To Keep from PDX

you know i must have kept few things that were found on the stp (seattle to portland)and back roadtrip, right?!

that up there is a rebekah lodge pendant.  i have a collection of rebekah lodge items but had not ever seen this piece. i love what the order stands for and i am so curious and interested in anything having to do with secret societies, rituals, oath taking, mysteries, conspiracies, etc.  

i was thrilled to discover it!  found at cargo.  and on sale!

this is a beautiful vintage needle case made in germany.  also found at cargo on sale.  you know how i always try to make everything into either a necklace or a hair clip?!  Well i am considering attaching a little loop to the back of this so it can hang on a necklace and be useful to me!  who woulda thunk it?!

ohmygosh i love these gold snake earrings so much!  also found at cargo on sale.  i have been wearing them almost daily and i will show you a wear-n-worn post soon where you can see how i have been wearing them with my fish, beaver, and owl necklaces.  its like a regular nature preserve on my body!  haha!

this wool blanket remnant is being made into a nice big long soft scarf/shawl.  i am loving the colorways and motif!

i got this book because i love the cover that looks like tree bark.  it is already falling apart so i will probably use the front and back covers in an art project.

this is a great piece of asian silk.  right now it's just hanging in the studio to inspire me.

another old falling apart book that i loved the cover of.  will also be used in a project.

another hand/home made rag doll to add to my personal collection.

another piece of opaque white bristol glass to add to my collection.

a blue silk and white dashed scarf.

a ginormous spool of red and white baker's twine.

(for the shop!)

these pictures do not do these justice, whatsoever, but these are two huge barkcloth curtain panels with the most gorgeous flowers and birds on them.  the colors a vibrant, bright and lovely!

they will either end up in my bedroom or over the pantry.

and lastly, another painted fungus!  yahooie!

found the wild cat one on the way to portland.

the one in the background was found at a garage sale a while back.

and i have one painted with wild flowers.

not sure if i will keep on with this particular collection. 

it may end up at Smashing Rubbish.

i just love that its kinda weird and unusual.  of course!

thinking about sewing,

xoxoxo

jennette

Home Vignettes (part 2)

i've invited you into this cabinet before here.

take another peek if you care to.  it's pretty much the same.

i'm sure you've seen valentino before too but i cant find the link to an old post.  anyhow, we got him for valentines day, maybe three years ago now.  hence the name, valentino. he's very old vintage taxidermy but still in great shape.  he often gets to wear seasonal garb, like a wreathe of flowers for spring equinox or a mask for samhain and dios de los muertos.

our french mounted boar's head looks almost small here.

he's huge in real life!

we have many many R.Atkinson Fox prints from Chad's dad.

most of them are in storage now but here are a few.

my favorite vintage crystal and silver chandelier.

a turn of the last century kids rocking chair turned on its side with a paper wasp nest nestled in it.

and my favorite vintage wood box covered with wood grain and lithographed paper that has birds on it.  it was found at the "take it or leave it: on lopez, for free.

large cement mushroom, tissue paper balls, and in-flight pheasant.

an old small chippy painted table turned on its side and missing its center, a couple basket covered bottles, a vintage vaseline glass apothecary jar from julie and a vaseline glass decanter. and old perfect-blue-color bird cage, another paper wasp nest, and the other side of the beloved lithographed wood box.

more of the box, plus my collection of imperfect ironstone pitchers (i wont buy them if they are pure white and they must look well used!), and two of my vintage paper mache owl decoys.  my orange enamel covered soup tureen is hiding behind all the wine...and so is the enormous copper jam pot my dad gave me last summer, up on the right.

more owl decoys, more pitchers, more ceramics, and the hugest zinc scoop i've ever seen (sticking out of ceramic crock)!

red enamel ladle from the paris flea market, and lots of enamel ladles and utensils, including butter melters and funnels.

my perfectly chippy kitchen gnome

3 wood boxes stacked and wall mounted full of more treasure:

french baking molds, an enamel spice jar from paris flea market, an alabaster lemon jar, a vintage thermometer, and a vintage milk glass hob nail vase holding french beaded flowers.

some blueish/green depression glass, and owl in your cup tea cup, some vintage New Orleans apothecary bottle bought there, a page from a victorian photo album, a stack of transferware butter pats that will get wall hung, 2 old letter press stamps of the circus/carnival, a silver and glass hinge top display box on which sits two stacking cups (hard to see print) that say "we are" (top one)"so good together"(bottom one)...bought at little winter in pdx on girls weekend, for chad and i.

my totoro lantern from pdx, some favorite mugs, a few of my mercury glass candle sticks, the ceramic duck planter that jeremy unearthed when digging at a job, a couple mortar and pestles, a "large" silver thimble shot "glass" that's engraved, "just a thimble full."

and this big guy is a vintage taxidermied capercaille, the largest of the grouse family.

my dad gave me this perfectly green rusty patina rolling three tier cart for my birthday a couple years ago.

it's one of my most favorite things.

we use it for our nature table.

this picture was taken when it was overflowing and in need of attention.

it now looks very tidy and ready for more nature goodness.

this is a small alter area where there is a niche in the wall that seems to made especially for it.

you can see there is quite a mix of religious and spiritual icons here: pagan, catholic, day of the dead, native american, etc.

the vintage jesus and mary alter is heavy old plaster and was carried back from new orleans on my very first trip there.  the black juju doll was made for my by my cousin and is covered in the best odd and unusual charms. i brought back the super vintage nun and st. frnacis stautes plus the large quartz crystals from costa rica and the totem poles are from various local places here.

and buddhist, new orleans juju, crystal-squeezer, fortune teller,

earth mama, goddess lovin paraphernalia from all corners and tribes of the world.

wall mounted vintage glass front cabinet contains the following:

vintage glass ware, vintage limoge/haviland set of dishes, vintage transferware, and a cupid vessel my grandma gave me when i was 16.

mexican heavy etched glass, vintage velvet box from mik, vintage blue paper flowers, a gold edged blue velvet victorian photo album, a blue painted zinc piece from nashville and a danish ceramic vase found in bisbee arizona.

more velvet boxes, more scandinavian ceramics, along with some usa ceramic including two pieces of van briggle, a gold studded small purse from nashville, a child's transferware teapot and pitcher, a vintage zinc flower ice cream mold and a collection of various glass ball-talon feet from old furniture.

i think that just about covers another episode of home vignettes for now.  could also be called, "jennette's butt-load of crappity crap hoarded in every nook and cranny possible" tour!

sheesh!

and that's after paring down, mind you.

my goodness....are you still with me?!!

well thanks to kathy's help i have a ton of linens that are clean, ironed and folded, ready to get priced and go out on the floor.

i also have a lot of vintage doll clothes that are just adorable.

plus the box of stuff that sarah sent from montana.

so there is a lot new still being put out for sale every day.

come take alook!

singing and dancing,

xoxoxo

jennette

 

Home Vignettes (part 1)

(milk glass plate painted with my favorite pansies, a pot metal bird head from New Orleans, and a hand form a vintage mannequin)

hey friends!

today i am going to document and show you some of the vignettes around my house.  i spent the "snow week" blissfully stuck at home, rearranging, clearing clutter, re-displaying, dusting, and sorting, and packing up a LOT of stuff to bring into the shop!

this is my collection of russian carved wood bear toys.  most of them have a wooden ball that hangs down and when you gently swing the toy in circles, the weight of the ball, attached to strings, makes the bears arms move up and down. pretty cute!

i have been inspired to collect old and odd toys over the years because my Aunt Karen always had a shelf full of cool old odd toys for use to mess with at her house.  and now she gifts us with cool old folk toys once in a while and we love that.

so i have a thing for figures and statues.  But they have to be interesting, odd, old or a bit, shall we say, deconstructed! 

starting from the left: an almost naked guy corralling a rearing horse in heavy metal and the perfect patina of gold and silver.  in front of him is a gorgeous woman standing by a bird and holding a star wand in her outstretched hand.  the engraved plate on the front says la nuit, which means "the night" in french and i got her in Tucson.  the tall figure back behind her is old silver pot metal and is missing one arm.  in her other hand she holds a string with a bunch of fish.  not sure who she "is" but would like to find out.  next to her in the back is a very rough bronze cast of a woman in a frilled skirt/dress and a man holding a string instrument.  no markings and i wonder if its a student piece because it is so heavy and primitive.  in front of them, is the silver zinc man whose hand is raised and has a hole thru it to hold something, perhaps a torch.  now he holds a peacock feather. behind him is a very dapper gentleman i found in new orleans.  maybe not dapper....more....flamboyant, with the huge feather in his hat, knee high boots, and cape....a pirate perhaps.  next to him, the white lady, she is the top part of a broken garden statue made of plaster. she is very pastoral and keeps her hands folded.  the little gold 1920s woman figure in front of her is an incense burner from france.  and also from france is the chalk/plaster bust of a woman with dark hair atop a pedestal. 

and there are others as you shall see...

a grouping of fuzzy vintage elephant bobble head, a sly Brownie, and a deity/goddess, Durga, i believe.

a tiny glass house and a very petite french globe

and an old metal train station.

all of the above are interspersed on an old wooden book shelf between books and whathaveyou.

here are some groupings of things on two matching tall bookshelves.

this is a shelf full of things from our Mexico trip, bead work, string paintings, painting, etc.

here you can see some of my vast collection of mercury glass.  the gold cherub candlestick i have had for over 20 years and found at a thrift store while in high school!  i collect old vintage picture frames and they just hang around until i can fill them.  the opaque white bristol glass is hand painted.  one is a vase and the other is a water decanter with a stopper that is a tiny cup!  the piece on the right is an antique french wedding display piece and right now it has a taxidermied turtle popping out of its bowl!

one very large wool carder, vintage binocular collection, a rough carved dutch wooden clog, aluminum topper with a butterfly image, and a huge plaster foot with a snake anklet.

some of my ocean/beach/sea collection

vintage bird beadwork, more mercury glass, old mirrors, a silver bird topped spoon holder, and my beloved stereoscope and card collection.  good old-timey fun!

mexican silver frames, vintage scopes and magnifying glasses, old beveled mirror, a velvet covered wood box, my beloved kerry kate doll, a silhouette of j, and my perfectly creepy and adorable velvet pixie from portland. here's a better picture of him cuz he deserves it:

i'm a freak for vintage luggage, boxes, and trunks.

any kind.  all the time.

mostly vintage leather camera bags, one dr. bag, a leather boy scouts first aid kit for your belt, and a chalkware swanky lady from Nashville.

glass front cabinet holds preserves and loot.

to the left you can barely make out the inner remains of an old pony saddle hanging on the wall, a vintage beekeepers veil hanging on the pommel, and a perfectly decayed violin hanging beneath that.

to the right you can see my growing collection of vintage nets with wood handles. they used to rest in our big picture windows but for now i am keeping the windows totally clear and bare.

below are some cabinet interior shots:

i think i have shown you my favorite ladies before.

these are vintage french plaster pin cushion dolls and tops.

perfectly odd, creepy, and decayed.

love!

on the left are two crowns i found diggin in a cruddy old shop in the french quarter in new orleans.  one still has the purple silk material and one doesn't.  the harvesting girl is a print on a little old wooden box, and the paper mache bird j made at art class. love!

here is a collection of small baskets i have made over the years.

the shelf edging paper is vintage and i love it.

that's an old scale with a dried shelf fungus in the back.  and a resin mushroom specimen and remains of a paper wasp nest too.

all my jams, marmalade, jellies, chutneys. and the other vintage shelf edging crepe paper that i adore.

and lastly on the two matching book shelves, a velvet framed mirror, a ceramic snake pot holding a cast metal snake head, two painted horns, a shoes brush advertising caskets, a piece of carved wood from nashville, a silver heron, a turkey leg holding a crystal ball, a wax head with one glass eye, a big metal 3D bee, an old clock, a covered scarab print jar that was the first thing chad and i bought together 18 years ago, and a floral engraving plate. whew! and the wooden guy below is this guy:

he holds a bowl and it holds crystals.

i am a sucker for any kind of wood carved figure.

bet you couldn't guess that, huh.

and an vintage owl on an old gourd bird house.

wow.  that's a lot of stuff.  and there is a lot more to document and show you here.  so stayed tuned for part deux.  there's another glass front cabinet full, the other glass front cabinet full, the alter shelves, the nature table, and other random bits of goodness you may, or may not, give a hoot about.  come back if you want to see.  it all has the potential to end up in the shop!

other news: i am going on a little buying trip to southwest washington and portland this coming weekend so there will be even more new stuff in the shop next week.  i will be posting about the new finds and other road trip adventures in the coming weeks.  also, watch for a possible shift in store hours.  you'll be the first to know.

pricing, rearranging, displaying and merchandising,

xoxoxox

jennette