Sunday Brunch

This weekend marked another Cabbagetown Festival, an annual fall event where we live.
On Sunday we hosted a little brunch party for family and a few friends. I snapped these photos before people arrived; the 'calm before the storm' so to speak...

I always get satisfaction when the house is readied for guests. Fresh flowers, that extra level of tidiness and attention to detail... all add up to the 'homestead' looking as good as it can on a given day!
The get together was a relaxed success- easy for me and the company to get comfortable, chat, drink some decent coffee and eat too much...

Putting it Out There

This charming sampler caught my eye at the antique market recently. Charming, yes, but for me it went a little further. The words really inspired me; the feeling they evoked inspired me... It felt like a glimpse of memory in a dreamlike state that flickers and passes...
The only thing left to hold onto is the feeling of home; where it all started as far back as memory can take you...

I feel a strong connection to old textiles, stitchery and the time taken to make these pieces that were obviously meant to be saved, cherished and held onto within the family generations. As with so many such objects, I wonder about the path taken for it to eventually rest one day on a market table, up for offer...

My rather immediate thought was that I loved it and wanted to somehow 'make it mine', put my mark onto it in a way that will bring it back to life.

It is currently in a sorry excuse for a frame. My plan is to throw that away and look at it unframed. I want to create my own border, beyond the current one so as not to take away anything that was done originally. Blending my own style of textile stitchery with the original is a sweet challenge.

The title of this post is "Putting it Out There'. I have been neglectful lately of my creative side due to a heavy work schedule. That is easing up now so I decided to do this post as a promise to myself to get on with this project. I really want to do this and all I need to do is START. I know once it is underway I will be compelled to keep at it until I get it right. That is how I am. I will one day do a post of the completed work. I promise.

Poster Serendipity

I was browsing around at my parent's house a few months ago...

My grandmother was a painter and had many art books which are now at my family home. As I flipped through some books I came across a Picasso poster, neatly folded into fours, that was between the pages. I opened it up to find the poster below; a 1970 art exhibition poster with the name Mourlot printed at the bottom.

Strangely, my mother had never recalled ever seeing this poster. My grandmother must have purchased in 1970 and put it inside the book and forgotten about it. It was rather exciting to me, uncovering something of hers 'lost' for so long. We were very close and this felt like a brief renewal of our bond...

After some online research I discovered that the name Mourlot referred to Atelier Mourlot, founded in 1852. It was a lithographic print shop located in Paris, France. They started as a printer of fine wallpaper and went on to produce illustrated books and high quality posters.

By 1937 they had become the largest printer of artistic posters for the French National Museums as well as many foreign institutions. Many major 20th. century artists visited the studio and worked there to create original graphic works of art.

I discovered that the Picasso poster was worth in the area of $600. Of course the connection I had to it was priceless and I chose to frame it and display it in our home.

A few weeks ago, I was doing my thrift shop rounds, hoping to find cool items for my Found Vintage Style Etsy shop. As I glanced at the picture section of the suburban Goodwill store I was in the above Matisse poster caught my eye. It had the same look as my Picasso poster and upon closer inspection I saw the familiar name Mourlot at the bottom. This poster is from a 1961 exhibit. Wow... what were the chances to find such a treasure in a completely different way?
I paid my $7.99 for it and happily have hung it as a companion to my other one.

Serendipity... fate, chance... all good words to describe how my 2 posters ended up side by side.

More Vintage Source Shopping

more inspiring images
from my day shopping
for the set~

Highlights of My Day

My days working as a set decoration buyer for a T.V. show are never the same. In each episode there are new requirements that dictate which types of stores I will be sourcing in. I love this aspect of the job. One week I will be looking at a modern, streamlined aesthetic and the next I could be creating a visual with eclectic, colorful and antiqued decor pieces.
I was very into this weeks' search for a layered look that took me to shops with so much to see it was hard to focus my eyes at times!
Even if I come across items not on my current list, if they catch my eye I will photo them and put them in my "Of Interest" file. I have to say, there are so many amazing objects out there! I never get tired of searching for the perfect piece to fill the needs of the set. It is a challenge I happily embrace. I love my job! (most days)...

Sunday Market Find

I found these two wonderful posters today at the Sunday Antique Market. They were hand printed in England on linen, as is stated in the corner. On one the words, 'A Dodo Design', appear in the other corner. The size is 19 x 33 inches. They are each mounted to masonite board.

By the colors used I assume these are from the 1960's. The hot pink/orange combination and pop art stylization are very typical of the swinging sixties in London. I have researched online and found there was a Dodo design poster shop in London in the 60's. They still seem to be active so I have emailed the pictures to see if, in fact, they are from that source.

I naturally bought them as an addition to my Etsy shop. Since I have had to wait to determine their value however... I am growing more and more attached to them. I find myself contemplating how I would frame them; where to hang them in the house...

Eclectic Pelican

This amazing vintage shop is a favorite of mine.

I am very lucky to live in it's home city where I can see these soulful treasures in person~

There is often one piece that will catch my eye in particular and need to come home with me...

This glorious piece of stitchery below was the last such item but, alas, I was too late. Someone else had already claimed it.


















I am not one to like or respond to all things because they are 'old'.

This shop's collection, however, always has items with the most tender + poetic character infused within.

Be sure to check out this lovely & evocative Etsy shop, the Eclectic Pelican