Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Picture Perfect

I really love picking up original artwork in Op Shops or at markets, I enjoy the fact that the piece is one of a kind, that there aren't thousands of the same out there. I don't buy original art for the sake of it though, it has to mean something to me or be really pleasing to look at. The following piece is one of my absolute favourites.

My hubbie and I lived on Victoria Street in Potts Point for almost 4 out of the 7 years we've lived in Australia. It is a special place to us, one of the first places we visited when we came to Australia originally on a holiday and my now sister-in-law lived there. It's where we lived when we got engaged, when I found out I was pregnant with our first little boy, when we brought him home after he was born... There is a small row of old houses on this street that always fascinated me, in old photos of the region before all the apartment blocks went up you can see them perched there up on the hill. Back before I had kids it would have been my dream to own one, close to the city, great location, I even went to have a sticky-beak when one came on the market. Since having 3 kids my ideal of a dream home has changed considerably, I now envision us living much further out, with land around us for the boys to play on. I couldn't believe it when I came across this painting of those very houses in Vinnie's, they remind me of a very special time in my life :-)


I love these 2 paintings of boats, particularly the one of Junk Boats, it reminds me of Hong Kong, one of the first long-haul destinations hubbie and I ever travelled to together, I can still remember being in awe of the energy of the place, the smells of all the delicious foods in the street markets, the heat... These 2 pictures came in really nasty industrial metal frames, not "New York Loft-Chic Industrial" but more "Framed Office Motivational Slogan Industrial", I have dumped the frames and am looking for some nice wooden ones.

I really like this painting, I usually stay away from floral paintings as they tend to lean towards pinks and yellows, whereas I'm more of a greens, blues and greys girl. This one makes me feel kind of calm when I look at it.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Thrifting time

I went to a second hand market a couple of weeks ago and got some really lovely things...


This fabulous wooden box was $8, it's BIG, I think it was probably originally a cutlery canteen, it now houses my boys' very best works of art (the ones that aren't weighing the fridge door down anyway).



I LOVE this gorgeous little travel clock, it has a lovely cream exterior and is lined with soft turquoise satin - $2.

These Babushka dolls were a steal at $1.



I've been spotting lots of gorgeous vintage fans on eBay but postage costs always bring them out of my price range, I was delighted to pick this one up for $16.

And finally this lovely Globite suitcase, it's a gorgeous greyish blue colour - $10.

Looks fab stacked with another of my vintage Globite cases ($8 in Salvos)

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm just going to find somewhere to hide, I promised my hubbie I wouldn't buy "a load of crap" at this market ("crap"? I ask you!!) and I have stupidly given him the URL to my Blog, oops!!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The Thrift Fairy's been!!!

Reading other people's Blogs I am constantly suffering "thrift envy", people casually mention an Eames rocker they picked up in a dumpster or a library card catalogue a neighbour gave them and I go green!!!

Well, yesterday the Thrift Fairy visited my street. I was out for a walk with my little ones when I spotted an old typewriter propped up against a tree, it was a dogy 80's model and in bad condition, I walked on, propped up against the next tree was an unappealing electronic typewriter with one of those LCD panels, on we ventured, against the next tree was this funky little case:

So I picked it up, it was HEAVY!! Excitement. Said to my eldest "let's see what's inside", he was all excited too, opened it and ...

Gorgeous!!! Now, I know I already own a lovely vintage typewriter (as previously posted) but that one's green so obviously I could do with a gorgeous charcoal-coloured one too :-)







I just love the workmanship that went into these old machines, the keys on this one are a bit stiff so it may not be in working condition but it will make lovely decor.


BUT the best bit about this find was when my eldest asked if we could take it home, and I said "yes", he said "Can I play with it"? and I said "of course you can" and he said "Wow! I LOVE other people's rubbish!!" The love of thrifting, I got it from my Mum and now onto my little boy :-)