Loren Loves Vintage

Tanks, Peacocks, and Vintage Jewelry.

2009-02-25T10:01:00.002-05:00

Holy cow! It's been a very long time since I've blogged here! In mid November, I moved out into the sticks (funny, because I always swore I'd move to the city.) I love it here, minus the fact that I live like a mile from Fort Knox's firing range. What does this mean? Tanks roll down a street parallel to mine. I may be "out in the country", so to speak, but it's not nearly as quiet as one would think. Growing up, I could hear the echo of the tanks firing at my parents house, even though it was in the center of town. You get used to it after a while, so its not that bad...

Living next to the range is like 100 times worse, though! My walls shake sometimes, which is both sad and hilarious. Gotta love the newlywed "starter home"! It doesn't really bother me anymore... I've adapted, but when friends come to visit on training days (the days when the tanks are at the firing range) they freak out. It makes for great conversation :-)

On the plus side of all this, my neighbors have peacocks, and they frequently hang out in my yard. Pretty! Also, there aren't any street lights around here, so the sky looks amazing on clear nights. The peacocks, the stars, and the all around calmness of living away from the city makes the tanks SOOOO worth it.
~~~~~~~
Alright, now back to vintage. I just got a ton of new jewelry. I can't wait to get it all cleaned up and listed. Its mostly bracelets (both clamper and bangle), and chunky plastic bead necklaces. I'm sure hubby is THRILLED to see new jewelry...haha. He was so excited that I cleared a bunch of my stuff out. Little did he know that I was just making room for new stuff. ;-)

I'll try to have the majority of it listed in a week, maybe two, depending on what's going on in the real world.

Hot Vintage Love

2008-11-02T12:01:00.002-05:00

Okay, it has been decided that it would be FANTASTIC to get as many vintage treasuries on the front page of the treasury (make them the hottest treasuries) as possible. In order to do that, I am including all of the VMS treasuries in one post. Please view these treasuries, leave comments, and click on ALL the items. This will help boost our hotness, and as we all know, us vintage ladies LIKE IT HOT! ;-)
CarriersCozyCottage:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18168
Lembry123:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18464
YesterdaysPleasures:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18347
CatnapCottage:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=18559
Get to clickin'! Lets make it hot.

Vintage Market Sale

2008-10-31T14:37:00.003-04:00

This goes out to allthe vintage lovers out there!

On November 8th and 9th, many of Etsy's finest vintage sellers are hosting another Vintage Market Sale. Whether you're looking for fabulous vintage gifts for friends, or looking to spoil yourself with some new vintage finds, this is the sale for you!

Many of my items are already marked down for the sale. More items will be marked down between now and the 8th. Check it out if you get a chance!

Also be sure to check out the other sellers.

www.CarriersCozyCottage.etsy.com
www.mysouthernlace.etsy.com
www.TheEclecticDiva.etsy.com
www.daisytoad.etsy.com
www.YesterdaysPleasures.etsy.com
www.catnapcottage.etsy.com
www.acacheofjewels.etsy.com
www.Neldas.etsy.com
www.RetroCycle.etsy.com
www.butterfliesrfree0000.etsy.com
www.GeneralWhimsy2.etsy.com
www.ForeverClassique.etsy.com
www.goodlookin.etsy.com
www.hautecountryvintage.etsy.com
www.Thequeenofre.etsy.com
www.reprise.etsy.com
www.lembry123.etsy.com
www.OddlyIn.etsy.com
www.Erstwhilestyle.etsy.com
www.cowgirljunk.etsy.com
www.buppins.etsy.com
www.blythehopesvintage.etsy.com
www.VintageTreasures4You.etsy.com
www.jewelrybyallison.etsy.com
www.susantique.etsy.com
www.HeyChica.etsy.com
www.AntiqueCellar.etsy.com
www.TheCollectorsCloset.etsy.com
www.PeppermintPixies.etsy.com
www.Sassydoggs.etsy.com
www.Sassycatts.etsy.com
www.TheABomb.etsy.com
www.aPagefromthePast.etsy.com
www.MrFilthyRotten.etsy.com
www.SamyStClair.etsy.com
www.bytheway.etsy.com
www.penorus.etsy.com
www.sarahjaneandbentley.etsy.com
www.MadisonRoseVintage.etsy.com
www.paperdollsforboys.etsy.com

Let the good times roll...

2008-09-04T16:09:00.005-04:00

Today is September 4th, meaning it is exactly one month until my wedding. All things considered, I am pretty excited, but I can't lie, its been an incredibly stressful journey! Many people take a year to plan their wedding....not me. I got engaged on May 11th, picked a place (and date) to have the wedding sometime around memorial day, and then pretty much got the wedding planning equivalent of writers block. I didn't make any more decisions regarding the wedding until mid-August. Around this time, something in my brain clicked. I realized that I hate traditional weddings. So stuffy, boring, and unoriginal.

I talked to my fiance about my dilemma, and he agreed. No more traditional wedding. We decided to go with a ceremony, decorations and food that are as unique as we are. Thus began the journey...

THE CAKE...

Honestly, the idea for our cake started as a joke... "Wedding cakes are expensive... lets just make our own" "What? How? I can't bake a cake..." "Doughnuts" Yes.... doughnuts. It was a strange thought, making a cake from doughnuts, but I know it has been done before. I began to research the concept and realized that every couple has their own take on what a Krispy Kreme cake should look like.

The idea, as crazy as it sounds, has become my favorite part of planning. The fiance and I decided to go with original glazed doughnuts in order to not only please the masses, but also save a lot of stress in the long run. No one likes leaky doughnuts!!!!! I bought a vintage 3 tiered serving tray off of Etsy, and began designing around that. The tray is beautiful and stands about 17 inches tall and 12 inches wide. It showed a lot of wear when I recieved it, but cleaned up quite nicely. (Tray from Charmings Collectibles http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5899317)

Look for more information about the doughnut cake afterthe wedding!

DECORATIONS...

Decorations are the main reason I decided to blog about my wedding. I wanted decorations that reflected the interests of my fiance and I. Now, its hard to decorate to show my fiance's interests as he is heavily into the outdoors and mechanics, and for this reason, we chose to have a wedding at a beautiful lodge overlooking a lake. The new Carlson Lodge at Camp Carlson (Muldraugh, KY) is reserved for a wedding almost every weekend. From what I have seen, most have been very traditional. I have witnessed a polynesian wedding there, though... that was quite a sight!

The photo above was taken soon after the grand opening of the lodge. Now, it is landscaped quite nicely. I was there just the other day, I should have taken a picture! Leave it to me to forget...

Anyways, back to the decorations... Most of the wedding decorations are vintage. I must have bought 50 milk glass bud vases! I want to put light green/white roses in them, as our theme color is green. I am still on the hunt for a decent cake topper. Of course, I cannot put it on the cake, but I can still incorporate it into the decorations. I can't seem to find a decent topper with both a brunette bride and groom. Usually, the bride is blonde. :-(

As far as weddings go, this is sure to be one for the books.

My first time...

2008-08-16T15:48:00.005-04:00

No,not that first time!

As of right now, I am listed in a treasury! To my knowledge, this is my first treasury. Another WONDERFUL vintage seller on Etsy, YesterdaysPleasures was kind enough to add me to her all vintage treasury.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=22182

You like me... you really like me! (I love Sally!)

2008-07-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

Alright, I just have to share my excitement... My Etsy Store, L.Embry's Vintage, was mentioned in a blog recently. That's right... someone actually mentioned my totally rad vintage jewelry in their blog. Check it out at That's SO BOSS!!

OMG I'm back again.

2008-06-27T14:15:00.002-04:00

Once again, I have fallen behind with the posting! I've sort of put blogging on the back burner, along with Etsy, while I got my life in order.

Anywho, I've started spending a lot of time in thrift shops, looking for weird jewelry. The search has returned things like canary earrings, and carved wooden fruit. Too much fun! I've also stumbled across some cool vintage items that aren't jewelry. I think I'll start selling them as well.

Expansion is fun!

Yum, melted cheese!

2008-05-12T15:09:00.002-04:00

Wow, it has been quite a while since I last posted on my vintage blog! I've had so much going on, with college and recently getting engaged. Enough of that though, back to the vintage-y goodness...
I am on a hunt. For what, you may ask? Aluminum tumblers. I love them! I found a set on Etsy that were just too cool, put them in my favorites with the intention of buying them, came back, and they were gone. Apparently I'm not the only one that loves brightly colored metal cups. Check them out, aren't they rad?

Those tumblers were found at http://vintageview.etsy.com

Anyways, while I am on the topic of vintage housewares... The other day, I opened my fiance's eyes to the awesomeness that is the fondue pot. How he had gone his whole life without knowing about the wonders of fondue is beyond me. While having the conversation, I stumbled across this gem. I might have to buy it, even though I have no idea when I would ever use it.

Fondue pot from http://nationcreations.etsy.com. How rad, right? It even has a daisy on the lid handle. I might be in love!

Reunited and it feels so good....

2008-04-02T14:31:00.002-04:00

Due to personal reasons, I will be closing RetroNow. I'm returning to Etsy!

I love Etsy and mostof the people there. :-)

Promotional Swag!

2008-03-14T18:04:00.002-04:00

About a week ago, I ordered some promotional buttons for my website, http://www.retronow.com. They came in today, and let me tell you, I am VERY impressed with the quality. I ordered them from KittyCrossbones on Etsy (http://kittycrossbones.etsy.com/) 50-1 inch buttons for $15. I think it was a fantastic deal. Can't wait to pass them out to friends and customers!!

Bringin' the past to your present!

2008-03-11T21:21:00.002-04:00

In my last blog, I wrote about my new site, Retronow.com. Guess what? It's finished!!!!!! Thats right, there are over 100 items currently listed for sale, with hundreds more to come. Now, its not your typical vintage jewelry site. Instead of focusing on classic vintage jewelry, I've incorporated many different styles. Bohemian-esque wooden beads, chunky plastic, Wayfarers, pearls, bananas (yeah, I said bananas), enamel, gold, silver..... its all there. The site is a direct reflection of myself; therefore, its ECLECTIC (yes, the all-caps was needed, because I needed to stress just how strange I am.) Anywho, check it out if you like. I'm pretty excited about it (as if you couldn't tell already)

You can go your own way...

2008-03-04T22:38:00.003-05:00

In the wake of the Etsy "handmade VS vintage" drama, I began thinking about the idea of building my own vintage website. Now, I love Etsy.... but in all honesty, I don't feel like I belong there. After all, it is the place to "buy and sell handmade".... and vintage is not always "handmade".

After weighing the options, I decided that it was in my best interest that I move my business to my own website. The website will contain vintage jewelry and accessories. Eventually, I hope to sell vintage clothing on my new site, as well. :-) I should have the site completely up and running by April 1st (no, this isn't some elaborate April Fool's joke). Until that time, I will be slowly moving my jewelry from Etsy over to the new shop (www.retronow.com) Checkout will be almost exactly the same as Etsy; I will still only accept payments through paypal... there will be a currency converter, though! Also, there is a multilingual checkout option. Pretty nifty, I think.

I will continue selling record bowls, notebooks, and supplies (as well as the occassional DESTASH) on my Etsy. :-) I will also continue spending wayyy too much money on there. haha.

My weakness is my strength.

2008-02-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

A month or so ago, my best friend and I decided to just give in to our fascination with different clothing styles and forget about what everyone else thinks.....and just start wearing what we want. I've been purchasing pieces all over, building up my wardrobe of 'out there' styles (which I find to be fantastic) Scarves, jewelry, rhinestone studded cowboy boots, and of course, vintage clothing. Etsy has played an integral part in putting all of this together. I've found some pretty fantastic clothing on there. So far, I've bought a bright red letterman sweater and a 1950's Airforce Dress Jacket.... Both of these pieces were bought from a fantastic seller, Green Dragon Lady (http://greendragonlady.etsy.com/) Her prices are VERY reasonable, so if you're looking to start building up a wardrobe of unique vintage clothing, but you're on a budget, her shop is perfect for you! :-)

There are a few other shops that I have hearted that sell awesome vintage clothes. I plan on going back to buy things from these sellers, but first I should probably earn some money. (Thats the drawback of Etsy, I'm pretty positive that I spend more money there than I make)

CigaretteLucy (super cool wayfarer style sunglasses!)http://cigarettelucy.etsy.com/

WanderlustNPixiedust (Cute hat, glitter, brooches) http://wanderlustnpixiedust.etsy.com/

Bamabelle (All things vintage) http://bamabelle.etsy.com/

Hiphostage (Fun vintage clothing and goodies...) http://hiphostage.etsy.com/

VintageEtc. (vintage clothing) http://vintageetc.etsy.com/

SealionVintage (Clothing and accessories) http://sealionvintage.etsy.com/

TresChicVintage (tons of dresses!) http://treschicvintage.etsy.com/

SalvageLife ("Relevant Vintage For Wasteless Living") http://salvagelife.etsy.com

There you have it, a pretty extensive list of vintage stores on Etsy with great items!

Bonus! What has 2 thumbs and lots of accessories to go with your vintage clothing? *points to self* THIS GIRL! :-) Too cheesy, I know.

TREASURE!

2008-01-31T22:33:00.000-05:00

Lately, I have been buying tons of jewelry boxes full of vintage jewelry on Ebay. (yeah, Ebay...don't hate!) Sometimes, you get crappy jewelry boxes with junk jewelry (photos lie sometimes...) but then there are other times when opening up the jewelry box is like opening a treasure chest. The latest jewelry box I got has to be the best one yet.... a couple hinge and pin ivory/bone bangles, some mother of pearl inlay bangles, around 20 pairs of clip on earrings (I've got some junky ones before, but these were FABULOUS!) lots of necklaces, lots of brooches. Not to mention, the box itself was in great condition.

I bought this box with the intention of splitting up its

contents, cleaning them,

and selling them in my vintage shop on Etsy. Thats what I do, find lots of fantastic vintage pieces, clean them up, and pass them on to others who can appreciate them as much as I do. I think I ended up keeping 5 or so pieces... maybe I'll keep more if some of the pieces don't sell quickly. (Lets hope people find them as beautiful as I do... I can't afford to keep all this stuff... for one, I don't have the room, and two, I won't make money if I keep my inventory for myself!) :-)

I see you looking at me, like I'm some kind of freak...

2008-01-19T12:05:00.000-05:00

Its no secret nowadays that I am in love with vintage fashion. I mix a lot of vintage components into my outfits... Earrings from the 50's, necklaces from the 70's...lots and lots of chunky lucite bangles.... In my small town, my fashions are considered avant garde, which I find surreal. I don't understand why people a place FILLED with antique malls and thrift stores would get up in arms over my choices. Its not like I'm running around in mini skirts, sans panties. (I would understand people being freaked out about that.)

Sorry, I just needed to rant.

Off to take pictures of 30 pairs of earrings!

For the record...

2008-01-17T02:54:00.001-05:00

Record related blog number 2! Today I bought 6 more records... I made them into bowls and quickly got them up on Etsy. The feedback has been INCREDIBLE! I'm starting to figure out how to mold them into definite shapes, as opposed to squished figures.

The one to the left is Air Supply... yes, Air Supply. Just one of the gems I found today. Todays finds also include Kool and the Gang, Flashdance soundtrack, Bruce Springsteen, Don McLean, and Ice Castles soundtrack. I may have to go pick up Lionel Richie, Don Henley, Supertramp, Billy Joel, Genesis, and Loverboy. Awesome albums, right? OOOHH!!! I found The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers, The Best of Judy Garland, and my cousins, The Everly Brothers too... those weren't scratched, so I passed them up. (No use ruining what someone could potentially listen to.) I was hunting for some colored vinyl, but I didn't find any for a reasonable price. I'm also thinking of using 7inch records as smaller bowls. AND I am trying to find a way to seal the bottoms of the bowls and cover the labels so they can be used for liquids. We'll see how that turns out.

What were we thinking?

2008-01-15T14:56:00.000-05:00

Earlier, I had a great conversation with my 9 year old sister. I feel VERY old now...

Her: "Loren, what don't you like?"

Me: "What do you mean?".

Her: "You know... food, music, clothes...you can't like everything."

Me: "Well, you know I hate bratwurst.... I'm not a big fan of I Love NewYork..... and I absolutely despise stirrup pants."

Her: "What are stirrup pants?"

Awesome, right? I tried to explain them, but she couldn't grasp the concept of pants with elastic bands that went under your feet. I showed her this lovely picture. She made the face that one can only make when they are truly disgusted.

Now, I'd like to know... what the hell was the point of sturrup pants ?!(which are now considered VINTAGE by Etsy rules and standards) They rank right up there with those shirts that snap and the crotch. You know, onesies for adults??? Atrocious fashion (says the girl wearing legwarmers at this very moment)...

Feels like the first time, it feels like the very first time...

2008-01-14T21:55:00.000-05:00

Good news. I made my first sale on Etsy today! I'm not going to lie, I got out of my chair and did a happy dance... then I picked up my phone and called my dad (who was at work, by the way) and I told him. I think he may have done a happy dance in my honor. Then he told me he was proud of me... Woo. Approval.

I'm so amazed at how quickly it went. I put that brooch up for sale...I think it got 8 or so hits and then BAM! It sold. 8 hits! Crazyyy! I have a ton of other things I need to list, but I want to space them out so that I continue to stay at the top of atleast one list.

I really loved that brooch, though. I'm glad it went to someone who enjoys music and vintage as much as I do. I packed it for shipping earlier. I wrapped it in lime green bubble wrap (yeah, lime green!) and tied a ribbon around it. I packed it in a bubble mailer (can't ever have too much bubble wrap!)

I'm wayyyy too excited about this!

If you dig in deep, will you find relief?

2008-01-13T12:20:00.000-05:00

So, sometimes I'm kind of afraid to talk to my friends and family about my Etsy business. I have this great fear that they are going to say something along the lines of "oh... thats nice?" or "why on earth would you ever sell that junk?". Of course, only one person has said somnething about my "old lady craft obsession", but thats all it takes to start bringing me down. Luckily, the majority of the friends I've mentioned it to pretty suportive. They ask about my merchandise and my plans for expansion. I can't express how grateful I am that there are people that support me!

Something I haven't discussed with almost anyone...

Ideas have been floating in my head for quite some time... even before opening my Etsy shop. Maybe I'm counting my chickens, but maybe there is something to this.... someday, I see myself opening a brick and mortar. A real store dedicated to selling vintage clothing and jewelry. There isn't exactly a booming desire for vintage clothing where I live, but I don't plan on living here much longer... I'd love to move to Nashville or Austin (once I finish college and get my Accounting degree...I'm halfway done.) I'm almost positive that I could open a store in one of those areas. Yeah, it would take A LOT of work, and a lot of promotion, but I honestly think it could all work out.

Any ideas?

You spin me right round, baby....

2008-01-12T12:39:00.000-05:00

Hello lovelies! Today is a good day. Why? Well, someone noticed my vinyl record bowls on my Etsy. Awesome! I love making those bowls. Its really just a way for me to relax, but if people like them, I might as well share them with the world. Seriously though, who wouldn't smile when they saw a bowl made from an old Sugar Hill Gang "Rappers Delight" album, or maybe "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain and Tennille?

Record bowls are such unique pieces, atleast, mine are. Yeah, there are some artists out there who make record bowls through a weird heat/vacuum process, and theirs are all uniform shapes, but whats the fun in that? Whats the fun in having such a unique piece, if its shaped just like all the other "unique pieces"?

Sugarhill Gang bowl! Its available in my shop for $6.00! (Yeah, I keep my prices low.)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8715672

Opening Ceremonies...

2008-01-11T16:47:00.000-05:00

Here it is... my first post to my brand new blog. I haven't used Blogger in probably 8 years, so this is all new to me again. Of course, I write in my Xanga and Myspace blogs pretty frequently, but those are different.

Anyways, back to the topic of this blog.... my love of all things vintage! I'm not entirely sure why, but I have always been fascinated by the past. From the music to the fashion....to the totally weird products (Ever heard of the HotDogger?), I think its all neat.

Up until recently, all of the vintage love was bottled up inside... then I stumbled across a website called Etsy. Let me tell you, that place is Heaven! Its chock full of vintage, handmade, and recycled items. Before long, I had a jewelry box FULL of unique jewelry! When my dad found out that I had run out of space in my jewelry box, he decided it was time to give me my grandmother's jewelry box. (She made it clear before she passed that I was to get her jewelry box, and its contents...) This box was my equivalent of a pirates treasure chest. To the unsuspecting, it looked like a beat up oriental jewelry box..... but I knew better.

The box itself was brought back by my grandpa, when he was stationed in Korea. Its black with an oriental design, outlined in chips of mother of pearl. It used to be a music box too, but my dad scarfed the mechanism when he was younger. The inside is lined in a red velvet-y paper. The inside of the lid is home to numerous photos of my dad, aunt, and uncle as children. This in itself was awesome to look at, because looking at photos of my aunt as a young woman is like looking into a mirror. Short, dark brown hair, black plastic glasses, and chunky jewelry. Yeah, thats me.

But enough about me, onto the contents.... probably 10 brooches of various styles. Enamel butterflies (my grandma loved butterflies.... someday I am going to have to write about the yellow cedar chest with butterflies...) There was a pendant that my grandpa had made.... its totally weird, made from a polished deer antler, with a green stone set in the center. (thats another thing... my relatives make antler art for celebrities...) Once again, back to the topic, also in the box were 15 or so plastic cases with loose stones in them. Six rubies of various sizes, two emeralds, one aquamarine, one 1/4 carat diamond, one smaller diamond, one 10 carat smokey topaz, one amethyst, a star of india, and maybe a few other stones that I don't remember off the top of my head.

After recieving the box, my dad told me that my grandparents used to make jewelry, hence the copious ammount of loose stones. This information is what got me into reworking vintage items. Some people think I am crazy for buying broken jewelry and fixing it. Some people find it interesting....

I spend quite a bit of time hunting for jewelry that has potential. So far, I have fixed 11 pieces.... and there is a whole box of jewelry waiting to be repaired. We'll see how it all turns out. I started listing the repaired items (as well as a few other items I have made and odds and ends that someone may be able to use) on Etsy. I'll put a link at the end of this blog.... which is coincidentally the point I'm at now. Sorry that this post was very ramble-y.... I just wanted to share a piece of the backstory. :-)

http://lembry123.etsy.com