RetroBabs Vintage

Here is a new Treasury list I made on Etsy. It is for the challenge "garden junque" theme of the Vesties Team. I made it because I love to decorate my garden with ornaments. I use anything from copper buckets to cast iron statues, from bird baths to bird houses. I am afraid I got started on the bird house thing from my Dad. He was a wood worker and gave all his daughters bird houses. I think he gave me nine! Dad has been gone for almost nine years now and the houses still survive. A little paint and cleaning every year makes them habitable for our feathered friends. Enjoy this treasury and let me know if you garden as I do. Remember, one mans junk is another mans treasure! It's called: A little bird told me it's all cast and copper. Here is a photo of my favorite bird house. A gift from my husband. Notice how it looks like my house. He made it to scale as best he could and used the same paint and shingles! Love it- Thanks Honey! The first picture ...

I recently read an interesting article on the Handmadeology blog. It talked about an idea to promote ones shop on Etsy. The author's brilliant idea was about the "marrying" of another shop to your own, thereby helping and promoting each other. The article was written by my good friend from RetroChalet, which happens to be the shop I AM MARRIED to! This arrangement has been a wonderful collaboration of ideas, treasuries, blog posts, emails and friendship. She affectionately calls me "Wifey" and has helped take an Etsy Newbie gain confidence and a fledgling vintage shop grow. Read the original article at: http://www.handmadeology.com/etsy-marriage-a-unique-approach-to-increasing-etsy-sales/ http://www.etsy.com/shop/RetroChalet Miss Cindy encouraged me to join teams and succeeded in getting me to change this very Blog. (Don't you like the new design and format?) One of the teams I join was Etsy Recyclers Guild Team and I entered a contest. Now I ...

Is nostalgia a cheap emotional attachment; or a respectful nod to the past? I've been thinking about this for a while. It makes me dredge up several random memories. First, referring to the the Disney movie "Cars" as "a cheap nostalgia" in order to market rides, games and toys. I thought later that I had insulted my father-in-law who had really liked the movie. Second, an unjustified preferential bias towards "modern" furniture while I was an Industrial Design undergrad in the 90s - (think of terms like "timeless design" or even better "universal aesthetic"). Third; my sudden (not that sudden) shift towards things that are older, made in the USA, even dare say "old-fashioned" -- all of this seemingly in step with everybody else my age. As I grew older I looked back at that expensive modern design I shrugged: Nerds. Who cares about my Marcel Breuer chair? It looks weird next to my junky college furniture anyway. Yet, my ow...

This is exciting- Our mint green, Irish Lassie scarf will be used as a prop in a play. We have had other items purchased from us, such as a Chrome Martini Shaker used by Olympia Dukakis in a Tennessee Williams play. We are thrilled with the prospect. This item was a "Pay It Forward" listing which means we marked it down to a rock bottom price and put the word out to our customer to "pay it forward" - go forth and do a good deed. We think it is good Karma to do this sometimes. Our item gets moving that has been stagnant and good cheer and joy is spread into the world. Here is what the customer wrote to us: " Yes, this is going to be used in our March 18-27 Riverside Youth Theatre (www.RiversideYouthTheatre.org) production of The Wizard of Oz. One of our Ozians in Emerald City will be wearing this green scarf. Thank you for offering it! This is my first "Pay it Forward" purchase. Can't wait to review my Etsy items online today to see ...

Trade-a-Holics is a new team I joined and what it consists of are shops on Etsy that are willing to trade items instead of selling items. If they are willing to trade items from shop to shop and they must be members of this team. The items do go down as a sale because it is an exchange of goods instead of dollars. I have made two trades so far and I have to admit it is pretty fun. Check them out at: http://etsytradeaholics.blogspot.com The team is having a contest. Here are the rules for a new team challenge. "the rules are simple: - entries will be accepted until february 17th, 2011. - only one entry per shop - all entries MUST be handmade and listed for sale/trade in your Etsy shop. (no supplies or destash please!) - all entries must reflect in some way the current theme "it's cold outside!" - tag your item with this month's challenge tag "tradefebruary11" so that people can find your item! - starting on february 10th, CONVO muffintop...

RetroBabs Vintage & ReMix: Adrien Art - Painting, Sculpture and Pottery by Adrien Miller : "http://EtsyRecyclersGuild.blogspot.com"

I would like to feature a wonderful artist today. Adrien Miller is a potter, a painter and a sculptor. He is a visual artist and creates pottery and paintings of the human form. His studio is based in Seattle and is a member of the Etsy Recyclers Guild Team, as am I. I randomly chose his sculpture in a Treasury before I actually began talking to him for this interview. I liked his art as soon as I first set eyes on it! His sculpture is the lovely torso in the top row of the Treasury below. Visit his Etsy shop, ADRIEN ART at : http://www.etsy.com/shop/AdrienArt?ref=pr_shop_more# His shop is filled with fantastic pottery, vessels bearing faces, torsos on tea pots and paintings of the human body. It is surely a magical place! I asked Adrien some questions about his Etsy experience. When and why did you start selling on Etsy? "I opened my Etsy shop on November 10th, 2009. I needed to do it. I make art with most of my time, and I was having an issue with not minding...

I love this color, aqua, mint green, hues of blue. I made a Treasury on Etsy out of the items from the Vesties team. I tried to go from light to darker in the hues to be pleasing to the eye, it kind of draws you in. This Treasury has the most views of any that I have made so far. Tell me what you think of it. They are so fun to make. I feel like I am in a candy shop of color when I am making these Treasuries.