Vera Vault -- Plaid Edition

We Blackbird girls collect many, many things.  Pretty sure that's no secret.  And I'm sure everyone knows how much we love (desperately, totally, with no reservations) our junk.  But if there is one collection that is nearest and dearest to my heart, it is my Vera Neumann collection. 

I discovered Vera through a blurb on HGTV.  There was some show that highlighted collections, and they showed a woman with all her various Vera items -- scarves, aprons, dish towels.  I had never heard of Vera, but it was love at first sight.  It was really the first time I had a burning need to own a particular category of vintage item.  In other words, I was just an amateur collector before Vera came into my life.

My love affair with Vera started during a very hard part of my life.  Newly graduated from college, I was trying to find my way in the world.  I needed to find a career rather than a job, and I didn't really know where I wanted to go.  I decided to move to Asheville to get a jump start, but soon realized that it doesn't really matter where you relocate.  You're still really in the same place if your mind isn't where it needs to be.  Looking back, I realize that I was more than a little depressed, living three hours from home in a city where I knew no one, trying to find a job in a place where everyone told me, "We're not hiring."  And then, the unthinkable -- my parents divorced after 33 years of marriage.  My entire world was turned upside down, and I had to move back home to be with my mom.  She needed me.

I found my first Vera scarf in an antique mall in Asheville.  It was about two months after I found out about my parents, a month before I moved back, and two weeks after I saw the blurb on HGTV.  I had started wandering around the businesses downtown to distract myself, and the antique mall was a favorite.  I didn't know enough to know what to look for to find a Vera -- but as soon as I saw it, I knew it was hers.  I paid too much ($16) and it had a few holes, but it made me so happy.  So, so happy.  And so the collection started.

My plan with the Vera Vault is to show my collection.  To archive it for myself, and to help other collectors by showing the range of patterns she made.  So for the first, we're starting with my plaid Vera scarves!

Silk Poncho

Acetate Sash

Chiffon Scarf

Acetate scarf

Acetate Scarf

Chiffon Scarf

Chiffon Sash

Silk Scarf