Wild Bakelite Round Up of 2014

At the start of 2014, I decided it would be a fun experiment to keep a record of all the bakelite I found while I was out treasure hunting.  One of the things that can really hinder a bakelite collector is how expensive it can be.  And, while this is true for much of what you find for sale online and at antique shows, it is possible to find bakelite out in the wild and thus, at much cheaper prices.  The majority of what I came across this year was nothing too fancy, but I did come away with 13 bracelets and 2 pairs of earrings.*

The thrift stores were good to me this year!  I hope I'm not jinxing myself ;)

2014 was the year of green bakelite, finding five different bracelets in varying shades and sizes.  My best finds have to be the purple marbled hoop earrings and the yellow carved painted one - I bought it on a whim that it would actually test positive at home.  I'm not too good with the rub and sniff test in stores, so I rely on the weight and feel, along with the clunk test.

I always thought you'd find a lot more bakelite at estate sales than I've found to be true around these parts.  I really can't put my finger on why that is.  Regardless, some of this year's fancier finds were acquired at estate sales.  

My first rhinestone piece! And by far, the best find - the chunky striped laminated bracelet.  This one has already gotten a ton of wear since I found it over the summer.  *I also found a pair of carved apple juice earrings at the last sale I went to for 2014, but no photo yet  :(

Although this next bracelet was found in an antique mall, which I don't really consider to be the wild (aka thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales, etc) I couldn't do a bakelite round up without including it. I have long sought after a true end of the day bakelite bracelet ever since discovering one while flipping through a bakelite book several years ago.  They seem to be some of rarest pieces of bakelite, so you can image my surprise when I spotted this lone bracelet in a case full of nothing but rhinestone jewelry.  This might go down as one of my best finds yet!

Did you find any bakelite in the wild this past year?  I'd love to see! 

My Journey Back to Vintage Vol. 2

It's been a little over two months since I shared my desire to get back into my vintage closet again.  I am happy to report that I am a third of the way to my final goal and slowly being able to wear all my fabulous dresses again.  It's all still a work in progress, but I feel so much better than I did just a few months ago.  And, it's been a lot more fun getting dressed these days!

| 50s dress: Oh La La Group; 60s chunky heels: gift; belt: gift; bakelite: estate sales, eBay |

For the first time in a very long time, I am actually really excited for summer!  

Lately

I've been keeping busy on instagram!  Here are a few snapshots of what's been going on here at Livin' Vintage:

Thrifed this 1950s rhinestone bib necklace.  Once I tried it on, I knew I had to keep it; although it may be a while before I actually wear it.

Added these fantastic 1940s classic hollywood star stamps to my movie collection.  Some of my favorite stars were featured on these stamps and I am currently researching more about these for a project I am working on.  When I learn more, I'll share here on the blog.

These 50s/60s Miller Studio chalkware fish hang in my 1964 blue bathroom.  I always wonder what my grandma had hanging in the bathroom when she lived here in the 60s.  Really, I just wish I could walk through all her homes; we had such similar style.

    

As mentioned in my last post, I am sharing one vintage valentine a day until February 14th.  Follow @livinvintage to see them all!

Bakelite mail!  I am slowly working on expanding my bakelite collection.  I have a lot of yellows and greens, but I seriously lack other colors.  This geometric chunky orange bracelet fit the bill and was a total steal!

What have you been up too?

Are you on instagram?  Lets follow each other!

Find me @livinvintage

Midland Flea Market 2013 Haul

| 1970 Miller Studio Chalkware, $8 for the pair |

The fall season is always marked by a few things for me.  The leaves changing colors, brisk temperatures, and the Midland Flea Market.  Although held three times a year, I make the two hour drive but once a year for the September show.  There's something about strolling around a bunch of old stuff when the temps drop.  In the future, I might consider checking out the spring show, but the fall show will always be my favorite.

| three bakelite bracelets, $45 |

Every year my haul seems to get smaller and smaller.  Part of that is because I have really fine tuned what I buy to keep for myself and part of it is because I am out on the hunt more now that I sell vintage full time, so I find more stuff throughout the year. The longer I do this, the less stuff I buy it seems.  This is good for both my pocketbook and my storage.

I couldn't pass up those cute chalkware pieces -- which I collect -- or the bakelite bracelets, a steal at $15 each!  I don't have a ton of carved/decorative pieces, so these were a welcome addition to my collection.  The wedge bracelets seem to somewhat rare and I think they will be fun to wear together or alone.

| vintage bottle brush candy cane, $8 |

I don't buy a lot of vintage Christmas items much anymore.  I have amassed a nice size collection and only add to it when I spot really amazing pieces.  I am a sucker for anything vintage bottle brush and was excited to score this one for less than $10.

The market seemed to be a bit larger than the past two year, which was a welcome sight.  It's good to see it picking back up again, as this is truly one of my most favorite vintage shopping attractions a year.

Lately...

...I've been:

...finding twin vintage dresses.

...organizing my bakelite earrings.

...taking Pumpkin for car rides.

...camping in Ohio.

...antiquing in Ohio.

What have you been up to?

follow @livinvintage on instagram

The Best Spent $25

This past Thursday, I headed to a promising estate sale that claimed to have tons of vintage clothing, accessories and housewares. I got to the sale a little more than an hour after it opened, since I wasn't in the mood to compete with dealers and resellers. I don't know how sales are where you live, but here in MI, the first hour of a sale can be complete chaos. Estate saling really is an extreme sport!

Anyway, I was pleased to discover that the two lucite bags were still available when I got there. I was really surprised, because at only $22 I was sure someone would have snatched these up... apparently not. I thought the price was great and especially since this bag is for my own collection, it was quite the deal. The other bag had a broken handle and the company still wanted $22 for it. The man running the sale tried to convince me that "a little super glue will fix that right up," ummm.... yeah, sure....

I loved the detailing on the top and its honeycomb shape. I also liked that it was marked at the bottom. My other two lucite bags are unmarked. I am thinking that this bag might have been in one of the cheaper lines, since the plastic is thinner and the handle is a bit less sturdy that my other two bags. Regardless, I was thrilled to added another bag to my collection, as they are not easy to find here in MI and have had to rely on the Internet to find my other two.

When I first walked into the sale, which was still in full chaos mode, I checked out the jewelry table and came across these two bangles. I was pretty sure they were bakelite and were the only two bakelite pieces amongst the jewelry. They didn't however have a price tag and I feared that they would be like $15 or $20 each, which is a little high for my taste. Hoping for the best, I continued to clutch these while I shopped the rest of the sale. Much of the vintage clothing was in kinda rough shape and priced too high, but I did find a few pieces for a festival I am selling at this weekend. I also found the cutest little owl light for only $3.

So, when I finally reached the check out, I got a price for the bracelets.... "how does $3 for both sound?" SOLD!! WHen I got home, I checked he bracelets with my semichrome and they passed! Yay!!! :)

This was really some of the best $25 I have spent in a long while.

Have you found any good deals lately?

Emily

What's for Lunch?

So now that I am living on my own, I am finally getting a chance to use my vintage dishes, glasses, and silverware on a daily basis. And, I gotta say it's been super fun thus far. Since I love cooking and I would like to share my vintage dishes collection with you all, I thought I would start featuring some of my meals on the blog.

Yesterday I made one of my favorite hearty dishes -- curried cauliflower. I used to use a recipe, however, I have made this dish so many times that I don't use it anymore. I tried to find it online, but had no luck. So here's how I made it with approximate measurements.

Curried Cauliflower

You will need:

1 head of cauliflower

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of chickpeas

1-2 sweet potatoes, steamed and cubed

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1-2 tsp paprika

1 tsp basil leaves

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

salt and pepper

olive oil

In a large frying pan, line the bottom with olive oil and heat your onions and garlic. While that is cooking, cut up your cauliflower into little florets. Place in the pan and cover. While the cauliflower is cooking, peel and dice the sweet potato. If you have a large one, just use one, otherwise, use two smaller ones. I place mine in the microwave until soft enough to mash. You can steam them too. I have done both and both work well. At this point, you are ready to add your spices. I just sprinkle mine on, so these measurements are an estimate. However, the main thing is to include more of the curry and the ginger then the rest of the spices. The yeast flakes will help to thicken up the sauce that will form once you add the can of diced tomatoes. Now add the chickpeas and cover for a minute or two. Once they have soften, add in the can of diced tomatoes. Cover and bring it to a boil. If needed, add a half cup of water. You want a little bit of a soupy sauce in the bottom of the pan. At this point, I test to see how its flavored and add more spices as needed. The last thing to do is fold in your mashed sweet potatoes.

It sounds like a lot of steps, but it really is an easy meal to make. And it's cheap too! What else is nice about this dish is you can use it as a chunky dip too. I tend to snack on the leftovers the next day with some pita chips.

I also have been on a huge ice tea kick lately. Right now, I have iced Passion tea by Tazo in the fridge.

Now for details on the dishes! The tablecloth, glass, napkin, and the Homer Laughlin Eggshell Georgian plate all come from different estate sales. The bakelite fork was found on eBay. I was so excited to find a huge lot of vintage butterscotch bakelite silverware on eBay for a real steal. I think I got such a good deal because there was not a complete set of any of the patterns. I don't mind one bit and think it's fun to mix and match the patterns.

What have you been snacking on?

Emily

My Vintage Bakelite

Only about a year or two ago did I get into collecting bakelite. I always thought it was super expensive and lets face it, I'm not about to pay $100+ for some plastic. However, I have been lucky enough to find some great pieces at estate sales, vintage shops, and eBay that were all within my price range.

When I started collecting, I knew little to nothing about bakelite. I am still continuing to learn about the ins and outs of collecting bakelite, but I thought it would be fun to share my collection. I love seeing other vintage blogger's collections, especially when it comes to jewelry.

Holly has done an excellent post on bakelite and I would definitely check it out if you are looking for a thorough history and detailed guide. I would also check out the above book. I was really impressed with the information provided in the book. Plus, it has some wonderful pictures! As a side note, most of the information provided about bakelite in this post came from the above book.

There are many ways to test a piece to see if is bakelite, however, one of the interesting things I learned from Parry's book is the discoloration factor. I recently just came across this a few weeks ago when I found a set of what I thought was green bakelite bangles. Once I picked up the pieces, I noticed the insides and outsides of the bracelets were different than the tops and bottoms (the parts that rub up against other bracelets). I'm not good at the "rub and sniff" test, so learning about this other way to possible spot bakelite has certainly come in handy. When I got home and I tested them with simichrome, they passed as bakelite.

One thing I wanted to note that Parry says in this book is that not all bakelite will pass the simichrome test and some fakelite will pass the simichrome test, so it's important to use other methods to test pieces as well. With the bracelets above, the tops and bottoms had wear on them and the discoloration helped to ensure that these pieces were indeed bakelite.

Here is my collection of bakelite bracelets. I don't have a lot of fancy pieces, but I am slowly adding to my collection. I have worn a lot of these in my previous posts, so now you will get a chance to see them up close. I always forget to take close-ups of my jewelry for my blog posts.

Bangles Top to Bottom:

Red Carved - eBay

Green Carved with Birdies! - eBay

4 Paprika Spacers - eBay

Creamed Corn Carved - Midland Flea Market $5!

Forest Green Carved - eBay $15!

Yellow Bangle - Estate Sale $1!

Set of three Teal Bangles - Estate Sale $2!

Large Yellow Bangle - Estate Sale $1

Root Beer Spacer - Estate Sale

Set of Three Swamp Marbled - Were my Grandma's

Pins

Swirl Shaped - Chicago Vintage Jewelry Store

Elephant - eBay

Carved Scottie - eBay

Stud Earrings - My Favorite!!

Orange Carved - eBay

Dark Green Transparent Carved - The Getup Vintage

Creamed Corn Carved - eBay

Green Carved - eBay

Hoops

All the hoops above were found on eBay except for the yellow brownish carved pair just to the left of the root beer hoops. Those were found at an estate sale for only $2!

As you can tell, I have found most of my bakelite on eBay and honestly, I think you get the best deal there if you look hard enough. I have been ripped off in person at flea markets where I have absolutely no recourse what so ever. At least with eBay, you are protected if you pay with PayPal.

Finally, here is a great youtube video that talks about the different ways to test bakelite. I hope you find it as helpful as I have.

Emily

Michigan Vintage Shopping Guide: The Getup Vintage

I have been wanting to do this feature on my blog for a long time now -- a virtual tour of the vintage stores in South Eastern Michigan. I have a created a button in the sidebar, which will link to all my posts on the different stores. I plan to feature vintage shops, clothing stores, antique malls, you name it; all surrounding metro Detroit, no further than hour to an hour and a half a away.

The first shop I thought I would feature is The Getup Vintage which is located in Ann Arbor, MI. Jesse and I went to an estate sale a town over from Ann Arbor this past Saturday and decided to spend the rest of our afternoon in Ann Arbor. For those of you who may not be familiar with Ann Arbor, it is a college town (home to University of Michigan) and has tons of cool little shops. This town is a prefect stop for the vintage lover, as it offers a few vintage clothing shops and a few record shops.

I was extremely impressed with The Getup. Their prices were very fair and I found some major deals. Dresses were priced between $20-$50 on average and I was quite surprised to find many plus sized vintage pieces. The store is on the smaller size, but it packed full of vintage goodness. The items pictured in this post show my "major deals." Above is a pair of black carved bakelite screwback earrings, $25. I was really impressed with their prices on bakelite, especially for a brick and mortar store. I could be wrong, but I feel like black bakelite is a bit harder to come by than some of the other colors. Anyways, I was super pleased to add some more bakelite to my collection for a good price. (They are solid black in real life. I lighten the picture to see the carving detail).

One of the reasons I went ahead and got the earrings is because I found this adorable 40s smock. I could not resist the print or the way it was styled, plus it was only $12!! How can you beat that?? It also is in excellent condition. I cannot wait to wear it. I am thinking I will wear it with either some black cigarette pants or some skinny jeans.

After I found the above smock, this popped out at me. I think it is suppose to be a smock too, however, it is homemade and is more fitted than the one above. Either way I love it and it looked cute with jeans. I also could see it with white pants too. Any other thoughts? I am going to move the top red button down to replace the white one that someone placed there to replace one of the missing red ones. I never button stuff up all the way. This cute little shirt/smock was only $10!!!

I also got a 50s acetate deep purple dress, new old stock for only $20 and a 50s circle skirt in teal and navy for $25, which are not pictured. My beau and I plan to head back to Ann Arbor when the weather gets warmer, since it is such a nice downtown to walk around. I can't wait to stop into The Getup again!

The Getup Vintage

215 South State Street

Ann Arbor, MI 48104

(734) 327-4300

Long Overdue Update: Midland Flea Market Finds

So... Over a month ago I went to the biggest flea market in Michigan, the Midland Flea Market. The show is held over three different dates in the summer and I always like to go to the final date, as the dealers are trying to clean out their stock and normally offer some really stellar deals. This year was no exception.

30s-40s Beaded Handbag. The frame might be bakelite, although I haven't tested it yet. $15

Pictured in this post are some of my favorite finds. Since starting to collect vintage seriously, I now find myself purchasing fewer items, but am willing to pay a little bit more. Mostly this is due to having quite a large collection and having most of my most wanted items, but also because I want to buy less stuff.

Swanky Pitcher with glass lid! I have never seen one with a glass lid before, have you? $7.50

Not pictured is my favorite find of the market, a diamond ring from my absolute favorite estate jewelry dealers. Last year I bought a really pretty diamond solitaire pendent dating from around 1890. I promise I'll post a picture of the ring soon. I took it off while helping with the dishes at my beau's house and forgot it there!

Carved Bakelite Bracelet, $5

I was super stoked to find an affordable piece of bakelite at the market. I am still amazed at how expensive bakelite has gotten. I wish I had a larger collection, but I kinda jumped on the bakelite bandwagon a little late in the game. I get excited anytime I find a piece for $10 or less.

Tin Box, possibly held candy. $2

This was one of the first things I bought at the market. I collect these little tin boxes and when the price is right I indulge myself. I think that I need to curb my habit for buying containers. I don't know what it is about jars or tin boxes or the like that fascinate me.

I also bought the most amazing enamel top kitchen table from the 30s. I forgot to take a picture of it before putting it into storage, but trust me, it is pretty great! Instead of being white on the top it is brown and looks like a woodgrain, something I have never seen before. I got the table for a real steal -- $45. Besides my ring, it was the big purchase of the day.

My beau got a lot of cool things two, including a wood carving of John Wayne and a really awesome orange travel record player. I am already starting to save a little bit of money for next year! :)

Emily