brighton wanderlust

Happy Saturday, Vintage Dames and Dudes! Have any of you ever been to Brighton, England? It's one of my all-time favourite places on Planet Earth. I recently went to see The National in London and took a little detour to Brighton for two days afterwards. Brighton is bursting with delicious, quirky little restaurants and cafes, music venues galore, vintage shops, other shops, lots of shops, and has a great nightlife. I hope you enjoy the images!

mid century enamelware

Hello vintage dames and dudes!

We've been doing some major product picking lately for our shops and have found some absolutely amazing mid-century kitchenware! It got us all excited, so we thought we'd share some of the funkiest enamelware we have seen online:

ooh la la! french vintage coffee pot // shop

Amy's new baby! // shop

scandinavian styling! // shop

one of the most collectible enamelware designers! a kaj franck heartthrob! // shop

casseroles are the perfect thing for the colder weather! // shop

ok, ok... just one more by the fabulous kaj franck! // shop

halloween is the perfect time for a fondue party! // shop

 sunny side up - the perfect pan for pancakes and eggs! // shop

Have a great week!

vintage mugs

We're continuing our celebration of the transition to Fall with another great thing about the end of summer - soothing, warm cups of tea in the morning; creamy hot chocolate on a Friday night and rich coffee for those darkening mornings!

vintage owl mug // shop

we love this quirky half-width souvenir mug - sometimes you only need half a cup!

polka dot enamel mug // shop

this so inspires us to create a little vintage mug herb garden or windowsill flower feature!

jadeite fire king mug // shop

whilst Em has always tried to persuade Amy that the 80's were cool - and Amy is working on Em to appreciate Carnival Glass - there's one thing we both agree on: jadeite!

sunshine mugs // shop

milk glass has always been another vintage treasure on our lust list - and we'd be set for the day if we woke up to one of these happy beauties at breakfast!

plaid fire king mug // shop

this makes us want to cherish those last few drops of summer to have an August picnic on the grass!

bubblegum melmac // shop

white kitchen and pink cups - we think that's a match made in heaven

vintage pastel mugs // shop

Em's grandma used to have a green set just like this! Childhood memories!

West Germany Costume Jewelry

Hello Vintage Dames and Dudes!

Continuing our week of celebrating costume jewelry, we thought we'd talk a little about some of the fabulous creations that came out of one country in particular: West Germany.

// shop

Costume jewelry from West Germany is particularly desired by vintage enthusiasts. Firstly, because they created fantastic quality pieces; secondly because the presence of the name helps to date the jewelry - something that can be tricky with other signatures - and finally, because pieces from that time period are becoming scarcer in the modern world.

// shop

In 1949, Germany split into East and West Germany and remained that way until 1990; when they merged to form Germany again. 

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In terms of dating - pieces marked 'Germany' are pre-1949 or post 1990.

Those made in 1949 are marked:

• Western Zone Germany
• American Zone Germany
• W. Germany
• Made in West/ern Germany
• German Democratic Republic (for Eastern Germany)

// shop

Most costume jewelry from Germany was made between the 1920's and 50's.

In terms of style, jewelry produced in West Germany was often bold and bright. Plastic was extremely popular and cluster earrings are quite quintessential to Western Germany.

// shop

1950's baking

a little rock n' roll makes the kitchen more fun

Happy Sunday to all you lovely Vintage Dames out there - and happy Father's Day to all the Vintage Dudes!

Since we know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, we know there'll be plenty of food-related gifts given today. Perhaps a packet of his favourite sweets (or candy for our American friends), a voucher for his favourite restaurant... or if we're feeling particularly brave: cooking a tasty meal from scratch!

With this in mind, we started looking for rock n' roll inspired kitchen goodies and came across this fantastic place called Cupcake Provocateur. They make absolutely stunning, ultra-feminine retro-inspired aprons by hand, in New York. They also bake and sell what look like utterly scrumptious cupcakes and even have a kit for you to make your own. 

Better yet, you don't have to live in New York to get a taste - they ship all over the world! Since it's rock n' roll week here on the blog, we thought you might enjoy an example of their suitably rock n' roll wonders!

now this is what we call Glamourbaking! 

Poodle Bobby-Soxer Apron in red and black

if the cakes we bake come out as sweet as this, we'll be happy!

Poodle Bobby-Soxer Apron in red and black

don't forget to protect those mitts! 

co-ordinating Bobby-Soxer Poodle Potholders

if the little ones insist on helping? well, there's an apron for them too!

pink cupcake // chocolate polka dot

and when the hard work is done? sit back and enjoy one (or two) of these 

delicious-looking Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes!

We hope you all have a fantastic Father's Day!

rock n roll decor

This week's theme is all things 50's rock n' roll! Here is a selection of fabulous 50's treasures that we love for around the home:

this 50's record collection is quite simply amazing! a must for any rock n roll fan!

we love this vintage microphone - a perfect gift for Father's Day

this is a really interesting idea - jukebox print on vintage dictionary paper

utterly gorgeous 50's twin speaker radio

Kat's personal favorite, to play, or to display - Elvis Treat Me Nice vinyl

we love how colorful this jukebox box is!