You can tell from the photo above, taken in a motel room sometime in 1970s, that sharing did not come easily to me as a child. While my siblings are perfectly content to sleep three across, horizontally, on a double bed -- my brother already snoring and my sister basking in the breeze of the air conditioner, inches from her face -- I'm shooting daggers at the camera. It was probably my dad behind the lens, proudly documenting my mom's genius for fitting ten pounds of flour in a five pound sack.
Read moreGone Fishing
I'm hanging out my sign. And going to bait my hook. Because in my world, the salmon are running. I mean to say that this is the height of the vintage season with estate sales, antique fairs, outdoor flea markets, and garage sales taking place every other day. Plus, if you have been to my shop lately, you'll notice that the pickings are getting a little thin. So I'm off to fish.
Come to think of it, stocking my shop is like fishing. It takes time for each vignette to come together. Often I'm searching for months for the right elements. Then comes the photography, which is like cleaning the fish. I'm picky about that. And finally I weigh and measure and write up descriptions. That's akin to battering the fish, frying them crispy, and serving them up with some nice sides.
Read moreMy Camera Lens Takes a Vacation
Last week, we took a few days off and flew out to Washington State to visit our son. I brought along my new camera lens, purchased recently for taking product shots in my studio basement. This was my first time using it outside, and its lightweight size made it easy to carry, even on long hikes. The lens is a Nikon AF-S 35mm 1:1.8. It is a fixed lens, also known as a prime lens, which means that it does not have a zoom feature.
Because of the lack of a zoom, I must compose my photo by moving my body, not my camera lens. What I see through the viewfinder is exactly what I get. Which means contortions to get the right shot. But the big advantage to a fixed lens is all the light that pours in. Colors look great. Also note in the photo below of the law books how the background goes nice and blurry while the foreground stays incredibly crisp. At $200, it is very affordable, as far as lenses go. I feel good about this purchase.
Read moreWhy Our Kids Don't Treasure Our Treasures
In my line of work, I see the drama play out nearly every week. At your garage and rummage sales, I purchase the things that your grown children don't want. And it's killing you. Recently, a woman whimpered to me as I bought her beautiful but fragile cane chair with a floral seat needlepointed by her great great aunt: "My son won't take it," she lamented. "Really?" I asked. "Does he know that his ancestor probably raised, harvested, spun, and dyed the wool in that cushion? That she probably sacrificed her good eyesight for that cushion?" She looked at me and shook her head. "He doesn't care. It's too Grandma-looking."
Kids these days! What are we to do when we need to downsize our possessions but they don't or can't take the things we've held on to -- for years -- with them and their homes in mind?
Read moreFive Must-Reads for the Summer
Growing up in Waukegan, Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan, summers never seemed terribly hot. When the heat did arrive, I had a favorite place to hide -- the bookmobile. Did you grow up in the era of the bookmobile? In my neighborhood, the Waukegan Public Library's bookmobile arrived on the same day each week and I would be waiting, sweaty, my bicycle discarded in the weeds, my shoulder bag full of last week's selections. Oh what cool comfort I derived from inside that book-lined van.
Forty years later, I still love children's books. What is it about them that is so appealing? (By the way, Anthropologie carries reissued sets of vintage children's books and they can't keep them in stock.)
Read moreWes Anderson's Life Aquatic and a Fun Fourth Sale!
Yes, I'm having a sale. New inventory and old is all discounted this weekend only. (By the way, if you subscribe to this blog, you got early notification.) Use code july4sale at checkout for 20% off through Sunday evening.
One of the collections on sale is brand-spanking-new. It is called "The Life Aquatic Wall Collage" (pictured above) and it was inspired by the Wes Anderson film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I've watched Anderson's movies over and over, drinking in the saturated colors, the quirky costumes, the precisely perfect sets. He creates a world so nostalgic that you feel the way you do flipping through your parents' wedding album. Everything has a fairytale aura that has no basis in reality but that captivates our imagination just the same.
Read moreMaking Peace with an Urge to Sell
What would Grandma do? I ask that question all the time. She is gone but her voice is in my head, and whenever I'm in doubt, I hear her loud and clear.
I'm in doubt a lot these days. It comes with the territory of selling online. Opening a business is like embarking on a home improvement project that seems straightforward until you tear down a wall and find 3000 brown bats roosting between the joists. (Read about that here.)
When I walk into my basement storage room and see the boxes of inventory, staring at me with an accusing look, like I'm not doing enough to make people love them, I get a pit in my stomach that all small business owners can understand. It even has a name: the "Trough of Sorrow". (Paul Graham, world famous internet start-up investor, came up with that.)
Read moreA Room for Read's Reading
To my loyal readers who prefer to click on a post with photographs of humans, let me urge you to stay a moment, and look again. Because indeed a human is hidden in the image above. He is there amongst the stacks of titles. Those are his books, you see, and his daughter, my friend Alice, has turned her dining room table into a living library in his memory.
I remember the day I glanced at Alice's dining room and came to the easy conclusion that the space is stunning: the antique carved Spanish furniture, the gorgeously colored wallpaper, the wrought iron Rococo chandelier, the sunny window seat -- a favored perch of Alice's trio of dogs who keeps watch over the comings and goings of her large family.
Read moreRum Punch Party Kit
This week, I attended a wake. It was the eighth time I attended this particular wake. My friend Ellen holds it on the last day of school. We gather at 1:00 on her patio. Some of us wear funeral black. We mourn the end of school and the beginning of dog days spent in the company of our darling angels. Yes, we are bad moms. But we are bad moms together. Our bad-momishness is enough of a thread to tie us together for an afternoon of grapefruit gimlets.
That's how the best parties happen. You take a common thread and transform it into a luscious party bow that wraps around a bunch of people and ta-da!
Read moreThis Handsome Hunk
We all know this mug. After all, John Wayne is a bigger-than-life symbol of the American West and Old Hollywood. But did you know that John Wayne was a homebody? And a consummate collector?
"The Duke" made more than 142 films all over the world. While on location, he spent his downtime haunting local thrift stores and antique shops. He lugged home all sort of art, furniture, and objects. His weaknesses were guns, kachina dolls, Japanese ceramics, Native American relics, bronze sculptures, and fine English furniture. Here is what he told Architectural Digest back in 1977:
Read moreI've Been Knocked Up!
Okay okay, I'm not knocked up. I believe the term I'm looking for is knocked off. But heck if it doesn't feel like I've been knocked up. Like, how could this happen? What should I do? What does this mean? Does this change my routine?
I'm taking a deep breath now and backing up to explain: today on one of my favorite blogs, I read about a new shop that just launched. It's called Still Life No. 3. Go ahead. Click here to take a peek. And come right back.
Read more"From Cocoon Forth a Butterfly"
Butterfly specimens in lucite. More information here.
Summer is upon us! Remember that old Farmer's Almanac adage about getting your flowers planted before Memorial Day? Never mind my yard, this year I planted in my shop. Why don't you take a moment and stroll down my virtual garden path? You'll see a lot of butterflies and flowers.
Mostly butterflies, actually. What is it exactly about those creatures that we love? When it's the middle of a Wisconsin winter and I see butterflies adorning things at estate sales, I reach for them instinctively. They are interlopers that flit in from another world, like a beloved child home from college. I marvel at their wings -- as thin as a nightgown. And is there a biological reason why they're so colorful and showy?
Read moreAmy Sedaris as Muse
Today’s post is about Amy Sedaris. Some of you may ask: who is Amy Sedaris? Well, pardon me as I aerate my lungs so I can scream, “SHE IS A LIVING LEGEND!” If this is the first time you are hearing about her, I am sad at your circumstance but glad to enlighten you.
Anyway, the fabulous Miss Amy Sedaris is a comic. Maybe you know her from Comedy Central’s Strangers with Candy. Maybe you know her big brother, David. He’s almost as funny. But his face isn't quite as elastic as hers. She's got play-doh features and eyebrows wired with fishline that enable her to transform herself into characters we recognize from that one time we went to Ho-Chunk Casino.
Read moreWhat a Snapshot Reveals
Today I planned to hit you over the head with an ambitious do-it-yourself project. It involves taking an old slide or negative and turning it into a sentimental masterpiece worthy of prime wall space in a soulful home. The image I’m using for this project happens to be of a woman and a child sitting on a horse in a desert. The woman is my mother, I am the child, and the desert is in Iran. Which is frankly a lot more fun to write about than pixels and filters. So the Photoshop step-by-step will have to wait for another day. Let’s talk about my mom.
Read moreTwo Artists You Must Know: Amy Sheppard Morose and Stephanie Barenz
I remember the first time I purchased a piece of art. I was walking home through the park where an art fair was taking place. The booth of a watercolorist caught my eye. He painted animals in a fairytale way. I asked how much for the one of the lions marching off to war with their teddybears. When he told me the price, I hurried home, counted out the necessary sum, and raced back to the fair to buy the watercolor. I was ten.
Buying art should always be that instinctive and straightforward. But mixing art and business is like asking a horse to dance. It is possible but it takes discipline, training and finesse.
Read moreLila Mae and Me
I am pleased as punch to share the news that I am a new "tastemaker" at the lovely online destination, Lila Mae. A few new Finder Not Keeper collections are exclusive to Lila Mae, including the Serengeti Vignette, pictured above.
Lila Mae is an eco-friendly destination for high quality products that are sustainably made to minimize the environmental impact. Most of you have figured out that everything I sell is used, antique, and vintage, which means my collections are almost as green as the moss growing on my copy of Aldo Lepold's A Sand County Almanac. So Lila Mae and Finder Not Keeper are a good match.
Read moreWhy I Bought Shares of Etsy
Yesterday, Etsy, the online marketplace dedicated to all things handmade, went public. The share price was $16. I bought a bunch. I am filing this post under "Mistakes" because maybe I just made a costly one. But I don't think so. The source of my confidence is an aspect of Etsy that is too little discussed. I'll get to that in a minute. But first, a quick introduction of Etsy. (I've peppered this post with images of products purchased over the years on this fabulous marketplace. Click on each photo for information.)
Read moreHere's a Drink to Drown Your Sorrows
It was hard enough to say good-bye to the 1960s the first time. Now we have to do it again? Mad Men, that silky smoky show which captivated millions of viewers and inspired me to buy every piece of midcentury barware I found, is coming to a close. Don Draper is free falling through the skyscrapers on Madison Avenue one final season and we are bereft.
Read moreToday Only! April Fool's Slideshow in the Shop!
This is a special blog post devoted to my most favorite of holidays, April Fool's. There's even a new slideshow on Finder Not Keeper that is viewable today only. To those who may be offended by my ribald sense of humor, I can only say this: I'm doing my part to lighten the load. Tomorrow I'll make up for this unladylike behavior by ironing my duvet cover and writing the stack of thank-you notes I owe.
But for now, 'bear' with me while I tell you about the joke played on me by the carved creature in the photo above. I fell in love with his innocent eyes and when I brought him home,
Read moreCaption Help Please!
I'm working on captions for my April Fool's photos. These photos will live for twenty-four hours on Finder Not Keeper's home page on April 1. Above is one of the photos I'll be featuring. I'd love help from you clever people to supply a caption. Make fun of the bunnies. Or the flowers. (The whole collage will be available for sale next week.)
There's only one rule. Don't hold back. Leave your suggestion in the comments below. For examples from last year, scroll to the bottom.
Be aware that swear words don't bother me. Because I am modern. Like my mom. One evening a few years ago, she called me on the phone.
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