Yesterday’s crafty outing was ridiculously fun. Christina, Natalie, Tricia, Susan and I hopped into my car and went here
Which was a treasure trove of vintage buttons, many from the early part of the 20th century, and a lot of mid-century wonders as well. The woman who runs it is a treasure herself. She knows every piece of stock, down to the pull-drawer where it lives, and what colors it might look best with. It was probably for the best that they only took cash and I had to be on a button budget. I ended up with
Which I plan to frame or make shadow boxes with.
Which would each make fabulous, single, banana-colored bakelite closures for sassy swing coats
Which, being crystal and older than most of the other buttons I got, broke the bank a bit, but will make a lovely pendant or button ring if I can bring myself to snip off the shank.
Since it seems to be an unspoken rule in the Bay Area crafty community, I cannot disclose the location of these wonders. But if you are really button-hungry, you can probably find it with a little internet search.
And if that wasn’t enough fun? We crashed The Sampler headquarters to visit with Marie and the gang. Man, it seems like that would be a fun place to work. I was so inspired by spending time with these awesome, creative women that I even broke my craft hiatus and started a little project when I got home (though the craft room is packed up, I allowed myself to keep out one tote bag of supplies and projects in case I got the urge). If I’m done, I’ll show you that tomorrow.
Oh! Today, two of my favorite designers will be selling their wares in the city, so be sure to visit:
Christina at Secession Art and Design
3361 Mission St at 30th, San Francisco
11-5
and
Ali at Mission Indie Mart
25th and Guerrero, San Francisco
11-6
The moving frenzy continues chez belleepoque, so I might not be able to make it myself (I’ll try to sneak out). If you go and get great stuff, I want to know about it!