Tuesday 23 December 2008

Signing off for 2008...Ho Ho Ho!

My Mum bought the cutest little jammies for the boys this year - all cute and Christmassy and with stripes (which we love).

It is finllay Christmas and it's time to sign off until early 2009. We wish you all the most loveliest, safest and merriest of Christmas' with your loved ones - family, friends and neighbours alike - and hope 2009 brings your dreams to fruition!

Merry Christmas to all - and to all a goodnight!

Ho Ho Ho!

Sunday 21 December 2008

A new quilted vintage fabric pouch beginning...

We have been steadily working on our little vintage fabric zippered pouches. We are on about our 'third' variation, I reckon - but I am really striving for something I feel is well worth the time and effort to make - and buy...

We have been unhappy with the interfacing method - it gives the pouch structure but it doesn't give it density, nor firmness. It allows the pouches to break their form and bend too easily. So, we have been mucking about with new sizes - and a new quilting method.

We chose to work with a lovely soft and pliable wool batting - not too thick, but thick enough it would hold it's form and straightness (for want of a better word). And we're delighted with our latest batch, I have to say. They feel like a pouch should - thickish, firm, strong. Not thin or whispish. So we've produced some lovely 12" long ones (without wristlet - we're still working on that part) and some cute little 6 x 4" ones that are perfecto for coin purses or for something small while you're out and only need some lippy, cards and moulah...

The brown 1970s retro super graphic print is a money purse - and it's divine, with a gorgeous retro geometric gold interior. We have about three 12" pouches and a couple of money purses in stock.

The pink one is also just gorgeous - but in a different way. This is the only 12" one we have made - and we're now out of this fabric so it's a definite one off! It's lined with romantic 1960s pink and white polks dot fabric and just so feminine and pretty. We also have two money purses in stock...

It finally feels like we're getting somewhere! Woo hoo :)

Thursday 18 December 2008

What would you like to see or find in a vintage fabric shop?

Even though we're not going to have our 'own' brick and mortar store we'll still have around 4m x 4m to chock full of our fabric. The larger pieces - those around 180cm longer or more (up to 4m) - will be hanging and we thought we would have some fabric packs for sale, too. This is on top of our vintage fabric bags and buttons and brooches - grrrr...so much to do and such little time :(

We have already started doing $10 packs in bags, with each bag holding a long-ish piece of vintage fabric (around 1m to 1.5m) - but, our question to you guys is, what else would you like to see? Length, size - type, style...any hints to make our humble Retro Age area a fabulous shopping experience??

I have to say...we're winding down for Christmas and I am so grateful for the upcoming break :)

Tuesday 16 December 2008

Every mans vintage fabric dream....kitsch nudity


Oh my. Vintage fabric for every red-blooded man to die for. Justin found them and seriously contempleted buying them...for us. Yes, for us. I could live with them as I love that era...and we have a tonne of nude prints this fabric would match superbly...but...well, who could be surrounded by that many nude women and still go about your day-to-day activities with kiddies and visitors etc...

If you think you could live with them they're available here. Have fun looking :)

Two new vintage fabric searches...

Did two more vintage fabric searches for you today...

One is Eames fabric on ebay worldwide. This is quite an interesting search, actually - brings up all manner of cool stuff. And even though Charles and Ray Eames only designed those four fabric swatches for a competition (in 1948, if memory serves) people love using the term 'eames era' to describe anything remotely mid-century...

Also completed a psychedelic fabric search which pulls up some Pucci-esque designs - very mod and cool indeed!

See to the left of this post for all of the searches I have done thus far...

Ironing vintage fabric to sell...

Well, I am ironing. Actually - that is an understatement. I am ironing like I have never ironed before. Piece after piece after piece of our vintage fabric. And then it's logged for public sale, priced and tagged with our cards...

It feels like we shall never finish. But come the start of the New Year the fabrics shall be hanging for sale...and, if we're on target, there will be at least 300 pieces seperate to the stock on the website. And that's not even putting a dint into our stock. Ugh.

Sunday 14 December 2008

The plum pudding Sunday...


I spent most of today doing my first e v a h traditional plum pudding. Up until around seven years ago an old family friend used to make our plum pudding for us as a Christmas gift - but she unfortunately passed away and so did the recipe for her delicious plum pudding. Since then we have gasp bought our plum pudding - the good ol' fall back of Ray's Plum Puddings is lovely and all but not special, you know?

The older I get the more sentimental I get. And as our kids grow older the extra special Christmas is. So this year I (belatedly) decided to give my very first plum pudding a go. You know why? Because I love reading Frankie magazine and they had a fab no frills steamer recipe in their current issue. Whoever says magazines don't sway your opinion and lifelong direction?

So on Friday I bought all my fruit etc - and shoved some brandy on it. Some stirring for a day or so and then in goes the mixture today. I tell you - it smelt DIVINE. It is boiling/steaming as we speak. For five hours in fact. I hope that is right - the article got the container size wrong so I hope they didn't get the cooking time wrong!

I love Christmas. I love the flashing lights on our Christmas tree and our front yard decked out in trashy lights and santas and reindeer and neon signs. I love driving my boys around to have a look at all of the house lights. I love the carols. I love Christmas dinner. I love everything about Christmas...can't you tell :)

Thursday 11 December 2008

More vintage fabric links...

I am a busy bee and even though I have lots to tell you about I have limited time - so am just letting you know I have added on some more links onto the link menu to your left...searches for scandinavian fabric, vintage fabric and 1930s fabric have been added for your vintage fabric enjoyment :)

I have to say we used our gocco for the first time yesterday - so complicated and yet so easy. It's wonderful to use for our labels and packaging - a true earthy joy to use. I hear they have stopped manufacturing them - I hope not! If you can get one we highly recommend it!

Tuesday 9 December 2008

Free vintage fabric...ladybug or flower pinwale

I have started to go through our fabric inventory to 'iron, number and hang up' for our imminent arrival in to the Mill Markets Antiques Centre. It shall be a lot of work - but I have decided to give some fabric away as I go...just to make this hard task of ironing that much easier!

I came across this piece today. Every time I see it and touch it I instantly think of cute Winter's gear for boys and girls - it just has the cute side to it a lot of the older fabrics don't have (unless they are blatantly novelty)...

It's a medium to heavy-ish (Winter weight) piece (era of manufacture unknown) - a cross between a true velveteen and pinwale cord. The base colour is very hard to describe as it changes with the light - but, overall, it's a pale burnished brown with tiny red flowers around 3mm wide - although they also look like ladybugs, too!

The photos show the fabric half width and close up - with the base and rear also shown. It measures 88cm wide x 170cm long. I've popped it onto the website for just $6.50 - basically just the postage cost, no charge for the fabric at all :) If you'd like it click here.

If you're located internationally you can go ahead and purchase it and I'll invoice you for the rest of the air mail shipping...

If you like free vintage fabric stay tuned :)

Monday 8 December 2008

The start of a glorious vintage fabric list...

We get a lot of queries on how people can search for vintage fabrics - not just here in Australia, but overseas as well. So many people are after certain prints, oeurves, fabrics and designers - and it's just not practical for us to stock a billion fabrics :)...

So - I have decided to start a list of vintage fabric links for you. The list is right on the top of this blog and will stay there and be added to over the coming days and weeks. I have started with five popular searches - based on queries we receive. The searches are Verner Panton, Lucienne Day, Heals of London, atomic fabric and barkcloth fabric. All of the searches relate to ebay worldwide - not just here in Oz...

If you can think of any other searches you would like me to do - and include on the blog - let me know. I'll add when I think of something new - and there are a billion searches I can think of!

For now - it's work for us. Our new labels have just arrived so more bags shall be sewn and more buttons clipped. We're also doing badges and thinking about getting into little bud earrings - but we'll see.

We've also been accepted into the Mill Markets Antiques and Collectables in Geelong - yay! So most of our fabric - NOT the fabric on the website - all of our other stuff - will now be available for sale (and a touch and a feel!) in Geelong come January 2009...

Woo hoo!

Sunday 7 December 2008

Hopefully a showroom...of sorts...


We'll find out tomorrow if we've secured a place to display our fabrics not featured on the website. There is tonnes of it. Rows and rows of fabrics. Fingers crossed we can get these out to you by the end of the month :)

Hope everyone had a fab weekend...

Friday 5 December 2008

'itis...

I have 'itis. I know of no other word to describe my current state. Flat. A little thin. Stretching myself too far. I am already starting to enjoy a slow weekend. So then the 'itis can go away...it has been told.

Wednesday 3 December 2008

Vintage fabric loveliness...

1960s lame - la-may, not lame! - on the website for sale here.

Sublime.

Tuesday 2 December 2008

My favourite vintage fabric buttons thus far...

I love them. Can't stop looking at them. Each button is 4cm wide and features the face of an art deco lady....back to staring now :)

Monday 1 December 2008

Vintage fabric buttons and the smiling moon...

I have been having a great time making larger buttons - some of these sets feature buttons around 4cm wide. Above is a 1940s fabric...

The above buttons feature some 1960s fabric featuring a deco ladies face...gorgeous, aren't they?

And beautiful orange above and psychedelic below...

And a lovely set of 1940s cotton with pansies below...

I am popping up some more fabric onto the website in the next day or so - and some of these buttons, too. And I am working on a new prototype for our bags - featuring ironed on wadding instead of interfacing! They look just as lovely as the buttons above...:)

And, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy the smiling moon this evening...it looks just so wonderful to behold Jupiter and Venus as the eyes over a half moon smiling...

Sunday 30 November 2008

Retro Angel

Even though I am a Buddhist and we have a shrine and photos of His Holiness Dalai Lama and prints of Tara (female Buddha) and Siddharta Buddha in various poses etc we have decided to rear the boys with a wide and various religious upbringing. By religious I mean philosophy and overviews of religious practice and dogma. When it's appropriate we explain religious days and rituals to give L a thorough understanding of how different and unique people worldwide really are...

Christmas is no different. We celebrate Christmas with family and friends and deck the house inside and out in all things Christmas. This includes a traditional nativity scene - and, of course, involves putting a tree up with lovely (some tacky) Christmas decorations for Santa to visit on Christmas Eve.

My ode to vintage is the angel on top of our Christmas tree - referred to as 'Retro Angel' by everyone, including the five-year-old. I love her boufant hair and lace dress. She makes me grin...it's great to have her up again :)

Wednesday 26 November 2008

Skinny la Minx aka Heather Moore


It's not often I err from the world of vintage fabrics or our little humble household. But I just have to tell you about Skinny la Minx! Heather Moore, aka Skinny la Minx, produces the most divine teatowels, aprons, napkins, cushion covers etc in her most amazing individual designs.

I bought the one above called Eep and it just arrived yesterday. Not only was the tea towel an amazing quality and screen-printed to the highest standard (and it's easy with screen printing NOT to reach that highest standard), but her packaging was sublime and just so, well, 'gifty' and thoughtful. A wonderful experience and a product I would highly recommend :)

Visit Heather's Etsy shop here and her blog here.

Tuesday 25 November 2008

Vintage fabric buttons and back to website housework...

Making these buttons is such wonderful fun! I am thoroughly enjoying selecting the vintage fabric to pop onto the aluminium shanks...

But making buttons means I have been remiss is keeping the website up-to-date and free of most of our sold stock...

Alas, poor Yorrick, there is way too many sold pieces on the site and I am forced (ahem) to spend the next couple of days stripping the site back to live and 'for sale' stock...

So if you see some changes to the site in the next couple of days you'll know why! I am busy getting rid of our old stock for you to it's easier to see what's available...

And if you love unique buttons made from gorgeous vintage fabric our little 2cm collection is getting larger - you can see them here.

Monday 24 November 2008

Melbourne residents - the Oxfam $60 live tree!

Thanks to two lovely bloggers who left me links to the site I was trying to remember I now have some fabulous ideas for gifts for family members and friends we don't see that often - but who we love and miss at Christmas time :)

Oxfam has the most wonderful gift ideas - I remember reading about the ideas last year but it was too late to order anything for Christmas. This year I am getting in (slightly) earlier!

If you've got friends and family who a) have everything or b) have stuff but you don't know what to give them consider giving an Oxfam gift to 'save the world from unwanted gifts'. It helps someone who needs our help at any time of year and it stops those pesky "I have no idea what to give you so I'll just buy a purple vase and I don't care if they like it" gifts...:)

Here's a snapshot of what you can buy:

A calf - $203
Cooking sets - $39
Duck - $20 (not as pictured LOL)
Fruit trees - $35
Safe refuge - $25

J and I have been having a look at trees this year - we piffed our other one out last year as it had just seen one too many Christmas'...and, as L keeps on reminding us, the elves need to leave us the perfect tree for Santa to leave some presents under.

Enter the Oxfam $60 live tree for Melbourne, Frankston, Geelong and Werribee. Their lovely volunteers deliver it to your door - can you believe it??? I am ordering our tomorrow - it's the perfect tree and I would rather our money go to those in need of assistance than to some humungous corporate's wallet (or purse)...

Christmas is coming - woo hoo!

Sunday 23 November 2008

Need your help - charity gifts for giving...

Quick post - does anyone know what the best site is to go to for purchasing charity gifts for friends...you know the ones where you can buy a well, food, shelter etc etc...and you give the 'gift' on behalf of a friend...

I have Googled some but can't find the ones specifically for you to purchase as a gift for a friend...

Can anyone please enlighten me?

Thank you!

Saturday 22 November 2008

Liberty of London pouch...

I know I've already posted today but just thought I would let you know I just put two rather unique small handmade pouches into our Etsy store - they will hit the website hopefully tomorrow. The top piece is a green lame with op art yellow lining and the pouch below is made from super rare 1970s Liberty of London Bauhaus fabric...kitsch, mod and memphis rolled into one :) - view them here.

I love Frankie

I have to say I don't buy magazines that much. Don't know why. I remember as a teen I was addicted to Cleo and Cosmopolitan but as I entered my 20s I didn't really feel the need to find out what the latest trends were or where you should eat or what colour nail polish to wear. Still can't be stuffed knowing - or doing :)

I buy Who mag every Friday to get my goss fix (usually read in the bath with some eucalyptus oil and silence) and I love reading the Herald Sun Home mag every Saturday - and, oooohhh, the Sunday paper mags. Love 'em. But now I have found a new addiction. Frankie. I love Frankie. If you love something off-beat and refreshing (thank goodness!) then pick up December's issue and chill out for a bit. You won't regret it.

Thursday 20 November 2008

Ahhh....the sound of silence...

I have been sewing and sewing to try and get better and better. It's happening - but very slowly! I tend to err on the perfectionist side...and even though I have been told by buyers and admirers these pouches and wristlets are fab, it's hard to believe. Do you ever have that problem with your creations?

So the sewing machine has stopped whirring and I am having a sewing rest. Making buttons is so much quieter - easier, as well :)

But I am starting to list these on Etsy to see how they go - two lots of buttons are already on the website and I'll be adding and adding to that next week. More than likely bags, too...

But in the meantime it's a spring clean around here, photographing some more vintage fabrics to pop up onto the website and perhaps working on refining the sizing of my wristets and pouches. I want to make them as usable as possible. And as pretty as possibe, too :)