Hunted:: Gathered: 07/31/11

Yikes! I've neglected my poor little blog this week. I spent a few days working on my table and several hours of commuting in between. It was going to be my last week to have access to the woodshop so I was really pushing to finish it. It's almost finished, I just need to sand it and find a glass top for it. I was also hoping to route the edges but that'll have to wait.

I am also sad to say that this may be my last thrift share for a while. My thrifting runs have decreased and so have my finds. My time is going to be greatly limited starting next week because I am FINALLY gainfully employed! I am going to use whatever little free time I have to start selling on Etsy... yay!

So without much further ado... here are my latest goodies.

I know the scrabble letter trend is probably long gone by now but I couldn't resist. I wanted to make my own little sayings and use them for crafty purposes... maybe even my wedding (which has been on the back-burner). 

I've also been trying really hard not to buy any more books. However, when I took a look inside of this book I couldn't help myself. It is a book on Japanese Progressive Quilts and some of the designs are simply stunning!

Since I've been dabbling in woodworking recently I found this motorcycle to be incredibly charming. It is all made out of reed and small piece of wood. How cool is that?

Despite finding quite a bit of Dansk goodies in the past I had never found a plastic tray. The tray was designed by Gunnar Cyren and makes a great addition to the current plastics collection I have going. I also found a sweet little teak condiment set complete with little teak spoons!

To satisfy my art obsession I found two beautiful (japanese?) inspired prints. The detail I really enjoy on the first one is how the tree branches extend beyond the 'frame' of the print. 

I really love the composition of the second print. It is beautifully organic. They are both so whimsical and romantic...


I'll be linking up with Sophie, how about you?

Hunted:: Gathered: 07/23/11

Before I start sharing this week's finds I wanted to congratulate the Aussie's with their first ever Tour de France victory! Cadel did a phenomenal job this year.

Now on to my finds...

I found a sweet little Swedish lady to make sure my little teak man doesn't misbehave. If he does... you bet your brooms she'll whip him into shape ;)

I found a beautiful two-ring Iittala Festivo candleholder with a vintage sticker on it and signed TS on the bottom for Timo Sarpaneva. I have found other ones before but they must be more recent productions because they aren't signed. I also found a vintage Vera scarf with stunning (almost neon) colors!

As luck would have it, at another thrift I found two one-ring Festivo candleholders that were also signed!

I found another magazine/ log rack that is attributed to Maurice Duchin (thanks to Jonathan from paulmccobb.blogspot.com) One of the legs was slightly bent but after knocking it around with a rubber mallet it now sits perfectly. The top handle looks like brass while the bottom has been painted black. In a few spots you can see the brass peeking through.

I was also happy to find this David Stewart planter. This one is by far my favorite out of the ones that I've found. It seems to be loosely inspired by some of Lisa Larson's figurines.

The colors on this print match the colors of the Vera scarf I found. It is titled Autumn Birches One and is by Calvin J. Libby. He was a prominent New Hampshire artist and even has a memorial scholarship awarded to graduating high school students who wish to pursue arts studies. 

This last little vase is a mystery. At first I thought it might be a Robert Maxwell piece because it is inscribed Max near the bottom but I have been unable to confirm that he ever signed his pieces like that. The clay and the glaze seemed similar to some of his pieces. If anyone has any leads as to who this may be by I'd greatly appreciate it!

I hope you've had a great week and I'll be looking for your finds!

Come join the party at Sophie's and Selena's!

It's Aloha Friday...

Attack of the KILLER Honus!

There is a funny story between this little turtle and myself. We went to one of the beautiful beaches in Hawaii (I don't remember which island). We knew that we would see turtles there and it was one of our reasons for going. I was leisurely wading in one of the beaches in Hawaii and the boy was watching me from the shore. He yelled out to me that there was a turtle near me and I looked around but couldn't see him. I put on my goggles and went under and there he was swimming directly towards me! I freaked and started swimming and then running out of the water to only have him continue out of the water as well. I know you must be thinking how silly! the turtle wasn't going to do anything to her... but it was the first time I ever saw one swimming at the beach. It also didn't help that the boy told me it would want to bite me... evil boy!

Have a Great Friday and Weekend!

California Dreamin' :: House Edition

I have been [day]dreaming A LOT lately. Dreaming of owning a home, starting a family, having an established career and the list goes on and on...

Well, it would seem one of those is closer to coming true as we speak. It had been a while but it is part of why I have allowed myself to dream beyond my wildest imagination. Not so wild however is this home that is currently for sale in my city. I took a drive by it today and was happily surprised to see contractors working on it.

It lies in a beautiful street in a well-established neighborhood filled with mature trees.

It was built in 1953. It creates a fantastic dialogue between indoor and outdoor spaces. It has a two-car garage and great curb appeal. (sans the trucks of course)

It gets plenty of natural light. Sure, the kitchen leaves a bit to be desired but wait till you see the rest of it. (hint: look out the kitchen window)

This is outdoor space #1. Wonderful for entertaining, accessible from the dining area and a side door next to the garage. (Please excuse the ladder. Since there were contractors working on it I was able to walk through the entire house without someone trying to sell it to me!)

The small dining area with panoramic views of the city and mountains beyond.

If you look down from those windows you see the terraced yard.

Looking out of the main living space you have another deck. Outdoor space #2!

Look at that mid-century goodness! If it were my house I would paint the fireplace and ALL of the beige walls. I'm not crazy about the carpeting either, but something's gotta give.

A wonderful built-in desk along with windows looking to the front. I'm not crazy about the rail either but you can't be too picky in these here parts...

This is bedroom #1 with many many built-ins. Each bedroom has built-ins providing PLENTY of storage throughout the entire house.

The largest of the three baths... kinda cute.

Downstairs is another space that is considered a third bedroom. I think it's far too small for that. I think it'd be a great study. One thing that was a bit scary though was what was behind the small door on the left wall. It was a cavernous exterior space. Yes I said EXTERIOR! All I could see was a huge boulder. It leads me to believe that this whole site was excavated to make space for a home.

Also downstairs was another great room with you guessed it, outdoor space #3!

Not too crazy about this fireplace...

Now for my favorite parts of the house, the exterior. I love the terraced outdoor space. My heart goes aflutter thinking of all of the possibilities.

I love houses and landscaping with an interesting section (in architectural terms) and this house has it!

The one possibly catastrophic downfall... all of the outdoor space faces a local college's baseball field. Sure there is a small hill separating it but it has the potential of being extremely loud and bright on game nights.

I showed the pics to the boy and he wasn't too impressed. We are going to take another look at it on a game night and see how it goes. It'll probably not be in the market for long but I'm glad I found it in time to take a look around.

What do you guys think of it?

Hunted:: Gathered: 07/16/11

VARIETY SHOW

I must admit that I am a bit behind on sharing my thrifty goodies with you. Some weeks I find so many things that I edit some of the things I share with you and other weeks I find so little that I refer to some of the items from weeks past.

This first set of goodies is from an estate sale from a few weeks ago.

I am always glad to hear about an owner of an estate being alive and well and that they are just downsizing because their kids are going to care for them at their home. That was the case for this estate sale where the little miss was an avid quilter. There was a WHOLE room filled with quilting squares of several shapes and materials. It was a bit overwhelming for me but I stuck it out and came out with some fabric that I can't wait to make something with. The quilting squares that I selected were all corduroy. I couldn't get over some of the colors and patterns!

I also found this sweet vintage watercolor set. Just look at all of those colors!

Also from a few weeks ago is this cute set of Hui-Shan Clay Figurines. I didn't know much about them but they were so colorful and cheery that I couldn't resist. These figurines reflect one of the well-known folk arts of the Wuxi region in China.

These retro bookends were so fun and since I have piles and piles of books they have already been put to good use. The fur that they are sitting on was from the estate sale I went to . I don't normally buy fur but I figured since it was second-hand it was guilt-free... call me crazy...

 

I know you were probably missing my LP phase... ok maybe not. In any case I found a few awesome albums if I may say so myself. I found another Josef Albers, S. Neil Fujita, Charles Murphy and I don't know the designer of the last one but it's Ella Fitzgerald... and it's cheeky.

This week I found this etching that piqued my interest. I could see that it was signed in plate but couldn't make out the signature. It turns out it is a Salvador Dali print titled Autumn. I know you must be thinking... HOLY $h!t because I was. Well, it was reissued after the original limited edition which is why his signature is in plate and backwards thus making it not nearly as valuable but still pretty cool to me. It is also in a Kulicke frame.

Now for a little glimpse into how I started collecting and picking here in so-cal. It all started with California Pottery. This little elephant is by Howard Pierce who was a California potter based out of Joshua Tree for much of his later career. I have a few Howard Pierce items but this is the best one I've found to date.

Since I do get the occasional vintage pottery bug I wanted to share a Bauer barrel shaker find that matches another one I found way back during my picking awakening. Sitting next to it is a Red Wing Ruffled planter.

Last but not least, in honor of the Tour de France and the boy's obsession with it I found this signed Serigraph by Phil Dynan of the 1986 Tour when Greg Le Mond won. It was the first time an American won the Tour. How cool is that!

I hope you enjoyed my goodies. I can't wait to see yours at Sophie's and Selena's!
 
 

It's Aloha Friday...

 

Wishing you a wonderful friday and a fantastic weekend!!

  

{MADE}:: Wooden Table

I've been delinquent in posting this week. I have been preparing for many new things that are coming up. I am both excited and sad about them but it will no doubt be a test of my time management skills.

Since these posts are dedicated to my creations, I am excited to reveal my latest woodworking project. This is just the mock-up but thank goodness for it because I learned that it is too short to be used as a side table (even though it is the height of my coffee table) . I also learned that the weight is not balanced so I need to add more supports.

... so here is my table in the form of stylized tree branches.

... and another view. I would add a piece of glass to the top for the table surface.

However, in the shop I placed it upside down because it is better supported that way. I think I like this orientation too. I still need to add supports but I can see it working as a side table or even a stool.

For now the piece is sans glue, it is a series of biscuit joints and a lap joint.


I'd love to see some of your creations so if you'd like just comment below and link to them!

 

Hunted:: Gathered: 07/09/11

Multi-Cultural finds

I don't know if you are all familiar with the show American Pickers, but my finds this week reminded me how much I love name of their shop, Antique Archaeology. It is dead-on. Thrifting (picking) allows us to explore and learn about the history of many cultures through the objects (artifacts) that we find (excavate).

This piece is by Mexican artisan Sigfredo Sigi Pineda. He is better known for his modern jewelry but his wall plaques are also quite stunning. I believe this is a piece from his "Zoomorphic" series and is made of different metals (brass and bronze) as well lapis lazuli (some sources also mention turquoise).

I also found a wee little pot from the Mexican potters of Mata Ortiz. Don't let the picture fool you. It is only 2" tall by 2" wide. Black on black, so subtle yet so captivating. I love it.

Remember studying the classics? ... This piece is of the goddess Athena on a horse and chariot also featuring an owl (the protector of Greek armies). These are often referred to as being in the style of Frederick Weinberg.

I wanted to feature a piece that I am not so sure about because sometimes you just have to take a gamble. Upon first sight it reminded me of the Iittala flora series by Oiva Toikka. I have not been able to find the shape and for all I know this may be a modern vase. It was still too sweet to leave behind.

**UPDATE: I believe it is a Handmade Boda vase for Kosta Boda of Sweden.**

However, this piece is most certainly Finnish and I recognized the shape because of this one I found previously. It is a design by Aimo Okkolin for Riihimaen Lasi Oy and still has the sticker as well as the stamp on the bottom.

Lastly, this piece is a special one and I dedicate it to my Aussie readers. It is a piece of Yarrabah pottery by Edwin Demeera from North Queensland. I particularly enjoyed this because I learned that the pottery provided jobs and training to Aboriginals. They also used aboriginal imagery for their pottery.

Well, that's it for me. What did you find this week?

Be sure to check out the rest of the goodies at Sophie's and Selena's.