Vintage Finds

I reported for Grand Jury selection today, along with about 150 other people.  There were several people I knew there -- 4 of us know each other from the Alaska Bead Society!  What are the odds of that?? Anchorage has a population of almost 300,000 as of the last census, so this seems quite remarkable. 

Anyhoo, I did not get selected.  This does not have anything to do with me, the selection process is completely random.  I'm only slightly disappointed.

Moving on ...

I've been meaning to share some of these great vintage finds from our trip to the southwest in February.  I found this beautiful little metal box in an antique store in Apache Junction (at least I think that's where it was!).  The metal is probably base metal with a worn gold plating.  I adore the huge red hunk of glass adorning the top.  This is a really cute item, measuring only 1 3/4" x 1".

This next item also has a huge hunk of glass, only this time it's purple.  I scored on this antique scarf holder in a store in Prescott.  This makes up for the fact the I know I overpaid for the red box :)
This baby has a diameter of about 1 3/4".

This next item was given to me by a friend in the Alaska Bead Society.  It's a not-too gaudy, but quite large brooch featuring clear glass hunks.  This one, I plan to deconstruct for use in a mixed media jewelry project.  It is 2 3/4" long and would probably rip a hole in any article of clothing you tried to attach it to!

Vintage Jewelry

As recently as last December, I expressed  (maybe on twitter?) that I was considering selling off my collection of vintage jewelry.  So, why then did I go ahead and buy some more while in Arizona?  The answer is, because I love it and will never part with it, regardless of what I might say!

In my early days of collecting -- about 15 years ago -- I could see how this could get out of control very easily, so I made some rules.  The basic rule is that the piece has to be composed primarily of beads.  It's not that I have anything against rhinestones, but my life revolves around beads and it seemed fitting that I collect bead jewelry.

This is getting too wordy, so I'll just skip to the pictures of my latest acquisitions: these four necklaces that I found in antique stores in Scottsdale.

If a necklace is in poor condition (like the 2nd one, which broke as I was staging it for this photo), I have no qualms about deconstructing it and salvaging the beads for new uses.  The aqua blue necklace is another story altogether.  It's in pretty good shape and absolutely gorgeous.  It will probably become a display item in my studio.  And that's fine.  I'll smile every time I look at it.