Shopping Vintage: Week 3

Here I bring you all your vintage delights with exquisite finds and unique discoveries spanning across the Etsy vintage stores. Although I missed last week's blog, I hope this one makes up for it with these three beautiful, unique shops. Their products are perfect for sprucing up your home for spring or finding that new spring outfit!

The first shop is Salt&Ginger. Adorable with capturing photos, you can only smile as you browse through her lovely sections of home decor that spans different styles. Salt&Ginger offers mid century, post-Depression, Hollywood Regency and more in choice of products. If you are looking to add some spice in your home decor or just looking for that perfect, unique gift, this is the shop to go to. Here are some of her wonderful products: 

Vintage Silver Rimmed Lowball Glasses

Vintage Koala Figurine 

Vintage Brass Antelope Head Bookends

For those looking for vintage clothes and styles, DOTTO is the place to go. Filled with vintage clothes ranging from dresses to swimsuits, this shop not only has a fantastic selection, but also helps the shop owner be able to work in multiple volunteer organizations. Here are some of the organizations she works with: "SitStayRead: a literacy program for inner city school kids,  PAWS Chicago: an animal shelter foster mom of dreams, and KEEN: a recreational activities for disabled kiddos. DOTTO is a beautiful shop and supporting it will help this shop owner continue to do her amazing work with these organizations. Here are a few of her products: 

1970's Mustard Corduroy Vest

1950's Holiday Jacket 

1970's Square Dance Skirt

This last shop is a must for every vintage shopper. Andolina'sWishes is a beautiful shop that holds an array of vintage jewelry, handbags, decor and more. When browsing through the sections, you find multiple choices and feel as if you are in a physical vintage shop. The products are of great quality, and each picture captures the item's life and quality.

1940's Brown Leather Purse 

1920's White Lace Collar 

1960's Vintage Clip On Earrings 

These are all amazing vintage shops and each is unique in their style and products they sell. Check them out and have a fabulous week! 

Happy hunting!

Featured Shops: 

Salt&Ginger

DOTTO

Andolina'sWishes

Shopping Vintage: Week 2

The rain has come to our high desert area, and we now await the spring weather to follow. When you shop in thrift stores and antique shops, you want to find the item that hooks you. You want to fall in love with something that will look amazing on your shelf or fantastic on you for that night on the town. 

Although you may not get to take in the aroma of antique shelving or feel the 1950's dress, Etsy vintage sellers offer an array of choices for the vintage shopper to choose from. From clothing to home decor, a store can carry items that you would never find on your own! Below are three stores we discovered and love. They carry beautiful vintage items that are retro, unique and elegant.

The first store goes by the name Photos Past. Their love of vintage and antique items is displayed through their diversity and care in the products they post. They have every kind of item and browsing through their store is very much like browsing through a vintage shop. Here are a few of their wonderful products! They also offer 10% off purchase for return customers. 

First Little Golden Books.

                                  

Beautiful Vintage Brown Suitcase.

Vintage Pie Basket. Lovely!

The next shop that caught our eye is Vaux Vintage. This beautiful vintage shop main products are vintage clothes and accessories for both men and women. Her photos are simple but fun. Her care and love for vintage shines through her shop and each product is unique in some way. Check out some of her items below!

Awesome 60's Blue and Tan Sprink Knit Top. 

Vintage 70's Denim Cowgirl Top. 

Stunning Vintage 80's Black Suede Cut Out Booties. 

The last vintage shop we wish to present to you is Cab Art Vintage. Filled with French vintage items, this shop has some beautiful vintage finds! From Provence in southern France, Cab Art Vintage finds their items at flea markets and love doing it. In her about, the owner states how her four loves are her husband, her two golden retrievers, painting, and flea markets filled with treasures. Her photos are beautiful and her shop shows her love for vintage. Check out some of her products below!

French Antique Jewelry Box. Beautiful!

Lovely Antique French Kitchen Canisters. 

Unique French Vintage Blue Seltzer Bottle!

If you are looking for unique vintage, browse these amazing stores on Etsy! You can also type in "eve team" for even more exquisite vintage. Enjoy browsing, discovering, and reminiscing. Until next time!

Discovering Vintage

We decided to go on a vintage hunt, and, taking advice from some local thrift store owners, headed to a place dubbed “Retro Row” on 4th St. in Long Beach, CA where the street was filled with vintage themed shops and thrift stores. 

As we drove, we saw the store fronts shift and the culture of the area change from normal street corners to vivid buildings and beautiful window displays. Colorful vintage store fronts and clever names filled our view. 

We began with a store entitled The Feed Store; a beautiful vintage store that had unique vintage items ranging from wedding dresses to small cowboy hats in boxes. It was a store filled with items that anyone could fall in love with instantly. (check out the Feed Store)

As we continued to walk 4th street, we saw how these shops brought life and diversity to what would normally be just another street. A sense of pride was displayed in the street colors, signs and even bicycle racks. This same pride can be seen with vintage sellers on Etsy. Although we don’t have a physical storefront, our virtual presence, and everything it encompasses, should be just as inviting and sensorial. Do your photos give the customer an experience akin to holding the item in their hands? Do your descriptions paint a picture?  Our photos allow our customers to see the item and the description is their contact with the feeling, smell, and connection with the item. Our shop names draw people in, and our About pages give people glimpses of the person behind the counter. 

We realized the more we treat our vintage shop like it’s a member of “Retro Row” in Long Beach, California the more customers will be able to experience a vintage shopping experience. Our passion can be displayed as people discover our vintage, and we discover theirs. So, keep hunting and always remember that your shop is really a vintage shop on 4th street in Long Beach, Ca. 

Check out our shop for more vintage here!

Zucchini Banana Bread Recipe

Lovely recipe from a fellow blogger! Looks delicious! We will definitely be trying this out!

Oh So Lovely Vintage: Zucchini banana bread recipe.: Ingredients: * 3 Very ripe bananas * 2 Small zucchinis, approximately 1 Cup shredded * 1/2 C Sugar * 3 Tbsp honey or Agave syru...

What's Your Favorite Thrift Store Find?

I began my obsession with thrift shopping at a young age. My grandma, the original bargain master, used to take me to every Goodwill in Los Angeles County. I used to rummage through the men’s suit collection, hoping to find a beautiful three piece pinstriped suit. It didn’t matter if the lapels could double for airplane wings or even if it was made of polyester, if it fit me I wanted it. 

It took several years of growing before I finally found that suit. It fit me like it was made for me. It had a tag in the interior pocket dated 1936 (my favorite year) and it was adorned with the most beautiful pinstripes this boy had ever seen. 

It was, by far, the greatest thing I ever found at a thrift store, until eight years later... 

My wife and I are on a routine hunt for new products for our Etsy shop. We stop in a bargain store we’ve never visited before. For those of you who have hypoglycemia you can understand the sensation we experienced the moment our eyes rested on this store’s bounty. It was a Hipster’s paradise. Our paradise. 

I couldn’t believe the amazing things I was finding. Every find seemed to outdo the next, but all fell silent and bowed in reverence the moment my wife tapped me on the shoulder and handed me the greatest thrift shop find of all eternity; a Universal Studios E.T. piggy bank! Copyright 1982! Four times a day every day, I watched this masterpiece. It made me become a filmmaker! This was my childhood. This was my life!   My life for only $4. Sorry grandma, my wife is the new bargain master. 

That was my favorite thrift shop of all time! What is yours? 

Please share your favorite find story in the comments below!

Not for sale!

This is mine!

                             

Simple Leaves of Paper

We take pride in the items we have from our shop. From swap meets to local thrift shops, we search for unique, lost items and bring them to you. We take our time with the pictures, but we also take our time with packaging. Every purchase is important to us, and we show this with our simple but personal wrapping.

Item ready for shipping.

Remember the days when brown paper packages would come in the mail? Every time you buy from us, you will to be taken back to simple times of brown paper and carefully made products. Every item we post is cleaned as best as it can be without ruining the product. If it is breakable or needs cushioning, we encase the item in soft cotton for shipping. A simple brown tag with our name and a thank you for supporting GEMS is then placed around your purchase. The item is finally wrapped in recycled brown paper and tied with jute cord. This gives a simple but personal feel to this item. 

Autumn leaves added to every package.

When you receive your package, we want you to be excited and delighted with your beautiful products. As you open it, you will see that paper autumn leaves have been sprinkled around your items. 

Our favorite stamp.

 We hope you love it and continue to support GEMS as they fight to end human trafficking in the United States.