In the Beginning ... Well, Almost ...

We've been collecting most of our lives, and after we met each other, it became "very serious." Not only did our love for each other grow each and every day, but so also did our love of collecting.

 

Certain categories of items really struck home with us -- and not necessarily ever limited to any specific era or age. Early Bavarian porcelain  had just as much appeal to us as space-aged Mid-Century Modern pottery and ceramics. We knew what we liked when we saw it, and we usually both liked the same things. Needless to say, our home has always been an eclectic mix of ages and eras that somehow all goes together.

We feel now that we were ahead of the curve as  publications such as Architectural Digest and Martha Stewart (as well as a number of shows on HGTV, for example) have in recent times, featured re-designed and remodeled homes with a mix of architecture, furnishings and design from different eras. So instead of being "a little eccentric "in our old age -- as we had always thought we were destined to be -- we find we are now "with it" in a strangely paradoxical and serendipitous way.

 

Late 1800s and earlier, early 1900s/Victorian, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s through Mid-Century Modern, on through the 1980s. There were objects and treasures from every era and age that we knew belonged to us, that we lovingly brought home with us. And if we couldn't fit it in, find a use for it, find room for it or find a family member or friend to take it in and give it a good home, we resorted on occasion to selling on-line.

 

And so through all those many years of collecting, and at times offering  our extra collectibles and treasures to the public, we came to the present day. Yes, we had sold online before, and very successfully. But the venues we once had used were increasingly sorely lacking at the time and even more so today.

 

So we came to Etsy.

 

We've been buying on Etsy almost since it began. After months of considering it, discussing the pros and cons and a few weeks of researching about how it was done, what was expected, what the guidelines were, what others had experienced, we decided to open our own Etsy shop.

With the current economy distressing many, with many tightening their belts, we decided Etsy would be a perfect venue to offer up some of our extra treasures to the public. The reasonable fees could help keep our costs down, especially important too because there have been several shipping escalations since our last online venture.

 

And so in the last several days, the logo was found, a shop banner created and today: our first listing was completed, albeit still in the preview stage. It is, as one may guess, the vintage pale mint green hat and ruffled glove set in the above photo. We had unpacked several boxes and there it was, along with a number of other items that did not necessarily fit into our life right now. Why keep it packed away, when someone else could use it, could be enjoying it?

While there certainly were a number of other treasures unpacked and which will be offered up, this little classic set was the final motivating factor: Etsy, now or never. There is a lady out there somewhere for whom this little set would be perfect, who will perhaps for an afternoon, don this marvelous little hat and ruffled gloves and become for a time one of those classic "ladies who lunch." Some of the past eras could be at times so elegant, so sophisticated, so joyous in some of the most ordinary and mundane of things, why should we indeed not have a piece of that glorious past in today's chaotic world?

 

Years back, a client from the United Kingdom had told us  that we were dealing in "civilian surplus." And indeed, that is what we do -- although "some pretty darn nice civilian surplus" as our United Kingdom friend opined at the time.

 

Writing descriptions again, setting up photo shoots, yes, we're a little rusty. But it seems to all be coming back. And we will see, in time ...