I've Been Seeing Red

Some weeks you seem to find items
with a common thread; be it style, type or... color.

Lately I have been finding great vintage design in
RED.

Seasonal serendipity?

Bring it on...

A Visit to Charlottetown PEI

This past weekend my husband and I enjoyed a quick visit to Charlottetown, PEI to visit some old friends.

We took a Thursday afternoon flight and returned home late Sunday night. Even though it was not a long stay, it provided us with a welcome change of scene. It is a very bucolic place; pastoral scenery in every direction you wander...

We had some delicious seafood to savour the east coast cuisine experience. Eaten in a popular local hangout made it even tastier and the waitresses were so naturally friendly in a very non big city way.

I had chosen our lodgings online. Looking for a comfortable bed & breakfast inn I had many to choose from. I took my time and studied the decor closely... I knew I didn't want anything too cutesy; too many places seemed to have been stuck in a 1980's over-wallpapered, over-laced, over-dried flower arrangement type of decor time warp... you get the idea! Luckily I came across The Hillhurst Inn. It is a very lovely place with authentic art, woven carpets and spectacular woodwork throughout. Our room had a restrained elegance that was comfortable and luxurious at the same time.

Our breakfasts were held at a long communal table in the formal dining room each morning. It was interesting to meet the other guests and hear about their travel experiences. The food was fresh, thoughtfully prepared and different each morning- a real treat! (breakfast being my favorite meal of the day).

Saturday my 2 girlfriends and I drove all over the east end of the island for the Annual 70 Mile Yard Sale. Along country roads, farms and small clusters of houses joined together to put out tables of typical yard sale fare. As with any thrifting venture you go through a lot of useless & weird stuff to find the odd 'treasure'. I did not bad, finding 5 or 6 items that were worth the effort. Finding those things of course was half the fun, especially with friends to share a laugh with along the way!

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)...