I just posted a blog post on my other blog at The Vintage Jewelry Chick.
It is entitled:
Top 10 Most Popular Gemstones in Vintage Fashion Jewelry Today
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Vintage Jewelry Moved to Etsy
The Vintage Weekend show is now closed until the next event on March 22.
I have moved all of my show inventory to my etsy store.
Here are a few of the bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces that are available.
I have moved all of my show inventory to my etsy store.
Here are a few of the bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces that are available.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Fashion Vintage Jewelry at Vintage Weekend Show
Psssttt! I have a secret...you can have a sneak peek, get there first right now in my Vintage Weekend Show shop. This show only runs for three days every two months. Every piece of vintage fashion jewelry in my shop has never been shown in any of my on-line stores. Listed at special rock bottom pricing for this show only, there are some great jewellery finds to be had.
Here's a sampler:
Here's a sampler:
And so much more available in my shop.
You can pay with
PAYPAL
and
SHIPPING IS FREE!
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Inspiration from Nature
A year and a half ago I spotted this vintage chair planted with succulents at a local beach-town shop called Chicweed. It was one of those things that I wish I had purchased and I didn't. Now I regret it. At least I have this photo.
As I looked at the chair, the designs, the shapes of the leaves and my favorite vintage Navajo turquoise bracelet on my arm:
I began to see it!!!! I really get it now!!! My daughter had just taught me to make a collage so I did these so that you could see it too. The inspiration that Mother Earth was to the Native American artists was screaming at me! Is is not amazing?
Most of the pieces in the collages are sold. But, I have these:
HUGE Zuni Rosette ring
These outstanding clip-on style earrings can be found here.
This ring can be found here. You can visit my etsy store for more great Native American finds.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Un-set Cameos
I always buy un-set hand carved cameos when I find them. I feel so bad that many of them were stripped of their gold settings for melt. I list them on etsy so that the collectors and artists can give them a home. I just listed some fresh finds on etsy. Here they are:
I listed this one a while back. She's so pretty! Left-facing cameos are harder to find. Why? Because they were carved by left-handed carvers and there are less left-handed people in the world.
Buy it here
Buy it here
Click here to see all of the antique and vintage cameo jewelry in my etsy shop.
Click here to see the cameos on my website.
Rockabilly, Pin Up Girls, Hot Rods and Vintage Jewelry
As I sometimes blog about, we are a racing family. My sweet heart is Cory Lee, an NHRA funny car driver and crew chief and the author of two books on drag racing collectibles.
Right now he is the driver for the Back in Black Nostalgia funny car owned by Dennis LaCharite.
This is the car:
Nostalgia cars are pretty cool and the drags are fun, but the days are long and hot and besides cooking for the pit crew, there isn't much for a girl to do in a place like this:
These beautiful pin up girls were found on pinterest. I wish there were links to the websites of origin with these, but they are too beautiful to not share. If I was a younger woman, I would sure be into this look.
Right now he is the driver for the Back in Black Nostalgia funny car owned by Dennis LaCharite.
This is the car:
So, one year we were attending the Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield and there was this booth called The Atomic Kitten. They were doing hair for women that were attending the event. They were creating the most awesome 1950s pin up girl hair dos! It blew my mind. Here we were at this race track, in the dirt and grease, smelling of nitro and ladies were getting their hair done in these fab styles.
The hairdressers were wearing vintage clothing, 1950s house dresses, mary-jane shoes, tattoos and beautiful hairstyles with pink and purple hair. What was this thing?
I started to interview them about this and that is when I learned all about the rockabilly revival. OMG! I love it!!! It is retro-I am an antique dealer-love it! It is colorful and artistic, I am an artist, love it! Lots of hot rods and music, what's not to love?
Here's some of those beauties participating in a swim suit contest at the Lake Havasu Rockabilly Revival last year. It's coming up again soon.
I recently met a pin up girl working at a local shop. She was wearing a pair of vintage Coro earrings. She told me that she was starting to collect vintage costume jewelry and when I told her that I am an antique dealer, she had so many questions for me. I answered her questions as best as I could, but I am no expert in vintage costume jewelry, rhinestones and such, but I know someone who is.
Denise Dent
of
Denise was kind enough to grant me an interview about vintage costume jewelry. Here are the highlights of that interview:
Me: Denise, if you were just starting to collect vintage costume jewelry, what advice would you give the new collector?
Denise: I would look for unique, quality pieces, ones that catch your eye. The best jewelry does not always have to be signed.
Me: With vintage, how much does condition impact the value of a piece?
Denise: One of the most important things about buying and collection jewelry is condition. Always carry a jewelry loupe when shopping and inspect every piece front and back. Look for things that might have been altered or fixed. Are there missing stones? Does the clasp work properly? Is there minor or excessive wear? These are all things that really affect the value of the piece, whether you are buying, collecting or selling. The more wear, the lesser the value. For example, if you purchased a Miriam Haskell necklace that was worth $200, if it has wear, it could cut the value from 50% to 75% depending on the damage.
Me: Can you tell me what brands or designers that a girl should look for when the intent is to wear the piece?
Denise: Buying to wear is a lot of fun. I would buy what I liked, regardless of the designer, so I could get in some serious trouble. But great ones to buy to wear would be Sarah Coventry or Monet. They put out a lot of fun and stylish jewelry and there is still a lot of it around. Vintage beads are fabulous, fun to wear and plentiful. Whether you like the colorful multi strand necklace from Japan and Hong Kong, or the nicer knotted Italian glass beads, they all wear good.
Me:What brand will hold up to wear today when it is 50+ years old?
This is the beauty of vintage, there is a reason it is still here. If it has already lasted 50 years, then it will last 50 more. I mentioned Miriam Haskell already, she is one of my favorites. If you take the time to research her, she was very particular about what she used to make her jewelry. Most of her metals were plated repeatedly and she traveled around the world to pick her stones and beads. But there are many great names - Eisenberg, Hattie Carnegie, Elsa Schiaparelli, Kramer, Boucher...
Me: Why should I buy vintage instead of Chinese reproductions?
Denise: First of all, it is a glimpse from the past, it is history.
Vintage jewelry is environmentally friendly, it is like recycling.
Costume jewelry from the past is unique, I have never wanted to wear the same thing everyone else is wearing.
Vintage jewelry is fashionable, whether you want something for every day or something for the runway, no matter what your fashion, it is there.
The thrill of the hunt! There is nothing more exciting to me than browsing through local flea markets, antique or thrift shops, even Ebay and finding that piece that I just cannot live without.
Chinese reproductions cannot even begin to measure up to the quality of vintage. I consider the reproductions disposable jewelry. It will last a few times of wear and then it is gone.
Me: The only point that I would add to this is that when you are buying vintage or antique jewelry, buy the very best piece that you can afford. One really good quality piece is better than 5 mediocre or damaged pieces.
So there you are girls! Get your rockabilly pin up girl on with the real thing! Vintage jewelry.
The cool thing is that these pieces were around being worn by the original pin up girls in the time. How cool is that?
This is one of my favorite pieces in Denise's shop:
This Demi-Parure is amazing!!!!
I must be in the mood for blue because look at this will you!
These are almost atomic in design.
Denise created a very cool board on Pinterest about Joseff Hollywood jewelry.
Friday, January 16, 2015
NEW!!!! The Vintage Weekend Show
If you are an "antiquer", a "junker" or a "picker" you know what it is to get up in the dark on a Saturday morning, throw some warm clothes on, get into your cold car with a cup of coffee and a granola bar and head out to an antique show.
You have to be the first one there!
You shop with a flashlight, buy from people who got up even earlier that you did as you search for the score of the day. As you carry your ever growing heavier antique show bag to the bathroom for a quick break you swear that you will never drink coffee before a show again because now someone else is getting that thing that you have been looking for. You look into the mirror and learn that you only applied mascara to one eye and your t-shirt is on inside out.
You hurry back out and trudge in and out of booths. It's hard work, but exciting too! I started doing this in 1983 and I still get so excited before a show, that I cannot sleep.
But there was this other thing, that really got rolling in about 1997, called eBay. I just happened to be just about to give birth to my daughter when eBay really started to catch on. It was too hard to take a new baby out to the shows and ebay was the answer. I could stay home and shop for great finds on line. And the finds were great! The wonderful, the rare and the excitement! I could not wait to turn on my computer in the morning. I quickly became an ebay seller and my new career was born.
It was a great place to buy and sell for a long time, but things slowly changed. The imports now dominate the website and the sellers of antiques and vintage have been pushed out.
So, where can you go to feel the excitement of an antique show and the old ebay? Where can you go to find authentic vintage and antique finds from sellers that are knowledgeable and trustworthy?
Here is the answer:
You have to be the first one there!
You shop with a flashlight, buy from people who got up even earlier that you did as you search for the score of the day. As you carry your ever growing heavier antique show bag to the bathroom for a quick break you swear that you will never drink coffee before a show again because now someone else is getting that thing that you have been looking for. You look into the mirror and learn that you only applied mascara to one eye and your t-shirt is on inside out.
You hurry back out and trudge in and out of booths. It's hard work, but exciting too! I started doing this in 1983 and I still get so excited before a show, that I cannot sleep.
But there was this other thing, that really got rolling in about 1997, called eBay. I just happened to be just about to give birth to my daughter when eBay really started to catch on. It was too hard to take a new baby out to the shows and ebay was the answer. I could stay home and shop for great finds on line. And the finds were great! The wonderful, the rare and the excitement! I could not wait to turn on my computer in the morning. I quickly became an ebay seller and my new career was born.
It was a great place to buy and sell for a long time, but things slowly changed. The imports now dominate the website and the sellers of antiques and vintage have been pushed out.
So, where can you go to feel the excitement of an antique show and the old ebay? Where can you go to find authentic vintage and antique finds from sellers that are knowledgeable and trustworthy?
Here is the answer:
THE VINTAGE WEEKEND SHOW!
This website we created by experienced sellers who have been offering vintage finds on Ruby Lane, Ebay and Etsy for years.
Here's how it works: The dealers on this website spend 2 months buying, photographing and listing fresh vintage and antique finds for the Vintage Weekend Show. Then, on a Friday morning the show opens and all of our on-line virtual Booths are open...and for three days only.
What will you find there?
Here is a list of categories.
With my booth, I have fresh finds that I have not shown anywhere else. First time finds only, and at great prices. Once the show closes, they will be removed and I will find a new collection of vintage jewelry for the next show.
This show is bi-monthly.
A sneak peek at one of the never seen items that I will have in my booth.
If you want to see who the fabulous sellers are at the show, click here for Dealer Profiles.
There are approximately 30 dealers participating with many more waiting to join the group. We are growing fast, but being careful not to grow too quickly so that we can give you the best customer service ever.
So when is the show?
It's next weekend!!
Show dates are:
January 23-24-25
Here is the list of participating dealers for the January show.
Payment can be made by paypal. It's easy!
Get there early to find the best stuff!!!
Shop in your pajamas! Drink all of the coffee that you want. No mascara needed.
And if that is not enough, get this...
Everything on the Vintage Weekend Show website has..
FREE SHIPPING!!!
You can find the Vintage Weekend Show on Facebook here.
Please give us your "like"
See you there! Dealers will be on line to answer your questions.
When this guy's out, you must shop in!
Get ready to fill your shopping basket!
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