Friday, February 4, 2011

Jewels from the junk drawer

I've been making necklaces with hearts lately....and next I think I shall work on earrings and brooches again.... I have tons of little things I collect, one earring, vintage chains, broken brooches....old hardware....and newly made  American-made  lead-free pewter charms and fixings.......

Aquarius...70s medallion...with a vintage chain, prettied with a aqua glass bead........


 Buddah box and wings......




Sparkle tiger...


sold..locket and key with Lion....
I might revisit this theme....



70s Rainbow love....Bruce 



Cherry Love with 70s rainbow Dennis....Lots of hearts and love here for Dennis...where ever he may be.



Rhinestone Big Sailor Love.........




Cartoon rainbow Kris with girly princess charms...




Queen with pearls and locket........





Modern hippie....




Wise owl and a teardrop locket....





Floral vintage locket heart...with  a crystal drop....







as you know..I'm not much interested in things that are new....Especially anything new that was made ...within about 10 or so years old...It's junk.

Fast Fashion. Garbage.
H&M, Ikea, 21, Old Slavey, barf.
The "quality" is dreadful. Even imports sold at KMart in the 70s are of better quality.
In the early 80s, right after I moved to Gravel Road Junction (Tacoma), I stopped buying crap from China. As much as possible.

That meant, I went without a lot of stuff over the years. Thank God and whomevah' that I have never suffered the embarrassment of wearing old clothes, buying old furniture, re-using everything I could get my hands on!
Even my husband and dog are second-hand. I'm so crafty, I make people.

Wearing old stuff, putting old rusty farm junk in my yard.......people used to tease me, and roll their eyes, and generally treat me like I was nutz....well, now the great middle class has decided that old junky crap is Awesome!
this makes me giggle.

Of course, Now....we know why buying cheap crap from China is bad:
Poison,poison  metals, poison pet food, slave working conditions, downward pressure on 1st world wages..mass unemployment in America as all factories were shipped to some 3rd World HellHole.
Bruce Springsteen tried to tell you....
hell, even Billy Joel saw it!
(Allentown)


The Trad and his comments about Brooks Brothers.
So now that it's too late to buy quality American, Canadian or European made goods...tiny business ...that make quality  handcrafted goods are popping up like 'shrooms after a good rain. They offer the quality that the Made in Hellhole label cannot provide. Small business is King/Queen again!! Shop Local movements are threatening to WallMart !
Good !

I see Gap crap (when new, sold for a pretty penny) at yard sales,  that are falling apart and are pilling and look like shit, knowing these garments are only a year old!
from Mister Mort......As a vintage dealer, I can personally attest that a decades old dress, stored properly and cleaned according to the directions will last for decades and decades.

Old names in the quality business are gaining respect, if they've retained the classic quality. LLBean, Red Wing, Woolrich, Patagonia, Levis, Filson, etc....Workwear, worn and patched and stained, authentically so by Real Work, are becoming treasures. Remnants of an older age, with dents, rust, patina and the signs of use and the passage of time are works of art. The Japanese, who know something about culture and quality and art have this word....WabiSabi.

Proper customer service rather than everything Self-Service is again being demanded.
Now that unions in America have all but been destroyed, workers are finally figuring out...why we need unions.They are a beacon of respect for the working class to get fair wages, liveable wages, injury protection, disability insurance, and meaningful medical coverage.

All business is pressured by union gains to meet the standard. The decline of jobs and wages are because of the decline of unions. How to bust a union? Ship the factory and the services to a 3rd world Hellhole, that's how.
How to stop the total slide? Stop buying cheap crap.
Stop shopping at Target.
Stop shopping at WalMart.
Buy from a local business if you have to buy an import. Hell I drive an import! But I bought Secondhand and local.
It's not hard to make these changes. I've been doing it for decades. Even my laptop is third hand.When it needs repair, I take it to a local, small businesss computer repair guy.
Hey, let's make all industries come back to America. Your paycheck will thank you.

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