Eye Catchers at the Sacramento Antique Faire

 Last Sunday was the Second Sunday of the month.......meaning that the Sacramento Antique Faire was in full seasonal swing! The weather has taken a turn from rain to bright sunshine, and the Faire was full of people and good stuff!

I am not really in the market for myself, but I never fail to find a few things I cannot walk away from. Here are a couple of things that, for the price, were "must haves". I found a great basket woven from hemp for $10, and a "reverse Cheetah" hide pillow...also $10. I need to get a new down filler, but the pillow cover is in perfect shape! Hide on one side and dark brown velvet on the back.

 I also found a little bottle from Spain to add to my wicker bottle collection ($4!). Very cute.

There were a few other things I was contemplating, and in retrospect wished I had gotten....

 A little hex accent table with a Moroccan flavor was in really good shape. It could have been painted a fun color and gone almost anywhere.

This Earthenware urn was plenty big enough to be used as an umbrella stand. I loved the metal handles.

 It looks like this sign may have hung in a room for someone named "Julie"? Fun graphic wall decor for a child's room!

A steer head....almost had a fossilized quality about it. The horns were like driftwood.

One vendor had great bottles and baskets all from Europe.

One never knows when a little Snake Bite juice might come in handy. Hehe...

It was a great day of hunting on a beautiful Summer day!

Fresh Finds at the Sacramento Antique Faire

I had the chance to hit the Sacramento Antique Faire last Sunday ( it takes place on the second Sunday of every month. I was expecting rain, but it held off in the morning long enough for us to scan all of the isles and find some treasures.

The thing about antique faires I love is the hunt for that overlooked gem....it may not be in perfect condition, but it might be perfect for me. You may remember this blog post where I found the painting in the photo above for $30!!! This time, I came across the beautiful blue bottle....it worked out pretty well with the painting I think.

I have also been rearranging a few things in the Living Room to lift my spirits during this rain on, rain off season (right now....rain). Bringing out a few of my shells go a long way to get me thinking about summer. There is something about knotted rope that gets me reminiscing about sailing lazily about Balboa Bay. So when I came upon a large green glass bottle surrounded by knotted ropes, I stopped in my tracks. I assumed it would be a big splurge, since many demi-john bottles this size can be upwards of $300 on ebay. There was a slight bit of damage at the neck, so I thought "why not ask the price?".  Can you guess why it ended up in my Living Room?

$20........ That's why. I think I was a little in shock at first.....I almost walked away thinking the damage had significantly lowered it's value. Value, schmalue!!!! The late great Madeline Castaing was never fastidious about a decorative item being perfect...why should I be? $20 was an absolute steal and I love it! 

Here are just a few of the things I did not walk away with, but I dream of houses where they could find a home:

A few antique vendors from the Antique Trove in Roseville ( a half hour drive from Sacramento) made the trip down to the Faire. I am glad they did! I will be visiting the Trove a little more often in the future. (This booth is where I picked up my blue bottle.)

I loved the grey painted glasses case...just the whole display got me thinking. The books on top were a collection of Dickens greats.

I also had fun at this gardening display...the old concrete bird bath, the glass float in the bucket, the lidded metal containers, it all could have come home...but I must restrain myself or I would make the next episode of Hoarders.

I had to leave myself something to hunt for next time!

Shopping the Antique Faire

Sacramento Antique Faire

Sacramento has an Antique Faire under Highway 50 every second Sunday of the month. I am lucky it is about a half mile from my house, so it is easy to case it every month. One of these days I am going to have to get there before all of the pickers grab up all of the choice items...say about 6 in the morning?

One of the best things about the location, other than it's proximity to my house, is that the Highway provides shade over the whole Faire. Nice for us, and even nicer for the vendors!

Much cooler under the Highway

Over the Ocean Home and Garden Decorations

One of the vendors I like to find every time I go is Marina Geest (phone...209-327-9440) who owns "Over the Ocean", Marina is originally from the Netherlands and travels there frequently to bring us beautiful linens and antiques. I am hooked on the blue checkered dish towels and end up buying a couple every time I find her. She frequently has Oyster baskets and demijohns as well.

Over the Ocean Linens

Marina is partnering with Sue's Country Barn and Antiquarian this weekend for a huge container sale in Manteca this weekend if you are in the mood for a little Antique treasure hunting!!

Location:

12607 E. Hwy 120

Manteca, CA 95336

2 miles East of Hwy 99

Thursday June 17....6-9 PM

June 18-20 10AM-6PM

If only I were in town!!!

Moving on down the row, I found Abdoulie Jawneh from Nairobi who imports African artifacts. It was his first time to Sacramento having driven up from LA. Abdoulie had beautiful African beads and cowrie shell baskets. I ended up taking home the baskets in the photo below. Cowrie shells symbolize wealth and prosperity.....it never hurts to have a little help.

Cowrie Shell Baskets for Good Luck

African Beads from Jawneh Brothers Imports

To reach Jawneh Brothers imports.....phone 323-251-7349. Visit them in Los Angeles!

I was very happy to meet Andrew Church who specializes in vintage metal furniture which he refurbishes and sells at Alameda and other antique fairs throughout the country. He is based in Houston, and thought he might try out Sacramento! I hope he makes it back!!!

The table below was in the neighborhood of $395....much better than big city pricing!!!

Very cool metal furniture from Andrew Church

To reach Andrew, call 830-481-0080

There was another new vendor this week that had some very cool stuff.....vintage binoculars, flasks.......but I was sort of taken with something a little on the unusual side.......

It was a wood carved motorcycle that measured about 30" wide by 18" high. A little strange perhaps....but I almost took 'er home. But hey....if it's good enough for Cameron......

Carmen Diaz in the July Issue on InStyle Magazine, photo by Michelangelo Di Battista

I didn't have a chance to get this vendor's information, but they assured me they will be back next month. Maybe they will still have the bike. I can still dream......Peter and Jack would approve.

Acorns and White Porcelain

The Oak tree out front is trying to tell me something: "Fall is fast approaching".

I was just playing around with some of my white "objets". I have things that are not quite perfect.: broken coral, a weathered concrete balustrade piece I made into a lamp (it still has green and brown paint on it that has worn through), a chipped vintage porcelain lunch pail with a metal lid. But I find them all beautiful and intriguing. Maybe more so than if they were perfect.

I found the lunch pail at the latest Sacramento Antique Faire and don't know a lot about it's origins. Has anyone seen one before? As I mentioned, it is white porcelain and has what appears to be a zinc lid that has clasps that wrap underneath the front and back. With all of it's imperfection, it is the perfect size for letters and postcards, photos and other small remembrances.

Perfectly imperfect.

Creating An Indoor Picnic for Book Group

Once a year, I pick a book and host a Book Group party at my house. Our Book Group is a bit unusual as far as Book Groups go...or so I have heard. Pretty much the same group has been together for about eight years now. We have only had two friends leave and two friends join in all that time.

Last Friday was my night to host. The book I chose was The Help by Kathryn Stockett:

Set in Mississippi in 1962 during the civil rights movement, the story chronicles the lives of three women, one white and two black, and how they came together to write a book about how "the help" coexisted with their well-to-do white employers.

Truthful and thoughtful, funny and heartbreaking, the story is one that I, and the rest of my group thought was one of our favorites in our eight years together.(If you would like more information and editorial reviews click here.)

I decided that since the weather was on the hot side, that I would create in indoor picnic for our get together. I started with a burlap table cloth I had made a few years back. Burlap is very inexpensive (about 3 or 4 dollars per yard) and holds up for a very long time! I placed grass place mats on top and added a row of potted plants down the center. The plants I chose were a citron green "Lamium Golden" and an eggplant hued "Sweet Potato Vine". I loved the color contrast! I got them at Target along with some brown terracotta pots. The pot color went so well with the burlap. And after the party I am putting the plants in my garden! I love a dual purpose purchase.

I experimented with some of my mercury glass candlestick holders: very pretty, but a bit too formal for a "picnic":

So I decided to go with these simple votive holders, again, very inexpensive from Michael's. I think they were 50 cents apiece.

A couple in between each pot. Simple and clean.

I added my "Great White Plates" from Pottery Barn. ( Now you can have them monogrammed!)I think a white plate shows off food so well. And for the meal I had planned, they were the perfect size: big!

I wanted something that looked like a picnic tablecloth for the napkins and found the perfect thing at IKEA. These rolls have four cloths, each one a different white and blue pattern for $2.49 per roll! That is 62 cents per napkin. I like that. And again, dual purpose!

Placed in the middle of each plate, the "napkins" are a nice big size for my picnic.

I added simple wine glasses, again from IKEA, and a bottle of Pellegrino at each place instead of a water glass to finish it off. Now on to the food!

For a little snacking before dinner, I laid out cheeses, fig jam, some Kalamata olives and olive tapenade, a bit of Hummus and a few French Plums. I iced the wine, beer and waters in a galvanized bucket.

When we were ready we sat down to an evening picnic:

I had prepared a buffet of salads: Heirloom tomatoes from the garden with basil and mozzarella, Ina Garner's potato salad with lots of fresh dill, my version of the Bottega snap pea and white corn salad with a citrus dressing, my green salad with pine nuts and avocado, and a fruit salad. A bit of French bread with Gruyere and olives, and we were very happy.( Oh yes, the platters I had just found at the last Sacramento Antique Faire . LOVE them!!)

Blog Connections and the Art of Nathalie Rattner

I wrote a blog about the Sacramento Antique Faire not too long ago (here), and included a series of images showing collections of things like the watches in the photo above. The Faire is a treasure trove of photo opportunities. A few weeks later, I received a note from a Nathalie Rattner who had been introduced to my blog through her father. As I read further, I was happily surprised to learn that Nathalie had attached what appeared to be a a black and white version of my photo. It was lovely and I thought to myself, I really should print out my photo and have it framed in black and white.

Obviously, by the time I opened the second attachment, I realized I had not been very thorough in my reading of Nathalie's note! This was not a photo at all, but a photo realistic drawing!

The second drawing made things crystal clear. Nathalie is a phenomenally talented artist. This was one of those moments when I ask myself, how does someone DO this?!?! It is SO accurate. I was just amazed. The second piece she sent helped visually explain the process.

I was lucky to begin a bit of a correspondence with Nathalie, and she sent me more images of her work. She specializes in photo realistic work, and has become quite well known for her Sports series.

These are some of her portraits:

Nathalie says of this image, "this is a drawing based on a vintage photograph in which I have combined my painting technique with the application of some copper foil."

Nathalie says, "This image is from a commission of an individuals grandchild. This image was done using my painted charcoal and graphite technique."

This piece of the Ziegfeld Follies girls is breathtaking to me. The way Nathalie captures light and shadow is perfection.

Nathalie says, "This is an image of the Ziegfeld follies in which I have combined a charcoal wash technique with pastel wash technique. I technique that I've recently developed."

Nathalie sent me the finished project of my pocket watch photo and asked if she could enter it in an art competition in Boston. I was very honored that she chose my image to show off her fine work. I said "YES" of course!

I asked Nathalie a little about herself:

"I was born and raised in Calgary Canada where I studies dance and attended a performing arts high school. After graduation I moved to Vancouver and later to L.A. to pursue my dance career where I was represented by McDonald Selznick. I am a largely self taught artist and have always been attracted to portraiture and began by doing oil paintings of native Americans based on the photographs of Edward Curtis. This series was well received and collected by people in Montana and Boston and several interior designers. This success encouraged me to continue and over the past several years I have developed a technique which is that based on “painting” with shaved graphite and charcoal which allows me to achieve a hyper-realistic or extended photograph quality. My goal is to bring life to photograph images and to bring the personal qualities of the subject to the viewers attention . A three part work based on multiple images of my Dad presented as a film strip where each drawing was placed in a cell of the film strip won a drawing competition in Boston and this led to a meeting with John ……Liffmann who encouraged me to do images of the greats of baseball. This series has met with great success and have been bought by baseball collectors and fans around the world and has found a place in some sports museums. I have also received commissions to do images of personal heroes, family members and a wide range of subject matter. My work is currently sold through ebay, sports auctions (legendaryauctions.com), through John Liffmann liffmann00@comcast.net or I can be contacted directly at nrattner@shaw.ca"

Nathalie was honored with the cover and a feature story about her Sports Figure work in January in Sports Collectors Digest:

Is it fair that someone so talented is also so beautiful? She is isn't she?

I feel lucky to know Nathalie, if only through the blogosphere. Blogging is an amazing thing. It has created an avenue for connections to be made that otherwise wouldn't have. I was so pleased to get to know about Nathalie and her work. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!