The Story of an Item Tumblr project is flat out brilliant

There is something incredibly fascinating about the lives of vintage items before they reach us (a topic I chatted about here back in 2011), as well as and how they came to be a part of our own worlds. Add in what they mean to a vintage lover once they're in our closets, shelves, bookcases, you name it, and I can scarcely think of more enjoyable reading for a fan of days long past, yet perpetually dear to our hearts in the here and now.

Very recently I was contacted by a lovely lady named Zohar from Israel who had launched a Tumblr blog called Story of an Item. The premise behind this blogging project is that Zohar contacts vintage loving folks and asks them to share about one of their favourite vintage items or one that is otherwise of importance and/or substantial interest to that individual. It could be a piece from their shop (if they're a seller), a once in a lifetime find, a beloved family heirloom, a stellar flea market score - anything at all. Where the item came from matters less than what it means to that person.

In their own words entirely (aka, she does not, at present, interview them in the traditional interview sense), Zohar encourages folks to share about this piece and their love of the past in general. She then couples that text with one or more photographs of the item and weaves together beautiful posts for her newly launched Tumblr project.

{One of the photos of me sporting the item that I chatted about in my Story of an Item project post. This piece will always be as near and dear to my heart as any vintage item could possibly be.}

I was flat out honoured to be amongst the first people to appear on Zohar’s Tumblr blog, with the post about one of my absolute most treasured vintage items ever - and why it holds such a poignant place in my heart - appearing there last weekend. You can check out that post here.

There is such a deeply rooted sense of beauty to letting someone describe why a certain matters to them in the ways that it does, in their own words and I am nothing short of enamored with this project. Tumblr is the one uber big mainstream social media site that I've never joined (in part because there are already far too few hours in the day to be as active as I might usually like on the ones that I am on), but I tell you, her project is making me give serious thought to doing just that for the first time ever.

In addition to shining the spotlight on me, my blog, and my Etsy shop in that lovely post, Zohar has also featured two other well known vintage aficionados so far (Solanah from Vixen Vintage and Jamie Lee from Chatter Blossom). I'm nothing short of enthralled by this project and can hardly wait to see who she shines the spotlight on next. Whether I join Tumblr or not, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be following this project closely and reading each new entry in it with the deepest of interest.

If you would like to take part yourself, please contact Zohar by email. She's looking to focus solely on vintage clothing and accessories at this point in time, so please keep that in mind if you want to take part in this great project.

Thank you so much for involving me with Story of an Item, Zohar. I am touched through and through that you did. Keep up the great work. You've really hit on something memorably fantastic here!

Introducing Flickr Favourites

Few sites continually inspire me with the same degree of creative, endlessly beautiful wonder that Flickr does. I’ve professed my undying love for Flickr here before (and like to think it comes through in my Saturday Snapshots posts, as well as many other image filled articles), but have been wanting for ages to launch a regularly occurring post devoted squarely to this amazing image filled site.

Instead of assigning this new reoccurring post a set day of the week (for example, Tuesday), I’ve decided to put together a Flickr Favourites post whenever the mood strikes – which will certainly be on a frequent basis (I’d tentatively say one such post every week or two).

While Saturday Snapshots focuses solely on vintage photographs of "real folks" (as opposed to famous people, magazine pictures featuring models, etc), the images that appear in “Flickr Favourites” will be a tapestry of old school snaps and modern photos with a vintage slant (or ones that I simply find to be too resplendently lovely to not share with you). Sometimes the images that appear in a given post may have a common theme, on others might be entirely random, tied together simply by their inherently breathtaking vintage related subject matter.

Last June I wrote about ten of my favourite Flickr groups devoted to various vintage topics, and many of you shared with me how much you enjoyed that roundup. Since that time I’ve thought often of that post, wanting to have a regular outlet in which to share more vintage related Flickr groups, so in addition to a selection of assorted images that have captured my imagination recently, each time I write an edition of Flickr Favourites, I’ll be including a previously un-blogged about Flickr group that’s focused solely on some marvellous aspect of the past.

I’m so excited about this delightfully fun new post, and sincerely hope that the images below, as well as all that follow in future editions, will provide you with scores of inspiration, help to fuel your vintage daydreams and brighten you day in the sweetest of ways.


♥ ♥ ♥


{Vintage Turquoise Creamer by ethanollie}



{Floating spoons by saltycotton}



{Still life 5 by lucy.loomis}



{A Symphony of Pink and Turquoise by Charm and Poise}



{Spring Journey by Magpie’s Fancy}


♥ ♥ ♥

Teaming with images of lovely treasures, retro kitsch, family heirlooms and other items gathered and saved from yesteryear, the Flickr group Vintage Beauty – Thrifted Bliss teams with photos of assorted vintage items and photographs that people have found while out thrifting and want to share, or are hoping to sell (elsewhere, Flickr itself has a strict no selling policy).


{1. Stewardess from the 1950s, 2. 60s mod, 3. hairdyer1, 4. Romance is in the air}

♥ ♥ ♥


As spring ever-so-slowly creeps out of hiding here, my mind is evidently being drawn to shades of turquoise and blue, both hues that contain the ability to be serene and invigorating at the same time, much like this very season itself.

Wishing you each a radiantly sunshine filled Monday – and a week ahead bursting with bliss!

Are you on Flickr?

As you may have gathered if you follow this blog, I am a tremendously big fan of photography, whether antique, vintage or modern. I never tire of snapping my own shots or admiring those of others, so quite naturally I was drawn to Flickr like a moth to a flame.

Not only do I often post there myself, but I spend an inordinate amount of time on the site in general, pursuing photos, commenting on my Flickr friend’s amazing snaps, and swinging by a bevy of groups centred around all manner of things that tickle my (eclectic) fancy. In short, I am absolutely love Flickr! It is truly one of my favourite websites of all time and a never-ending bank of inspiration for me.

While uploading a few shots earlier this week, I began thinking about the really neat fact that before I I started chronicling my love of vintage online, some of the wonderful people whose vintage blogs I now follow, I knew firstly through their gorgeous Flickr streams (Super Kawaii Mama, Johanna Öst, Fleur, Millie Motts, and Casey, amongst others). Which really got me wondering which of my lovely visitors and blogging friends are on Flickr, too?


{Wonderfully pretty hand tinted photo of a woman holding a camera circa 1935.
Image via Omega418’s Flickr stream.}

Are you also a fan/addict of Flickr? Do you have an account there? (It doesn’t have to be one centred around your love of vintage, don’t worry!) If you do, and you’d like to be Flickr friends, I would love to follow your stream. If you’re interested, you can find me (and my preciously adorable cat, Stella) hanging out (all the time) on Flickr here.

Hope to follow you soon! :)

Seven Interesting Things (about me) Kreativ Blogger Award

Over the past few weeks I’ve had the honour of getting to know one of the sweetest souls you could ever hope to encounter, a creative and kind blogger by the name of GypsyFox. Since our first online encounter, Gypsy and I have shared many wonderful conversations and discovered that we have numerous things in common. She has also graced my blog with an incredibly stunning graphic (visible on the lower right hand side bar of this site) and created a stunning birthday graphic for me last week as well.

As if those kind acts weren’t enough, on Wednesday she bestowed a delightful award upon my blog called the “Kreativ Blogger” award. The premise of this accolade is that bloggers who receive it must list seven little known facts about themselves and then pass along the award to some of their fellow “Kreativ Bloggers”.

Before I push my perpetual shyness aside to muster up a few snippets of info you may not already know about me, I must extend my very heartfelt thanks to Gyspy not only for this awesome award, but for being such a dear friend!

♥ Seven little facts about moi ♥


{Illustration from a 1944 children's book, via Paula Writh's lovely Flickr stream.}


1.) I am really, really eclectic! I have such a never-ending stream of diverse interests and I am quite convinced that even if I had all the energy, money and time in the world, I would only begin to scratch the surface of spending time enjoying everything that I find fascinating and/or that brings me bliss.

2.) I met my husband, the light of my life, joy of my world, online in the spring of 2004 and we’ve been together for over five years now. I like to say that it was “love at first email”.

3.) There are number of different things that I collect (which naturally ties into point #1) – from Japanese miniatures to Girl Guide related items, yet I despise clutter with a passion and am the polar opposite of a pack rat.

4.) Paraphrasing my sweet husband, to call me a girly-girl would be a gross understatement. For as long as my memories stretch back, I have been consumed by all things feminine, beautiful and elegant. Whether my outfit on a given day reflects my love of vintage fashion or not, if I’ve stepping even so much as one pinkie toe out the door, I will be dressed femininely. To doing anything less would be akin to being sacrilegious (to my own personal aesthetic) in my mind.

5.) I am a dyed-in-the-wool homebody with the slightest underlying spark of wanderlust. It seems like a strange contradiction and yet it works perfectly well, as it often means I’m up for moving across the country (or world) and setting up home someplace new and exciting.

6.) My favourite parts of my own body are my small hands, green eyes, and slender wrists. (Don’t generally mind my ever-so-slightly pear-ish hour glass figure either, it makes 50s styles a dream to wear but on the other hand does rule out ever looking like a convincing Flapper girl ;D)

7.) I absolutely adore animals of all types, but have always found myself inexplicably drawn to the slightly “offbeat” ones in particular (for example manatees, platypuses, ferrets, hedgehogs, and anything that’s an albino, are all favourites).



There are so, so many astounding blogs I follow that I never feel as though I can just select a mere handful to extend a blog award to. Should your name not appear on this list, please know that you are a Kreativ Blogger through and through, and that by absolute all means you are more than welcome to give yourself this award, from me, as well!



{If you’d like to share this award, please save the image below to your own computer or online image hosting site and distribute to whomever you desire.}


According to Gypsy’s post, the following rules are suggested for the Kreativ Blogger award:

• Thank the person who nominated you for the award
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog
• Link to the person who nominated you for this award
• List seven things about yourself that people might find interesting
• Nominate and post links to the seven Kreativ Bloggers you nominate
• Leave a comment on each of the blogs (or otherwise notify the recipients), letting them know they have been nominated


Should you the fancy doing so, following seven people are welcome to pass along the Kreativ Blogger award. I thank each of you deeply for the inspiration and beauty your blogs continually bring into my life, you are definitely all very Kreativ Bloggers!


1.) Andi B. Goode

2.) ~*Just Add Glitter and Stir*~

3.) Casey’s Elegant Musings

4.) Tattered Saints

5.) Fashion After Forty

6.) Cpaphil Vintage Postcards

7.) The Vintage Kitten





{Adorable vintage thank you card from Look Homeward, Harlot’s Flickr stream.}

Warmest of thanks again to you, Gypsy dear, you are such a wonderful, talented and inspirational person! Despite being reclusive to dish about myself (in general), I had a blast putting together this post and am really touched that you see me as a kreativ blogger!