Spotted: porcelain glove mold.

Joe and I had brunch on Saturday at the cutest restaurant in Emory Village called Rise 'N Dine, and I couldn't help but notice the cheerful vintage decor, especially the vases and that porcelain glove mold (used for making rubber gloves!). Here in Atlanta, I think I've seen those vases at Providence Antiques in Virginia-Highland, and I'm guessing that porcelain glove mold comes from Decatur's Victory Vintage ($30). If you're not in Atlanta, you can also find a few molds at blue bell bazaar's etsy shop ($28). By the way, Rise 'N Dine's sweet potato pancakes are simply top-notch! Check out my other pictures of Rise 'N Dine here (sorry, I scarfed down my yummy pancakes before realizing I'd left my camera in the car!).

Flotsam Friday: Flowers!

I just made myself a dress with some floral fabric I bought last year, when florals were actually big. I'll post a pic when I take a flattering one. In the meantime, here are some floral patterned housewares for your flower-happy Friday!

Top row (L to R):

1. 4 mugs and metal stand, $18 from etsy seller 2pear
2. tin canister, $18 from Ladies & Gentlemen
   
3. 4 coffee cups, $18 from thirteen leaf clover
   

Middle row (L to R):

1. 3 coffee cups, $8 from Jen's Closet
   
2. crochet doily, $12.99 from What Would Marilyn Wear
   
3. Better Homes & Gardens New Garden Book, $19.50 from Surrender Dorothy
   

Bottom row (L to R):

1. creamer and sugar set, $28 from Fab Pad
2. 4 stoneware mugs, $22 from Molly Moo Vintage
   
3. Noritake sugar bowl with lid, $12 from Simple Vintage
   

Vintage pillow covers.

Positively shagadelic pillow covers fashioned from vintage fabric. From etsy seller absoluut. $25 here. Groovy baby.

Textiles from Vera Neumann.

If you've ever wandered through a vintage store, you've probably encountered some brightly colored scarves with the name Vera scrawled in the corner accompanied by a ladybug. The scarves are probably the signature element of the body of work of Vera Neumann (1910-1993), an influential and prolific mid-century artist and designer. I've known about Vera scarves for awhile but only recently discovered the rest of her creations, including fabric, wallpaper, table and bed linens, apparel, and dishware. This Vera sounds like a few other Veras (Vera Wang and Vera Bradley) we know, right? Here are some of her fabulous designs, most of which are available on etsy and ebay.

Above at top: circle of pink tiles tablecloth, buy it now for $45 from ebay store Vickie Jean's Things. Below that is a round tablecloth for $25 from etsy seller fuzzymama.

L to R: pair of linen tea towels, currently $25 from ebay seller somewhereintime2; sunflower tea towel, currently $7 from ebay seller ccc0336.

L to R: pair of yellow rose tea towels, currently $10 from ccc0366; yellow ranunculus tablecloth, buy it now for $30 from Vickie Jean's Things.

The remaining items are not for sale, but I wanted to show you my favorite Vera pattern yet! Pillowcases from flickr user jillbliss; towel from skinnylaminx's photostream. For more cool Vera Neumann patterns, check out the Vera Neumann flickr group here.

Speckles sublime.

These pictures of Scargo Pottery from Lena Corwin's trip to Cape Cod remind me of dishware from Anthropologie and a pitcher I purchased awhile ago at My Favorite Place. Don't all these speckles make you smile?

Top row (L to R):

1. Confetti dinner plate, $14 at Anthropologie
   
2. pitcher, $28 from etsy seller JNpottery
3. Confetti soup bowl, $15.50 at Anthropologie

Middle row (L to R):

1. pitcher by Brusche USA, currently $10 from ebay seller swansonh
2. serving tray, $15 from etsy seller sweetrice
   
3. pitcher (from the Lifestyle line by J & G Meakin, a British pottery manufacturer, and the same one I have!) currently $7 from ebay seller allasantiques716
   

Bottom row (L to R):

1. set of 10 tumblers, $10 from etsy seller caseyjackdogs
2. mini pitcher/creamer, $3 from casualsimplicity
   
3. dinner plate (Lifestyle by J & G Meakin), $9.99 from DC's Attic
   

Found: turquoise creamer.

I got up super early Saturday to hit a round of garage sales. Didn't find much, but I did score a turquoise creamer for a dollar! The one pictured above is from the cutest store ever Three Potato Four. They're sold out there, but you can get one (or two if you like) at Millie and Maggie's etsy shop for 4 bucks. I can't wait to put a few daisies in mine! The color of the creamer reminds me of this With Needle and Thread print from etsy seller Lab Partners, available here for $14. Below that is a yellow version of the same creamer being put to good use as colored pencil holder, from sfgirlbybay.

Flotsam Friday: Yellow.

Every Friday I'll choose a color or category at random and highlight several items that fall within that parameter. I figure no one wants to read a lot of text on Friday, am I right?

Top row (L to R):

1. ceramic bowls with yellow scallop trim in the Royal China Jubilee pattern (set of 6), $16 from etsy seller Edelweiss Vintage
2. napkins with lemon yellow trim (set of 8), $13 from MarcellasExcess
3. covered casserole dish in the Daisy pattern from Pyrex, $15.50 from Jen's Closet

Middle row (L to R):

1. enamel pot, $25 from Nice
2. canister set, $12 from Valerie's Vintage House
   
3. ceramic bowls with center floral design (set of 4), $9 from FunkeyFinds

Bottom row (L to R):

1. floral vinyl placemats (set of 4), $18 from Jess James Jake
2. frosted glasses (set of 4), $16 from Harlow's Closet
3. cream and sugar set, $10 from Olive Vintage
   

Linear by Raymond Loewy for Rosenthal.

The name Raymond Loewy may not ring a bell, but unless you're blind or have been living in a cave, you've seen his work everywhere. The "father of industrial design" designed the logos for the U.S. Postal Service, Exxon, Shell, and Nabisco, to name a few that are still easily recognizable. Other famous designs include Air Force One, the Greyhound Scenicruiser bus, NASA's Skylab space station, and the Coca-Cola bottle. You can read more about Loewy and see more of his work here, here, and here. In the late 1940s, Loewy created several fine china designs for the German porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal, including the set of 8 plates (pictured above) from the Linear collection, available for $39 from one of my favorite etsy sellers blue bell bazaar.

[The photos of the Shell sign and the Scenicruiser are from flickr users metropol21 and GaryQ respectively.]

To buy or not to buy.

The creative and ingenious Sarah Cihat of Rehabilitated Dishware is featured in a NYT article today along with several of her dishware picks. Her own line of dishware features ceramics found in thrift stores that she redesigns and reglazes with her own whimsical and quirky designs and new colors. You can see some of her designs here. The philosophy behind Rehabilitated Dishware is that "each piece represents a rejection of more brand new products filling shelves and storage closets." I find it slightly ironic, therefore, that someone who wants to make a "subtle statement of the importance of recycling and the renewed value of unwanted things" would be featured in a shopping column about brand new dishware. I'm including Sarah's picks here as eye candy to show what's being done in dishware design today and also highlight the choice we have, when making even the seemingly most mundane decisions (like buying dishware, for example), to reuse and, to use Sarah's phrase, rehabilitate.

[photos from the New York Times]

Gingham Fire-King mugs by Anchor Hocking.

Today I'm profiling a pair of red and blue gingham Fire-King mugs by manufacturer Anchor Hocking. These slightly mismatched mugs (the handles are shaped differently) are available on etsy from seller Tumbleweed Cottage Vintage for $8 here. The Fire-King line of glassware, similar to Pyrex, was produced from 1940-1976 and can be purchased these days in antique stores, garage sales, flea markets, thrift shops, and online. One note of caution: Fire-King products should not be put in the dishwasher, as the glass will lose its shine and any decorative designs may fade or chip away. You can learn more about Fire-King here and here.

The mugs' gingham pattern immediately brought to mind a delightful blue gingham shift I'd seen in this month's issue of Domino, worn by the lovely Carina Schott, fashion designer and owner of the Wakefield, Rhode Island boutique Nonchalant Mom. (Click here for the photo gallery of her beautiful home in Matunuck, RI.) On either side of her are a Forever 21 gingham jumper dress for $20 on the left and a pleated gingham top from F21 for $21.

More higher-end pieces are (L to R) the Jessalyn tank from Wiksten for $150, a gingham shift from A.P.C.'s Summer 2008 collection, and a gingham shirtdress by Sea available at Gargyle for $300.

Finally, a vintage ruffle skirt from fabulous etsy seller ramonawest for $42, a pocket dress from flickr user thegenevacollection; and a gingham jacket that's currently $12.75 on ebay.

Welcome to Past Presents!

Hi! Welcome to my new blog! I've been blogging at mermerings for awhile now on things to do in and around Atlanta and the Southeast, thrifty stuff I've found online and in flea markets, affordable fashion and art, DIY projects, and everything else upon which my easily wandering eye has alighted, even ever so briefly. Perhaps due to the frequency of my blogging and the inevitably associated buying, it's become increasingly evident to me that my hyperactive consumerist tendencies (i.e., I'm a shopaholic) are, in the long run, utterly wasteful and completely unsustainable. (I mean, my closet is only so big, right??) And so, with the tiniest degree of newfound clarity, I've decided to make a go, in baby steps, of re-evaluating my own lifestyle, disposition, values, and habits. I hope that others will be inspired to do likewise.

One important aspect of doing our part by the world around us is choosing to reuse. Here, at Past Presents Shop, I plan on encouraging that choice to reuse by introducing (or re-introducing, as it were) a selectively edited variety of vintage housewares, from milk bottles to mixing bowls, cutlery to cake stands, and vases to Victrolas. To keep things interesting, I'll be pairing each past present with another item, perhaps an outfit, a vignette, or a drawing, that draws upon a similar vein of visual inspiration. When possible, each past present will also be accompanied by a description and brief history. Hopefully, this process will be as fun, exciting, and even informative for you as I'm expecting it to be for me, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!