This little vintage piggy went to the antique market

But she didn't cry wee wee wee all the way home - that's 'cos she had such a fun time with her gal pal, Marsha, at the Sunday Antique Market at the St. Lawrence Market downtown!!

It was a fab day for so many reasons - and not just because I got to eyeball goodies such as this modish plastic purse with boho embellishments (a bit of a contradiction in terms for me, but still it caught my eye).

I also got to meet 'in the flesh' some amazing folk that I have only known in the Twitter or blogosphere - like Yank Azman, who shares a booth at the market with his wife (he does guy vintage stuff like cufflinks and she does bling and handbags - the bag above is hers, and it was selling for only $40).

Yank is an antiques dealer, actor and so much more (check out the link I've provided; he's a true Renaissance Man), and he was one of my first Twitter pals; then we became Facebook friends, and then I SAW him at a bunch of Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club sales but I didn't introduce myself as he was so busy selling (NOTE: next TVCJC sale is Sunday, April 17 at Leaside Gardens, 10am-4pm, free admission and really good vintage bling!). Then today, at market, we finally met - and the crazy thing is, we both recognized each other in an instant! (This retro plastic crochet-like purse: only $30).

I also saw tons of my pals from the TVCJC who are dealers at the market. One dealer, "Robbie", is a relation of a lovely lady who I met through the club. I've only ever corresponded with Robbie via email, so again, it was great to put the face to the name. It looks as though he just may well be the King of the Sunday Antique Market. He occupies one of the best tables (at the southern end, on a corner, in between the washrooms and the snackbar) and it looks as though every one knows him.

I also had the pleasure of meeting - finally - Kelly Stapleton of BlackRose Vintage, who I 'met' through this blog. Kelly and a few other vintage dealers have the only standalone shop in the same building as the Sunday Antique Market, called Antiques at the St Lawrence (no website but check out 92 Front St. E; 416-350-8865 and open Thursdays - Sundays).

Kelly and I were having so much fun chatting that I can't give you the full low down on what she carries, but suffice it to say the shop is full of Shabby Chic linens, English china and assorted tableware, and a range of vintage accessories, clothing and bling.

Meanwhile outside, I found this pendant and chain from dealer Larry Noble. I was generally disappointed with the vintage bling at the market as a whole - there are a few good dealers, and the rest sell junky contemporary stuff. This piece was inexpensive and I just loved its rough hewn look - such a contradiction when you look at the style of the piece.

Larry has some neat jewellery items - some vintage, some contemporary, some handmade. His crystal-like necklaces that you can see behind him are outfitted with glimmering chandelier pieces as pendants, and let me tell you, they catch my eye every time I go to the market. Think I will have to buy one the next time I go back

Especially since I am now in possession of an Anti Haggle coupon Larry gave me, which entitles me to 25% off my next purchase. What a sweetheart.

Larry also gave me a Happiness and Good Fortune coupon, which invites me to Keep my Sunnyside Up, Be Thankful, and Keep Smiling, and Think Positive. Words to live by.

It was an apt message to take home from the market, because today was a very good Karma day. All of the people I have written about here I like and would buy from - in fact would deliberately seek them out. Buying from peeps you like keeps the good Karma churning, in my opin.

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Vintage costume brooches I've had for 20 (or so) years

Finding that old-style pendant at VV the other day made me think of the older-style brooches I have that I never really wear as they aren't quite my style. But just because they sit in a drawer doesn't make them any less special.

I remember picking up this cameo brooch when I was about 19 - can't recall exactly where but I used to do a lot of church sales with my fam around this time (thanks to my Dad), so I have a feeling a church was the source. It's not an expensive cameo that I can tell. I have seen more intricate and ornate ones, with finer detailing, that are more collectible - plus the cameo part looks plastic and the really valuable ones are made of shell and sometimes even coral, if memory serves. Still, I'm sentimental about this gal - reminds me of my youth, tee hee.

Vintage can sometimes be a nebulous term, with no hard and fast dates (I consider the 1980s vintage but not the 1990s, but perhaps it depends on your vantage point in time!). Still, I would hazard a guess this shell stick pin is antique, meaning over 100 years old.

My Mom gave it to me for my 19th Birthday. I love it, but in truth I am not certain how to wear it (back in the day it would have been worn in the yoke of a high collared dress, I suspect), and it is a wee old-fashioned. And the back clasp is so crude I am scared it will fall off and be lost forever if I wear it. But of course, I love it and will never let it go.

This must surely qualify as antique too. It was another gift I received when a teen, from an aunt. It was apparently from a collection she had amassed in LA. I have worn it only a couple of times - many, many moons ago -  but have a renewed appreciation for it. The style is a wee bit old fashioned, true (I can just picture some prim Victorian lady in it). But I love the black lacy effect and the polished glass piece - purple to boot! - how could I not dig that?

I'm a little out of my element in describing these last two pieces as I'm not familiar with the styles and conventions of eras before the 1940s, maybe 1930s. Regardless, maybe I'll see if I can integrate them into my wardrobe. Even if I don't they make me happy sitting in my little drawer for special things.

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Little retro Christmas

The tree is up!! A tiny three-footer and my first REAL tree ever. Also my first tree I've set up in my apartment for years!

This is one of my fave ornaments, given to me by an auntie years ago.

This little guy was from my Mom a few years ago ....

This is a makeshift retro ornament, a red crystal bauble that used to hang on a chandelier, which I picked up for a few dollars at an antiques shop on Mount Pleasant Rd. 

Apparently the red pieces aren't so easy to find. I just strung a golden thread through it and voila: instant holiday bling!

Here's the tree! Isn't it just the cutest? Kinda Who-Down-In-Whoville, yes? A bit blurry, sorry for that.

Here's another Christmas tradition I haven't celebrated in years: hanging my Christmas stocking, which I've had since I was a wee kid. Think my Mom bought it decades ago at an independent retailer in Ottawa (now long gone) called Towers.

Not sure if you can see "Kelly" written on Santa's white belt?

Someone in my house, who's not from Canada, has a new stocking, picked up at the Bay.

Sometimes ya gotta start new traditions, right?

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Mini makeover

For a fresh new look without lugging around furniture, settle on a rough theme/colour scheme and change up the lamps, chairs, pillows and decorative accessories to match the mood and tone.

I haven't been doing anything much to my apartment lately in the way of rearranging as life has been busy; but I've learned that you can create a whole new look without moving large pieces of furniture around - it's the semi-lazy Grunge Queen way, remember? But it's also what I call play - just moving stuff around my space is kinda therapeutic, actually.

My fave velvet chair found in the trash my first fall in Toronto. I scattered an old old wool shawl thrown over top (found in a junk shop for $20; the guy said it came in a box marked 'granny's shawl'!) and a red velvet pillow, thrifted.

In this case, the dining room table was blah blah - I had a dull coloured lamp and shade on it and the entire space looked washed out. Using the blue glass Moroccan star (now on the table) as inspiration, I changed up the lamps, chairs, and other accessories to create a punchier look with red and blue accents. There was a certain, semi-exotic mood in my mind.

This solid wood dining room table was $30 at my local thrift store. Pretty much everything you see here was thrifted, found in the trash or bought second-hand.

In the spirit of play, I tried a little something different and propped a thrifted painting of a Paris scene on top of the mirror on the table. I didn't think it would but it actually makes the ceiling look higher. And I hauled out my lovely antique Persian rug that I've had under my bed for months - Dag the cat IS scratching on it again now that it's out, but what the heck am I supposed to do: keep a rug under the bed for my entire life and never enjoy it?

Yup: the bohemian clutter bug in me is slowly learning about simplicity! I love the 1940s blue lamp perched on the bookcase.

I didn't do much with the living area, just changed the direction of the rug and added a footstool as table. I like the simplicity here. It's very New York (in my imagination, at least).

Thrift store art and a piece I chased the artist down to buy, brazen thing that I am.

I love the print on the bottom; it reminds me of a William Morris design (come to think of it the book on top is about the Pre-Raphaelites!). I walked into a shop one day and saw it hanging in a back office - tracked the artist down and asked her if she wanted to sell it. Now it's on my wall.

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Curbside find I left there

Ever hesitated over something at the curb, then lost it as a result?

This gorgeous Ash wood buffet was at the end of my friend Brenda's driveway on Saturday. I was still in the afterglow of having found my wrought iron patio set (see yesterday's post), so my MUST HAVE IT junker's tenacity had mellowed somewhat.

Still, I had to stop and take a close gander. It was old. It was wood. It had good bones. And those floral carvings? I did a mini swoon over those.

Let's go in for a closer look.

Pretty wonderful eh?

The owner, Brenda's landlord, had had the piece in his back shed for eons and just wanted to get rid of it. She kept telling him he could probably get some decent coin for it, but he musta ignored here because there it was, at the end of the driveway.

I contemplated calling a cab and lugging the thing into my pad. It was a flash thought I quickly dismissed: Too much work. Leave it for the next person. Got my wrought iron. Pass the junking Karma along. Plus it had major mouse droppings in it, eep.

So we left it there and went to Brenda's place for a few minutes.

On our way out, the landlord was in the driveway talking with some passerbys, who told him the piece was worth something.

Before we knew it they were lugging it back onto the front porch!

Now he's going to try to sell it.

I wonder how things would have went down if I decided to take it and called a cab? I still would have been standing next to it when the landlord came back and changed his mind.

Would we have duked it out over the piece, mouse droppings and all?

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What would you do?

I am still casting an eye backwards to my fab vacay at home with the folks ... and to some furniture I left behind when I moved to Toronto five years ago.

This isn't much to look at now, stored in my sis's garage and all and heaped with junk, but five years ago it sat on a snowy curb in January outside an Ottawa antique shop for $250 ... until I bought it, that is.

It's a mammoth and Art Deco? style mantle/faux fireplace that actually came with a plug-in 'fire.'

I never moved it to Toronto as it's SUPER heavy - made of plaster or some such material - and would cost me mega bucks to move it up.

But oh, I love it so.

I doubt I'd be able to sell it for much on Craigslist, even though I'm betting these type things are all that plentiful in the vintage world these days.

It may not be the most USEFUL of furniture pieces, and I bet you may be having trouble imaging it a la decorative Grunge-Queen splendor with that pylon on the top, but I know I could, if I want to lay out the cash to get it up here, make it totally work in space (even if it meant letting go of something to make it fit in here).

What would you do? Sell and make some extra cash, though not much I bet, or spend cash to get it here and keep it forever?

Right now it's making me a little weepy to think of it all alone and forgotten in that garage.

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True blue 1930s lamp

This look is part of my breakup reorg. It's not perfect - the cords are still showing on the floor - but I'm really digging the simplicity.

I lost the black tablecloth, changed the painting to a retro print, shortened the table, and streamlined the clutter.

I'm really pleased with the lamps.

My style isn't modernist at all but I've always loved the white bulbous lamp I thrifted for a few dollars.

But I've never paired it with an all-white, contemporary shade until now.

I just love the clean simplicity of it all.

Think it looks great next to the blue bowl I thrifted a few weeks ago.

That's my cure-all if I want to jazz the place up and create a new look: I switch up the lampshades on all my lamps and rotate them. It's like 'play' for decorating.

I also like the hint of blue accents here.

The blue lamp is new, a 1930s glass lamp I found at an antiques shop on the Danforth. Not exactly thrift store price but I love it too much.

The shade isn't perfect but I'll keep trying. Lately I've really been into placing two lamps on a table that are the same height and positioning them symmetrically. It just looks elegant.

In contrast to the fiery red area in my pad, this corner - the dining room - is simple and serene. I'm calm just looking at it.

And I'll refine the look as I go.

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