Calm Down..... Its Only A Table !!!!

Every so often in my vintage, shabby, industrial, adventures I will find something that 'finds me''. I instantly know that I will keep it,  just that little bit longer than I should. It is invariably nothing grand. Its usually something I wasn't looking for. It isn't on my wish list and I find it where I least expect to. But it nearly always ellicits the cry from the Big Man of "calm down its only a ..........", Good luck with filling in the blanks beacuse with my funky, eclectic tastes it really can be ANYTHING.

   

This time it was a table. OK, I hear you say, whatever it is she's drinking I'll have a pint of it !!!!! But just look at this.

This gorgeous find is a shabby, industrial, table that was a fold away card table back in the day. It has all the elements that I look for in my treasures; character, patina, quirkiness, WOW and I LOVE IT - what vintage is all about !!!!.

Look at the shabby, chippy paint on those legs, the colour of which, through just the right amount of rust, is a faded shade of the palest green.

 (Trust me Farrow and Ball would die to include this in their English Heritage Paint range). 

Check out the top, a thick, weathered cardboard which was given the appearance of leather hide and which now has the most amazing patina which only comes with age and use (A bit like all of us !!!!) - just beautiful (A bit like all of us !!!!).

Even the shabby, red rivets around the edge add character and a splash of colour - delightful.

So now you may be thinking what ever she's having.... I'll have TWO pints - But this is why I do what I do. When you find IT , trust me, you just know and for now its home is with me and its story continues.

So What Do You Do Again ?!?!?!?

Vintage Influence

I get asked time and again....  so what is it you do again . So how did Vintage Influence begin and what is it ? So twelve months after I started my little vintage venture here is the low down. It started with a chair for my boys to remind us of England.

Then various friends saw my chair and asked if I could make one for them. And it grew from there hence.....   

       

 All made from vintage linen tea towels stitched together by me. I make unique linens to bring new life to vintage pieces I source or a beloved piece that someone wants to re-upholster. My wonderful upholsterer then transforms my 'tea towel linen' into these 'babies'........A labour of love but I love what I do. I do smaller projects as well and have designed and produced vintage cushions and you know me anything goes. An eclectic portfolio to say the least....

I also rescue, upscale and refurb to create new, individual, unique pieces that I love......

1950's footstools meet South American coffee sacks

A primitive american game board meets a shabby french cafe table base....... et voila !!!!!

I also source all sorts of vintage treasures from antique and bric a brac shops, sunday markets and auction houses that I sell privately through word of mouth or on the wonderful Ebay

 

Gorgeous French Day Bed

 Beautiful French Wash Stands 

A Vintage French Bistro Chair

An American Mission chair - Just loved the colour !!!

Huge Antique French Candleabra - Magnificent !!!

And once a year I am in Vintage Heaven with a stall at The Vintage Extravaganza. This year was my first show and it was amazing !!!!!

My Stall

My Treasures

Vintage !

Vintage !!!

 Vintage !!!!!

And then there is my blog through which I want to share my passion and spread the vintage vibe and if you love anything that I feature just let me know. All my treasures are for sale and spreading the vintage love is what its all about !!!!!

lisa.amirtharajah@yahoo.co.uk 

How Do I Comment !!!!!!!!!

Just a quick 'How To Comment On My Blog' Lesson

Lots of you have said you cannot comment on the Blog and I have googled, chat roomed, Asked Jeeves, badgered Blogspot and I think I have managed to suss it out. This technology STUFF is all new to me too (Its tough being Gen Whatever/Who Knows  - Now I know why I love Vintage I truly am an old fashioned girl at heart). Anyway....... Once you have read the entry scroll down to the bottom of the post you want to comment on and click on comments. You can then write your comment in the blank comment box and post as 'anonymous' in the drop down menu, if you dont have any of the accounts listed. Then hit post comment and you will be asked to copy the security word then it should post. Please DO include your name in the comment BECAUSE I would love to know whos commenting and anonymous really does mean anonymous......!!!! So give it a whirl and lets get some vintage dialogue going. Cheers xxxxxxxxx 

There was life before Cath Kidston !!!!!

At the risk of receiving hate mail I am about to question the god-like status of Cath Kidston and suggest that we, dare I say it, can do better. Don't be fooled I am as enamoured as most by all things vintage, floral, and pretty but I think Cath may have got inspiration from the past..... No, shock, horror, really ?!?!??!

Just Check these out !!!

I have realised on my vintage travels that back in the day the pantry was a visual feast..... God they knew how to pack a jammy dodger (Tim Tam for my Aussie Girls). And what a pleasure that cup of tea would have been. (now a soy, skinny latte, with an extra shot, no froth - some things have changed).

 Apologies to all you Cath Kidston devotees out there but I think these guys were there first and dare I say it they were pretty damn good at it.

So be inspired. So what if they are a little shabby, chippy, dented - that's what we in the trade call Vintage Charm !!!!

Lets breath new life into these babies and although I tell myself that reaching for that chocolate hob nob (mint pattie) couldn't get any better.......... me thinks it could !!!!

And a quick post script following my homage to All Things Absinthe last week and  in honour of my gorgeous friend Melissa (who kindly reads my blog every week) -  and her gorgeous chap - as someone reminded me,rather aptly....... "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder !!!!"

Absinthe Saucers

OK last week it was smoking..... This week its booze ...... People will start talking I know BUT trust me its all in the name of Vintage Research (Well that's my excuse and I am sticking with it).

So I have been looking into the origins of these beautiful little saucers I found and have uncovered a whole history of the drink ABSINTHE.

Absinthe is an anise flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but can also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte",the "green fairy", in French. It has a very high level of alcohol and is normally diluted with water and sugar is added by the drinker to sweeten it.

It was popular in France through the 1840's when it was given to French Troops as a malaria treatment....... I guess there had to be an upside to Malaria !!!!!!!


When the troops returned home, they brought their taste for Absinthe with them. It became so popular in the bars, bistro's and cafes that by the 1860's 5pm was called l'heure verte (The Green Hour). That's where these vintage treasures originate from:




These Absinthe Saucers, or Sous Verre, were served under the Absinthe glass accompanied by an absinthe spoon for adding sugar to this slightly bitter beverage.  The saucers denoted the cost of their orders and were stacked up acting as a running tab, or method of calculating the bill.

 

 Each saucer typically  had a coloured or decorated
rim, and the colour denoted the price of the drink. Often the price itself was enamelled on the rim of the saucer as well.

As a client ordered more drinks, he stacked the saucer for each in pile on his table. When it came to settle the bill, the waiter simply added up the number of each colour saucer to arrive at the total.

These gorgeous little saucers represent a unique piece of history, surviving absinthe's heyday a century ago.


So...... Its 5 o'clock somewhere...... pass the Absinthe !!!