Then at the same time I decided I would see if there were any cool retro furniture handles up for sale on e-bay. And look at what I found...This collection of 30 retro furniture handles for only $10!!! Yes $10 (not a typo!) The collection includes 5 different sets and they are all in awesome condition. What a score!!

My thought process was, "ok buy them, they are only $10, and if not right for the wardrobe it doesn't matter", but to my delight they are really cool and it now solves my question about what doors to put on our new wardrobe. Any of these handles will look great with a plain white door so that is the plan.

Toodle-pip!

Last week I purchased a teak coffee table from e-Bay and when I went to collect it I had no idea the treasure I was about to discover in the burbs ...

I arrived at a cute 1950s dwelling in Everard Park, and as I was walking across the front lawn I realised that the home was being used as a so called "pop-up shop" - a place for pick-ups of retro bits and bobs being sold via Gumtree and eBay.

I was greeted by a lovely lady called Heather, who proudly showed me around her mother's home still beautifully dressed in its original 1950s decor. Each room including the garage was setup with a life time of vintage collections, including original left over items (dresses, ribbons, buttons, underwear) in new condition from a 'haberdashery' and dress shop in Renmark. Heather's husband's parents ran a quaint store in the 1950s and 60s in the riverside country town.

I was overwhelmed with all of the amazing collections and was disappointed I did not have my proper camera with me. So the snaps above were quickly taken on my iPhone. 

As I left I said this really is like a retro delights pop-up shop and asked her if she was open to others stopping by. Of course, she was very happy with the idea of me helping to spread the word through the Retro Delights blog and Facebook page!

Heather lives just around the corner so would be available to meet people at the cute home most days.
If you are interested in checking out this cute pop-up shop, please contact me directly or via the Retro Delights Facebook Page and I will send you Heather's email address.

Toodle-pip!

Vintage bottle found at the Dump over 40 years ago!

Mum discovered this bottle wrapped in an old cane basket at her local rubbish dump about 40 years ago. Actually I think she was pregnant with me at the time... (do the math) - Anyway, she asked the guy at the dump if she could have it, and it ended up being proudly displayed in our living room for my entire family life. Both my sisters and I used to roll around on it on the carpet when we were very little. I borrowed this beautiful bottle for our Inside Out Magazine photo shoot as I knew Mum would get a huge thrill if it ended up in the mag. (wait and see!)

My new Blue Demijohn. Hestor the Cat likes it too!

Then during one of my recent visits to Three Card Trick I spotted this stunning Demijohn Blue number and had to have it. My purchase decision was mainly inspired by my Mum. Not that I really need a big bottle, but Mum has always been a bottle collector and so maybe, just maybe I am taking over from her?

From the Angaston Hospital 40 years ago.

When I phoned her to let her know about my bottle find, we started talking about glass in general and how amazing it is and how it can be sterilized and reused over and over.

It made me think of a bottle that I found in storage that I had saved from Mum's original collection, and told her how I am now using it to store my olive oil. I asked her if she remembered this bottle with the embossed measurements running in both directions on the side - so they can be read if the bottle is hanging upside down.

She told me the bottle was given to her full of baby formula when she left the Angaston hospital after giving birth to me!!! How amazing is that...! And now it sits on my kitchen bench and I use it everyday.

Not quite a "message in a bottle", but a pretty good story and I treasure this bottle even more now!

Toodle-pip!

$1 Reserve - "Three Chairs"

OMG, I was scouting eBay about a month ago and look what I spotted. I couldn't believe my eyes... $1 reserve, based in Adelaide and a listing titled "3 x chairs". Yes these were the real deal. My opportunity to finally own an original *Featherson - 3 in fact!

Anyway, when I placed my auto bid, there was one other bidder and so the bid climbed to $25 with me being in the lead. So it appeared the other bidder didn't plan to go too high.

I had 6 whole days to wait for the auction to close, which felt like a lifetime, and anything could happen in that time! I decided to send a cheeky message to the seller asking if they would consider a buy now, but also made it clear that it was totally cool if they preferred the auction to simply run its course.

I was on such a high, so so excited, and just couldn't believe my luck. Not just one Featherson, but three. The listing description basically said "3 chairs taking up space in the shed, need to make some room"...No key words like "retro" or "vintage" or "Featherson", so few people would pick up on this listing...

Then within about 5 minutes my elated feeling suddenly turned to confusion and absolute despair. There was no reply to my message and THE LISTING HAD DISAPPEARED! After checking again and again, the listing had been removed. I sent another message to the seller asking if the chairs had sold, and again no reply.

So I spent the rest of the week pining over the chairs and wondering what happened to them. Maybe the seller also had them listed on Gumtree or elsewhere, hence the sudden removal of the listing.

I only hope they have gone to a good home full of people who will love and adore them forever!

After this eBay disaster I really felt like I had been on a mad emotional roller coaster, and it has taken me this long to recover before I could share this tragedy with you!

Sad face!

*Grant Featherson (1922-1995) was the genius behind this chair design. Self-taught, he produced the first of his famous plywood shell Contour chairs in 1951.

R152 Contour chair by Grant Featherston. (Image Source MidCenturyJo)

R160 Contour chair by Grant Featherston. (Image Source MidCenturyJo)

B230 Contour Chair. (Image Source badass mustache)

The weather was pretty wild and wooly today, so I spent the day pottering around the Messagemark studio boxing up greeting cards, sorting out bills and moving furniture around!

I finally found a spot to hang my shadow box (Ebay purchase) to display my mini designer chairs! Retro shadow boxes are the ideal solution for showing off your collection so I recommend you set up a search on Ebay and nab one if you have a chair fetish like me!

Toodle-pip!

I found this clock in an op shop and instantly thought,  "Hmmm, I could make a quirky terrarium out of you!"

Step One - Pull the clock apart so you are left with only the base and glass dome.

Step Two - To clean up the base, I used black spray paint.  Depending on your decor choose any colour!

Step Three - Give the base a coat of paint in a well ventilated area and leave to dry.

Step Four - Gather a small amount of artificial moss to cover the base.

Step Five - Once the paint has dried pile the artificial moss on top of the base.

Step Six - Choose a miniature to sit on top of the moss.

Step Seven - Position the miniature in the center of the base.

Step Eight - Wash the glass dome and sit on top of the base.

And there you have it, a Quirky Terrarium! You can buy bases and the glass domes new but they can be a bit pricey, so keep a look out for some old clocks in your local op shop.

Here's what you will need:
1. Glass dome and base - maybe from an old clock (mine cost $7.99 from an op shop)
2. Artificial moss (I bought mine from ebay for $5 + postage)
3. Spray paint any colour
4. Cute critter to live in your terrarium

Toodle-pip!

(Cute hoop artwork by Gretel Girl)

I'm letting you in on a little secret. Well it's not really a secret, but I wanted to share with you my top pick for the BEST SECONDHAND STORE EVER!

"Savers" (www.savers.com.au) is what you would describe as a mega secondhand shopping experience and is located in Noarlunga (SA) with other locations around Vic and NSW (check their website). This shop is so clean and well organised, having said that, do allow at least 3 hours to browse the racks. A fantastic collection of kitchenware, home decor, shoes, furniture, books, and of course clothing. It is truly UNBELIEVABLE. The only fault is I think they should have a cafe so we can have a break in between the frenzy - a bit like IKEA.

I asked Denis recently if we could stop by Savers as we headed away in "Scooby" the campervan for the weekend. To my delight he was kind enough to agree (SQUEEL)... 1 hour and $100 later I came out with a suitcase full of goodies plus an awesome TH Brown Fondue Table for only $25!

So the van was filled up with my treasures, and once at the camping spot I decided to set up house so we could actually get to the bed!


Toodle-pip!

I'm loving my sewing projects at the moment, but it just hasn't felt right using a newish plastic sewing machine. So I have been on the hunt for a reliable retro model.

After hunting on e-bay for weeks I found this beautiful vintage green "Singer". It is made of metal, and is very strong and robust. Certainly not like my other plastic model! I will keep the plastic one as a back up machine, but somehow I don't think I will need it. This is definitely a case of "they just don't make them like they used to!"

I feel much happier now making my retro inspired creations (K2 Scarf) on my retro sewing machine!