i'm so excited for you to get to know beca, half of the tumbleweeds team! she's got great style, she's super sweet, and she can thrift things the rest of us only dream of! if you haven't seen them already, she has a
blog as well as an
etsy shop with handmade and thrifted finds. i was lucky enough to get a package from her last week because she's just that rad.
1. tell us where you're from and where you currently live. We're southern babies. Doug was born in Belle Chase, LA and I am from Decatur, GA. And yes, we both say ya'll often and without shame. I moved to Arizona just shy of 5, and Doug in his early teen years, however, both of our families are split between Florida and Arizona. We met in Tucson and started a life together. We recently packed our home, 3 dogs, a giant cat and our beta fish named Jack into a 1979 Dodge van and moved to beautiful Southern California. San Diego has been good to us so far.
2. what do you think an ideal vacation would be if money were no object? We often talk about going to Tasmania in search of the elusive Tasmanian Tiger. And also, have you seen their coat of arms! So neat! But really, our dream vacation would be to take a summer and travel coast to coast of our incredible country in search of the best flea markets, estate sales and junk stores to fill our shop with treasures. Someday you may find us in our van with a little trailer attached cruising the back roads with our brood.
3. describe your design and decorating style and where you find inspiration. We're gypsies at heart, and the styling of our home reflects that immensely. We work where we live and we surround ourselves with an eclectic collection of muted folk art, tapestries, taxidermy and stacks of wood and leather. The design of our shop is very similar. Our photos are backed by warm browns and natural lighting, recycled paper confetti and recovered metal letters. The tags and business cards are made from wood. We use a lot of burlap and raw cotton and recovered suede in our packaging and our handmade items. Like true gypsies, we also incorporate bright pops of colors and rich textures. I think the both of us find inspiration from our family. I am incredibly lucky, both grandfathers are craftsmen, my Dad and older brother are carpenters, and every woman in my family is a handy with a needle and thread or yarn. The story is pretty much the same for Doug. His Sister is the best treasure hunter I have ever known. She puts the rest of us to shame!
4. if you could spend time with an icon or celebrity, past or present, who would it be and what would you do? Doug says, and I quote "Morgan Freeman, and just chill." As for me, probably Stephen King. I'm such a nerd and I love his books and movies. You wouldn't believe the countless times I defended his screen writing while I was in film school! And I would let him use our guest pass to the zoo, because it would probably be pretty neat to go to the zoo with Stephen King, right?
5. how did you get into vintage, and what do you look for when you're on the hunt? I have been obsessed with vintage since I was a young teenager and discovered that I could get more junk for less money at thrift stores. I guess I was (am?) kind of a hoarder..ahem...collector, and as a kid, collected books, old photobooth photos, cameras, weird paintings, other peoples journals, records, animal figurines, you get the picture. Doug really has the eye though. He can spot vintage-scientific-cat-organs-in-resin from 200 yards away through the red sea of junk and trash and cheap Chinese straw hats. When we go treasure hunting, we usually keep a list of what people are looking for, and things that we have seen a trend in. I like finding special treasures that people request or I know that our customers are looking for. Mostly though, we just look for stuff we like, pieces of American history, folk art, oddities, curiosities and the like. Albeit, we always take requests and will always work extra hard to find those special treats for anyone who asks.
please tell us 5 interesting facts about yourself that you think we should know.-all of our animals are black and white.
-Doug's last photography show was all macro insect portraits.
-Our last three vehicles have been from the 1970s - a Dodge Dart, a Ford F-150 and our current beast, the Dodge Van.
-I have an irrational fear about spiders laying eggs in my face...thanks to the book "Scary Stories III."
-We have a killer rock collection that has been combined from my Grandpa, his Dad, and our own adventures.
okay, so now that i'm almost finished posting this, and i've just finished eating my lunch (FINALLY!!!), i think i've sort of hit that 3:30 slump, and a nap sounds more appealing than jewelry-making. we'll see.
also, i was talking to my sweet friend brittan this morning, and she echoed what i knew, the last video, even after seven takes, still didn't sound exactly like the regular me. i'll work on that for the next one so my true southern accent comes out. apparently it's camera shy or something, i don't know.
the third picture is my favorite. i love how from frame to frame the colors and light leaks can change! ahhhh, i'm smitten with film. do you have any film pictures on your blog or flickr? i finally brought my flickr page back to life and hope to add mostly film pictures.
those bottles are old, not just knock-offs! the house where chris' grandpa grew up is, sadly, caving in, but we walked down to it a few weekends ago and i got a few old bottles from the parts that didn't threaten to collapse and take me along with them. i don't know that i'll use all three, but i like having one out though for a flower vase! and speaking of flowers, chris came in on tuesday afternoon after a hike through the woods with a handful of flowers! now i feel bad about saying such nasty things about him. i kid!
you can find these beauties here (from the top): colleen jordan - i especially love this and would hang it by the window at my kitchen sink rather than wear it as a necklace, thief and bandit, flux glass, super duper things, yomemimo, the wood doctor.
the second picture is my mean face, so be afraid if you ever see it. i kid! i love the last picture of pop and tricia doing their mean faces!
here are the rules for entering!
in addition to some junk food (that we ate already), the only things i brought back are this amazing vintage bag (remember a few wish lists ago i had several of these bags? well, i found this baby for $2 and the proceeds from everything in that shop went to the spca! double win!) and two beautiful stones. one stone is bismuth, which i learned about shortly before the festival, and the other is dolomite which i've been wanting for quite some time!
our first order of business was breakfast. because of the rain the last time we went, i think there were maybe only three people in front of us in line for pancakes. on saturday, we had over an hour wait to even get up there and place our pancake order! madness! so, being the health-conscious adults we are, we had funnel cake and fried oreos for breakfast! the oreos were so good because they got all hot and melted and gooey! at about 2:00 or a little later, we finally got in to eat pancakes and met a nice older couple who live about 1.5 hours from us (and i think they were the highlight of lunch). also, just look at my hair to get an idea of how bad the wind was! AAAAHHHHHHH!
so how was your weekend? did you anything exciting?
the earrings at the top are made with real teeth beads! isn't that crazy? all i know is that the necklace i got them from was from an old lady who did some traveling, but i don't know the animal or country of origin.
you can find these pretties here (from the top): BeauPapier, byrachelrose, Mary Baker Loves You, nifty thrifty owl, flower of the lily.
mmm, it's delicious plain, or over fat free vanilla yogurt! i swear it's too good to be healthy. now, in case you want it, here's the recipe!
it passes the flojo taste test, and that's a pretty big deal considering how picky she is about her food. to be honest, she doesn't just like it and want a little, but she gets so crazy about it i wouldn't be surprised if she threatened to bite an ear off if i didn't let her have any. "mmm, can i have another bite?"
aside from making granola, i've been feeling kind of crappy. i don't know if it's a cold that's trying to get the best of me, or if it's sinus trouble because of all the leaves and bulbs that are blooming, but either way, i've had enough! and i'm thinking i did some serious nesting over the weekend. not only did i make three batches of granola, but i crocheted two dishcloths, and damn if i didn't iron my pajama pants! i blame my monthly hormones. how was your weekend? good, i hope!
1. tell us where you're from and where you currently live. I've spent almost my entire life in a little town called Amherstburg, which is located just outside of Windsor, Ontario. It's a good place to grow up or raise kiddies, but I try to spend as much time in the city as I can. It seems so full of possibilities and adventure when compared to my tiny hometown. I also spent three of my teenage years living a few hours north, in Guelph, Ontario, which still holds a huge piece of my heart.
3. tell us about your personal style and your fashion icons. My personal style is a bit of a mix. I'm attracted to anything overly girly, frilly, pastel and lacy. I also find myself drawn to 'boho' and earthy styles. My biggest fashion icon is Nicole Richie. I've never seen her look anything short of amazing.
4. what are some of your hobbies? Unfortunately, I have more hobbies than I have free time lately. When I do get a spare minute, I love sewing, crafting, playing dress-up, reading, thrifting, baking, dancing, nature walks, live music, and um, plenty of shopping.
please tell us five things about yourself that we don't know already.
