We are big proponents of having vintage decor workhorses in your collection, our favorites being silver plate, milk glass and clear glass. Having pieces for specific seasons and holidays is very nice. It’s fun to get them out and visit with them annually. But they are unitaskers. They have one job, kind of like Ken has one job, just Beach. There’s nothing wrong with Ken and there’s nothing wrong with holiday-centric decor. But we like being able to fill in around those pieces with workhorses.
Clear glass, one of the ultimate workhorses, does not command the respect it deserves. In fairness, thrift shops are full of basic clear glass florist containers, unitasking platters and utilitarian glassware, all of which are useful but not particularly exciting. What we get excited about are elevated clear glass pieces, like the pitcher and bowl in this week’s fresh to market vintage, that are both workhorses and celebrations in themselves. They don’t need anything to fancy them up, they’re already gorgeous. But add flowers or fruit and they make those things look swanky too.
What are your decor workhorses?
Hand Painted Glass Pitcher
Vintage is the perfect way to add a touch of the cottagecore aesthetic to your decor, even if you live in a high-rise in the city. And a vintage hand-painted pitcher with a fluted lip that doesn’t need a bouquet to amplify its beauty is an easy way to embrace the idea of cozy living.
Fluted Lip Glass Pitcher, $85
Linda, Selective Salvage
Red and Gold Tone Brooch
Jewelry is artistic, whether it’s a dramatic gemstone tiara or a bakelite carved bangle. Jewelry speaks of the artist who designed it. This simple geometric brooch makes a statement. It tells me the wearer is sophisticated and thoughtful. Not someone prone to excess, and one who is probably well organized. Can you tell all that from a single piece of jewelry? Perhaps not, but often our choices reveal our personality. How would you wear this brooch?
Red Enamel Brooch, $22.95
Pam, Vintage Renude
1930s Wills’s Framed Transportation Cigarette Cards
In the late 1800s, cigarette companies added cardboard “stiffeners” to give their packs of cigarettes more stability. In a lightbulb moment, US company Allen & Ginter added images to the stiffeners to make them collectible advertising. By the turn of the century, over 300 cigarette makers were adding collectible cigarette cards, delighting cartophiles (cigarette card collectors).
British tobacco firm W.D. & H.O. Wills began issuing collectible cards in 1895. The first set was Ships and Sailors, followed by Cricketers. Each collection was 25-50 cards, and as cool things issued in series often do, they became popular collectibles.
This framed collection is from the 1938 Speed series and showcases 27 of the original 50 cards, which featured the fastest planes, trains, ocean liners and automobiles of the time. This collection snuck in right before the British government declared cigarette cards a waste of precious paper during WWII, and banned them in 1940.
Framed Wills’s 1938 Speed Series Cigarette Cards, $90.
–Laurie, NextStage Vintage
Medea Crystal Centerpiece Bowl
European glass knows how to bring the drama. This Medea crystal centerpiece bowl was designed by R. Koschnick and made by Lausitzer Glaswerke in the GDR, sometime in the 1980s before the Berlin Wall came down. Weighing in at 4 lbs., it’s a substantial piece. Patterned with leaves and petals, it’s spot on for spring or for any time you wish it was spring.
Medea Crystal Centerpiece Bowl by Lausitzer Glaswerke Germany, $50
Available from this week’s guest Pam, residential modern
Note: Pam is a longtime FOTB (friend of the blog) who has rebranded and opened a new shop. We’re so excited for her!
We enjoy featuring a guest in each edition of fresh to market vintage. If you are a vintage seller and would like us to consider featuring your shop, send us a DM via our Instagram @vintageunscripted or Facebook @VintageUnscripted. As a blog, we try to be both dispensers of information about cool vintage and hype men for vintage sellers (including ourselves).
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