A Vintage Safari...Pack your Bags!

Oh hello!

I love being on the "hunt" for treasures.  My Safari for this weekend led me deep into the jungles of two great antiques stores in my neighborhood.

My adventure began in the amazing Broken Buckle Antique store in the lower level of the Landmark.  I love visiting my friends at the Broken Buckle.  Always welcoming me with a smile and a sincere "How are you?"   For this Safari they played tour guide and showed me and my friend one of their new finds they just added to their inventory.

Quickly walking through the store, only slowing down a few times to allow my eyes to hunt, they showed us the prize of the day, well...prizes!  An amazing set of vintage luggage was set before us...saying "Lets go!!"  These three pieces were wonderful.  The condition was good and ideas of what I could do with them danced in my head.  One of them had a surprise inside for me!  The largest piece had clothes hangers inside for your shirts/dresses! It also included the original tissue paper (to wrap your garments) and the original brochure!  The silk liner was in perfect condition as well!


After a little price negotiation my friend and I had luggage in hand heading to the apartment.  Originally I thought of using them as a side table, however while entering the foyer I had a great idea!  The three pieces now set in the entry way! I added a vintage New York map, added some flowers and now I have an entry way vignette to welcome guests.  I'm tempted for the my next trip to actually use this amazing luggage!

The second half of my weekend Safari led me to the "Flea Market" style of Brownstone Antiques.  This store is truly a jungle of vintage furniture, paintings, accessories and clothes. Down every path through the merchandise my eyes searched for the perfect piece.  I discovered a great little school desk that I just fell in love with.  It needs some cleaning and sanding, but after a make over this will be a great piece for the home. Do you have any ideas?  Should I paint it a funky color or stain it a beautiful dark mahogany?  Hmm... decisions!  

Good day!
--D. Charles

Step Back in Time at the Vintage Bazaar

Oh hello!

The Ballroom in the Aragon.

My adventure back in time began with walking into the grand foyer of the  Aragon Entertainment Center http://aragon.com in the Chicago neighborhood of Uptown. The Aragon was originally built in 1926 with a Spanish palace courtyard style.  This building is amazing!  Every surface is painted and adorned.  In the midst of the building lays a beautiful ballroom were an approximate 50 million people have danced through the years spanning the 20s to the 40s! Now-a-days the space is used for special events, dances and concerts.

The pleasant and cordial Rose.

On the day I visited it was hosting the Vintage Bazaar http://www.thevintagebazaar.com. The Vintage Bazaar is a blog as well as a Pop-Up market focusing on vintage decor, fashion, and accessories. June's event was no exception to amazing finds and interesting characters. It was inspiring to see folks so excited about decor, fashion and relics of the past and giving them a new homes.  The event was so large, in addition to the dozen venders inside, there was 90 more outside! This was a great event.  Folks were buying, negotiating and bargaining.  While leaving I saw several cars packed full to the point of stuff hanging out of the windows and trunk!

Visiting the Vintage Bazaar was great!  I got to see a great space, visit with folks and get inspired!  The next Vintage Bazaar will be July 8th!  Will I see you there?    

A great little vignette setup by Karen Cooper.

Vintage Edison...Jim Ligon creates amazing lighting units using
recycled wine & liquor boxes and bottles!
Check him out at  www.vintageedison.com 

Chair and Pillow by our friend Nara!

Good Day

--D. Charles

NeoCon...Think Big...and they did!

Oh hello!

What do you get when you put hundreds of furniture venders, thousands of designers and decor enthusiasts together  under one roof? NeoCon 2012  (www.neocon.com)  of course!

This year's theme was "Think Big." This was my first year to attend and I was drained after leaving!  This is a three day event packed full of venders, presentations and seminars.

NeoCon is a mecca, a destination - the largest exposition and conference for commercial interiors in North America.

 So what did I get from this year's NeoCon?  A few things...

Trending

• Bright colors (not excluding White)  bright Green and/or Orange seem to be most popular
• Sleek, clean design focusing on functionality and ergonomics.
• Customization of work-spaces
• Floor covering panels
• High-back chairs
• Oh yes...and men's bow ties!

Couple Points of Interest


--Moving Murals www.movingmurals.com
These amazing LED murals move in "True Definition."  I was blown away with the detail and realism of these murals.  You need to check this out! Oh...and there is audio as well!


--Miliken Floor Covering www.millikencarpet.com
As mentioned above floor covering is a "happening" product to have.  Miliken takes it to another level by incorporating Design and Color through their new Color Wash.  

Color Wash is the latest collection that highlights Milliken’s contemporary and advanced methods of reimagining the floor plane, while illustrating large scale, continuous and seamless gradation with nuanced color change.


Good day!
--D. Charles

We are NOT art "collectors"...

Oh Hello!

I recently had the privilege to visit some friends in their unique and neclectic home.  From the outside the house is a beautiful ranch style, however once entering the home you soon find and whole new world to discover!

Walking up to the front door I knew I was in for a treat! After being warmly welcomed, my eyes began to dance around the house trying to soak in all that was to be seen.  My friends offered me a glass of water, however I almost forgot to take any sips because of the spectacles in the room.

These folks have been "collecting" for many years from literally around the world. They don't consider themselves collectors."

“We have chosen the things we have (and enjoy) because they inspire us, lift our spirits, or evoke memories of people and places we love.”

How wonderful!  I love this...they collect because it brings joy...they don't collect for monetary or social clout. Each piece has story, emotion or person attached to it.  It was awe inspiring to see my friend's faces light up while sharing their stories. Many of their pieces are hand-crafted from local artisans.

While having great conversation...somebody decided to add his two cents!  It was Chip their parrot!  What a treat! Chip had so much to say about everything (however he was a bit repetitive..LOL...don't tell him I said that!).  I think I learned a thing or two.  The other family member,Wally the dog, had retired to his private chambers (he gets a little to excited when company arrives.)

Please enjoy the pictures below. These are just a "tasting" of their "collections." I can not do justice to their personal stories and excitement for each piece.

"Story Teller Violin"

Hand crafted chairs.  No nails were used in producing these amazing chairs!

 

Egyptian Hieroglyphics.   

Lithography rubbing copies of Petroglyphs from New Mexico.

Wall of amazing art!

Good Day!

--D. Charles