From the category archives:

Vintage Collectables

Hobo Nickels

January 9, 2012

I was reading my brothers blog last week, Rivington Design House and was beyond excited to learn about a new vintage artifact that I had never heard of before, the hobo nickel. You know me, I love anything and everything vintage, especially when I can related it back to jewelry. I did a little reading on Wiki to learn more about them. Hobo nickels were created and popular from the 1910′s to the 1930′s. Artists basically carved images onto nickles because they were easy to work with. Hobo nickels became most popular after The Great Depression due to the increased job loss. Hobos, men who were jobless, started to travel to look for work and created artistic coins to barter with. They could sell a coin for a meal or a place to sleep for the night. The coins had all kinds of different designs, male faces, skeletons. Much different from love tokens which were very romantic and sentimental. I did a little browsing on line to find some of my favorite hobo nickels.

I would love to find some of these coins, drill a hole into them and turn them into pendants. Don’t you think that would be lovely?

Lauren

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Vintage Salt and Pepper Shakers

November 16, 2011

Me and my collections, I know I have way to many. But how good would a few white shelves in the kitchen look with vintage salt and pepper shakers. You know the really cute ones from the 50′s and 60′s in all kinds of crazy designs. I love to scope them out when I go to antique centers. I did some searching on Ebay and here is what I found.

What is your favorite?

Lauren

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Vintage Carnival Glass, Jadeite, and Milk Glass

November 8, 2011

Hi All,

Since I was stuck at home most of the weekend due to a healing wisdom tooth extraction I was in a nesting mood. We have lived in our apartment for almost a year now and had yet to hang up art in our bedroom until Sunday. I do not know what took us so long because we already had our framed art in the basement in storage. The bedroom had become my least favorite room in the house. For one it is 10 degrees cooler in that room then the other rooms so during the winter I stay out of it except to sleep. And two, since our apartment is rather tiny in comparison to our old two bedroom, the bedroom seemed like a storage space to me. I think we were able to fit a book shelf, armoir, and four dressers, its a big room. It honestly just felt like a sad version of Ikea in there until we covered the walls in art. I am so happy we finally did it because I now LOVE our room! We finally have color and design on the walls and I couldn’t be happier with the end results. Anyhow, I recently started a new collection, and am now on missions to find on the cheap vintage Carnival Glass, Jadeite, and Milk Glass to add to my home. I love collecting vintage housewares. Theres something so special knowing that these bowls, glasses, etc were made with such attention to detail a long long time ago. I want to scatter these bowls and cups around my bedroom to add some more color and they are perfect for displaying our watches and jewelry.

A little background on these glasses. According to wiki, “ Carnival glass is moulded or pressed glass, always with a pattern and always with a shiny, metallic, iridescent surface shimmer.” They come in all different colors and designs. The three bowls that I have are all on the orange and yellow side with the pretty iridescence shades that swirl through. I have seen some beautiful blue and purple in antique stores which I love but were too expensive for me. Hoping I can find those colors to add to my collection. They were designed in the early 1900′s and by the 40′s the production began to decline.

Jadeite is another type of vintage glass that was produced during the 30′s through the 1970′s. Dishes, bowls, glasses are some popular designs and they are opaque with a beautiful mint green color. unfortunately I don’t have any in my collection just yet.

Milk glass has a really pretty opaque white color to it and was popular in the depression era and 1940′s as well. During the depression the glass was less decorative but during the 40′s it had much more attention to design for the wealthy. I did a little search on Ebay to find you my favorites. Have a look

Carnival Glass

love the peacock design

the color is amazing. I honestly don’t know what color to call it

blue

purple

love the little birdy. would be perfect to store my makeup brushes in

Jadeite

love the mint green

1940′s Vase

Milk Glass

love the grape motif

perfect for storing kitchen tools

hen

how cool, hand and fan dish. love how the hand is wearing a ring

Looking at all of these beauties makes me want to shop. Uh oh

Lauren

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Vintage Toyland

October 6, 2011

You know me, I have no shame in collecting anything and everything my apartment can hold and then some. It really does upset Craig but what can I say, I have been collecting things my entire life. When I was little we used to go on a few cruises a year. My brother and I were obsessed with collecting Swavroksi crystal figurines, you know the animal ones and would scout out the cruise boutique every day deciding which ones we wanted for our collection. We were not too careful with our collections and it is safe to say many of the animals might have been missing a tail or an ear but we loved them. I no longer collect those figurines but my obsession with collecting is something that will never end. I love collecting things for my home, especially vintage and antique and i think vintage toys should be next on my list. I don’t have any kids yet except my kitties and I do spoil them with lots of toys. What I love about vintage toys is how colorful they are. They have really unique colors, graphics, and illustrations and think they would look charming scattered through the house acting as art. They really are the perfect way to add color to a room and such a fun conversation starter. Why not put a vintage toy on display on a book shelf or your desk. I did a little browsing on Etsy and came across the shop Vintage Toyland that has the sweetest vintage toys. My favorites below.

I need to cut this post short. Having tech issues again. Is the site running slow for anyone else today? It is acting really slow for me. If having any difficulties please send me an email

Lauren

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Vintage Hermes Scarves

September 15, 2011

I will always have a love affiar with vintage Hermes scarves. I don’t know what it is, maybe the beautiful patterns made of silk, the luxurious colors, or the tiny Hermes logo, I just love Hermes scarves. They are such a fun little piece of artwork to collect. I have been lucky enough to start my own collection, I think I have four or five of them that had been passed down from both my Grandmother and Mom. I assume these scarves are from the 80′s and 90′s and truly stunning. An Hermes scarf is an investment piece that is so classic will never go out of style. I don’t wear mine nearly ernough. For now they live folded nicely in my dresser. But I imagine would look great with everything from a trench coat to a little black dress. I did a little hunting on Ebay to find some incredible vintage styles.

My Hermes Favorites

Lauren

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Vintage Love Tokens

August 9, 2011

In the 1800′s a really sweet way people would show their emotions for one another was by wearing love tokens. They were created on coins where one side was a normal coin and the other was smoothed and composed of an engraving. The engraving might be a name, initials of a couple, sometimes a picture. People would wear them around their necks to declare their love for each other. It was a very romantic gesture and I still wish people made them today. I am on a mission now to find a vintage love token with either a CL for Lauren and Craig, a C, a V for our last name Vitello, or a romantic drawing. I have been doing some browsing on Ebay. Here is what I found.

love the illustration in this one

love the little house etching. Perfect for the first home you move into with your loved one

new mom

half a love token, reminds me of the best friends necklaces

Ethel

I like the ones with the full name and a little picture the most.

Lauren

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Summer 2011 Brimfield Antique Show Photos

July 19, 2011

Hello All,
Lauren and I explored the many fields of Brimfield antique and collectibles show this past week. It was our first time and we had no idea what to expect. We were warned, “it’s SO much fun, but you’re not going find any good deals.” Thursday was absolutely perfect, 80 degrees, no humidity, no traffic and plenty of deals. We saw some beautiful jewelry, some silly signs, some creepy collectibles and even some tornado destruction:

Craig

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Vintage Sunglasses

July 6, 2011

It has been a long while since I have bought a pair of vintage sunnies. Truth be told I can not even remember my last purchase but it must have been like three years ago. I have bought both modern designer and cheapies within the last few years but not vintage. And vintage has always been and will always be my favorite. I feel much more glamorous when I rock a pair of vintage sunglasses almost like I am being transported back in time into a chicer version of myself. I found some amazing pairs on 1st dibs that are looking for new homes. Wish it was in my dresser though

Pucci 1960′s need to add Pucci to my collection

70′s Pucci

Ted Lapidus 1970′s I have two in my collection. one of them broke though and are amazing

70′s Dior

been looking for a pair of these 70′s Dior for a long time

these are amazing. vintageÂ Emmanuelle Khanh with snake skin trim. I have a couple in my collection with a cat eye but nothing oversized like this pair

amazing Chanel from the 90′s

1950′s cat eye would look great with light pink lenses

Kakkoii Mono 1930′s love how round they are

60′s Pucci love the bright pink

1950′s so unusual love the pearlized frames

amazing Lanvin tortise shell from the 80′s

not sure if these Chanels are vintage but they are great either way

What is your favorite pair?

Lauren

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My Daguerreotype Boyfriend

June 17, 2011

One of my favorite things to collect for Corvus Noir are antique ambrotypes, tin types, and daguerreotypes. They are one of the first forms of photography where images were printed on metal plates and was exposed while people were posing for their photos. The ones I collect are from the 1860′s and housed in a beautiful wooden frame with velvet and gold tone metal. I love to turn them into oversized pendants. Expect to see some in the store in the future. Most people could not afford to pay to have their picture taken and as a result had to save up for it. These portraits as a result were very important and most could only afford to have one portrait in their life time. They are very covetable today and many like to collect these photos because they are a token of the past and history. It is so interesting to see how different peoples styles were back then. I recently stumbled upon a new blog, My Daguerreotpe Boyfriend that searches for these old photos and posts pics of the men they deem attractive.Or lets be real and say hot. It is such a cool and interesting way to look back at history. My favorites below.

anyone else think this looks like Aidan Quinn

I trhought it would be fun to take it one step further and do my own ebay search on the hottest guys as well.Let me refrase, hot for the 1860′s. My findings below

kind of looks like my husband, like the tinted cheeks

On our gallery page is an example of our Ambrotype necklace

Have a great weekend. Craig and I are going to the Mermaid Parade with our friends Amanda and Michael. Will be taking photos for the blog

Lauren

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Vintage Cereal Box

May 20, 2011

Craig sent me and amazing link on twitter today about vintage cereal boxes that I had to share with all of you. As a kid I loved cereal, I mean who doesn’t. I would still eat it today if not for the small fact that it upsets my belly. But as a kid and into my early twenties I would eat it for breakfast every day and lots of times for dessert after dinner as well. For some strange reason I think cereal tastes even better late at night, anyone else with me? When I was little I loved to go to the super market and browse the cereal isle grabbing as many boxes as I could, we did not have a limit and could buy any kind we wanted. Which of course meant all of the sugary kinds. Some of my favorites were Lucky Charms, Coco Puffs, Cookie Crisp, and soo many more I honestly can’t think of right now. I think what draws kids in to choosing their favorite cereals and sticking with them for years is the graphics on the box. The bad for you cereals always have the best designs. Lots of bright color, fun fonts, and of course the best cartoon characters. The “healthy” cereals seemed to be lacking in fun designs and I think if they spruced up the artwork, little kids would be more attracted to them and pick them off of the shelves.

Craig found this great site that is like a library for scans of vintage cereal boxes, seriously cool. The site is called The Imaginary World and has a great index of many cereal brands I have never heard of . Truthfully I feel like the graphics and illustrations were better years ago and I am having a great time browsing through everything. Below are some of my favorites.