New Painted Chests!

Some new painted chests have arrived at the shop.

Aren't they pretty? I love how they could work in any room. If I had the space, that green one would look great in my dining room!

Chicken City USA

If you haven’t been to Key West, then you may be surprised to know that it has a lot in common with third world nations… the island is overrun with chickens whose ancestors were survivors of the cock fighting parlors that were popular (and legal) during the early part of the 20th century. Here are two photos of chickens that were taken around the former shop on Margaret Street.

So, as you might expect, residents and tourists are fond of owning things that remind them of chickens. Last week, when Jo and Terry (they're my parents - if you're new here) were at the furniture market in Highpoint, they saw a number of “chicken items” for sale:

And after much deliberation (and pricing considerations), the following were selected for the shop:

LOVE that last one! So colorful.

Tune in tomorrow to see a couple of sea-inspired rugs that will be making an appearance in the shop soon!

Every Box of Bobble Heads Has a Silver Lining

Mine did!

Yes - the much anticipated bobble heads arrived... And while just as hideous as expected, there weren't all that many of them. So that's good. And of course they were meant for the boys' room - it's not like Chris' mom decorates her own lovely house with bobble heads!

Anyway - she put some other goodies in the box for Eleanor, mostly in the way of junk jewelry. But there was a little something for me as well:

Isn't it gorgeous? It's a vintage candy box - or tin.

I'm madly in love with it and need to look up when it was manufactured. Based on the age of great grandparents, it should be the 40s...or possibly a little older?  How does one go about that? I know people do online searches for this kind of thing. But I'm not sure where to start - Ebay?

I do have this info from the bottom:

Here are some more views.

Now I just need to figure out where to put it...

Do you have any old everyday items that are now fabulous and vintage? Makes me want to start saving things for my grandchildren.

Display Glass

A recent decorating job in Key West included a display of glass pieces - all in blue/green hues.

It's a lovely collection, and we're thinking of adding some to the shop. Do any of the above images appeal to you? Let me know and we'll look into buying some for the Style Key West online shop.

And speaking of collections... Do you have one? And if not, what would you like to collect?

I'll go first: Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved little boxes. I have quite a few (and have discarded quite a few over the years, as little girls often have rather dubious taste...) But I believe I have enough to qualify as a collection.

If I could choose to collect something now, it would definitely be chinoiserie porcelain. I have a few pieces...but would love to add more!

And you?

My New Favorite Couple: Jill Rosenwald and Lawrence McRae

On Saturday, I attended a pottery show for these two amazing Boston-based artists.

One of my best friends saw online that I had recently become a fan of Jill's work (see the Wishing True blog post HERE), and immediately e-mailed to say that she not only owned several pieces, but was attending a show that weekend.

Is that fated or what?!

Here are some pictures I took at the show:

This is also where I discovered the work of Jill's husband, Lawrence McRae.

I didn't take as many pictures of his work (only because there was less natural light where it was displayed and I'm still working on my very limited photography skills), but here are some of my favorite pieces in his Etsy shop:

In case you were wondering, that third picture that I took is a close up of the last lamp (Trudeau in Nairobi) above.

While Jill's work is all about painted designs, graceful shapes and bright, bold colors, Lawrence's has a more organic feel with patterned cutouts and rich glazes. Both styles are equally unique and distinctive, and I would recognize either immediately.

Jill's blog is a great resource for more information on their design process and inspiration (I loved this post on Lawrence's process), but you can also find a great little "tour" on her website's About page (click the arrows in the upper right corners to page through).

How dumb was I to not request a picture with Jill at the show? I was so excited about my new camera (and trying to actually use it properly, novice that I am) that I forgot that I could take a pictures of people too. Then I left it on a counter while chatting with the artist and had to come back for it twenty minutes later.

Well, here's a super cute picture of Jill from her website:

It was such a pleasure to meet her. I'll be back next year (oh yes - this is an annual event!) with better photography skills and more money for shopping!