Recent Finds

Since it's been that kind of same old same old around here, (you know the kind that makes you feel like the most boring person alive when you talk to someone you haven't seen in a while and they ask you what's new and you rack your brain and can think of absolutely nothing to say...) I thought I'd share some photos of some recent flea market finds. I have done absolutely nothing this summer that is remotely summery, except for almost weekly flea market trips that are somehow supposed to be (and sort of are) compensating for the lack of a vacation, or for that matter any activities that might resemble something one would do on vacation. I thought I went swimming once, but now I'm pretty sure that was actually last summer. There's still a little bit of time though. Maybe I can actually plan - and take - a tubing trip on the Delaware.

On to the finds...



As you can see I still have a thing for owls, but they have to be just the right kind of owl. Deer are always a favorite as well. The doe-ier the eyes the better. The handbag was given to me by a friend of a friend who thought I would like it and boy do I ever! It has an appliqued mermaid scene behind plastic with sequins, beads and shells. It's amazing!



I love paint by numbers pictures, but they have to have great colors and be painted well. This one, my husband informed me, is Portland Head Light. He would know. He's totally obsessed with all things Portland (and Maine), and if it weren't so cold there he just may have convinced me to move. But I have a very small comfort zone which is basically 70-74 degrees, so we just go visit. The watercolor on the table is one of a couple of portraits I picked up. I love how the eyes are really close together and that it looks like a yearbook photo. I have to find the right frame for it.






I found this box that I only knew was Catholic and cool looking. Upon returning home (and with the help of Google) I learned is called a Viaticum or a Last Rites Box.
It's made of oak, and the glass is reverse painted, with chalkware figures inside. The bottom has a door where they would keep the pieces used to administer the last rites. The front has two metal pieces that would have held candle sconces, but those are missing. Apparently the boxes would be mounted inside the wall, but this one has a wire on the back so it can hang. I thought it was a pretty amazing piece!

New look on the website!

I guess I could start every blog post apologizing for the lack of keeping up with blog posts, so maybe I should just make this apology a catch all for the rest of time.
I've been super busy with working on redesigning some aspects of the website (the page layouts and photos in particular) and I'm really pleased with the changes so far. Of course it will be a long process that will involve lots of incremental steps as I update the different sections. Being super anal, I will try not to let it drive me crazy that everything isn't going to match for a while (and probably a long while), but hey, what can you do 'eh?



So the first section to be updated with the new design is women's lingerie (and not the slips - I added those pre-change). I hope you'll check out the new look. Feel free to let me know what you think. Of course, feel free-er to let me know what you think if you like it :)



Here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on now. I love enamel flower pins! The colors are always fun and the shapes are so pretty. I also have a bunch of sweet little animal pins - there are lots of poodles, woodland creatures, owls, and other cuties. They should be up in the next few days.



And for a quick Etsy 5 A Day update...
For those of you who read my last blog post you'll remember that I challenged myself to list 5 things a day on Etsy for the month of July. I gave myself 5 freebie days of which I've used 2. I have had to rely on relisting items on a few of the days which I was trying not to do, but since I'll sometimes sell an item quickly after relisting it, I've decided to consider it valid. I now have close to 200 items in the shop with somewhere around 80 of them being brand new listings in the past 3 weeks. It's been a great motivator - although admittedly there have been a few days where it's been tough to make the time. I have one week left, but I'd really like to establish a regular routine to include it in my schedule (not that I actually have a regular routine...).
I'll make a more complete report at the end of the month.
Did any of you take the challenge? How's it going for you?

The Etsy 5 A Day Challenge

I've been wanting for a while to dedicate a chunk of time to developing my Etsy shop. So far I haven't been able to stick with it on a consistent basis for as long as I'd like, listing a bunch of items at once and then getting caught up with other things. I'm always struggling with where to focus my energy, trying to find a balance between my website, Etsy, Astro Vintage (and formerly Orphelin), eBay (ugh) and in-person events. I've always had a toe in the water with Etsy, and have wondered if I put my whole foot in if it would pay off. So, it's experiment time...

Since I find it's easier to reach a goal if you tell someone (or everyone) about it, I'm declaring my goal right here on this blog.

For the rest of the month of July I'm going to list 5 things a day in my Etsy shop.

Now, I'm not crazy and I don't like to set unrealistic goals, so I'm building in a feature that gives me 5 days off of my choosing when other factors in life may interfere with my plans. And since today is July 3rd and I just came up with the idea, the first two days of the month won't be included. Yup - I'm making the rules here... That leaves 29 days (minus 5 freebies) for a total of 120 items. That doesn't sound so hard. The point is to list every day and not do 20 in one day. It's part of the experiment. If I don't need the freebie days I won't use them, but a girl needs options you know.

Feel free to join me if you'd like and take your own Etsy 5 A Day Challenge.
And wish me luck!

Vintage Tea Towels...

...or dish towels as we may call them here in the States. I guess it all depends on how classy you're trying to be. Anyhow - I love 'em! They're basically a blank canvas roughly 16" x 28" and the variations are endless. There are so many great designs out there and since many of them are signed it's possible to develop a love for a certain artist, (but that would be so limiting).
I'm drawn to ones that have bold colors and quirky illustrations, but some are just plain beautiful.



These are a few of my favorites from the recent update I did on the site.
The fondue one is hilarious beginning with "Choose from well hung beef...". How can you go wrong with a dish towel (or a recipe for that matter) that advises choosing well hung beef?!


One of the most well known artists who designed tea towels, hankies and other linens is Tammis Keefe. She also designed under the name Peg Thomas. Her prints have great colors and really nice illustrations mostly from the 1950s. There's a Flickr group dedicated to her work.


I found this Peaches & Cream towel on Etsy and I absolutely love it! You can find it along with other great linens at Uncle Bunk's Trunk.


This is a detail of another beauty I found on Etsy at Call Me Jasper.

2nd Street Festival

We're having our last scheduled event for the season and it's next Saturday June 20th!
The Popped Music Festival is being held in conjunction with the Northern Liberties 2nd St Festival bringing you a day of free music and lots of local vendors. 2nd St will be closed from Germantown Ave to Green St for the event.

We'll be setting up shop in the back of Art Star Gallery & Boutique which is located on the festival corridor at 623 N 2nd St, Philadelphia PA (just north of Spring Garden St and a short walk from the Spring Garden El stop). We'll be there all day from 11-8.

We're bringing loads of men's and women's vintage clothing for the event including dresses, skirts, tops and western shirts. We'll have snacks and mimosas (21+) too.
So stop on in when you're making your way down 2nd St on what's guaranteed to be a fun day.

Hope to see you there!

Astro Vintage is Open!

Yes, that's right folks... Astro Vintage is officially open for business!



This is a photo of the new front room.
The front room incorporates more women's clothing with loads of dresses, skirts, aprons and shoes, plus housewares, barware and kitchen stuff. The back room has an expanded men's section, as well as more women's clothing, housewares and linens.
Monthly art shows will be coming soon.

The hours right now are:
Monday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday 11 am - 7 pm
Sunday Noon - 6 pm
Closed Tuesday & Wednesday

Astro Vintage is located at 720 S 5th St Philadelphia PA
(just South of Bainbridge St and a few blocks from South St)
(215) 922-0483

When one door closes...

...another opens! I'm super excited to bring you the news that the sad closing of Orphelin Vintage has a happy ending. At the eleventh hour, a longtime customer of Orphelin and Funhouse, and avid vintage collector decided to take the plunge of entrepreneurship and is reopening the shop as Astro Vintage! The focus will be a little more boutiquey with more clothes, a bigger men's section, and rotating art shows every month. There will still be lots of housewares, wall decor and fun stuff too, plus more jewelry and accessories. Happily I'll still be consigning there! Please excuse the lack of blog posts lately - it's a huge undertaking to change over a shop, and this one has a lot of space to fill... The transformation is in the works and is coming along swimmingly. (I've always wanted to use swimmingly in a sentence). I'll post some pictures once the new set is complete. The target open date is this coming Saturday June 6th. I'll let you know the rest of the details once I have them.