Sunday, July 27, 2008

Vintage - Things from a simpler time? Bull Hockey!

There is no such thing as a "simpler time". Take that glow off any dreamer or idealistic images and put it somewhere where the sun does not shine. It's personal opinion time here: the main reason the past appears so charming, so romantic, is that all the bad stuff was carefully hidden and simply not talked about - you put on the right clothes, a face sharing nothing but platitudes and you desparately worked towards the allusion that you were just like everyone else. Abuse, addiction, depression, pure meanness, egos, control freaks, mental illness, ignorance, fanaticizm, it was all there hidden behind the visage of normalcy.

I don't like old things because they make me yearn for a "better" life in the past. As an unmarried, past middle age female with no blood family and no "estate", I would very likely be dead. If alive, I would probably look like I was 90 while selling apples or begging on street corners. No thank you.

I like old things because of the energy they hold for me. The whispers of what they've seen. The reality of the lives around them, the power of the emotions. Things never spoken of have more power to fuel human emotions than anything else in the world. I like old things because every day items, that have become throw aways in our world, are quality crafted, made to last a lifetime and attractive to boot. I like them because to see what a people found attractive, what they chose to decorate their lives with, what they enjoyed seeing, tells you more about who they really were. I like old things because of the perpetual why? why do humans feel the need to decorate? From incised lines in unglazed rough pottery to hand painted translucent porcelain, humans decorate. Not only do we decorate, we seem to change our preference in style of decorations according to the world and its climate, both weather wise and human vagary wise.

That's why I like old things. They fascinate the Hades out of me.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Why My Shabbi Chic?


I had to come to terms with the nomenclature of My Shabbi Chic before starting a blog. The results of my figuring out how in the sam hill I got myself stuck with that moniker will be the first post to my first blog. The fact that it is my first blog, and my first real stand alone presence on the web, really made me not want this as a blog name. Really wanted something with "old broad" in it combined with "musings", "rants", "chronicles", etc.. You know - mouthy old lady with attitude, heart of gold, philosophical, witty, warms the cockles of your heart while making you snort with laughter. But Google search changed all of that.

It wasn't that the dozen or so fabulous names I toyed with had been taken. It wasn't that the names flagged any obscenity no-no's. It was due to a whim that made me Google myshabbichic and the realization that I already had a web presence. Once I got over the thrill of that - and I'm sorry, it was a thrill for me, so sit on it, I realized the shabbi one was here to stay. A name picked to sell on ebay, chosen partly from pique, partly to save myself from loved one's suggestions for names and partly cause no one else was using it.

The resentment was probably menopausal reaction, but the lady who made all the cash on the whole shabby chic thing? well I had photos of my apartment in the early 70's, all white washed old wood and bamboo furniture with upholstery recovered in barkcloth cabbage roses and tropical ferns, distressed wood and gesso framed mirrors on every wall, candles in unusual glass holders, seashells and quaint old leather covered books laying around - and I didn't make millions off it. Then of course there were the charming names friends and loved ones kept coming up with, from the too cutesy and overly used types like Granny's Attic to the who would want to buy anything from soomeone named junkedouttrasher. With a sniff at English blondes and well meaning buddies, I decided it was my particular brand of shabby as in charming chic style that I was trying to sell - hence, the name.

Whether I'm just a glass half full type or one that always sees the silver lining, the name is finally growing on me. And truth win out - I've surrounded myself, dressed myself, educated myself in, the used, passed on, discarded, items of times past. Even when I don't need them or particularly even like them, I bring them home cause I can't stand to see them just trashed. Style is timeless and I like things with style - I love to dig thru boxes and crowded shelves for those special things that catch my eye - I love saving a beautiful pot or silk scarf from the landfill.

The photo at the beginning is a collage of items I have bought and have or will be selling or bartering in the future. Going from left to right starting in the upper left corner: A Florenza letter holder, an unglazed African folk art contemporary sculpture, a 1940s aluminum perpetual calendar, a Fornasetti box, a marked Mexican sterling silver turquoise inlay question mark pendant, Bjorn Winblad playing cards, a 1950's carpet bag purse, a 1970s 80s Kliban cat coffee mug over a mid century lucite paperweight with a full blown dandelion encased and a one edition 1980s deck of tarot cards, a ceramic spaghetti spaniel made in Italy, three older cameos over a very funky 1920s 30s made in Japan character ashtray, a ceramic sculpture by Fantoni, a handpainted silk tie on the naughty side, a made in Italy with pottery marks rooster pitcher, an engraved metal peacock with a 12 inch clam shell body, a 3D tooled leather purse with cowhide border made in Mexico from the 1950s 60s, a mid-century modern Mexican silver cuff signed, a Nagel mug and last but not least, another Florenza piece, a small double frame made out of an old locket on a stand up base of faux gems.

All in all, it really is a perfect name - my shabbi chic.