A CLASSIC VINTAGE ETIENNE AIGNER HANDBAG

 While I am passionate about decorating, I am by no means a fashion queen.   I can spend day after day shopping at antique markets, flea markets and home goods stores, yet my patience for clothes shopping are pretty slim.  However, I sometimes find an item be it old or new that is just outstanding.  About three years ago, I attended a small antique show at a local church not really expecting to find anything that day.  

To my surprise, I came across this fabulous classic, sporty, vintage Etienne Aigner purse. I love the combination of the rich burgundy leather and oatmeal tweed along with the extraordinary horn clasp.  While there are so many handbags on the market today, I prefer this unique vintage purse with it's traditional, elegant look that will never go out of style.  

Along with this purse, the antique dealer was selling a belt with the same great combination of burgundy leather and tweed fabric..  While the belt was very small,  I couldn’t buy the purse and leave the belt behind. So what if I can only manage to wear it on the largest belt adjustment if I hold in my stomach and don’t breathe!  It still looks nice hanging in my closet and I can dream of the day that I will lose ten pounds and wear it comfortably.  

I purchased this vintage great looking Etienne Aigner purse for a friend of mine, and gave it to her for her birthday.  

I found this image online - isn't this bag gorgeous?

This is another stunning vintage Etienne Aigner handbag with the same great combination of oatmeal tweed and bordeaux leather along with some decorative brass studs.

After spending a considerable amount of time on the internet searching for images of these purses, I decided to research this designer.  Etienne Aigner was born in 1904 and grew up in Budapest.  He began working with leather when he was a bookbinder.  In 1930, Etienne moved to Paris and remained there until 1943 when he fled to avoid the German occupation.  After the war, he returned to Paris and started his business of making fine belts and purses and sold them to retailers such as Dior, Lanvin and Rochas.  In 1950, Etienne moved to New York and presented  his leather collection under his own name brand "Etienne Aigner".    The monogram of the letter "A" is in the form of a horseshoe which is also a symbol of good luck. Etienne Aigner became known as "The Man with the Golden Hands".

I love this bag with its beautiful clasp.

  I often search flea markets, antique shows and ebay for vintage belts and handbags by Etienne Aigner.   I can still remember my favorite pair of Etienne Aigner sandals from the late 70's - I wish I still had them.

What about you?  Do you have any vintage Etienne Aigner belts or purses in your closet?  

ANTIQUE FINDS FOR ENTERTAINING

I often say that one of the many reasons I enjoy antique collecting is that you never know what you will discover.    A few weeks ago, I picked up this wonderful "CLEMATIS COTTAGE" garden tray from England.   It serves as a tray for my Simon Pearce Heartland wine glasses simonpearce.com.

While visiting my favorite antique center last year, I came across this old aluminum dough rising bowl.   I was attracted to this bowl because of its great shape, nice patina, and handles.  This works perfectly for keeping beverages cold for a small party.  

In the past year, I have purchased three dough rising bowls, and this one is by far my favorite.  It has a good weight to it, nice heavy handles, and the shape has an Asian feel with it's straight edge base.

When shopping for a metal dough bowl, beware that they are often displayed with their covers which detract from their great shape as you can see by the two photos above.

This hotel silver creamer has a wonderful patina along with a few dings, and works perfectly for flowers.

I love the look of old rustic containers filled with flowers.

Just like the tarnished hotel silver jug, I really like the look of this small aged pewter dish which serves as a wine coaster.

Last of all, I wanted to share this photo of a mid century David McCobb wine rack with a butcher block top that I display on the floor in our breakfast room.   The leather straps were quite dry and darkened so I cleaned and conditioned them with mink oil.  This wine rack had obviously been stored in a damp basement or garage to have the iron oxidized as it had.  Below is a photo of a David McCobb wine rack of the same age in very good condition.  Here again, I find that I prefer the worn aged look.  

With all the wonderful antique shows and flea markets in the summer months ahead, it is a great time to stock up on vintage and antique items for entertaining.  

CANDLES PROVIDE A WELCOMING & COZY ATMOSPHERE

The first two things I do when I get up every morning is to make a cappuccino and light a few candles.  I started this routine about 20 years ago when I would always light a  candle near the kitchen sink in the bay window of our first home.  There is something about the glow of the candle that makes a gloomy or a cold day not feel so dreary (although I admit, I light candles even on warm sunny days).  Candles provide a welcoming, cozy, romantic atmosphere.    As you would probably guess, I have accumulated a large collection of candle holders over the years, and I thought I would share some of my favorites with you.

This is one of a pair of wrought iron candlesticks.  I made the candles with beeswax and a German candle mold.  These candles look so beautiful as they burn down as the ribbed sphere becomes hollowed out and the outside ribs remain and the glow of the candle shines through.

When not in use, these candlesticks add to my display of antique books and baskets in my small study.

In the above photo, I used an old English breadboard for the base along with a heavy hand blown glass hurricane.

I often light the candles on this candelabra which is placed between two Hessian soldiers  in our living room fireplace.

I purchased this fabulous wrought iron fire tool holder along with a few tools that hung off the  round raised edge on the top.  Originally, the top had a handle to lift this holder.  I had the handle removed so that I could use it as a candle holder while I am not using it to hold the tools as seen in the photo below to the left of the fireplace.

A Simon Pearce hand blown Heartland hurricane sits on the living room coffee table.  I often use antique glass celery vases as hurricanes.  It is always reassuring when you have a candle burning in a hurricane in the event you forgot to blow it out. You can see the above mentioned fire tool holder converted to a candle holder against the wall to the left of the fireplace.  

One of a pair of wrought iron French sconces I purchased in France ten years ago.

This is a charming hand painted honey pot that was missing its lid.  It makes a great votive holder next to my kitchen sink.

I converted this German Black Forest cockerel with two ink wells into a candle holder.  It makes a great breakfast table display.

I really loved the patina on this 19th Century brass push up candlestick.

A pair of Tiffin black satin glass candlesticks.

The glass candlestick is by Val St. Lambert.  To the right of the glass candle holder, notice the small wine bottle which has been filled with candle oil and a fitted top to provide candelight.

I really like this pair of fabulous French candlesticks that I purchased in England.  They were originally gilt, but it has worn off as you can see by the photos.

While living in England, I would drive by a florist shop that had this wonderful Russian Tree of Life always lit up in the window.  I admired it for months, but it was a little more than I wanted to spend.  A few days before Christmas, I came home to find this fabulous Tree of Life displayed in my family room with a red satin ribbon.  My dear friend, Lillian, had purchased it and gave it to me for Christmas.  This tree sits in a paneled bay area in our hallway, and I love it as much as I did the first day I saw it in the window of the florist shop.

I purchased this wonderful meat stand decorated with little Harrods trucks while living in England.   I sometimes use it as the base for a round plate. 

There is something very special about fine hand blown glass, and these Steuben candlesticks are certainly a favorite of mine.

Once again, I converted these old 19th century French wine bottles into candles.

This sculptural French candelabra has such great lines I just couldn't resist it.

This candelabra is a memento from the first Goodwill antique show I participated in when I moved to Michigan.  I spotted this candelabra as a dealer was taking it out of his boxes to set it out for his display, so I immediately snatched it.  This candelabra has made a great addition to our entrance.

Do you have a favorite candle holder?  Have you converted something else you have into a candle holder?   While I used to purchase Pottery Barn candles, I believe they changed suppliers about 18 months ago.  Some candles like the new Pottery Barn candles, burn a hole down the center of the candle so if you are burning a pillar, you can not see the flame.  I have found Crate & Barrel's pillars burn the same with the hole down the center of the candle.  I have had good luck with Root, Tag Chapel Candles, Tommy Bahama and Creative Candles.  What is your favorite brand of candle?

TEXTURE & COLOR

One of the most exciting aspects of the antique hunt is that you just never know what you will discover.  A few weeks ago, I went to our local flea market and  I was really drawn to a variety of organic textural items that day.   I stopped by a dealer's stall and started making a small pile of items that caught my eye.  It all started with this rich, creamy soft deer skin.

This same dealer had some old antlers that I just couldn't resist.  Well then, he also had a sponge, a shell and a really nice rich dark brown soft leather pouch and a suede draw string pouch.   As I put my pile together, it started to resemble a Ralph Lauren ad.  When I came home and set my pile of purchases on my coffee table, I knew just what it needed for a great snapshot - the fabulous vintage  turquoise pendant I had bought at a flea market a few months ago.

While I love turquoise, I find most jewelry with turquoise too ornate and detailed for my taste.  This piece was striking as the turquoise pendant was approximately 2" x 1 1/2", and was set in a very simple silver frame. I told my husband when I bought it that I was going to give it to our daughter for her birthday. Then, I brought it home, put it on and you can guess what I started thinking.  Hmmmm - my daughter will never know that I bought it for her and I could keep it for myself.  I was really struggling to part with it, although I was also feeling guilty about keeping it.   I decided to call her and tell her I had gotten a gift for her as I knew if I didn't, it might just end up staying in my drawer.  While I usually do not look at vintage or antique jewelry, I was so glad that I found this unusual piece of turquoise to give to our daughter for her birthday.  She will enjoy this pendant for many years to come as it is timeless and classic.

DISCOVERING FRUIT JARS

On one of my treasure hunts last week, I spotted a large white display case with glass shelves lined with a fascinating collection of fruit jars in all shades of blues, greens and amber.   Up until that time, I was only familiar with the common 
Ball jar or Mason jar.   While I loved all these beautiful colors, what I found most intriguing was the unusual metal clamps.  These clamps were made in various shapes as people were trying to discover the best design to seal and store fresh produce. The contrast of the dark metal against the beautiful colored glass, really catches your eye. 

These fabulous jars reminding me of one of my favorite pastimes which is walking the beach searching for beautiful worn sea glass.  Most of the sea glass I find is either clear, amber or soft shades of aqua and green.  When I go for walks on the beach, I spend more time looking at the sand than I do at the ocean.   I admire the visual beauty, and the feel of old glass.

   

Of course, when  I arrived home I decided to research these beautiful Fruit Jars.  I thought others might find it interesting to see the wonderful colors, shapes and clamping mechanisms. If you would like to learn more about these jars, I suggest you read a fabulous article titled “A Primer on Fruit Jars” written by Dave Hinson which was originally published in the December 1996 edition of Bottles & Extras. http://www.av.qnet.com/~glassman/newsletter/primer.pdf 


Another website that has a vast amount of information on this subject is:
http://www.antiquebottles.com/fruitjar/  The images below were taken from this website under the section titled "Fruit Jar Hall of Fame".

Mason's Improved 

Wm. L Haller, Carlisle, PA

Scranton Jar

Rare Saphire with Wax Seal

Potter Bodine's Air-Tight Wax Sealer

Green Petal Jar with Pontil

Green E.C. Flaccus

Fridley & Cornman's

Amber Millville Jar


One of the most enjoyable part of collecting antiques is discovering something new.  Maybe I had walked by these jars in the past and just never noticed them.  It was seeing a collection of these jars in a well lit display case that caught my attention.  Now, when I am out antiquing, I know I will be on the lookout for some of these exquisite fruit jars.  What do you think of these jars?  What have you discovered recently?  I would really like to know more about what others collect.  Please share your stories.