The Thrill of the Hunt

 

Most of the silver plate flatware that we use in our creations is hunted at thrift shops, garage sales, on Craigslist and on Ebay. We find pieces in varying conditions. Some pieces are absolutely stunning and appear to have never been used while others look like they have spent a lifetime outdoors.  We do not discriminate when collecting. We know that no matter what the condition we will be able to find a way to re-envision the piece into something that will bring joy to its future owner.

 The pieces in these photos were given to me by my friend Ian at Dunbar Disposal. All of these pieces were picked up by Ian during some junk removal jobs. He saved them from ending up in the landfill and passed them along for "...and then again" to re-purpose.

 

The details in some of these pieces are stunning. The large spoon with the shell motif is from 1896 by Rogers & Hamilton. It is a Berry Spoon in the Raphael pattern.  The souvenir spoon from 1909, is sterling and depicts the Church of St. Mary The Virgin at Oxford University.

This pile of flatware pictured above is a 4 piece dinner service plus a couple of extras. I polished one spoon in the middle to show how well some of the silver cleans up. This particular pattern is Arcadia aka Margate 1938 by Simeon L. & George H. Rogers Company.

Identifying the manufacturers and patterns of the silverware is part of the fun as well. I have a few websites that I refer to regularly as they have great photos, with full descriptions of origin and date. The character and sense of mystery that accompanies every piece we find really brings them to life. I often wonder who they belonged to, and how and when were they used? They certainly carry a timeless beauty.

-Amanda

For Your Viewing Pleasure.

Here are some more photos of our booth and re-envisioned items for purchase from Re-Fresh Market on April 27th in Squamish, BC.

Again, we want to thank the event organizers, Shannon and Rachel. Job well done ladies.

We also want to thank all the market goers, the great vendors we met and our awesome helpers Bobbi, Jenna and Shawn.

See you at Déja Vu Vintage Market on July 6th at the Wellbrook Winery.

-Amanda  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sneak Peek

If you follow us over on Facebook you have may have already seen our announcement that we will be part of The Refresh Market in Squamish on Saturday, April 27th. The market will take place from 11:00am to 4:00pm at The West Coast Railway Heritage Park in the roundhouse. I took a look at pictures of the venue and it looks awesome. Lots of natural light and open space.

We are really looking forward to the market and have been busy pulling the 'look' of our booth together and working on some new decor and jewellery designs.

Without giving too much away, the photos below give a taste of what the mood of our display will entail. We have focused on the renewal and transformation of Spring.

 We're pulling together elements of raw beauty found in nature with the elegant refinement of silver, crystal and pretty fabrics.

 

 

 

 

We are so looking forward to meeting the event organizers Shannon and Rachel, and all the other vendors as well.  

Hope you can make it to Squamish too!

-Amanda 

Arm Candy

Happy sunny Sunday!

For those of us here on the 'Wet Coast' it feels like it has been a long time since we have been able to catch this much Vitamin D!

In anticipation of Spring and more lovely weather to come, we thought we would preview our new Arm Candy.

 

 



 

We recently redesigned our silver flatware bracelets. We were previously using various chains with the flatware, but have now switched to an assortment of beautiful semi-precious stones. The stones bring life, drama and colour to the silver piece. The bracelets also have a more universal fit as the flatware piece of the bracelet has been shortened to sit on the top of the wrist like an ID bracelet. The bracelets are then finished with a handmade hook and eye clasp.

 

As we are fans of the layered look, we also made gemstone chip elastic bracelets to coordinate with the silver and gemstone bracelet.

 

The semi-precious gemstones in these pictures include amazonite, rhodonite, fluorite, cherry quartz, crystal quartz, rose quartz, labradorite, new jade and fancy jasper.

 

 

 

 We have also created a selection of earrings made from silverplated flatware ends. 

 

For those of you interested, these items won't be making it to our Etsy shoppe yet...we are hoping to revamp the whole shoppe in May. We will keep you posted on an upcoming spring market where all of our new items will make their debut. In the meantime if you are interested in purchasing any of the bracelets please contact us through our email or our Facebook page.

 

-Amanda



Inspiration

Happy February!

 

So glad that we are one month closer to spring! I am ready for longer days, vitamin D and the cherry blossoms that line our street. January has felt much too long!

 

Yesterday my mom and I went to Vancouver in search of inspiration for new designs for spring. We started at our favourite bead warehouse where we picked out some great gemstones, crystals and findings.

 

 

 

 

The stones above are New Jade, Amazonite, Fancy Jasper, Goldstone and Rose Quartz. They will be used in a new bracelet design and maybe for napkin rings.

 

 

 

 

I absolutely love the sparkle of these Swarovski crystals. They look so great in this seashell. It reminds me of a nebula and the stars.

 

 

These Crazy Lace Agate beads are beautiful and pick up so many tones. Hmmm what to make with them?

 

 

 

Our second stop was Heather Ross natural eclectic. It had been almost a year since we were last in her beautiful shop. A wonderfully curated collection of vintage finds, home decor and Heather's art and photography, it is an inspiring place to visit.

 

I picked up the seashell and the clay bowl in her shop and will be using them to display and photograph jewellery. I had my eye on many other items and will be making my way back again soon.

 

 

We had a tasty coffee break at Beaucoup Bakery and Café  located in the same converted building at Fir and 6th. The pain au chocolat was irresistible. In addition to the food, I loved the simple yet sophisticated decor of the café, including the dreamy paint colour and vintage chandelier in the bathroom (!).  I often envisage a peaceful, vintage glam space in my home, but with two energetic little boys it isn`t really in the cards right now...Oh well, a perfect excuse for another french inspired coffee and pastry.

 

 

My final acquisition of the day was this awesome array of silverplate items to add to my collection. I love the detail on the tray. Still not sure what I want to do with it...

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

- Amanda



Branching Out

In late 2012 we were approached by a couple of retailers who were inquiring about wholesale orders. This was a very exciting prospect, but something we had not thought much about yet. Still getting the hang of selling via Etsy, we weren't sure if we were ready to get in place all the details that go with selling wholesale.

After some consideration and planning we are excited to announce that our wholesale catalogues for retailers are now ready! We are happy with the look and are excited to deliver them to those who are interested.

We will keep you posted on any exciting news!

Happy New Year!

Exciting News

How did December come so quickly?

We have had a very busy couple of weeks completing custom orders for Christmas and responding to wholesale inquiries! So much fun!  

For those of you in Victoria, you will now be able to purchase and then again's stamped flatware at The Root Cellar Village Green Grocer. We delivered our first wholesale order to Daisy and her staff on Saturday.

Wow, what a wonderful green grocer. The produce looked so fresh, the prices were great and lots of local goodies to choose from. Wish we lived closer.

You will find the flatware in the section of the grocer called The Potting Shed. So much beautiful greenery, flowers and gifts.

Don't they look great!? We are very pleased.



 

These first official 6 months in business have flown by. We are so grateful for all the love we have been getting and are really excited to share some of the many, many more ideas we have for re-envisioning the flatware and furniture that we work with. We look forward to sharing more exciting news soon. Maybe even a location to purchase our items overseas? (wink)

In the meantime we would like to invite you to our Christmas Musings Mix & Mingle on Saturday, December 15th from 1pm to 5pm in Tsawwassen. We will have a selection of our flatware items and furniture pieces available for purchase (cash & carry). Please send us a message if you are able to attend. Hope to see you there!

- Amanda