Monday, August 25, 2014

Treasures from the Trip to Alexandria

(Thank you to Cindy at Dwellings and Dawn at We call It Junkin' for featuring this post!)
I left you hanging last week when I posted about our trip to Alexandria. The teaser photo (below) was the only glimpse of what I scooped up while on the town. Savvy readers, you are!   Whether it was my use of the word "pottery" interchangeably for "dishes", or that trademark within, the guess of something French and Quimper were spot on!
Check out the mother lode I scored at auction (online) prior to making the trip!
Quimper serving pieces
I won 22 pieces of Quimper, almost all of which are serving pieces. I love how they will complement the Quimper Soleil that I won a few years ago. Knowing we were traveling to Alexandria anyway, I was able to save the shipping fees by picking these pieces up in person.

The win included a covered tureen, covered sugar bowl, and covered honey pot with underplate.
Quimper covered tureen, sugar, and honey pot
Here's a view of the pear detail on the tureen lid (below).
Quimper tureen detail
There is also an open-handled serving tray, teapot, four cups & saucers, and two egg cups.
Quimper tea service
Lastly, the lot also included a covered vegetable dish, two graduated oval serving bowls, a round bowl, a two-lipped gravy boat, and a covered butter or cheese keeper.
Quimper covered vegetable, oval and round bowls, gravy boat, covered butter/cheese keeper
The covered vegetable dish in the photo above is the only piece that is unique to the lot in that it doesn't have the Breton characters hand-painted on it, and its hues are a lighter blue.

Not all of the pieces were perfect.  The smaller of the two oval serving bowls, along with the round bowl, had a repaired crack.
Quimper oval serving bowl repaired crack
Quimper round serving bowl repaired crack
That wasn't all that was purchased on this trip.  On the way to Alexandria, we stopped at two places, one in West Virginia and another in Maryland.  Some of the treasures I brought back with me from those stops included a brown English transferware plate (F. Winkle & Co, "Devon"), and a majolica butter or cheese keeper with a nicely detailed cow on the lid.
English transferware and Majolica butter/cheese keeper
Keeping with the farm animal and pottery theme, I was drawn also to the pairing below (though purchased separately). The egg cup is marked Western Germany. The butter keeper is an inexpensive one, but I liked the cute calf on the lid.
Egg cup and butter/cheese keeper
I also picked up a couple of ironstone pieces, the most unique being an invalid feeder, but didn't photograph it. In trying to convince my sister J that she should have a vintage medical collection (she's a retired RN), I seemed to be the one more active on that front.  While working through my basement purge I seem to have organized an entire tub devoted to vintage medical paraphernalia. Just another unintentional collection, I suppose......

Finally, if you are a new follower or reader of my blog, you may not be aware that my other obsession (besides dishes) is purses - mostly vintage mesh and beaded examples from the late 19th to early 20th century.  To that end, I couldn't pass when I spotted this leather and beaded wallet in Maryland (below).
The antique wallet is small, about 3.5" x 5.5", leather, with a beaded lily of the valley insert on the front, two interior flap pockets, and gold embossed initials (RR) on the back side. It probably dates from the mid to last quarter of the 19th century. Although there is some bead loss, it is a very nice example of the period.  If you'd like to see more of my purse collection, you can view this post. A few clicks on that post will take you to a full screen view of the Shutterfly book I created of my purse collection.  You can also see many of those purses on my Pinterest page under separate categories of "Antique Beaded Purses", "Antique & Vintage Mesh Purses", "Vintage Children's Purses" and "Other Antique & Vintage Purses, Vanities".  Most, but not all, of those pins are from my collection.

That's it for the shopping portion of my trip to Alexandria.  I hope you enjoyed my spree.  The Quimper has its own Rubbermaid storage tub (for now), while I finish the never-ending purge/reorganization in the basement. So far, I have logged 58.5 hours on this project (yes, I'm OCD like that in keeping tabs on the hours).  You can bet there'll be a post when that job is finished!

I'll be writing at least one more post of the historical adventures of our trip to Alexandria, also. Love that place and all the history in the region!

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Friday, August 22, 2014

Visiting Old Town Alexandria - on the town!

Sometime this past spring, I entered my name for a chance to visit Alexandria, VA in what was billed as a "Star Spangled Summer Giveaway". No further thought was given to it until, on my birthday in June, I received an email from Molly Morris of Alexandria's Convention & Visitors Association saying I'd won.
What a great package this was!  It included lodging, restaurant dining, keys to the city's museums, water taxi passes to DC and back, and tickets to George Washington's Mount Vernon - all for a total of four people! I received the package, which was well worth more than $600 in face value, shortly after our July vacation.
Mr. P. and I had been to Alexandria, VA on several occasions, and my Panoply sisters & I have even trekked there for a buying excursion. This time, we shared the trip with one of my Panoply sisters and her husband (who had never been there). In spite of an unexpected medical issue, we made the most of the trip and had a great time. The weather was incredibly picture perfect, with summer breezes and moderate temps - in the middle of August!

Needless to say, we crossed several activities and sites off the list, and I'll likely be sharing some of our experiences in one or two upcoming posts. Sister M & I managed to get some great vintage shopping in on the trip.

Wait till you see what I picked up while in Alexandria!  (Hint:  I participated in an online auction prior to our going, knowing if I won I'd be able to pick up and avoid shipping costs. When my husband asked what I was going to be picking up, I said "pottery".  That reply was so he wouldn't react negatively to the word dishes!) ;) The photo below is another hint.
Can you guess what it is? It was a holy grail haul, all in one fell swoop!  Stay tuned!

Here's a link to the follow up post that gives the answer:  Treasures from the Trip to Alexandria.

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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Booth Space Shuffle: School Daze

Sister M and I were working in our booth spaces recently, getting our supplies all lined up for the back-to-school scene you see pictured below.
Panoply's "too cool for school" vintage map
Much of what you see in our space above was already part of our stock in the store, but we rearranged it for a fresh look. The retractable U.S. map dates between 1959-1963.  It's still in overall very good condition - way too cool for school. It needs to be in someone's home den or library!
On the chairs, we have a French enameled vintage lunch pail in mottled green/white, and child's cup and saucer in mottled blue/white. Of course, there's an apple for teacher, and two school bells. The suitcase holds a framed, 1912 Cream of Wheat magazine ad, "A Visit with the Chef", with a little girl leaning over the kitchen counter, watching the cook make her Cream of Wheat. A little hard to see, but we have recess playthings, both on the bench (tennis racket) and underneath (roller skates). There's an industrial (metal) double eighth note for the music room. Also on the floor, in the carrier, are plenty of glasses with straws, ready for the cafeteria lineup. Lastly, in the suitcase, there's a stack of vintage hankies, enough for the entire class!

We made several other changes in the last couple of months, as pieces sold.  We removed the picnic table for a sale we'll be participating in, come September, and replaced it with what you see pictured below:
This is a really sweet, old table, with porcelain casters on the legs.  It's holding an ironstone pitcher and early (20th) century, heavy (!) oak wall phone. A couple of cane seated chairs complete the set. The antique rice basket on the floor is holding several European grain sacks.

Other changes in our space were prompted by wanting to remove a curio cabinet and its contents in our other booth. We ended up changing out room dividers from one side to the other, moved a few pieces of furniture, and fluffed it up. The picture below shows the before and after of the space where we removed the curio cabinet (far left, with hats temporarily on glass shelves where we removed all vintage jewelry) and switched dividers behind the space. The white shutter doors look much brighter.  I picked those from my neighbor's trash pile (they were a broken closet door she was tossing).
LEFT: Before we removed the curo and dark wall divider; RIGHT: After, white shutter door brightens the anchor space
That change, of course, caused a domino reaction (just like home, right?). We moved the darker wall divider to the opposite side of the space, which prompted yet another adjustment. There was already a divider in that corner, as you can see from the photo below:
LEFT: Before, the floral wall divider was in the corner,k behind desk. RIGHT: darker divider behind chair, desk in center
Afterward, we moved the light, floral screen forward, as the anchor for the right corner of that space (below):
Back side of right side of space, with light floral divider moved forward
Here's what the space looks like from the frontal view now:
We like the curio cabinet gone from the left side, and things are much lighter. Speaking of curio, I've been consistently adding a few of my vintage purses, mostly the mesh ones, to the curio we still have, as they've been selling. I'm purging a few of those purses from my personal inventory.
It's a funny thing when you're in retail.  You can have something in stock for a very long time, and once you move it around, it almost always stirs sales.  It's easy for customers, even repeat ones, to overlook things that may seem obvious to us, especially in our booths, as we tend to pack them in. That school vignette?  Here's what it looked like before:
LEFT: Before the school vignette, we had a laundry set up.
Here's how we swapped the main ingredients at the wall (school) vignette - the ironing board and bench - to/from the center of that same space (adjacent to the new, country table setting earlier in this post).
LEFT: Before, the bench was in the center of the booth; AFTER: ironing board and bench change places
There are always leftovers, just like at home, when we switch things up, so we adjust our styling. The pig pillow on the little chair (previously on the wall above the ironing board) is a good example of a leftover. He's now hiding inside a crate, getting weighed. :)
Our rule: once it's in the store, leave it (unless you come up with a cool, new idea for home use). In this case, we only took out a wall shelf, wooden beach/camp child's chair, and the previously mentioned picnic table.We're planning a camping vignette for the September fair, so those pieces will all work great there.

Meanwhile, the purge project in my basement continues, with 47 hours of work logged so far. The fair we're participating in in September was part of the impetus for this project of purging and reorganizing "stuff". So was the rule of not bringing stuff back home from the store once there (obviously we weren't following our own rules). At the rate I'm going, I might be finished by September - what a job! 
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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Garden Plants and Native American Textiles

If you missed my last post, I've just finished decorating my sunroom and adjoining area as we head into the days of what's likely to be an Indian Summer.  I've used several collected Native American decor items, including textiles. This post is about the textiles created by the Native American people, and their use of the precious garden resources indigenous to their land which help them create their beautiful works of art.

Most folks are aware that blue jeans were originally dyed with the extracts from the indigo bush plant. Through years of tradition and experimentation, long before written recipes, people have used natural dyes for ornamentation of textiles and their bodies.  Native Americans taught early European settlers how to use plants as natural dyes. Various parts of a given plant can produce a number of colors, and additional natural materials can be added for mutations in color intensity.

Historically, the resources on the land of the Navajo people were not taken for granted. Nearly every natural resource available was used to its fullest extent, including plants as foods, herbal medicines, and natural dyes. Dyes for cottons and wools were extracted from plants indigenous to the land. The sample below is a perfect example of how Native Americans used their plants for their textiles. I purchased this framed sample at the J L Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, AZ.
As you can see from the photo of the sample above, each strand of colored yarn in the partially woven textile leads back to the plant from which its color stems.  Do you have any of these plants in your garden?

You can learn more about the use of natural dyes from plants on this excellent source from the USDA Forest Service:  Native Plant Dyes. It includes a chart of many colors and the various plant(s) that can produce those colors. The link is also embedded in the caption of the photo collage I've assembled, below.  These are the same plants as pictured in my sample above, only in their natural, growing habitat.
USDA: Natural Plant Dyes
USDA: Charting Natural Plant Dyes to Native American Textiles
As I noted in my previous post, my husband and I traveled through parts of Navajo Territory of AZ and UT several years ago. As part of our visit through Monument Valley (UT), we took a back road grounds tour with one of the locals. What a fascinating trip, full of local, natural wonders!

As part of that chartered trip, we were invited into the home, or "hogan", of an elderly Navajo woman, who demonstrated the art of weaving a rug. This was not a contrived set in some stage; this was an actual home, a sacred place to the Native American Indian.  While many Native Americans have moved to trailers and simply constructed single story homes, there are some who still live the traditional way in hogans. This simple structure is made of mud, wood, and hay, with a doorway facing east, to ensure morning sunlight and blessings upon the home. At the center is the stove, with its exhaust pipe exiting through the apex of the ceiling of the structure, surrounded by a wooden frame and chicken wire.
Native American hogan, in Monument Valley
The elderly matrons of Native American society are honorable women, entrusted with teaching younger women homemaking traditions, among other rituals. As we entered the hogan, our hostess was sitting in front of her work in progress, rapidly combing wool with her hands. The dirt floor had hide rugs scattered throughout.  The walls were adorned with various finished textiles as examples of her work, along with numerous woven baskets.
The photo below shows the interior of the hogan walls a little better, as well as the woman's looms, hanging (dyed) woolen yarns, and raw materials strewn on the floor. Older, more traditional looms would not have the steel, supporting pipes you see here.
Though wrought with gnarly knots of arthritis, her hands still appeared nimble as she carefully threaded her weaves.
Her tools were few and simple, as she tightened each strand with a tug and a comb.
Later in our trip, while at the trading post where I purchased my sample, I was utterly amazed at the assortment of textiles on display, many of which were antiques. I remember being told a single rug could take anywhere from 2 months to 2 years to complete, depending on its size.
J L Hubbell Trading Post, Ganado, AZ
It was only after this trip, while at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, did I purchase a small book on the Navajo rug patterns.  Some patterns have become more easily identifiable and obvious to me since trying to educate myself on the various motifs (Two Grey Hills, Tec Nos Pes as just two examples). More modern textiles somewhat blur traditional patterns (and colors), and it makes it hard for me to discern most patterns. Aniline, or synthetic, dyes became available to Native Americans once the railroad systems were built in the late 19th century.  As with most crafts, there are traditionalists and there are those who prefer innovative techniques that modern technology provides.  
J L Hubbell Trading Post, Ganado, AZ
The textiles I was able to see while immersed in the culture were mostly traditional, and expensive, as one would expect of most hand-crafted items of this caliber and all in one location. However, I really wanted to be able to take home at least something small, so I carefully sifted through stacks of smaller items until I ultimately selected a runner that is now in my sunroom.
Looking for one of my own at J L Hubbell Trading Post
I like studying auction catalogs with Native American articles, as much for the education as for the interest in acquiring an item every now and then.  I have purchased a few Native American handbags, mostly created for the tourist industry in the early part of the 20th century, but I also have a couple that I've acquired through reputable auctions that were used by their original people.

If you're interested in Native American - or any other regional antiquities - but traveling to the source is not exactly within your budget, I would highly recommend finding auction houses that specialize in items that you collect or are interested in learning more about.  Many reputable auction houses allow viewing their catalogs online, where you can rely on the juried descriptions (as opposed to eBay sellers' descriptions, which are not always reliable). Many of these houses are now hosting their auctions online also, and you can get in on the action - just beware of all the buying details for things like added fees (buyer's premium, shipping, storing) - if you explore this route.

For Native American antiquities, Wes Cowan of Cowan's Auctions, in Cincinnati, OH, is an American anthropologist, auctioneer and antiques appraiser of high regard.  You may know him from his appraisals with Antiques Roadshow and appearances on television.  His specialties include Native American and Western Art, as well as other Historical Americana.  By following his website and his auction catalogs, I have invested a good amount of time learning many characteristics that denote various Native American tribe arts and crafts, in addition to what travels I've logged. You may find it a helpful resource too.

If you are also interested in Native American arts and crafts, and have additional resources you reference and like to share, please send me an email.  I'd love to hear of other notable sources.

Sharing:
Home Sweet Home Garden Party
We Call it Junkin' History and Home
Mrs. Olson's SYC
Gardens Galore No. 5
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Friday, August 8, 2014

Indian Summer in the Sunroom 2014

After the 4th of July, I was ready to switch up the sunroom and tone down the patriotism you saw here. Before we are into the throes of decorating for fall and its holidays, there is that period that is often referred to as "Indian Summer".  Technically, it is known as "a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather, occurring after the end of summer proper" (Wikipedia). I am going with the idea of an Indian Summer in the sunroom for the next couple of months.  I'm using much of what has grown to become another fairly extensive collection of mine - Native American decor. It's not entirely pedigreed, but it's certainly a melting pot of examples from Apache to Zuni, and many in between.
Indian Summer in the sunroom - vintage Native American rug addition
I have a keen interest/fascination with Native American art and artifacts which comes, in part, from my heritage. My paternal grandmother was part Native American Indian (Cherokee), so there is a trace of that in my lineage.

My regional location and its history indicates we live in a riverbed area that was pre-historically inhabited by the Paleo-Indian and Archaic People.  After being excavated for the first time ever in its documented history, our adjacent lot landscape renovation in 2004 revealed several flint articles that are, most likely, remnants of tools used by the Paleo-Indians.  They have become my conversational 'rock' collection that you see pictured below.
Native American 'found' flint artifacts from landscape renovation
These artifacts are seen as they were found, only cleaned with a simple soaking of water. As you can see, they are in various shapes and sizes, which led me to much online research and consulting with a few locals in the know of such things.  It appears I have an assortment of drill bits, scrapers, and fragments of various other hand tools that show signs of having been tied to wooden handles at some point. Some are smooth, others are chiseled, all of them amaze me.

My mother's influence also impressed my interest in Native American history from as far back as the early 1980s.  I can remember her having a strong interest in the spirituality of the Native American people and their teachings.  She also loved the color purple, and I gifted her the artwork you see pictured (below) from a local artisan at that time.
Native American wood artwork
The cloaked Indian artwork was returned to me after my mother died, and I love how it reminds me of her in a sort of melancholy way. I also received a dream catcher that belonged to her, and placed it under a cloche in the sunroom (below).
                   
    

Traveling throughout Navajo Territory in the Western US several years ago, along with visits to Washington, DC's Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, further piqued my interest in Native American art and artifacts.  Having a few pieces of turquoise jewelry from the 1970s, I happily added to my collection in our travels, picking up both newer pieces by modern craftsmen as well as vintage pieces.We stopped at the national historic park site of the J L Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, AZ. It is there where I purchased some vintage jewelry, as well as a local, artisan-made Native American runner in an authentic Navajo rug pattern. It came with a signed photo provenance of the artisan who crafted it.
Traditional Navajo runner, Hubbell Trading Post
With my love of vintage and antique items, I've come upon several authentically crafted Native American items through estate sales and auctions. The rug in my leading photo in this post (sunroom) is from an estate sale. The rug was originally displayed in the estate as a wall hanging, with a rod pocket sewn from muslin attached on the back.

My collection of Native American smalls includes woven baskets - from a large, primitive figural olla.....
Primitive, Aztec olla basket
...and vegetable-dyed, hide-covered woven gathering basket....
Gathering basket with vegetable-dyed hide bottom
....to several smaller, shelf baskets.
Pottery pieces and textiles include those made not only for their originally intended function...
Primitive, Native American water jug
...but also with distinctive and artistic Native American beauty and symbolism.
L to R: Apache beaded handbag; pottery and Quanah Parker Comanche bust; beaded pouch, petrified wood and child's moccasins & bracelet
The color scheme in the lower level of our home is conducive to several styles, Native American design being one of them. The open design of the main hallway and living space in our home, including the kitchen, is one continuous color (a pale peach), with white trim and dark wood floors. Our breakfast area furniture, just outside the sunroom, has cushions covered in a pattern that coordinates with the Native American style.  In the photo below, you can see glimpses of that fabric, looking from the sunroom toward the front door.  The wall color looks buttery in the photo but is truer to a peach. Extra toss pillows in that same fabric float among the outdoor furniture situated in the sunroom.
From sunroom:  coordinating Native American textiles on breakfast furniture cushions
My style is, overall, what I like to call traditional with a vintage fusion. I use the term fusion loosely as, for me, it can infer several styles. Fusion may come in the form of French, Asian, or in this case, Native American traditional elements, all of which I like, and even more so when layered with age and history. I prefer to keep my options in decorating open to various styles, and displaying my collections in rotations allows me to move easily in and out of the cultural fusions I like. Dealing in vintage and antique resale also allows me to fluidly move among the styles I like.  When making purchases, I will usually buy items that appeal to me for one reason or another, knowing I can always defer the decision to keep or sell.
Moving into the latter part of the warm weather season, I'm happy with the Indian Summer look in the sunroom and my assemblage of Native American decor. The decor, along with the brick walls, the natural tones of the furniture coverings, and the outdoor shadowplay of the sun seem to give the indoor room a new energy.  The room feels more in its natural element with these latest changes.  I have an upcycled wind chime hanging near the far back wall of the sunroom which sums up the general feeling of the space with its letter-impressed messages: "Become the Sky", "The Wind Whispers Secrets", "Kiss the Earth", and "Dance Lightly with Life".
"The Wind Whispers Secrets" upcycled silverplate chimes in sunroom, by Cindy Kelly of ReLoved Creations
The sunroom is the best place in the house for me to relax and read, and/or listen to music. The ceiling and walls of windows keep things bright year-round, but the blinds between the panes filter and provide just enough privacy. After removing most of the decor that's been in the sunroom, in some cases several years, and starting fresh, the feeling of becoming one with the sky just got a whole lot easier. 
Are you in transition anywhere in your home right now?  Are you making small changes or in the middle of one or more big projects? Are you all one style, or do you prefer to mix things up?
Panoply's 2014 Patriotic to Indian Summer
Sharing:
One More Time Events
Dwellings'Amaze Me Monday
BNOTP Met Monday
Make It Pretty Monday
CoastalCharm's Show and Share
A Stroll Thru Life's InspireMe
The Scoop
We Call It Junkin'
Savvy Southern's WOW
Ivy and Elephants
Thrifty Life Thursday
TreasureHunt Thursday
Mrs. Olson's SYC
Nancherrow'sFridaysUnfolded
French Country's FNF
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Friday, August 1, 2014

Sleuth Decorating - Your Opinion, Please!

Mr. P. is mostly retired, but when he does leave the house for business, I waste no time in sleuth decorating. Recently at auction, I came away with a nice little side table with turned legs, and white marble top. I had two places in mind for it in the house, and I'd love for you, my readers, to weigh in and cast your opinion on its final destination.  I like to work out the visionary details before the reveal for Mr. P.'s sake, as any new look seems to settle better with him when it's complete.

I know you can visualize details if I describe them, which is what is hard for Mr. P. to do, and one of the reasons why I decorate sleuth-style. Now, should I place the side table in my bathroom?  This is how the bath is currently situated, prior to my bringing the table in: 
This is how the bath appears after I placed the 'new' old table in there:
Notice the white old-school stool is displaced.  It would fit under the table, but the wire basket would not.  I tried the wire basket on top of the white towel cabinet, but did not like the appearance.  Color and lighting in this bath is closer to the photo below, but shooting directly into the morning sun streaming into the window distorts both (in the above photo). 
I realize I could take out the small, white towel stand, but I prefer having unused towels not in the open air, so I may need another solution if the opinions say take out the white towel stand.

The second option for the table takes us to the kitchen!  The targeted wall in the kitchen is on the far end of the island in the photo below:
This is where you have to use your vision - I was running out of time, as I had an appointment to run to, and I was only able to get the table base in the space for the look-see, without the marble top.
I want, so badly, to have a plate rack wall in my kitchen, and either this wall, or an existing, built-in wine rack (never used) that's above a wet bar are my targets for that project.  For now, please envision either a plate rack on this wall, or hanging plates in a gallery or collage arrangement, with the table. I placed it such that I can open the pantry door without interference.
Okay, that's it for today's sleuth decorating.  Your input will be appreciated!  Should I place the table in the bathroom, the kitchen, or sell it? What would you do?


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