turquoise and new buys

As mentioned in my last post i was down the coast on the weekend, and whilst there i popped into the Antique Centre at Miami for a squizz.

I never, ever walk out of there empty handed (or any antique centre for that matter).

Driving home I inspected the front and back seats and it seems i've been  subconsciously coveting turquoise of late.

This shade from a shop at Southport, complete with a bit of mildew on the bottom (cross fingers it will come off!), sat in the back seat

and then from the antique centre I purchased this bag (it's a little more greeny turquoise)

plus these bangles and earrings, which travelled up front

I particularly like the turquoise earrings, they go superbly with this clutch too  

Earlier in the year I also purchased a turquoise hat from La Bella Donna - out of control! I've always wanted to use a hint of it in the house but it's never happened... i've got a bit of glass and an enormous turquoise and black rug. I think downstairs with the white floors i may introduce it... just a touch like these below

From the antique centre I also bought these which I am 371% pumped about.

Fibreglass 1960’s pedestal planters. They're big mammas. 

When I collected the cane table from Africa’s south west (prev post), the lady  was trying her hardest to not only purchase the planters off me, but the leopard print kaftan i was wearing as well … it was agreed that i'd keep my kaftan and notify her if i ever change my mind on the planters. Which i totally will (let her know if i change my mind that is) - she was bloody persistent but very lovely.

They need a 2-pac but’ll survive until I’ve recovered from my recent unnecessary spending.

‘A’ bought me this vintage cape last week. We saw it in the window of a local op shop last Sunday night en route to our fave Indian - my eyes miss very little. 

He snaffled it first thing on the Monday morning. Bless. It’s a bit big but with an impending trip to Vic and then NY in November, it’ll get a workout with plenty of layering room underneath.

Here's some extra shots of Gold Coast Antiques. These drawers were very close to the back of the car but i stopped myself. See - i can abstain.

  

This bar was in mint condition.

 

Coloured glass and West German Pottery. The owner's dog was lounging next to this space. His little eyes were becoming dizzy watching me come and go. Funny how dog's don't move their heads just their eyes like that. He had a 'humans are funny creatures" look on his face.  It takes a few rounds for me to let things sink in at Antique Centres and now with the space at WAC, it's good to compare pricing.

Une suite de souper peut-être ?

That's 'a dining suite perhaps'. I don't speak french - i just felt like googling a translation. There's a good mix down on the coast, but with all of this in mind, let's not forget that the fantabulous Woolloongabba Antique Centre has all of this and more ... except for the planters that is.

let there be light

Funny how you go through stages, and with the minimal space at the shop this week it seems the focus is lamps and shades. High time my plastic shades made an entrance anyway! I'm a big fan of Art Deco lighting but do like the crisp and clean lines of good ole moulded plastic.

These two above are rather large and i do like them hanging together. Great pop of colour in a big stairwell, or the yellow would be faaab in a black and white inspired room. I love yellow with anything.

The duck egg blue is so very pretty and the plastic of these two is so thick and shiny that it looks like glass. The blue'd be nice alone or grouped with some brushed back aluminium pendants in a kitchen. Oh, and i also have this single bedhead below that i came across Saturday which i'll deliver to WAC today. The blue's are a close match and that's a soft yellow with it. The colours on this make it look so antiquey which is sweet for a childs room. I'd need to throw in a black and white stripe rug or something to man it up though i think.

I finally finished the cane wall hanging cabinet and as per usual thought about keeping it.  The blue and white canisters from Holland are also for sale. I have my tablecloth on it here but i think a powder room or extra toilet would be perfect for this lil guy - throw a few toilet rolls inside and you're done.

This is a bunch of lamp bases that you can't see very well. The two big one's don't have shades. I was just trying them out with mine...

Has anyone ever been to Greenbank? Cripes, she's a along way out josie! I collected a cane table i purchased off ebay on Saturday and planned to 'swing by' on my way back from the coast. Uh-hem. I would have made it quicker to africa on a tricycle! i was always bad at geography. It is pretty out there though and  so is the table if i do say so myself. Big round one. Like a peacock chair but a table... i'll take a pic.

a room divider is now home

I did say on my 'Divide and Screen' post that i would drop the whole room divider thing for a while ... which true to my word i have ... until now.

The room divider i purchased from WAC has a home and is a total god send to me for two reasons. Firstly, it's sorted out my open plan dilemma of my dining and sunroom being too open, and secondly it's allowed me to pull these lounge chairs out of the shed. The indigo blue tone is a nice change to black which i admittedly overuse.

Those blinds were seriously cheap from Ikea a few years ago now. Sadly, they no longer produce them. I mean cheap-cheap, like $25 for a the big ones and $15 or something for the small. They also came in red and natural and white.

This is the screen from another angle. I've had it in here for a couple of months now i think. It's my second favourite thing after the lounge. My third fave is the gramophone pictured further down. This fishtank below is the remainder of my failed hanging tank with macrame idea that i'm still pondering. The flowers in it are still going strong from Mother's Day. Pretty things ... whatever they are.

The man who sold me the gramophone looked me in the eye and said to me that it worked well, i just needed a stylus. The man was being dishonest. AM radio only, luckilly I listen to 882 4BH all the time and love it (much to the surprise of many) but the record player is sickly. A man told me he'd fix it for $1500 a year ago. I politely declined.

My friend's husband is right into Gramophones and old radios and knows 'someone'. He's gonna hook me up.

A friend said to me the other day 'does that hippo freak you out at night'... when i look at his fangs now - on this angle, i feel like he should. But he doesn't. He's got a fat belly which is cute and takes the attention away from his mouth. He's a hippo, a comment like that is a compliment!

I have a cold along with 60% of Brisbane due to this dramatic change in climate. It's that time of year that i need to get into the top cupboards and pull out the wool and fluff to keep us warm for a few months. If there's one thing that really bugs me about Colonials and Qld'er homes it's the lack of storage. What i need is a walk in robe like Carrie's in Sex and the City II. Imagine having that? All i can do is just that ... imagine.

Wishing you all a flu-free and toasty warm week. 

who would you have dinner with?

It's always one of those questions asked on talk shows 'who would you like to have dinner with dead or alive?'

Some people have an instant response (like you do when you've overthought winning $20m on lotto ...) and others really try hard to think of who they'd invite. Who's had scandle wrapped around them which was never uncovered or was ridiculously goood looking, or incredibly fascinating, stylish, crazy .. whatever.
I have a mixed bag, but i'm fairly certain that the dinner convo would be out of this world the best i've ever heard!

These are the peeps i'd have sitting around my table ....

MM ... i reckon it was the Kennedy's, some may disagree but i firmly stand by my opinion. Shame, she was naturally beautiful without the peroxide and lashes.

Gabrielle. There'll never be another like her. I wonder if she ever thought the Chanel brand would still be standing so strong 60 years later?

Jackie and Jack ... for SO many reasons, oh my .. what a couple, what a life!

Frank Baby ... who 'did it my way', and so he did apparently, as the stories go, he wasn't even slightly close in purity to that of his blue eyes - but the man can sing

What a pretty, pretty lady ... and complex and intriguing. And my top question for her at this moment is 'why did you say yes to that wedding dress'.

Anna, well she's just plain fab, and when she retires, sister girlfriend should take up poker - she'd nail it.

The Don - smart man and i really feel that i need to see that hair closer up. He'd be incredibly interesting to talk to.

I don't feel that i need to say too much about this one ... he can just sit, with his shirt off eat the meal and smile from time to time ... that's it.

There are an abundance more people who are interesting that i would like to invite too, but off the top of my head, to answer my own question, these are some of the personalities and lives i've read about over the years (except for the last one). There are questions dotted around them which would be fascinating to know the answer to, because it's always good taste to pry into people's deep dark secrets over dinner isn't it... real party starter.

If i asked me what i'd do if i won $20m, well ... whole different kettle of fish and much more short winded. I could deliver that right down to the last cent by bullet point, in less than a minute. In fact, a co worker and i were only talking about it last week. We're both completely organised for when it happens.

Being that having dinner with anyone dead or alive is really simple to organise you should probably put some thought into yourself...

posting broken - Help please ....

So i went to the shop yesterday after my previous post, and it looked like this

Which is great news because it means that most of what was on that post sold and i already miss the little floral setting. Mothers Day was rife at WAC so it seems.

Anyway, afterwards, a friend msg'd telling me of a typo (good old friends) so i tried to fix and it wasn't working. The circle 'thinking thing' in the middle of the post square just kept spinning. I then searched the problem when i got home last night, and they said to revert to old editor under settings ... which is terrible to use and what i'm using now. There's all spaces everywhere in the posting and i don't like it and it's hard to upload photos. Does anyone know how to fix this so that the old editor works again?

Sorry about a ridiculously boring and technical post but there doesn't seem to be anyone on blogger that you can just email and receive a direct answer ... or is there? I'd be mega appreciative if anyone knows anything to help with this lil issue. x

new on the block

Yesterday's weather was beautiful to celebrate Mother's Day? It was a little upsetting though, waking up to find that today wasn't a public holiday again. Thankfully Lizzy's providing us with another in a few weeks. June the 13th to be precise.

The fam came down for morn-t yesterday which finished well into the late afternoon. Seems the cheeky 'glass' of champers my sis-in-law intended on having turned into a snippet more. I might add that cartwheels are only for kids. I've torn something attempting to keep up with my 6 year old nieces and prove that i've 'still got it'. It dawned on me that yoga really is a necessity when your over 30, i'm not as limber as i was in my early teens which is surprising.

Shop 16 has more titbits in it this week. My favourite is this trunk

It's tougher looking than the one i have in my living area pictured in 'my favourite thing', i thought about doing a swapsy but couldn't. The TMA imprinted on it is just fab! Be it coffee table, storage unit or kids toybox, they made em strong.

Couple of old wooden intrays. Some of them have 'typing' on the label. Awww, just to imagine them sitting next to a gorgeous old typewriter back in the day.

Old Packaging box and cute little wooden stool. I love raw wood to bring a bit of earthiness to a room.

Pottery from various parts of the world. The two little vases at the front have great designs on them and look lovely together. They'd look rather ravishing in one of those intrays with some plants hanging out of them and a couple of mag's i think.

And i knew i'd seen it somewhere. That bloody tray at the back would've been perfect yesterday to put my sis-in'laws bruschetta on!

This outdoor setting is the sweetest thing. I pictured it at home before taking it to the shop. I like to remember certain items. This being one of them.

The colours are purple and turqoise and white. The underside of the cushions are purple. The fabric on top looks totally original and is oudoor fabric.

It's aged, but superb for an outdoor area that will see some weathering. There's a bit of rust on the arms but structurally the steel is fabbo i suppose because it's been covered all these years by the cushioning. Very pretty setting for a lovely garden.

Olive green stool, with gold piping.

Pretty in pink

This is nearly finished. A cane wall hanging unit. I'm thinking it goes in a bathroom or kitchen cove. It has the bar down the bottom for a towel rail. I'm excited about it because it's navy blue. A good ole australiana teatowel would hang off that rail nicely.

I bought this mag on friday and some coloured boiled lollies. They matched when i pulled them out of the bag so took a picture. I'm a bit of a loser sometimes. Great UK mag. Check it out.

That's it i think. A few new items on the Shop 16 block. I'm dreaming about lying in bed today and reading a book with the french doors open so i can hear the full glory of this rain. But it's not to be. Stay safe on those roads - it's slippery out.

E S Traders

I took a little trip out to Ipswich on Saturday. It was a glorious day and as I cruised along the highway marvelling at a picture perfect blue sky, I recalled a post by BrisMod at Fun and VJ's raving about a new space which had opened up in Ipswich town. I was desperate to see it... and did. Faabulous!

Something even more fab about the space was Kerrie, one half of the creative force behind ES traders. The more we chatted, the more evident it became that this woman is not only  incredibly interesting and easy to talk to, but she is completely captivated with  every piece that surrounds her. I walked away feeling exactly the same way.  

It's no secret that history is something which intrigues me, so having the opporunity to admire pieces steeped in hundreds of years of history and learning the story behind them is rivetting to say the least. Some of these pieces have seen and heard things that we will only ever imagine. They're beaten and bruised but absolutely mind blowingly beautiful. My phone was being disobedient so the pic's of many items are too blurry.

With a background in interior design, Kerrie's styling is gorgeous. Asian history is blended with immaculately crafted french reproductions. But not reproductions in the mass produced sense of the word. These are hand crafted to perfection.

The table pictured above is also handcrafted locally, it's enormous and the timber is simply stunning. ES Traders will be offering the service of making these by request. It won't be something that will happen over night and you will need to be patient to get your hands on one because the man who makes them will only do so when he comes across the right wood that will provide the best finish. Nice to know that you're paying for something unique and of the highest quality - the colour of the wood was magnificent.

So, you'd think i had shares in the place right? I know, that was a bit of a plug, but i just love coming across something that excites and intrigues me. To think that something has seen 200 years worth of living and still stands proud seeking a new chapter in it's life is so unbelievable. All the way from Tibet or some little province tucked in a hillside half way across the world. And you see reproductions of Asian aniquities - but let me tell you - they have absolutely nothing on the real deal and Kerrie knows every item's story, no matter how long or short it may be.

So what would you call this place? I think a gallery. In a gallery you purchase a piece that speaks to you or connects with you. You admire it for the beauty that it is and wouldn't consider interfering with that. It's not about just buying something and having it. Take a drive out there and have a chat with Kerrie. You'll know what i mean if you dont already.

ES Traders

17C Ellenborough St, Ipswich.

P.S. That stunning piece of art in the first pic is by a local Brisbane Artist jo d'hage.

Oh and just quickly. The Royal Wedding. Many posts ago i talked about all these old newspapers and Womans Day we came across from the 1940's - 1960's under the flooring of a cottage we reno'd. This is one which i kept. The Queen's Royal Wedding Spread.

 

This was in the newspaper on the 27th November 1947. Women all over the world were 'in raptures' again 64 years later on Friday night. Move over Beiber the royals are on stage! what-is-with this beiber fever ... i don't get it ... i mean i may only be almost 20 a few years older than him but i still don't get it.

I'll pop up some pic's of Shop 16 over the coming days. I had something of an incident with a potential fishbowl and some macrame at my home on Monday. Cuts to prove it on my fingers and leg. I'm a bull-at-a-gate and couldn't wait for an extra set of hands!  Hopefully i'll have the desired outcome to show sometime soon.