Vera Vault -- Hello, Yellow!

I have multiple bags of Vera scarves waiting to be photographed for "Vera Vault" posts.  Before I photograph them, I have to steam each one.  I usually try to steam several while I am steaming scarves to list in our Etsy shop.  I always try to come up with a theme for my posts, and this time, as I reached my hand into the bag to grab a scarf, I grabbed a yellow plaid Vera.  

 

Then, I reached in, without looking, and grabbed this yellow floral sheer Vera:

Next, a yellow geometric:

I was beginning to sense a trend.  So I looked in a bag and pulled out a yellow abstract scarf:

Another yellow-ish floral: 

Another yellow geometric:

And lastly, another yellow-ish (and many other colors) floral:

I just love that Vera never limited herself to just one style.  Florals, plaids, geometrics, abstracts, figurals -- she did it all.  Who knows what I'll pull out of the bag next time!

On the Radar: Good as Gold Pt. 2

This fabulous color continues to present itself to us. Just a few days ago, we bought a great mustard hat and some groovy floral curtains with golden fringe. Those are soon to be listed, but while you wait, here is what Etsy has to offer for that perfect touch of yellow in your home:

On Etsy

On Etsy

The Blackbird girls are suckers for ice buckets, so we had to pull one for this post. Oh, and did I mention that we also collect vintage fondue pots and typewriters? I'm drooling for that Olivetti!

On Etsy

On Etsy

On Etsy

For a classier, less overtly vintage splash of color, try a cool print or delicate piece of blown glass:

On Etsy

On Etsy

Normally, I don't go for painting perfectly good mid-century credenzas, but this one is perfectly wonderful. I love the yellow and gray--one of my favorite color combinations--and check out the fabulous coordinating knob that I found in another shop!

On Etsy

On Etsy

On the Radar: Good as Gold Pt. 1

There are trend-setters in this world, and there are trend-followers, and it doesn't matter which category you belong to as long as you do the trend justice. And vintage is always a great way to fall in line with the herd while still maintaining your originality. I mean, how many other people in your circle are going to have the same dress, or necklace, or belt? So, as we see these trends pop up in magazines, malls, and boutiques, we also see the same conversation happening in the vintage world. For the past few months, this beautiful golden yellow has been popping up everywhere, and our savvy Etsy compatriots have made their own contribution. And while we normally incorporate modern iterations of trends in our On the Radar blogs, we've decided to highlight nothing but vintage this time around. Like this AMAZING dress:

From here

Or these daring darlings:

On Etsy

On Etsy

Sometimes, all you need is a little spot of color to stand out in a crowd, like this funky patterned scarf:

Echo scarf, On Etsy

 And jewelry is always a girl's best friend!

Golden tiger eye ring, On Etsy

On Etsy

There's nothing better than versatility, especially when it looks good. Check out this reversible bracelet:

On Etsy

This ring is awesome, and we love the enameled cufflinks:

Gold and yellow jade ring, On Etsy

Swank enamel Pisces cufflinks, On Etsy

May your world be filled with sunshine and great yellow vintage!

Junk Love: Italian Holiday

This post is for three reasons: we really love brightly colored mid-century junk, we really love Italy, and Roman Holiday was on this weekend. Do we need more justification than that? No!

So here is a dream collection of items pulled from Etsy to brighten up an already dull week and soothe the urgent need to clear out my savings and hop on a plane for Mediterranean gorgeousness. Enjoy--mid-century Italian junk love!

Baldelli Elephant Bank; Here

Ceramic canisters; Here

Stilnovo-style wall lights; Here

Fratelli Fanciullacci pottery pitcher; Here

Valenti enamelware set; Here

Two-piece Modernist horse sculpture; Here

Bitossi blue cat; Here

San Marino-style ceramic & leather dish; Here

Yellow Ceramic Planter; Here

Junk Love Monday: Flowers (and an Apology)

From PeppermintBark

First, the apology: we skipped our regular Friday blog post last week. We were just so busy getting ready for a show, we ran out of time. We didn't even post a picture for you to look at, and for that we are truly sorry. So, today's Junk Love post contains some flowers just for you. You'll get a Skinny post this week--scout's honor!

Nothing says springtime quite like daffodils. We have them scattered around our house, and we just love to see their bright yellow (or white) faces turned up toward the sun. The other Blackbird girl's mother is crazy about them, and not only has them everywhere at her house, she collects vintage daffodil-themed items as well (although she calls them jonquils, I'm a daffodil kind of girl...).

Linen towel, from RuralSouth

 

Set of 4 Vera napkins, from FourMartiniLunch

Metal hook, from VintageFindsAndSigns

Even faded daffodils are cute. We love the look of this vintage green tray. It would look great on a 1930s tablecloth, or even propped up behind mismatched vintage glasses in a kitchen.

From HighPointFarm2010

And, in case you need daffodil fashions in your spring wardrobe, check out this brooch, dress, and pair of adorable yellow shoes:

1930s or 1940s carved bone brooch, from deliadelia

 

From LionsManeVintage

From bonmarchecouture

On the Radar -- Add Some Zest

Tribune Standard, Spring/Resort 2013

We're looking forward today, moving into 2013.  We Blackbird girls have been flirting with orange for a while now, but a citrus-y zing of lime, lemon, and orange hasn't been really been on our radar -- until we found THE CHAIR.

We were shopping in one of our favorite haunts recently (we'll never tell where it is...so don't EVEN try...) when we saw it.  A very square, very 1960s lemon-lime-orange houndstooth masterpiece of a chair with, drumroll please...the matching footstool.  In pristine condition.  We snatched it up.  We had to repack the car -- meaning we had to unload everything, put the chair and footstool in, and then repack the other stuff around it somehow.  Then it had to live in the car for weeks.  It still doesn't have a home, but it will very soon.  It's part of a top secret Blackbird project that we will reveal in the coming weeks.  I can't show you the whole thing...but here's a sneak peek!

I thought at the time, "Man, those colors are fun!" But now, after looking around a bit, I've found that it's right on trend for spring.  The zingy colors are everywhere, from cars:

2013 Dodge Dart Rallye with Citrus Peel paint

To planners:

2013 Planner from greengrass2 on Etsy

To fashion:

Rachel Roy, Resort 2013

To quilts and crafts:

Orange Slices quilt by Natalia Bonner, from TrueUp

And then I looked at the Pantone trends -- they are the go-to source for colors -- and they have it all right there on their graphic (along with, ahem, navy*):

Brilliant!

*check out our On the Radar blog post from August, Navy Chic.