Raton Pass Vintage Postcard

I was going through my things and packing when I came across this vintage postcard of Raton Pass in New Mexico. A little excited shiver went up my spine, considering our move to New Mexico is why I was packing and I bought that postcard when I was probably eleven years old . . .

Or maybe I just like neat coincidences like that.

Photobooth No.3

Perhaps the world's angriest baby? I love him or her all the same.

From my photobooth collection.

Postcard No. 1

Awhile back I shared two vintage photobooth pictures and some Easter postcards from my collections. I think I failed to mention, however, that I have been collecting vintage ephemera since I was a girl. Yep, born to be a dork.

When I was in grade school there was a huge barn full of amazing antiques in the center of town (one of the benefits of growing up in Vermont). I thought it was terribly sophisticated to go in there and browse, but the only thing I could afford were postcards.

I think the one above was one of my earliest "acquisitions." As a kid and a huge Anne of Green Gables fan, I couldn't imagine anything more romantic than a note from a secret admirer.

This must have been in the back of my mind today, since I broke out the Gocco again and made some vintage-inspired postcards for my shop (though mine are more cute than romantic) . I've never made postcards before, and I hope they are a hit! I'm waiting for them to dry so I can photograph them and list them tomorrow.

Old and New

One major subject of this blog is what I loosely refer to as "inspiration"--- those things in everyday life that I see, remember, and interpret in my cards and prints. It's something I also like to call a "visual vocabulary"--- those things you've seen, whether in art or in life, that stick in your mind and that you connect with and continue to use in your work.

A lot of people (including myself) have described my aesthetic as vintage or Victorian, and it certainly is. Even from a small age, I really connected with things that are old (blame it on Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, or the fact that my grandmother gave me free rein of her attic).

I wanted to show here, though, what I take from both old and new. The vintage postcards shown above are from my own collection. I love the sweet chicks and quirky use of items like the hat and mirror. However, I think that the overall scenes in the postcards are a little too sweet, even for my taste, so I like to make some adjustments when creating my own work. I love the colors used in the originals, and that chick yellow and the green on the brim of the hat serve as similar, but simplified, backgrounds in my own cards. I chose scalloped edges to give the cards some interest, but I tempered that with printing the image in brown. I also like the overall quirkiness of animal behavior in the originals--- I connected with a similar vintage image when I found the rabbits and jumping frogs. I added the text myself, which I think gives it a little more humor--- that we know that the picture is pretty, but silly.

Like my modern take? The cards are available in my Etsy shop.

Easter Ephemera

I plan on updating my Etsy shop this weekend. Which means I need, I must dust off the Gocco tonight while my husband is at band practice. I have two versions of a lovely rabbit card designed, and the reminder that Easter comes early this year is even more motivation to get going.

In the meantime, as promised, I'm going to share a little more of my collection of vintage ephemera. Vintage images are a real source of inspiration for my Gocco work. While I prefer simpler Victorian engravings, I really love the quirky weirdness of the first one. A rabbit in a clown suit balancing on an egg? Huh? In the second, the pussywillows and the chicks with little ribbon leashes are just too sweet.

Photobooth No.2

This was given to me by an old friend who said I reminded him of the girl in the picture. I'm not quite sure I took that as a compliment, but it's a sweet little picture nonetheless.

Photobooth No.1

After posting about Lisa Congdon's inspiring arrangements of her collections the other day, it became apparent that there is one place I can currently display my collections--- right here!

I'll be posting images from my photobooth collection first, and then some vintage postcards.

Do you like the first one? I think the girl's hair is awesome.

More Space, More Things?

My husband and I live in a very small urban space. Very small. So I squelch my inner collector in the hopes that it will maintain my sanity and a sense of order in the apartment. Two things I have a real weakness for, though, are vintage kitchenware (especially pretty plates) and old ephemera like photobooth pictures and postcards. Right now I keep a collection of Victorian postcards and old photobooth snapshots in an album.

I was so inspired to see the way Lisa Congdon arranges her collections of similar items (via Poppytalk). Maybe someday?