Kijaro

The lovely Kim from Kijaro popped in some of her wonderful creations in the mail some time ago - it was a surprise for us and I was simply delighted when I opened the parcel. It's a delight to see creativity in different sorts using the same media - cards - whether it is vintage fabric, old paper or old magazines.

Kim has just entered there world of blogging here (welcome, Kim!) and you can also see/purchase her creations here and here.

Thank you for sending us your pieces, Kim - these are the only ones left to go out to our customers :) And it's lovely to see our fabrics used in such loving ways...

This is me, nude...

I have no idea why I have dots on my elbows...you can find out more here.

Guest: Le Pip from De Meet Me at Mike's

I started reading Pip's blog over at Meet Me at Mike's a long time ago - perhaps two to three years? When I was younger, anyway - and when Meet Me at Mike's was in Richmond. I've met the wonderful lady, she's hosted some of our vintage fabrics in her wonderful Brunswick St store and, more than anything else, she's become an icon in Australia's crafty world. I love her blog, her work ethic, her dedication to her family, her great support for the 'crafty' (as opposed to the shifty!) and her wonderful compassionate support for those who need our help most. Thanks for sending us your wonderful piece, Le Pip - you truly are ace :)



My Love Affair With Vintage Fabric

When I was a wee gal, my mum and dad were always sewing stuff. Dad made the sheets and pillowcases and quilt covers for our bunks. Mum made the curtains for our room. Dad made the drapes in the lounge room. Mum upholstered the living room furniture. It was all about making and fabric. A crafty lot we were! Bold graphic prints, Scandinavian motifs and huge florals in the rumpus room, tastefully naked ladies in the bathroom and Little House on the Prairie florals for the room I shared with my sister. It was the Seventies. We were sitting in jumbo cord beanbags, playing with Sindy and Skipper, 'Lady Bump' was playing on the record player! We were probably wearing jumbo cords too. What could be better? Bliss!

My childhood home was littered (in an unmessy way) with print and pattern. Not just on textiles, but on tea pots and tea cups and tiles and tins. As an adult, it's something that I just can't shake. My house now is full of these sorts of prints. I really do find comfort in them - and I love the happy jolt that colour and pattern gives me. Double that with a bit of fabricky goodness I am in my own little crafty heaven!



I don't really buy a lot of new fabric - when I do it's simple cotton spots and stripes and ginghams. I much prefer the charm and depth of vintage prints. For me, you can't really beat the uniqueness and quality of vintage. The history and texture are something to covet, the designs are consistently beautiful and fresh, despite their age! And, as much as I do love (and sometimes buy) those cute Japanese novelty prints and a bit of Ms Butler or Mr Jacobs, I hate feeling like everyone else has the same fabric as me. I think it's nice to have a different point of view, so I'd much rather have a faded piece of vintage sheeting, or some old paisley pillowcases, or a stray curtain dotted with little tigers and monkeys. Those are the sorts of fabric that make my heart sing. They make me smile. I want to have them around me.



I think that vintage fabric triggers the sorts of comforting memories that make us feel happy and safe. I love that feeling of comfort and familiarity. It's not just another fabric. It's lived a life. It was made to be useful and beautiful... not just made for the heck of it. It's from another, less commercial time. Heck, it was probably woven in some place that has long since abandoned manufacturing such things. It's like a little time capsule, I guess. How great that 30 or 40 or 50 years later we can unfold it from it's cocoon like state and transform it into something new, unique, fresh and contemporary. And how great that it's as relevant now as it was when it was made. Perhaps even more so. Don't you think?!

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Images and words courtesy of le Pip

Thank you, Pip! If you want to visit Pip's wonderul store and delve into the world of Meet Me at Mike's don't forget to pop into 63 Brunswick st, Fitzroy. And there is some of her wonderful wares available from here. And she's started a great forum here.

Le guest on le blog....who is this modern day crafty superhero?

We have a wonderful guest post on the blog tomorrow night. It's by the cute chick in the middle of those studs in the above photo. She's a modern day crafty superhero, a gatherer of the crafty masses - 'the pied piper of craft' (or does that mean we're all rats?), a supporter of all things 'organic crafty goodness', a promoter of living life with love, compassion and with a caring heart - and, above all, a very, very nice person.

She's going to go down in Australia's crafting and creative history as a woman in her own right - who just happens to love craft, owns a shop full of le goodies, asks us all to sew, crochet, knit and pluck anything to help kiddies in need. She liks the Florence Broadhurst of wallpaper, but for craft. A woman defined by her creative passion and love of supporting others.

Who is le guest? Anyone know?

Guest blog : Monique - Original Mischief

We are so glad to welcome the lovely Monique from Original Mischief to talk to us about barkcloth. Monique is an avid fan of vintage and vintage fabrics and has some gorgeous vintage fabric creations in her new Etsy shop! Thank you for your article and piccies, Monique - it's all so wonderful :) Stay tuned next week for a guest blog by a veritable crafty living legend :)...and don't forget to let us know if you would like a guest spot in the weeks to come...

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I can’t thank Vanessa from Retro Age Vintage Fabrics enough for allowing me to be a guest blogger.

I have collected vintage fabric for just over 10 years and, although there are many people that have collected fabric for a lot longer, I have concentrated my efforts on barkcloth and terrycloth.

What is barkcloth? Originally, bark cloth was cloth made from the Tapa tree which was beaten into sheets and worn by the people in the South Pacific and surrounds.

Bark cloth was (and still is for that matter) used for both ceremonial and functional purposes and was usually decorated with stylized plants and fish.

The barkcloth fabric that is the highly sought after textile we know and love today has the rough, nubby texture of bark but is made typically from cotton. Depending on the period the barkcloth was made, it was also made from other materials such as fibreglass and polyester, although it has a different ‘hand’.

Barkcloth was made primarily between 1930 and 1960 – although some countries still produced barkcloth into the 70’s – and was used for all manner of household decoration such as curtains, bedspreads, cushions and upholstery.

Patterns included big, blousy roses, art deco geometrics, art nouveau flourishes, tiki flora, metallic thread, and of course, the well known beatnik look.

There are literally thousands of patterns available on the market if searching for barkcloth – the USA has different patterns from the UK and both countries have different patterns from Australia.

Australia was still producing barkcloth into the latter part of the 1970s when the fabric was covered in pop art and flower power designs in orange, lime green, hot pink, red and blue. The designers of the time really let their imaginations go wild!

Barkcloth today is made into handbags, purses, cushions, dresses… whatever you can dream of. Some barkcloth pieces are more sought after than others such as any of the colourways of Glen Court or Zebra Crossing. Even some of the flower power fabrics are highly sought after given that they hark from a time when an explosion of colour was all the rage.

If you want more information on barkcloth, some sites I would recommend are:

http://www.trueup.net/?p=580 (True Up – page 580)

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Barkcloth?&id=1225140 (ezinearticles)

Books I would recommend (especially to see the pictures!) are:

Vintage Textured Barkcloth by Margaret Meier

Fabulous Barkcloth: Home decorating textiles from the 30s,40s & 50s by Loretta Smith Fehling

Again, thank you Vanessa for allowing me to wax poetic on barkcloth – a fave of mine and I’m sure of many others… or soon will be!

Monique – Original Mischief

www.originalmischief.etsy.com

www.originalmischief.blogspot.com

All words and images courtesy of Monique, Original Mischief

Guest blog posts starting - and a favourite fabric!

Firstly - I am so sorry these photos are a little average. I need to iron this piece - but one of my least favourite things to do is iron! But this is one of my current faves so I thought I would pop some close up photos of it...doesn't it just ooze romance?





I am making Monday's our guest blog day and this should be kicking off soon - if you're interested in promoting your vintage love, then please contact us! We have some wonderful people who you'll be meeting in the coming weeks...



Enjoy!

Retro Age Vintage Fabrics weekly guests

I love reading about all you crafty peeps. You know who I mean. You guys who whip up divine bags out of scraps, create kiddies clothes about of beautiful things, jewellery out of vintage findings and even you peeps who run business' while keeping the tots out of mischief.

I'd love to hear from you.

I want to give one person a night a week on this very blog. If you love vintage stuff, old fabric, kitsch interiors, sustainability - anything you've read on this blog - I'd love to feature you on a Monday evening. If you're interested in being a part of it all please email us on vintagefabricsatgmaildotcom - we'd love to hear from you, no matter what you do...except if you're a spammer!