meet our sponsor: tumbleweeds oddities

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.