Get the vintage IRL

Cordelia California is a wide spot in the road with a railroad that runs through it. And... there is a railroad theme restaurant that sadly, has closed but, happily it now houses lots of antiques, vintage, old stuff and newer gifty type stuff.  Cordelia Junction Antique Mall.

It's at the corner of I-80 and Suisun Valley Road, kind of.  Just south of Fairfield. California. You'll see the big big signs on the side of the old train depot from the freeway.  Here's a link  to their Facebook page with updates about new stuff just in/ and just sold.
Since it has about 70 dealers, stuff changes fast or not. One whole side of the building is furniture such as couches and sofas, dining and bedroom sets and bookcases and stuff like that. It's housed in the old restaurant and that is fun and sad at the same time. I really really wish it was still open. Cocktail bar with Fresh Oysters served to you by a waitress named Susan or  Helen.  
 Here's a link to the Yelp page. 
 The address and phone number is 4560 Central Way, Fairfield, CA,

(707) 864-1244, and they are open Tuesday thru Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm.

We are up on the 2nd floor of the right hand side of the antiques mall, space #432.  Here's what we look like --
a lot does change but the background... burlap, old paint drops and a wall of chicken wire always remains.

you will always find... vintage clothes, old Army stuff, and vintage home decor.
We like to always have small furniture.... bookshelves, small chests and cupboards and trunks.

Wicker basket, vintage Hawaiian shirts, clocks, lamps, vintage letters, typewriters, shell lamps, chairs and small tables. We try to always have old media and technology like old cameras, record players, speakers, radios and sometimes a vintage projector.

Early August 2015, we moved this pair of  little charmers in!
Vintage chests straight from Grandma's back porch. Each is priced under 100.00.
One is crackled vintage jadeite green and faded pink with a drawer and 2 doors, just perfect for storing canned goods, winter boots, or hiding dirty laundry and hippie soap and bleach bottles.

Each of them are about 30" high, and 3 ft long by 16" deep.

The top, with a vintage hand painted floral on a black metal magazine rack, and a tiny globe bank by Ohio Art.

Newer handles and knobs, and lots of rustic charm on this vintage chest. Loooove the faded colors too.

The other chest is painted gray and has a drawer, and 2 doors, like the other one, but this one has a fresher paint treatment.
They can sit in an entry and hold those winter gloves and boots, and hats and baskets for the mail, and all the important stuff you need as you come in or leave the house.

Gibson Girls and Instant collections

Maud Davis Baker was a pioneer in the world of photography. She was one of the rare American women who had her own photography studio in the 1890s in Helena Montana. At a time when women were not allowed much freedom, Mrs. Baker had a studio of her own and made a living from her art. Later in life, in the 1920's, she moved to Hollywood and was a member of the growing art crowd in LA, the Hollywood Art Association and the Hollywood Woman's Club with her daughter Viroque Baker.
I've just listed is this charming collection of portraits mounted on sepia paper and signed by Baker. It has 13 lovely women, likely high school or college graduates, most with the fad hairdo of the day, the Gibson Girl, invented by popular illustrator Charles Dana Gibson. About 1890 he wanted to draw a version of a young  American woman of the times, that wasn't a free-thinker or suffragette. The Gibson Girl is the opposite of the late 1800's "New Woman" who wanted liberty, freedom, a career, and the right to manage her own life as a human and not as a wife or second class citizen.  Gibson's girl, however, is smart, rich and enjoys her freedom. You can read more at wikipedia. 

Call it a gallery wall, or a collection, choosing to decorate your wall with a group of objects, some pictures, some frames, some paintings, and whatever strikes your fancy can really add that free-spirited bohemian aura. If the objects all share 1 or 2 similarities, it will come together as an artistic whole.

Perhaps the similarity is color or shape, maybe it is subject matter such as a grouping of  dog paintings and pictures, or maybe beach theme art and crafts. When choosing a collection to hang together add differences as well as sameness. Strive for different colors in the same family, and don't forget texture. If it is too bland, hang a few baskets, or rough weavings, or hang some antlers. Although hipsters have overdone it recently, it will come back to popularity because it is an element of casual decor that is always in style. It adds a cabin, cozy, arty look to almost any arrangement.

I've just listed an antique hand carved walnut frame. It combines patina, authenticity and gravitas to any grouping of objects. This one is at least 100 years old, and likely even older. It has no markings. It can hold a photo or painting that's 8" x 10", but I've always loved it alone, loving the grain, the patina and the texture.

Here's a few more rooms with great collections arranged with a bohemian artsy vibe in mind. These are on Pinterest, so if they are your pics, let me know and I'll give credit.

The new website is here! Cool new vintage stuff!

Always a work in progress.... the funkomavintage website is filling up.... with....
 Real vintage, real handmade goods. We Love Union made, US made, redline Levis, selvedge denim, vintage T shirts, a pretty vintage dress, motorcycle jackets, cowboy boots, Americana, vintage fabric, natural fibers.

Lots of new vintage (ha) that hasn't been listed ever before.... is coming to the website....
We'll be moving most of the handmades to the website also....  & lots of vintage home decor too....

like this: Arne Jacobsen-style series 7 vintage 50s chair.......
soo cool!

We love the classics...sturdy cotton, vintage heavyweight denim, thick wool sweaters, well-made clothes and boots and shoes that will always look cool, and wear for a long time.....We think buying excellent quality, is the best way to spend your money. We think you can make a better world when buying recycled, re-imagined home decor,  clever handmade, and practical things, and oh, we are not without a sense of humor!

 We always have vintage Pendleton, vintage Pea coats, vintage Harris Tweeds, vintage Sears and JC Penney's , wool plaids and sweaters, vintage Levis, and vintage boots and shoes.
we'll keep the Etsy shop, and the Facebook page,  and on our twitter too.... and special coupon codes will blast from Facebook and Twitter if you'd like to go and follow us there....

 "The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!
 Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now."
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We love ~~~~

 Vintage Cowboy boots, Frye boots, Red Wing Irish Setter boots, old leather accessories, Irish sweaters, wool ragg sweaters, and waxed canvas and vintage Filson. We love a pretty vintage dress, plaid skirts and cashmere sweaters, too.
It's filling up! we hope you'll check funkomavintage every once in a while.....

Vintage 60s Sears canvas workwear coat is lined in soft cushy plaid flannel 

Vintage Levis small e denim jacket, is size 50 !

moon and stars

crescent moon and stars are in the sky right now.......and the late summer light is lazy.

my summer hats and the flowers that make them happy......
random views....
It's the light!

right now, Orion and Sirius are putting on a show......and the moon is Crescent at 33% of full......and Venus...oh so much more here at EarthSky.org  ........ " In September 2013, you’ll find the constellation Orion, who three Belt stars make a short, straight row in the southeast before dawn. Orion’s Belt points to Sirius, the brightest star of the nighttime sky."

all my pics are taken with a Canon cheapo camera....120 bucks including shipping...and they have no photoshop, and they are, humbly she says, quite good...

 Here are 2 things we have just completed and listed in our etsy shop.......
we love making things from random salvaged  midcentury pieces and parts

a Lamp with an Edison bulb and a shoe form iron foot.......we put all the random pieces together, and  added a new cord and plug, but it's in the very vintage style.......

and the rustic industrial jadeite green metal box......now a coffee table......we added hairpin legs.....
so....store stuff inside, and no worries!

vintage red velvet chrysanthemum.......

the couch is covered in old grain sacks with nice repairs....
simple.
humble.

see.........

It's time to change the bedroom from this...........Thank you Vera! you inspired me to go all blues and greens for Summer 2013, and it was delightful.

Now I'm thinking more tawny tones and branches.....a constant theme.
The white fur headboard, the stacks of books...the rag rugs.....the aqua glass and aluminum lamp shall stay.....

here's a bedroom with my fave color, Truffle, from Ace Hardware paint selection, and birch branches.

and another........ rustic and oh so gray and white ......

and a random image from tumblr....where is it from ? who the hell knows.

Cathrineholm Pretty and a diy

Cathrineholm, a company near Halden in Norway,  started producing ironwork designs and farm equipment beginning in 1907. After the times changed, the company started to make kitchen items and housewares in lovely bright happy colors in vitreous enamel on metal. This pretty oval pattern is called Lotus, and  was designed by Grete Prytz Kittelsen who was known as the Queen of Scandinavian Design, because she was so influential in the Scandinavian design movement of the post-World War II era, from the 40s thru the 60s.

My doggie has a well-used Cathrineholm metal and enamel bowl to eat his little dog food out of....awesome !



Grete was the nifty designer of this oh so loved pattern, and much much more. Very much of the modern art and design that became that Mid Century Modern we love love love, originated in Europe. Grete was born in Oslo, Norway in 1917, and died at age 93 in Oslo in September 2010.
But.....This pattern is still wildly popular!


This Coffee/Tea pot is listed by Lara111

Clicky to see lots of Cathrineholm prettiness listed on Etsy.

I think you should make these!

pic from How About Orange crafty blog.

All you need is brightly colored paper, glue, rubber bands, x-acto knife or tiny scissors, and  little clear votive glass candle holders, or any small glass tumblers big enough to hold a small candle.
This craft idea is from the How About Orange blog, which is always full of sweet amazing crafty goodness. Clicky here and she will show you how she did this.
Practice, practice ! You can print off a picture of the lotus pattern in black ink, or using scrap paper, try drawing the pointy ovals by hand, if you feel confident.
First wrap scrap paper around the glass for sizing it correctly. Trace the Cathrineholm designs on scrap paper. Best to try it with scrap !
Then, lay the scrap paper on the pretty color paper to cut it to the right size, overlapping a bit in the circumference. Then trace the designs after you space them smartly, & cut out with an x-acto knife or tiny scissors.
Wrap it around your votive and glue sparingly with Aleens or Elmers paper glue. Hold it in place with rubber bands until the glue dries.