Archive for the ‘Vintage’ Category

Colour palette: Red

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Tomato, rose, cherry, fire engine, ruby, chilli pepper, blood, crimson, strawberry, coral, poppy, cardinal, brick, raspberry, flame, carmine, rust, scarlet, burgundy, vermillion, persimmon, maroon. The colour red can mean so many different things: stop, warning, courage, danger, love, lust, hot… Communism, Indian weddings and Chinese New Year…. Anger, passion, sin, good luck…

red, colour, color, palette, shade, shades of red, stamps, Tomato, rose, cherry, fire engine, ruby, chilli pepper, blood, crimson, strawberry, coral, poppy, cardinal, brick, raspberry, flame, carmine, rust, scarlet, burgundy, vermillion, persimmon, maroon

Old red stamps: cherries and ping pong; Christmas prayers and Communist workers; a dragon, a lion, a horse and an ox.

toy trains, trains, toys, matchbox cars, double decker bus, digger, red, colour, color, palette, shades of red, Tomato, rose, cherry, fire engine, ruby, chilli pepper, blood, crimson, strawberry, coral, poppy, cardinal, brick, raspberry, flame, carmine, rust, scarlet, burgundy, vermillion, persimmon, maroon

Red toy vehicles from our childhood: Toy trains powered by steam, electricity and small hands; a double decker London bus with most of its paint worn off; a digger, with dirt still in its caterpillar treads; and a battered, repainted truck.

red, origami, origami paper, japan, china, japanese, chinese, papercuts, paper, paper cuts, kimono, badges, geisha, vintage, Tomato, rose, cherry, fire engine, ruby, chilli pepper, blood, crimson, strawberry, coral, poppy, cardinal, brick, raspberry, flame, carmine, rust, scarlet, burgundy, vermillion, persimmon, maroon

Origami paper, a Chinese paper cut, vintage kimono badges and a geisha coaster.

games, pieces, dice, carom, mastermind, battleships, carom, tiddly winks, rummy, red, vintage, old, men, counters

Games pieces: Various counters and dice, a Rummy number 7, a Mastermind peg, a tiddlywinks wink, a carrom puck, a battleship and a biplane.

red, stamps, old, vintage, queen, heads, portraits, royalty, presidents, colour, color, palette, shades

Red heads.  Royalty, politics and history.

vintage, buttons, buckles, crochet, crochet hook, thread, red, colour, color, palette, shades, Tomato, rose, cherry, fire engine, ruby, chilli pepper, blood, crimson, strawberry, coral, poppy, cardinal, brick, raspberry, flame, carmine, rust, scarlet, burgundy, vermillion, persimmon, maroon

Vintage buttons, a crochet hook, a 1950s (or maybe ’80s?) buckle, and a spool of thread.

books, handmade, rajasthani, japanese, washi, pencils, red, tie dyed, coloured, colour, color

A handmade book from Udaipur, Rajasthan which my mother kept as a diary in 1990 during the 8 months my family and I spent in India; an old book about the artist Albrecht Dürer, a small Japanese notebook covered in washi paper, coloured pencils and a letter A.

Bangle, brooch, vintage, morocco, buckle, old, roses, toadstool, fly agaric, bracelet, red, colour, color, palette, shades, trinkets

Red odds and ends: a ball of cotton; a plastic bangle that looks like carved coral at a glance; an old pendant made from coins and beads that my father picked up in Morocco in the early ’70s; a small German glass jar with roses painted on its lid and old glass buttons inside; a vintage brooch bought at Spitalfields market in London; a paper mache toadstool and a vintage buckle.

Posted in Colour palettes, Mood boards, Toys, Vintage | 4 Comments »

Kimono paper tape PREVIEW!

Monday, June 7th, 2010

I can’t wait any longer! I have to give you a preview of something fun I’ve been working on recently for my soon-to-be-open shop (which will be up and running this week for sure!). I’ve been creating sets of kimono paper tape from images of my own vintage kimono fabric collection. So far there will be two different sets to choose from: a hot range of colours (reds, pinks, orange), and a cool range (purples, blues, green).

kimono, paper, tape, japanese, vintage, origami, stickers, bunting, projects, gift wrapping, red, pink

The tape is perfect for all sorts of creative projects – scrapbooking, gift wrapping, collages etc. Here are some little ideas I’ve been experimenting with today, using some of just one set of the hot colours to complete all the projects.

The first thing I made with the tape was mini bunting. I got the idea from a great tutorial that Lisa Tilse gave over on her blog the red thread.

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I made my bunting by sticking pieces of tape at even intervals along the edge of a sheet of paper, leaving a little bit of each piece of tape sticking up at the edge. I then placed thin string (you could use embroidery thread, cotton, dental floss etc) along the edge of the paper and folded down all the ends of the tape over the string to hold it in place. Finally, I simply trimmed each piece of tape into a little flag (being careful not to cut through the string).

Isn’t the finished result so pretty? It makes me happy every time I look at it! The card in the background is one of a set of kimono cards I’ve designed which will also be for sale in my shop.

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Other uses for the kimono tape I played around with today: collage artworks made from cutting out shapes and letters. My sweetheart’s on the other side of the world at the moment, so this is a little shout out to him. Hey, baby!

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…and of course gift wrapping. Simple brown paper, ribbon off-cuts, a cute little Japanese decoration… The cards in the background are two more of my kimono postcards.

kimono, paper, tape, paper tape, washi, origami, japanese, japan, gift, wrapping, postcards

More fun with kimono paper tape coming soon! …and of course it will be available to buy online very shortly.

Hope you’ve been having a good weekend.

Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Craft projects, Kimono, My Shop, Tutorials, Vintage | 3 Comments »

Vintage kimono palette

Friday, June 4th, 2010

I’ve been spending a lot of time these past few days being creative with photos I’ve taken of my vintage kimono collection over the years, as I get stock ready to launch my Etsy shop. Below is part of a label I’ve designed for some of the things I’ll be selling in my shop. All will be revealed soon! 

kimono, vintage, japan, japanese, fabric, silk, yuzen, shibori, meisen, obi, antique

I thought I’d show you some pictures from the very first bundle of vintage kimono fabrics that I ever bought over the internet, direct from a seller in Japan. 

vintage, kimono, japan, japanese, fabric, silk, obi, antique, meisen, shibori, yuzen

It was a mixed lot of about 30 pieces, each cut neatly into a rectangle not much bigger than a post card. Many of those pieces are now long gone, made into purses or lavender wheat pillows and sold at markets in London or at Reiki events that I went to, but I took photos of each of those pieces and still use them as inspiration or the basis of designs and prints that I’m working on now. Such a beautiful range of pattern and style and colour.

vintage, kimono, fabrics, silk, yuzen, shibori, meisen, obi, japan, japanese, antique

Later I also bought many whole kimonos. Each time a new one arrived in the post I’d lovingly hang it up in our home for awhile so I could admire it whole, before painstakingly unpicking all the hand-sewn seams and sewing the fabric into new creations.

Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Colour palettes, Craft projects, Kimono, My Shop, Vintage | 6 Comments »

Display jars for treasures

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

I seem to have a bit of a treasure theme going on at the moment…and in particular, ways of storing treasures. First there was the pirate’s treasure bag, and now it’s a beautiful way of displaying flotsam and jetsam and other bounty we find at beaches, on our travels or scavenging at flea markets.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always bringing home shells and pebbles and bits of polished glass or broken pottery, beads and vintage buttons, a patterned feather… and then I never quite know what to do with them.

Well, my lovely friend Amy has come up with a great solution.

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On the windowsill of her bathroom she has a collection of large, vintage jars filled with found treasures. Once the jars are full, the lids are screwed back on, the jars turned upside down, and voila! simple, beautiful glass display cases. 

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There are shells and bits of coral, a smooth pebble, mint coloured kina shell (sea urchin), and the wings of a monarch butterfly. 

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Don’t you love how the lettering on the jar looks against the shells inside? She’s also used a jar to create a terrarium with a succulent plant inside.

Simple, beautiful ideas using recycled jars to preserve found objects. Perfect!

Posted in Craft projects, Friends, Nature, Sustainable solutions, Tutorials, Vintage | 5 Comments »

Pirate’s treasure bag

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

This week has been very busy for me, and I’m afraid it’s meant I haven’t managed to post as much as I wanted to.

This afternoon I grabbed some time to make a present for a little boy whose 5th birthday party we’re going to tomorrow. Mum had the idea of making him some kind of treasure bag that he could put small, precious things into. I developed the idea further into a pirate’s treasure bag. We’ll put some old, foreign coins into it -”pieces of eight” if you like – and he can add his own treasures after that.

pirate, skull, crossbones, flag, treasure, pieces of eight

I started by creating a skull and crossbones pattern from a piece of scrap paper, which I then cut out of dark blue felt. I then gathered together various fabric scraps: denim, vintage kimono silk, indigo Japanese print, some red and white linen upholstery fabric… The idea was for the bag to look like it was made out of various bits of old flags. I then sorted through my metal buttons and mother of pearl buttons for added embellishments.

pirate, skull, crossbones, flag, patched, buttons, treasure

I wanted it all to look like it had been roughly patched together so I sewed everything a bit wonkily with stitches showing in contrasting colours. I sewed a little hidden patch pocket inside. The skull and crossbones I sewed on by hand with small red backstitches. I then added little brass beads from India, vintage mother of pearl buttons, and three old metal buttons. The bag closes with a blue zip, and has a long strap so he can wear in slung diagonally across his body.

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Here’s the (almost) finished bag, front and back. The strap is actually only held on by pins but the light was fading and I wanted to photograph it in natural light! I’m still undecided whether the skull needs eyes or not. I’m thinking of maybe embroidering them on in red. What do you think?

Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Celebrations, Craft projects, Friends, Kimono, Toys, Tutorials, Vintage | 5 Comments »

Gratitude

Friday, May 14th, 2010

bunting, kimono, vintage, Japanese, cranes, origami, paper

I just wanted to post a little thank you note to all of you who have found my blog and are taking the time to read it, and especially, to those of you who have been kind enough to tell me that you’ve found something inspiring or informative that I’ve posted about. You don’t know how much it means to me! All this is still really new to me, and I kind of hold my breath each time I hit the ‘publish’ button, and hope and wonder if people are actually out there reading what I’m posting. 

I love creating my blog (ok, I’m actually obsessed by it and dream about it all the time!), and it fills my heart with joy each time I receive a sweet little comment from someone in response to a post I’ve made. It truly makes my day.

I’ve made you some electronic vintage kimono bunting to express my gratitude to you all for sharing this ride with me, and below are pictures of the original pieces of kimono from my collection. 

Have a happy weekend!
Lucy

kimono, vintage, Japanese, cranes, shibori, yuzen, origami, blossoms, fabric

Posted in Artwork / Illustration / Design, Celebrations, Kimono, Vintage | 3 Comments »

The joy of wood

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Wooden games pieces of all shapes and sizes. Scrabble, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and draughts. A dice rolled onto 5. A wooden kiss from a friend. And a tiny train pulling two carriages.

Wooden games pieces, scrabble, wooden scrabble, chequers, wooden dice

Bamboo bangles, calligraphy brush and clothes pegs. Gourds intricately etched with fabulous tales: Monkey flying through the clouds with his sword, and an ethereal lady poised in front of a mountain.

bamboo pegs, bamboo brush, calligraphy brush, gourd, carved gourd, bamboo bangles, bamboo bracelet

Practical kitchen items. Some, sadly not so common any more. A butter pat (one of a pair), bamboo tongs, a salt spoon, large multi-purpose wooden spoon, an Indian pastry brush, a Japanese polished spoon, one of a pair of salad servers bought in a flea market, and my child-sized rolling pin from when I was little. 

Wooden spoon, salt spoon, butter pat, bamboo tongs, oil brush, rolling pin, salad servers

Wooden buttons and toggles. So many colours, textures, shapes and uses. And a wooden thimble to save fingers from getting pricked.

Wooden buttons, wooden toggles, wooden thimble, thimble, vintage buttons

Wooden animals from my childhood. Some of them given to us as hand-ons from other families. Many made in Camphill Communities by intellectually disabled people, others bought in a Steiner shop in Germany when I was five. Foxes sitting and on the move, a hippo, a chicken, a donkey, two bear cubs, a camel, a rhino, horses, leaping squirrels, pigs and a curly horned ram.

Wooden animals, carved, Steiner, Waldorf, toys

Wooden pencils for colouring and sketching, bamboo paint brushes, an elephant bookmark and a giraffe that belonged to my grandfather that lives on my desk.

Wooden pencils, bamboo brush, calligraphy brush, Steiner, Waldorf, giraffe, elephant

Pattern makers. A block for printing Tibetan prayer flags. Smaller block prints from Rajasthan. A rolling pin and square, both carved with birds, flowers, fruit and animals, used for making German Springerle cookies. Two bamboos pierced with a pattern of holes, used for making the elaborate kolam designs outside of South Indian homes (although in reality they’re mostly done precisely by hand). And an old Tibetan press, perhaps for decorating butter torma sculptures.

Wooden biscuit press, mould, prayer flag, Tibetan, Indian, Rajasthan, printing blocks, rangoli, German, rolling pin, butter

Prayer beads from India. Carved sandalwood separated with orange knots, rudraksha malas, and polished rosewood-coloured beads.

Prayer beads, mala, wooden, wood, rudraksha

Posted in Colour palettes, Food and cooking, Mood boards, Toys, Vintage | 5 Comments »

Matryoshka kimono dolls

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

I have always loved Russian Matryoshka dolls. I’ve had one since I was a child and, even though it’s now a bit cracked, and the dolls don’t fit together so well anymore, it’s still one of my most treasured possessions. It’s the magic and delight of opening up each perfectly painted sweet doll, and revealing yet another equally perfect but smaller sweet doll inside. Mine also has a certain smell of wood and lacquer that instantly transports me back to my childhood.

Matryolshka, Russian dolls, vintage kimono dolls, Japanese dolls, doll cushions

I also love vintage kimono fabrics (as you may have gathered!), and had the idea a while ago to combine these two loves of mine together into Matryoshka doll cushions. 

Vintage kimono

The dolls below are ones I made for Christmas presents a year ago for my closest friends. The faces were simply hand drawn, then scanned into Photoshop and finished there. They’re then printed onto transfer paper and ironed onto white cotton fabric.

Most of the kimono pieces are from the 1930s. Probably the most time consuming part of making these dolls is choosing the fabrics and cutting them out. The kimono is then appliqued onto a cotton background.

Vintage kimono matryoshka Russian dolls cushions

Posted in Celebrations, Craft projects, Friends, Kimono, My Shop, Toys, Vintage | 6 Comments »

Coral, shell and bone

Friday, April 30th, 2010

I’m drawn to coral like a treasure hunter. It makes me think of Tibetan necklaces and the ancient Silk Route and holidays on tropical beaches. Rough pieces washed up on a beach in Fiji; smooth beads bought from an Afghani seller in Bangkok; carved Chinese earrings and engraved twisted stem, given to me by close friends; and a vintage button from an old mixed bag of my mother’s. So many colours and textures: strawberry, grapefruit pink, salmon, burnt scarlet…

coral beads, carved coral, Tibetan coral, Chinese coral

Small mother-of-pearl buttons sewn onto a card of silver foil. Large carved buttons from someone else’s elderly German aunts. A delicately detailed brooch set in Bethlehem silver. Two broken pieces of jewellery, both from my Grandmother’s youth: a string of beads and an elephant brooch, brought together fifty years later into a treasured necklace.

Mother of pearl, MOP, buttons, beads, shells, elephant, paua shells

Tropical fish swim over vintage coral on Australian and Singaporean stamps.

Australian stamps, Singapore stamps, fish stamps, coral stamps

Coral toenails on a floor of timber off-cuts.

coral nail polish, parquet flooring

Vintage buckles of bone and old plastic, Tibetan skull beads, antique orphaned domino, a Fijian cowrie shell found on an island once owned by the Mafia, a small cowrie shell from a piece of Rajasthani embroidery, and shell beads from Afghanistan.

Vintage buckles, skull beads, shell beads, antique dominoes

Tiny sunset-shaded scallop shells from a New Zealand beach.

Scallop shells

Posted in Colour palettes, Mood boards, Vintage | 4 Comments »