Sunday, March 4, 2012

My Life as a Vintage Geek/Scavenger or How I Spent the last Three Days

It was Friday and I was in Ypsilanti (Michigan, for those out of state). I ended up with a couple of hours before I had to pick up my daughter. Guess how I spent them? If you guessed checking out thrift stores and the only garage sale in Michigan in a snowstorm the 2nd day of March, you win the grand prize (No, it's not actually a real prize, but if there were, you would win it, honest.)!

Total washout at the thrift stores. Nada, zero, zilch. It's always a crap-shoot and usually, unless the Vintage Gods are really smiling on me, you have to go through tons of sometimes icky stuff to find anything good. That's pretty much par for the course, it happens. It doesn't stop the thrill of anticipation that sets my heart racing as I pull into the parking lot though, because, you never know! Although, actually, I can usually tell within a minute or two of walking inside - I just feel it, somehow. Yes, I'm psychic, really, and if you send me hundreds of dollars I will tell your fortune. It may be generic and bland, but it will be true, really.

Anyone can treasure hunt at a thrift store or garage sale, but let me just say, it is helpful to have at least a general idea about styles, fabrics, manufacturers and artisans so you  don't end up with just junk you can't do anything with. You need an "eye." Some people have it and some people don't.

Fast forward a bit, I'm driving towards where I'm picking up Krystin in about 45 minutes and I pass A Garage Sale! On March 2nd! Serious early/crazy/insane/desperate birds, considering what Michigan weather is normally like in March. Definitely would not be my idea of fun to sit out in the Garage/Driveway, wrapped in a blanket and sipping a thermos of coffee (at least, I'm guessing it was coffee? Best not to inquire too closely sometimes.).

Did I stop? Are you crazy? Of COURSE I stopped and hit the mother-lode!! Turns out, the woman who was having the sale is getting rid of all the jewelry her mother doesn't want any more. Her parents moved to Florida permanently in November and she got the job of going through the stuff they left behind and getting rid of it.

She  had already taken all the jewelry she wanted and just wanted to get rid of the rest. I did a quick look and found a few Sara Coventry 1960's, Early Trifari and Napier and that was all it took. I took almost everything she had. Unfortunately she had already donated all the clothes to a thrift store. I almost cried, but managed to control myself. It was hard, because if her mother's clothing tastes were as good as her tastes in costume jewelry, that is a horrible waste of some perfectly lovely vintage clothing that would have been much happier with me, but I digress.

It was all in a bag and I didn't have a chance to go through it until this morning. Yes, quite a bit of Sarah Coventry, Trifari, a Napier and one Gorgeous 60's Givenchy Piece! Not something you see every day, but very cool. See the photo above for a sneak peek at my score!

I will be photographing, describing and adding some of these lovelies to my website, just as soon as I decide what I can stand to get rid of. This is the hard part, sigh.Also, just FYI, the lace background some of the earrings and brooches are sitting on? Soon to be a pencil skirt for some lucky lady, once I finish making it anyhow. It's lace I pulled from a dress, the top was not salvageable, but the part of bottom half still looked pretty good. It will make a gorgeous pencil skirt!

A couple of other projects I'm working on right now are formals. I've torn apart some things and am currently in the midst of "redeuxing" them. Yes, I just made up that word. I like it and it's staying. Yesterday I had to do some major restoration work on a fabulous piece of white satin brocade, a 1940's lace top and a 1950's taffeta dress, all of which were horribly stained.

After several hours of different attempts at stain removal  some of which worked on portions, some of which did not work at all. (caution for do it your-selfer's - do NOT ever put bleach on a vintage item. Do not throw them in the wash either, unless you are absolutely sure what the fabric content is and that it is machine washable, IF they survive it often changes the texture to something weird and/or shrinks them)The step of last resort - actually washing them in water and soap, but carefully.

This is the most beautiful royal blue silk velvet. I'm not sure what I'm doing with it yet, but something interesting!












I lined a big bathtub sized plastic tub with an old sheet,filled it with luke-warm water and a weak Biz solution and gently laid all three items in. Then I just let them soak, checking frequently for signs of dissolving fibers, for about five hours. Next I rinsed them, gently and carefully and repeatedly for about 30 minutes.  I should have photographed the whole process, but I didn't think of it until they were drying. Next time, I promise.

Then, I carefully pulled the sheet out, with the wet garments still on it, and put it onto several old but clean towels. I put another couple on top, then gently rolled the whole thing up, carefully not squeezing anything.
After most of the dripping water was absorbed, each piece got it's own towel roll up treatment. Then, once all the excess water is gone, they get draped over yet more towels to dry.

The top edge of the white satin brocade - over a couple of towels and the old Sesame Street sheet from when Cody was 4!

 Yes, it is possible to wash vintage, but it is risky with delicate pieces. It doesn't always work (sometimes they fall apart, shrink or disintegrate and on silks, satins and velvets the fiber structure can be altered changing it completely and ruining the fabric) and it is not a quick process. Immersing delicate vintage in water with detergent is a last resort, when the piece won't be useable regardless. I've been doing it for a long time, so I'm pretty successful most of the time, I know what will survive and what won't. Delicate pieces in good shape I use other, gentler cleaning and sterilizing methods on.

This is going to be part of a formal - found this lavender chiffon something that has the most incredible hand beading & embroidery - it is going to be gorgeous!!

I did take a couple of photos of after the washing was done and it worked!  The satin brocade is gorgeous!!

Stay posted for results - and check out my store! www.shelleysvintagelife.etsy.com


Friday, March 2, 2012

Photo Shoot # 2


Done, the second photo shoot for Shelley's Vintage Life & Design, this past Sunday, woo-hoo!  It went really well! I’ve posted a few shots from the shoot, the actual photos that were taken will have to wait until I can get them up on the website once I get them from the photographer.  This one went a little more smoothly than the first; I learned a lot the first time and more this time. The next one will be better yet!



One of my ReDeux in prcess

Not only were there some fabulous vintage items used in this shoot, for the first time I included some of my original Vintage Re Deux pieces in the shoot. I am quite excited about that! What on earth is a Vintage Re Deux, you ask? Good question!
 Since I was a teen-ager I’ve been taking vintage stuff (mostly clothing, but jewelry and other stuff too) I find and re-making it into something else. I use vintage clothes for the fabric or other details, combine pieces or any combination thereof to create something new and just generally “re do” them.  Hence, the name Vintage ReDeux (it just looks and sounds cooler than plain old re do!)!
Models Waiting for Hair & Make-up


What went into getting ready for this shoot? An enormous amount of work and time, for one thing, but following are the steps I went through this past week or so for anyone who’s curious.

Step 1 – Find photographer, location and set up time; all essential for obvious reasons.




 
James, the Photographer





 Step 2 - Confirming the models. I have to know what sizes I’m working with ahead of time so I can pull items and put together outfits that will fit them. It’s not foolproof, I will still occasionally have an outfit that doesn’t fit the model I’d intended it for, but often it will fit another. However I try to keep that sort of switching around to a minimum. I am a huge planner. The most successful plans are detailed, but also have room for flexibility. This is the key to getting things done, I am absolutely convinced!

Lisa (on hair) and Krystin (make-up)

 step 3 – Pull items, start putting together outfits, accessorize. Figure out what I need to complete the outfits, whether it’s accessories or other clothing items. For clothing items I intend to make I go through my “to use for other stuff” stash and plan. I sketch out my ideas first, then adapt as necessary depending on what materials I have available. Everything original I create is made completely from vintage or recycled materials. Well, almost everything. I do buy new thread, needles, and some notions that are not useable or available except for new. All the major materials are 100% re-purposed and eco friendly.
The Waiting Outfits


 Step 4 – Check everything to make sure it’s all in good shape, make any necessary repairs.


Step 5 – Block out schedule for the next two weeks, leaving extra time for things that don’t go as smoothly as anticipated. Plan every detail, figure out everything  that could go wrong, plan for that, then go for it and be ready to switch strides mid-game if necessary!

For example, my original plan had me completely done with everything by Saturday night. However, an unexpected family crisis took almost three full days out of my week, leaving me scrambling a bit. I was still sewing Sunday morning and I didn’t sleep much from Thursday through Sunday. There were several items I had planned to make other pieces to coordinate with which I didn’t have time to get to. That meant putting together a few different outfits. Flexibility is essential!
Another unexpected shift happened Sunday morning. I had planned on shooting from 4 – 9 pm. I know it sounds like a long time, and it is, but we had to get to the studio, get everything unloaded and organized and get the models through hair and make –up before the shooting could even start.  It’s not a quick process.

I found out at about 11:30 Sunday morning that we only had it from 5 – 8pm. Yikes! So I shifted a couple of models back a bit and we just planned to get there as soon as we could and hope for the best! It was a bit of a scramble, but we got it all done.
Photography Happening!
 The shots turned out great though. James did a fantastic job! Krystin demonstrated her talent for hair and make-up and one of my BF’s, Lisa, once again proved that she knows her way around a comb and a can of hairspray! The models looked fantastic and as soon as I get them I’ll start loading them onto the site. 

All in all, a long yet successful afternoon. Once the shooting was done we loaded everything up again and headed for home. 

 There you have it, the bare bones of a photo shoot. Please check my website to see the results! 

www.shelleysvintagelife.etsy.com