My Vintage Soul

Growing Up

Once upon a time, there were two little girls who were sisters. They did most everything together, often holding hands like they did one summer day at a nearby amusement park.

And now, probably about 10 years since this picture was taken, they're both in college, and I am an official empty nester. It seems like they grew up in a blink of an eye. But there were years of making school lunches, taking them to piano lessons and picking them up from marching band. It's a little lonely not have them around but it's rewarding to see them trying their wings. I'm excited for the opportunities they have and I hope they make the most of them.

The Bouckville Report

The road to Bouckville isn't always smooth. In fact, sometimes it's full of setbacks and downright disgusting.

And then, when you get there, you don't connect with friends that you look forward to seeing. And you hesitate on a purchase because you went there in search of horse show ribbons and you find dog show ribbons, and when you decide that a few dog ribbons are better than no horse ribbons, you find that someone else has beaten you to the whole box (of dog ribbons).

But, it's still a good day because It's Bouckville, a once-a-year extravaganza, and you know if you didn't go, you would wish that you had. Because it's a long time until next August.

So you console yourself with some classic eye candy, including brightly colored linens.

And vintage kitchen ware.

And Shiny Brites that are pretty to look at but very pricey to buy.

And you keep expecting that Mike and Frank must be close by because there's so much darn stuff that you know they would be picking.

And speaking of trends, where that you don't see industrial junk, you see burlap feedsacks. Lots of em.

And sadly, you also see evidence that, yes, you are getting to be an antique yourself because don't you remember riding one of these when you were a kid?

But you're also inspired by things that you haven't seen before and that's maybe the best reason to go to Bouckville.

By the way, these were made by the lady who makes the tin can dolls in the previous post.

But what did you buy? Not much because you're trying to reform your junking ways. A little bit of Christmas and a few vintage French books. And it's just enough. Because it's Bouckville.  

 

Bouckville Bound

 

Yes, it's that time of year again. It's Antiques Week in Bouckville, NY, which is about 35 miles east of Syracuse. Each August, thousands of dealers pull into town for a week of showing and selling.

 

I'm off to Bouckville on Wednesday to gather some inspiration and maybe a treasure or two (although I really don't need a darn thing).

 

Still, it's fun to go and take in the sights, such as these very unique creations. I'm also hoping to meet up with Gina and Barbara. A full report to come.

Syracuse Past: Syroco

My encounter with milk plastic reminded me of other pieces of plastic decor and the Syracuse company that created much of it: Syroco.

Syroco was founded in 1890 as the Syracuse Ornamental Co. It employed generations of Central New Yorkers until it went out of business in 2007. By then, it was making those ubiquitous plastic Adirondack-style chairs. But in its early days, the company produced unique products made from a mixture of wood flour and a casting resin. The poppy bowl, above, is an example of that technique as are the two boxes below that were designed to hold playing cards. I've also seen picture frames, candlestick holders and bookends made from the wood resin.

By the 1950s, Syroco was making a lot of plastic wall decor and it introduced a process for gilded home accessories called "metalgold."

These wall plaques show that technique as do these birds perching on dogwood branches.

It's still fairly easy to find Syroco around Syracuse at thrift stores and garage sales although it's getting tougher to find the really old wood resin pieces. And of course they're more pricey. Still, there's so much of the plastic stuff that I assumed that these angel plaques were also Syroco. But they were made by Dart Industries.

So there you have it. A brief history of Syroco. Now when you see this sticker, you'll know a little more about where it came from.

 

 

Milk Plastic and Why You Shouldn't Smoke

A few weeks ago, I was reading this post from Jane's Apron about milk glass.
Now, I don't collect milk glass but I have to agree with Julie that just
about anything looks good in milk glass.

Like these vintage game pieces that I happened to have on hand about the same time that I found these two milk glass pedestal bowls.

However, not everything looks good on milk glass, which I will soon explain.

Our story begins with this pair of mirrored sconces, which I found at Thrift Store No. 1. Although they look like milk glass they're actually "milk plastic" and were made by Burwood Products circa 1986.

Milk plastic? Who knew? They really do look like glass.

In any event, they were cute enough, and I hope, resell-able enough, so they came home to receive a quick coat of fresh white paint on the candle holders.
BTW, I'm sure that any candles in these holders would be purely decorative as
plastic plus lighted candles equals impending disaster, and I speak from an experience that could have turned out very badly.

But back to our story.

A week or so later, at Thrift Shop No. 2, I found an oval milk plastic mirror
that was the perfect match to the sconces and was also made by Burwood. There was a problem, however. The mirror was covered in this brown stuff.

What the heck? A debate ensued of course. Should I or shouldn't I take a chance? Luckily, the store clerk, who didn't know what the brown stuff could be but happened to have a bottle of window cleaner on hand, offered to give it a wipe and see what happened.

And that was when I knew that cigarette smoke doesn't look good on milk plastic or probably milk glass and certainly not your lungs. But luckily, a good scrubbing of the frame (minus the mirror) left it all a lovely clinical white. Can't you see this in a bathroom above the perfect reproduction vintage sink? Or in a little girl's room?

The moral of the story? There are two.

First (and foremost), please don't smoke.

Secondly, try to always have a tissue or two on hand to be sure that those thrifty finds are worth taking a chance on. I think mine were.

Route 90 Roundup

There was some fine print to my recent declaration to junk less. I never intended to stop going to those once-a-year "event" sales. And so, on Saturday, I did the Route 90 Sale, which stretches for more than 50 miles through two mostly rural counties in upstate New York.

It's a fun sale but all that stopping and searching can be very tiring -- so tiring that eventually I took leave of my senses and wound up at a place like this.

But I quickly realized that I really did not need anything from
the rednecks.

Nor did I need a mime T-shirt.

Or a seriously scary doll that could have been in one of those "Chuckie" sequels.

So what did I buy?

In the paper category: A pair of unused egg cartons, Hallmark wedding wrapping paper still in its original package, 1 1956 Dennison crepe paper costume book, and two old books (a hymnal and French book).

In the linens category: A feed sack (I have another one in the same pattern) and what I think is a scarf from Cornell University that might date to 1940s or 50s.

In the utility category: An Ohio Art recipe box and a folding ruler.

And, finally, in the always-wanted Christmas category: Two boxes of vintage ornaments.

All of my purchases are destined for Etsy. Thanks to Amy of So Into Vintage, I've begun to think of myself as the middle man when it comes to moving treasures ASAP into new vintage-loving homes.