THOUGHT PATTERNS

Vintage shop update!

I've just updated my vintage shop Cat's Miaow Vintage with some new goodies, so please take a look!

Here's a preview of what you'll find...

Vintage Purple Amethyst Glass Faceted Large Sterling Ring

Antique Chinese Kingfisher Hair Pin / Brooch

Gorgeous Vintage Mexican Taxco Sterling Silver Ring Malachite/Turquoise Stone Mayan Head

Vintage Blister Pearl Sterling Silver Ring and Necklace Set

Thanks for looking!

 

xoxoxo

"Puzzle" Rajasthani bracelet

I love my "puzzle" Rajasthani bracelet, given to me by my husband Terry. He has such great taste in jewelry. And after living in India for a long time and having dealt with jewelry he knew right away when he saw a really special piece. It's such a unique design, showcasing amazing craftsmanship. 

The bracelet is composed of numerous zig-zag silver pieces that fall together perfectly and are held together by a piece of strong woven thread on the top and bottom of the bracelet, best seen here...

The bracelet is just so pliable and flexible and feels wonderful on my wrist...

I've never seen one like it, but, while researching Rajasthani bracelets I stumbled onto a bracelet which is the closest I could find to what I have. The workmanship looks very similar to me...

Beautiful! This bracelet is still available at Cose Cosi. Quite pricey though!

xoxoxo

{Photos by Tina Tarnoff, all except bottom two, from here}

Lovers Eye

According to a legend the future king of England, George IV, received a miniature portrait from his beloved showing only her eyes, so that the outsiders would not recognize who she was and they could keep their relationship a secret. Such miniatures became all the rage during the period 1790-1820 and were made everywhere (England, France, Russia...) Here are some examples...

In my opinion they are a quite beautiful but also a bit weird!

xoxoxo

{via Marinni}

 

 

More loveliness

Lately I've been completely enamoured by miniature portrait jewelry and with medals  -Joan of Arc and coats of arms in particular - or brooches that resemble one. Here are some of my favorites...

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Lovely, aren't they? It makes me want to create my own miniature hand-painted portrait jewelry. There's another project on my to-do list. Kudos to the artist that did these.

Come to think of it, it would also be quite swell to make a collection of medals one could give to family and friends or anybody in need of one. A medal for husbands for being extra loving and patient "A Master Tolerator", for example, or a "Best knitter and all around craftswoman" medal for one's grandma, or best broccoli eater "Master Veggie" for your child. I know I would appreciate having one, for instance, let's see... a "Master Decoupager", perhaps? :)

Have a lovely weekend.

xoxoxo

Collar necklaces

Love the concept of these necklaces and how delicate they are. There is something about wearing a collar as a necklace that is quite seductive, don't you think? It appears we are all buttoned up and modest, but actually... :)

by FUDUMUDU

 
by SassySisterVintage

by treeandkimball

by twoknit

xoxoxo

Vintage Fashion Expo

There was a big Vintage Fashion Expo in San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday. A couple of our friends were going and I so desperately wanted to go also (vintage-clothes-shoes-jewelry-all-in-one-spot-85 booths-damn!), but was feeling really rather poorly from my cold and not in any state to go Saturday. I didn't really expect to be able to go at all, but by Sunday afternoon I started to feel better and decided to visit the fair for an hour. And Terry graciously agreed to take me even though vintage fashion expo's are not on his "love to do" list. This expo only happens once a year so I would have been a bit sad if I missed it.

We got there at about 3 (the expo was closing at 5) and luckily there was a cafe conveniently located in the same building so Terry didn't have to come along look at the dresses. He was very happy about that. I was on my way, in total vintage bliss. I strolled and browsed for about an hour, which was plenty. There were so many stalls and things to look at, clothes and accessories form late 1800s to 1960s, vintage fabric and trims, jewelry... one can get quite mad and dizzy from it. I'm sure the best things were sold on day one of the show (and at the early morning preview showing), but the advantage of coming for the last couple of hours is that most of the prices were slashed almost in half.

I was most in awe by 20s and 30s dresses - the fabric and the detail is so amazing - but even reduced they were quite pricey. On top of it all they were in an unusually small sizes. These ladies must have been willow thin!

Anyway, I managed to find a couple of things I truly liked and get a huge discount, so I was pretty happy with my visit.

My finds were a 50s circle skirt with a Parisian street type scene and a delicate, colorful 40s necklace.

The lady modeling the necklace is a gorgeous black haired blue eyed doll, part of my Salon of Broken Ladies doll collection.

Love seeing all of these colors together. And against her alabaster skin.:)

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I've always wanted to own a 50s full circle skirt. I love this photo of women wearing circle skirts by Nina Leen called Conversation Skirts.

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Lovely colors, and beautiful design. And I quite like that green speck of paint on the paper that was conveniently there and matched the colors on the necklace.

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One can just get lost in those streets.

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Can't wait for the next year's Vintage Expo.

xoxoxo

Birds on my brain

Terry got me this absolutely beautiful antique Chinese Kingfisher Hair Pin for Valentine's that I've been not so subtly and obviously admiring and drooling over every time we would pass by the Asian Art Gallery on Grant Avenue, not far from where we live. At first I thought they were enamel pins, but the owner explained that it's actually feather inlay and told the whole history behind those pins. How they were made from Kingfisher feather (hey, lapsed vegan alert!) for centuries (they stopped making them in about 1910), and that the technique is very delicate and exquisite. I further read that making of these decorative and ornamental objects of art almost drove Kingfishers to extinction.

 

There is a great book on this art form by Beverley Jackson called Kingfisher Blue: Treasures of an Ancient Chinese Art.

 

Here is a little more coherent description of the art form:

 

"Many cultures around the world have used bird feathers as decorative accessories to denote status, wealth, and even royalty. Nowhere did this unusual art form reach greater popularity than in China, beginning a thousand years ago and continuing to this day. Using the kingfisher—with its uniquely iridescent range of ultramarine to bright turquoise-blue feathers—as their bird of choice, Chinese artisans created extraordinary and exquisite objects, rendering the many-hued feathers with exquisite technique. The sheer breadth of these objects is staggering, from massive eight-foot-tall screens to tiny two-inch-long hair pins, from ornately ornamental lanterns to elegantly simple bird cages."

 

The pin that Terry chose for me is of an absolutely stunning design, it has a tiny coral bead that is attached with wire (which is one of the indications that it's an original bead because the ones that were replaced were usually glued in in some way). It's very delicate so I was a little bit afraid of wearing it. But I managed to attach it to my hair yesterday and it was premiered with great success to the group art show we attended, staged by Fanny Renoir of North Beach at Live Worms Gallery where I was showing several my papercuts. One of the papercuts I have on exhibit there  is a new design and concept that I have been thinking about, designing and creating for some time now - a colectors edition large papercut. I will show it to you very soon, after I take some very good pictures. If you're in the neighbourhood, and would like to see the show (it closes tomorrow night) the gallery is located on 1345 Grant Ave, San Francisco, 94133. Right next to I Dream of Cake, the most unbeleivable cake boutique in the universe. Here is a photo to prove it: cake and art (yes, that is a cake in the background, not a real dress)

 

 

Photo credits

 

And here is my lovely pin...

 

 

   

  

   

Me, wearing the pin in my hair, pretending to be a movie star

 

Me again

 

I'll be back!

 

xoxoxo