she is also known as the Mother of Mothers Day, an apt title for the lady who worked hard to bestow honor on all mothers.

Her mother felt it should be a holiday, and, after her mother died, she lobbied for an official declaration of Mothers Day holiday. By 1911, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state in the Union and on May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

Jarvis was not happy with the commercialization of the holiday, but it has become one of the busiest phone days (can you hear me now?) and last year over 3 billion dollars went to restaurants since you cannot make Mom cook on her day! It has become a worldwide holiday even though it is celebrated at different times of the year with 46 countries celebrating an official Mother's Day.

But as Washington Irving wrote, “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”