Accessories Of Old

A big thank you..

I know I have not been very consistant with my posting at the moment... truth is I have been overwhelmed with packing up the store as well as getting the kids ready for school.

I just wanted to say a very big thank you to all of those readers out there that took the time to post their opinion on my question about moving to Frederick. As I had mentioned in that post I have been so blown away at how many people's lives Accessories of Old has touched.. so a big thank you to you all.

I promise to start creating and setting into motion vintage design once again on this blog as soon as I get my head in the right place. So until then keep checking back and I am sure I will have a answer about where out next location is going to be by next week... and if you cannot wait until then go online to www.accessoriesofold.com and start shopping today!

Oh yes one more thing I have left great things out at UNBELIEVABLE prices to clear before we move store. All those who live locally come on in we are going to be open until middle of September with seriously crazy clearance prices.

Tiara Day

On Friday, I went to go and have another look- see at the storefront we were looking to move into in Frederick and so decided that seeing as though I was there I would go and see Maria from Tiara Day.

For all of you that do not know Maria .. you should!! She is a real sweetie and has a great eye for all things vintage. She has just moved from Kensington to Frederick and is in the process of doing up her store.

Maria and Andrew in the new Tiara Day ( that is going to be out of this world) once she has moved in completely..

If anyone knows Frederick Tiara Day is going to be on Market Street which is a great street with alot of cute little unique stores.

If you want to get hold of Maria at Tiara Day and see when she is going to be open to trade just check out her blog.

 

A good friend

In this life we all need good friends. We need them to hold our hands when we are sad. We need them to laugh together and sometimes to help us laugh at ourselves . We need them to share special moments . We need them to show us the light when all we can focus on is the dark and we need them to sit next to us and not say a word but at the same time say a million .

I thank goodness, have been blessed with such friends. One in particular is boarding a plane tomorrow from Chicago to fly to DC to help me pack up the shop. She is a friend who has walked next to me , walked beside me, walked behind me and at times walked infront of me.  No matter what, her footprints are always there to be seen on the same path as mine.

I have been blessed to meet and create friendships with the most incredible people that have come into my shop. Who would think that such creative, talented and inspiring individuals would have made their way into my world through the doors of Accessories Of Old... to this I am truly grateful. I have over the two years of having my doors open heard peoples life stories.People that came as strangers and left as friends.. life stories that had me in tears, those that made me stop in my tracks and evaluate my own life, those that had me in stitches of laughter for hours and those that had me grinning from ear to ear.How many times I heard someone say to me " I do not know why I have just told you my whole life story" it is now that I realise that the answer is very simple.. simply I am interested and ask questions. 

It is coming up to a year  that I have been writing this blog. The task of putting something down each and every day was as I said a task.. it is now a therapeutic practice for me and one that I am grateful to have. I too have met and heard from people all over the world through the blog. From all the feedback I have had from people taking their time to write and email me ..that too has been a different kind of supportive friendship.... so after all of that said and done I just want to say how grateful I am to have all my friends in my life those that know me on a personal level and even those that have a glimpse into my life through my blog.

xx

Packing has started!!

Well, as much as I have put off packing up the shop the time has come... I went off to Staples and got some plastic tubs and together with a pen and paper have started marking and stacking rolls of ribbon, trim and lace. From the look on my face one can tell I am not looking foward to this tedious job!!

 

With every roll I have put away I have found myself silently saying that this is only a rental box and not a permanent move.. as to keep these rare vintage beauties hidden away would be a crime in itself.. so I have made a promise to myself ( and the rolls of ribbon! - oh yes one could say I have lost the plot at this stage!) that every inch will be represented on line for all the world to see.

 

Please note that we will be having a clearance on cut offs and left over rolls from next week in store..

 

I need some feedback....

This is a post that is directed to all the local customers we have out there... I have a question and need help with the answer!

 

After blogging and letting people know we are planning on closing down our shop in Bethesda, I have had an unbelievable amount of feedback via my website, my blog , emails and people walking in. I am really touched at how many of you really care about Accessories of Old and how I ( and of course my goods) have made such an impact in so many people.

I was approached the other day by Maria - the owner of TIARA DAY who had read my blog about closing down. She herself had a shop in Kensington and has moved to Frederick. She told me there  was a shop front right next to her on the main street and I have to come and see it!! ...

So, off I went and drove to Frederick.

 Boy! Was I blown away by what I saw!! I had not been to Frederick in years and was more than pleasantly suprised at how arty, stylish, unique and busy the area is. I went to see where TIARA DAY is opening ( which is going to be fabulous just by the way) and there next door was a wonderful shopfront empty and waiting to be filled.

The space is bigger than I have now and has beautiful high pressed iron ceilings... but needs A LOT of work. ..  saying that with a fresh coat of paint and old railings filled with vintage wears I believe it could be really beautiful.

Why do I need your help?? you must be wondering...

.. well what I need to know from all the locals is "Would you come to Frederick to shop at Accessories of Old if we moved ??" and what do you think?

I would love your feedback as its really important to me... seeing as though its  due to all the unhappy faces I have seen since telling everyone we are closing that has made me think of carrying on!!...so please ladies take a moment and help me out here...

Thanks Lisa x

It is all in the display.

I have always known that display is the key factor in selling an item in any business and definitely one like mine that is creative. Ever since I was a little girl I loved putting things together. I would spend hours rearranging items in my room. Then, when I grew up and even as a student living in a tiny room I would always make sure that I surrounded myself by objects that I loved and always had something or another hanging on my wall or displayed on a shelf. In all the properties I have rented before owning my own , I would always ask the landlord if I could paint and first thing would paint each room in the colors that I loved and those that made  me feel good and then go on to  decorate it as if it were my very own and not a rental.

So, when I opened my shop, I absolutely opened myself up to the challenge of using each and every inch of the space I was renting. I had a vision in my mind of what I wanted and followed that to the end. Here are some ideas I want to share in how I turned some everyday objects into something that catches the eye and fits in with my product as part of a display... take a look.

 

As I mentioned I used every inch of space available to display stock even on the top of my display units the roll of ribbon are piled high up to the ceiling.I also decided to color coordinate every shelf.

 

No piece of wall has been left untouched..

 

Hand drawn mural between displays on the wall.. and down the staircase..

 

I was given a collection of FOB watches that were my grandfathers and so instead of tucking the away somewhere where noone could enjoy them, I framed them and hung them in a collection on the one wall..

 

In keeping with the look I wanted I found items that were not necessarily made for display but used them that way...

 

I filled a glass cookie jar I bought with little candy colored seed beads ...

 

I love all these glass ginger jars I found to display buttons , beads and trim..

 

Wire fruit baskets I found to display millinery flowers..

 

A wonderful three tier wooden stand I found for the rest of my millinery flowers..

                               

and then there are the stands I found that I covered with earrings or buttons to make a statement..

 

 

and lets not forget the wired body forms I love embellishing and using for different displays..

 

This one I covered with different dress clips.

 

I even found a "vintage" style mirror with a lace detail to hang on the bathroom door..

..and tried my hand at decopauge to embellish chairs and display tables..

 

This chair I covered in a baby themed paper so I could use it to display hand embroided linen we had in from South Africa..

.. All these different displays  were all inspired by the constant eye candy that surrounds me day after day at Accessories of Old.

 So, for all of you that think you have to pay a fortune for good display think again. All you have to do is keep your eyes open for interesting items that made a statement. If you keep in mind the idea and look you want to bring across you will know what you are looking for..  I recommend stores like Home Goods, Marshalls and TJ Max - you will be amazed what you can pick up and re use in display form.. and if you do not have these stores close by there are always the garage sales and flea markets that are loaded with great finds.

xx

 

 

Peppermint Green

One of my favorite colors in the whole world is peppermint green. There is something so absolutely soothing about it that kind of makes you feel you like you have just dived into a fresh pool of water.

I have  kept some rolls of vintage ribbon as my own  personal collection and most of them are peppermint green...

Every so often I wrap a gift for someone close to my heart and will pull out some odds and ends from my own personal stash .. like this for a very special friend of mine..

Sometimes I hope the gift as as loved as the wrapping it comes in!!

Martha Stewart radio

I am really exicted today. One of the editors called  me from Martha Stewart today to ask me if I would  be on their radio show to talk about vintage embellishments..

This is the day...

                                   

So, for any of you out there that have sirius radio tune in at 3pm to listen xxx

The detail in a vintage button

When I first moved to the USA and decided it was time to set up my own business, the first thing I did was took myself off to see a financial advisor. I still remember today how our conversation went and the horrified look on his face when he asked me what I was going to sell. 

The conversation went like this " So, what are you selling?"

to which I promptly replied "vintage buttons" with that he had a look on his face that needed no explanation and said " who is going to buy vintage buttons?" I smiled, and just said " you would be surprised at what a hot commodity vintage buttons are."

And true this was and still is. Everyday we have orders from all over the world for all kinds of things on our website but our biggest seller and the one thing that everyone loves are VINTAGE BUTTONS.

I have done a few blogs on buttons already. Today I was putting a order together and came across this particular card which stopped me in my tracks as the detail is just so wonderful. Each and every button really tells a story in itself .. take a look

I am sure if you had to go into your grandmothers or mothers collections of buttons and asked them what each one represented their would be a story behind each and everyone.

                                   

                                      

                                              

 

Harry Potter eat your heart out!

Take a look at the stunning vintage French spectacle frames I have starting unpacking to put on our website... how cool are these??

So, if anyone has seen Harry Potter and he needs a new set of glasses send him over to www.accessoriesofold.com and I am sure we can assist him !!!