Accessories Of Old

Ruth Tomlinson

I recently got engaged and so began my hunt to find the perfect engagement ring.

Being a girl who shys away from big bling and salvates over originality, I was not sure where to start looking. I was looking for something that was unique, eye catching telling a story of its own - a little piece of art I could wear on my finger.

I searched for a few hours until low and behold I found just what I was looking for. A beautiful collection of jewellery that made me sit up and de-mist my glasses. 

Each and every item tells a story.....

Each and every item is a whole world onto its own of little crevaces,stones and shapes all coming together to make up pieces of beautiful jewellery...

 Each and every item could on its own be a conversation piece on design and structure.

and each and  every item I could own (want to own ) and wear proudly as a piece of art.

On my next visit to London I went off to find the designer and try on the wonders myself hoping to walk away with something on my finger to have as my very own ...and so I did.

 

In the heart of London tucked away in a little courtyard full of artists  lies the studio of Ruth Tomlinson.

Now, as one knows,its one thing finding that object you totally lust after and fall in love with but what adds to that intense feeling of admiration is when the designer is just as lovely and unique as the creation she has created. Enter Ruth Tomlinson.

What a delight to deal with Ruth - her love for her work shines through.

For anyone who is looking for something positively unique have a look at Ruths website Ruth's website or call her and she is happy to set up a private viewing.

Tel__+44 20 7831 3033 
[email protected]

 

 

Surround yourself with beauty

Recently,I decided to clear out some shelves in order to make some holding space. 

I need the space for a whole lot of new vintage items that I am bringing in from my warehouse in order to create a new website .

Where? What? When?

I am putting together a sister site to Accessories of Old...I am so very excited about this and not only will it have all our gorgeous vintage goodies but some giftware too chosen by yours truly.

( to be launched soon and I will most certainly keep you all posted.)

Now I know that the thought of clearing out shelves to anyone is a horrendous one to say the least and given the choice most would rather drink poison! Saying this however it is therapeutic in its own way and we most times land up finding treasures that have long been forgotten.

  I, for example  came across this rather beautiful Vintage Royal Albert tea set my late grandmother had passed down to me. It is so beautiful and what a waste sitting in darkness for all this time only with the pleasure of perhaps a visit from a spider or two.. In fact the last time I had used this set was at my daughters naming tea eight years ago!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only are all the tea cups and saucers intact but so is the milk jug, sugar bowl and pastry plates.

What a beautiful set too and so unusual to find a complete tea set.  Gorgeous lipstick red with bright white polka dots edged with gold trim.

Now, I know we all have items that we have stashed away for "that one day".  And instead of using our lovely items we have hidden we use ordinary others to take their place waiting or the special occassion to use what is truly beautiful. Its the ordinary that should be hidden and the stashed used.

I myself am guilty of this... eight years proves it.

 Why am I blogging about this you may ask? Answer is because it made me stop and think.

I know we all have gorgeous things that we hoard away waiting for the right time and place but what about now?

So what have I done? I have given up that old mug and swopped it for bone china... it out of its hiding place, clean and I have even had my first cup of tea in it ... and felt like Royalty doing it ! ( even if I was sitting in my pajamas)

So, go on ladies( or gents )throw away those chipped or old tea mugs - stop hoarding your good things and use them .

NOW is the right time to use your best items and surround yourself with what is beautiful for everyday use...it makes one feel good and offers everyday eye candy to the weary eye. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Surrounded by Cath Kidson

Being in the  English countryside for Christmas and New Year,I was so incredibly spoilt to receive a load of Cath Kidson gifts.

Reading my blog, you just know how I adore her prints...

 

Especially the old English roses... so you can imagine how excited I was.

 

 

Oh to have Cath Kidson linen... nothing better than going to sleep covered in vintage English roses and waking up in them too.

 

 

 

 

 

My bed is covered with roses ... 

 

 

as is my bathroom too....

Who could think of anything more luxurious than getting out of a hot bubble bath on a cold winter night and wrapping up in one of these soft lush towels?

 

 

Oh hang on ..did I mention my make up purse too??

 

 

salivating yet???? I am :)

Thank you Josephine

One of my gifts for Christmas was presented to me by my boyfriends daughter Josephine.

Jo-Jo (as her friends and family call her) is a very creative young lady with an unusual eye for detail and composition.Her forte is photography and I truly believe she will make herself a name one day in bold black and white print.

When it was time to receive my gifts, I was handed a little red and white picnic print paper bag. Inside the bag sitting upright was a little hand made brown box  which Jo-Jo had personally and patiently ( I may add) sat, measured,cut and pasted from scratch.

Every person was given a box with something that had been hand made for them... I was in for a treat.

 

Inside the box lay a piece of tissue paper that protected and kept the most unusual little leaf you have ever seen...A little brown leaf covered with weblike veins so delicate one could almost break them but just looking..or breathing.

 

 

What an unusual gift and one that I am sure will inspire many a project. 

It now sits on one of my precious African stone hearts by my bed.

 

 

The contrast between the smooth heavy stone and the veiny delicate surface of the leaf just go hand in hand... well I think so. 

Thank you Josephine. My leaf is forever in a safe place.

Happy New Year

I am back!

Its been a while I know and I have been meaning to blog for the past year (well since my last blog in May)

Who knows where the time has gone. I am still blown away how many followers I have who still follow me regularly even if I have not blogged regularly. The traffic to my blog has made me rethink and return to blogging. Obviously people  want to see more and so I decided it was time to get off my behind and start blogging again and give them more.....

So, here is to a very crafty, vintagy (if there is such a word),colorful, inspiring and creative new year.

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

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

Life is what you make it..

As I have been going through all my odds and ends that I have used over the past two years as shop decorations I came across this little magnetic tag that I had made back when...

 

I had obviously liked the saying then and still do now.. perhaps its at this point of time where with closing my shop that it takes on a whole new meaning.

  

So with this said and done I plan to make and continue making  our website www.accessoriesofold.com one of the biggest vintage cyber outlet  in the world. xxx

Closing shop - our little shop in Bethesda

I have to say how totally blown away I am at all the comments,emails and responses from all those who have read my recent blog about closing the shop. It is not until something is final like this that one realises just how many lives we have actually touched by opening our little shop in Bethesda. I have been telling the local and loyal clientel that have been coming in that we are planning on closing. The look on their faces are enought to replace a  million words. From absolute shock to pure sadness.

Two days ago someone came in for the first time and turned around to me and said " this is one of the most beautiful shops I have ever been into." I thanked them for the compliment and then informed them that we were closing .. with that they answered back " how sad but at least I got to see something so beautiful and inspiring at least this one time"..

...for all those times  and customers like these - Thank you - it is you that have  made it all worth while..... It is the people that "just get it "...the people that step through the door with a shriek of " oh my goodness I do not believe what I am seeing"  and then there are those that come in "for inspiration as they are feeling down and need a pick me upper" - it is those people that I am so pleased to have met and to have been able to inspire with  our  little store in Bethesda.

The world really is a small place when it comes to vintage lovers... and especially the USA. It is a small family where everyone knows one another. It is the appreciation,enthusiasm  and sheer love of vintage  that have made our days in Bethesda that much more inspiring and interesting. For that I am grateful and want to thank each and every one of you. I hope we will be able to inspire, serve and continue on with each and everyone of you on our website www.accessoriesofold.com

Closing shop

   

Two years ago we decided to expand our internet company and open a retail store. One of my personal dreams when we  came to live in the USA was to bring over the business that my grandfather had started as a immigrant in 1918 and for me ( as a immigrant too) was to continue his legacy and have it on a third continent.- that being the USA. So, first we started doing shows, getting our name out there and then went into opening a website www.accessoriesofold.com. The next obvious step to me was to open up a brick and mortar store where we could have the stock out for everyone to appreciate it up,close and be able to touch it. ( as touch is a major part of creativity)

It has been two years now and our lease has come to an end. I have decided not to renew it and to close down our store and move back to only being internet based and to continue with shows. 

I could put it down to the economy and bad timing..who knows.

What I do know is this..  I loved each and every moment of setting it up.

I do know that it was well worth meeting  all the wonderful and creative people who came into the shop and then come back always bringing  friends from out of town and using us as one of their first tourist spots in Bethesda... And then not to forget those  who flew from all over the USA to see for themselves all our wares.

Someone I know always says the following " life is a series of mistakes you just have to be brave enough to make some of them."

 I believe this. Not to say opening was a mistake. It certainly was not.

It was on my bucket list and I have done it. Now it is time to move on and continue with other experiences. My shop is definitely one of inspirations if not the main inspiration for me starting a blog, starting our sister company www.tjomievintagestationery.com and for building onto our existing business www.accessoriesofold.com

So, for all of you that are local out there and can drive to Bethesda keep checking on my blog as we are going to be having some clearances up to when we close ( end August)

Everyone else do not fear you will still find whatever we have in our shop on line at www.accessoriesofold.com and if you need you can email me and we can set up a private viewing of stock in our warehouse facilities for wholesale.

A little button with lots of detail

After all my preparation for the New York Stationery Show this coming week, I decided to give myself a few moments break and go off to meditation this week. There is nothing like a good meditation to clear the cobwebs that have built up and free the mind. I got thinking about creativity and what it means to me. I came to the conclusion that being a creative person one definitely needs to work on letting the creativity out in any form possible...even if it is just recognising detail in small objects that one would otherwise not look at.

I  have a old sample card of some buttons that was falling apart and so I have salvaged the buttons and kept them together - take a look at the detail in each and every one.

 

Each one has its very own design and personality..

 

Each one can give rise to a whole creative process that is based on that particular design.

 

 

.. here's to all the small detail in this world. xxx