I Love...Vintage Barware!

We're not big drinkers, but I always knew I wanted to host great little parties at our house right from the start. With our home slowly piecing together, and the discovery of a vintage bar cart early this summer for $7, I figured we should put together a corner for our barware. Something that's easy to pretty up when entertaining, but simple enough to leave up all the time. I thought we should definite start keeping our eye out for retro glasses and serving dishes to give our fancy new cart the recognition it deserves. It's a conversation piece worth having, and I can't wait to have guests crowded around, picking out their drink of choice! Here are some amazing vintage pieces I would love to have in my small but blooming collection. Do you have any of these?

(From top left to bottom right:)

1- These aren't vintage but check out this amazing pink starburst glass from Bombshell Bar Goods. 

2- Federal Glass Amoeba Boomerang wine glasses are always the most fun and classic of the mid century bar patterns! 

3- A set of four atomic, space-age looking glasses are a definite must have for an outstanding Mad Men themed look.

4- This a set of two orange glasses with a very unique design that I'm quite drawn to.

5- I love a good set of gold frosted glasses with their original carrier. 

6- The Pillow Talk Set (also not vintage) from Bombshell Bar Goods is the perfect gift for newlyweds. I'm digging the amazing retro font!

7- These spectacular pink, black and gold Hazel Atlas glasses are tough to find, but oh my, look at that fabulous pattern!

8- I'm all for a good tantalus. Especially one as decorative as this. Great fonts displaying each liquor name is a bonus too!

9- This set of travel flasks makes me so happy. Complete with it's own perfect carrying case, it feels like this mini collection should be on the set of a Wes Anderson film. 

There are so many styles out there. Even modern day companies are trying to compete for your attention by bringing out vintage inspired collections, a lot of which are oh so adorable. I always tend to lean towards vintage, because I know they're well made and the history side of it always gets me. However, I'm not above buying something new if it's worth it! 

So let's get this bar cart filled!

Marissa xo

I Love... Barkcloth Fabric!

Vintage barkcloth has always been fascinating to me. It's one of those tough, sturdy, heavy weight fabrics you can do a lot with. You can use it to make curtains, pillows, bags or even reupholster furniture pieces. The best part about this material though, is the fabulous array of vintage atomic-style designs you may come across.

Winnipeg is finally in summer mode after a crazy long winter, which means the garage sales are in full swing. You can bet I've been out already looking for some great deals and awesome vintage pieces to complete my home, and stock up the shop. 

Don't worry, this all relates back to barkcloth!! I'm telling you this because this last weekend I came across the garage sale of this older gentlemen who was raising money for a nearby hospital. I looked around for a bit and saw a table with a heap of vintage barkcloth fabric on it. He came over and told me they were long curtains his wife had made before they had even met. I thought they were so awesome, so I asked him what he wanted for the set, and he said he'd give them to me for one dollar! He also wanted to throw in some vintage aprons for free, but I assured him I would at least give a donation for the hospital he was raising money for. 

On I went, with my freshly dry-cleaned, fully-lined barkcloth curtains with their superb atomic print and in pristine condition no less! (...and also a couple aprons!) I was kind of in shock at what I had just found. It's hard to unearth cool things like that in Winnipeg. Let's be honest here. 

So in honour of my new find, I wanted to show off some other cool barkcloth fabric that I would be more than happy to own. Some patterns are very iconic; others not so much. Each one is fantastic in it's own way, and I'd be pleased to meet some of it in person some day!

one//two//three//four//five//six//seven//eight

These barkcloth fabrics always have a lot of texture, colour and life. Especially the ones with added metallic bits throughout! I'm always partial to the really typical retro '50s ones with boomerang and antennae looking shapes. Surprise, surprise. 

What's your favourite?

Marissa xo