Member Interview & Giveaway: 1sweetdreamvintage

1SWEETDREAMVINTAGE ON ETSY

VKC: Tell us a bit about yourself and your shop.

Michele: I am a part-time teacher and full time mommy. When I'm not teaching nine-year olds, I spend time with my 2 1/2 year old daughter. My shop 1SweetDreamVintage opened just this last month as a hobby, but has grown into more! I seek out quality items that were made or printed in the USA or Europe. I have a love affair with Osh-Kosh overalls; if I could dress my daughter in them everyday I would!

VKC: Why are you drawn to vintage?

Michele: I appreciate the craftsmanship in vintage clothing and the nostalgia in vintage books that are often missed today. There's history in each piece. I like to think that buying vintage allows these items to be loved by a child once more.

VKC: Where do you find your treasures?

Michele: Everywhere! I love to frequent the local second hand stores in my area as well as estate and yard sales.

VKC: What is your process when creating/working?

Michele: Most of my time working on the store is spent while my daughter naps. If I try to list items other times, she wants to keep them all for herself!

VKC: How do you promote your business?

Michele: I don't Tweet or Facebook. Right now, I am working under the newbie mantra "If You Sell It, They Will Come."

VKC: What do you do when you are not creating/working?

Michele: First and foremost, I spend time with my daughter. We go to the beach, the Santa Barbara Zoo, local pick-your-own farms, and library regularly. My favorite thing to do is to bake and cook. I read a ton of food blogs and magazines. I also enjoy gardening and am teaching my self how to use my sewing machine.

VKC: What is your favorite item in your shop or that you have sold and why?

Michele: My favorite item in the shop is the Alice in Wonderland chapter book. It is my favorite because I have one inscribed to me for my first Christmas that sits on my daughter's bookshelf. I can remember the magic in having my mom read it to me for the first time, and can't wait to read it to my daughter someday.

VKC: How do you juggle your business and your personal life/motherhood?

Michele: Nap time, nap time, nap time.

VKC: What giveaway or discount would you like to offer our readers?

Michele: I would like to offer one book of your choice for free to a lucky reader!

Thanks so much, Michele!

If you'd like to enter to win a book from 1sweetdreamvintage, please leave a comment below.

There are a few other ways to enter - please leave a separate comment for each.

1. Favorite 1sweetdreamvintage on etsy!

2. Tell us which item is your favorite at 1sweetdreamvintage!

3. Tweet about this giveaway!

4. Blog about this giveaway! (Please include a link.)

This giveaway will be open until August 26, 2011, so you have one week to enter!

pink for boys?

whitney of little reader vintage tweeted me thursday

to let me know that we had been featured on the etsy blog.

it is a very interesting post on how boys originally wore pink

and girls were dressed in blue

and the role colors play in choosing gender specific clothing.

the writer references a smithsonian article

titled "when did girls start wearing pink".

i thought i would do a search to see if i could find any 

pink vintage boy clothing. nothing came up after numerous

tags. there are PLENTY of blue options for girls.

here are a few from some VKC members.

question?

i am sure some of you dress your girls in blue but

would you or do you dress your boys in pink?

1. kyssa picnic dress 2. MissShapes polka dot babydoll dress 3. emmapanda smocked dress 4. fuzzymama frilly blue dress

5. OliversForest  girls corduroy overalls  6. sweet shop vintage baby girl balloon top 7. Lishyloo wee blue baby sweater  8. Binspired  quilted baby girl overalls

9. 3ringcircus frilly baby girl dress  10. little reader vintage royal blue prairie dress  11. the vintage nursery vintage prairie girl dress  12. oopsiedaisies linen hand embroidered dress

     heather of

Member Interview & Giveaway: Sweet Shop Vintage

SWEET SHOP VINTAGE on ETSY

SWEET SHOP VINTAGE BLOG 

VKC: Tell us a bit about yourself and your shop.

Jeannie: I am 31 years old and I live in the Detroit, MI area.  I am married to a great guy and I have two children- Bobby,2 and Catherine, 10.  We just moved from the city to the country and the house we are in actually used to be a barn.  I love gardening, cooking, doing arts and crafts with my kids, children's books, art, movies, traveling and learning.  I have a degree in elementary ed. and I taught preschool and Kindergarten for a few years before becoming a stay at home mom.  I am really interested in Montessori education and I try to do Montessori inspired activities with my kids. 

VKC: Why are you drawn to vintage?  

Jeannie: I am not just drawn to vintage.  I am pretty well obsessed with vintage!  It began probably when I was in high school.  I would pick up a vintage purse or other accessory here and there.  I have always been into interior decorating and even as a teenager I liked to spend lots of time collecting, rearranging and decorating with found objects.  Over the past few years, I have been collecting vintage like crazy.  I am an avid thrift shopper and I can hardly pass up a great vintage find.  Starting my etsy shop allowed me to pick up vintage items I don't have a need for so I can admire them and pass them on to others who will love them.  I think I am drawn to vintage because I love to imagine the history of a piece based on it's use, where I found it, where it was made and what was going on in the world during that time period.  I also love the quality of vintage items relative to many of the mass-market items of today.  I also adore the fact that many vintage items, particularly garments are almost one of a kind!

 

VKC: Where do you find your treasures?  

Jeannie: I live in a great area for vintage.  I have a couple dozen resale shops within a 30 mile radius of where I live.  I am particularly fond of garage and rummage sales.  I occasionally stop by an estate sale if it's not too much out of the way.  I often find estate sales to be a little stressful though, with large crowds and high prices.  I often like to use my thrifting time as my relaxing "me" time and I love a bargain!  My husband and I like to take a weekend away when we can and take our time to reach our destination- taking secondary roads as often as possible, often discovering small towns with antiques for sale and interesting people to meet.

 

VKC: What is your process when working?  

Jeannie: I think that no matter what I am doing at any particular time, I always have an underlying awareness of the space and objects around me- the colors, shapes, textures and how things are working together.  Things in the environment really jump out at me if they are visually pleasing to me in some way.  For this reason, I really love digging for treasures in boxes of "junk" and sorting through racks and racks of clothing to find one or two amazing pieces of children's clothing.  When I uncover a vintage gem or two, it brings me joy!  I love to share my treasures with my husband, children and friends.  My son is my little vintage fashionista (see above photo).  Both my daughter and my son are my thrifting buddies and my husband is very supportive of my addiction!

 

VKC: How do you promote your business?  

Jeannie: Honestly, that is something I need to work on!

VKC: What do you do when you are not creating/working?  

Jeannie: When I am not working on the domestic end of my life, I love working on my etsy shop and vice versa!  I do also enjoy reading a good novel, watching old and new films, drinking microbrews, walking and bike riding.

VKC: What is your favorite item in your shop or that you have sold and why?  

Jeannie: I have so many favorite items that it's impossible to name just one.  A recent favorite that just sold are these amazing knit girl's bellbottoms by Healthtex.  I think they were in my shop for only a day before they sold.  They had the most spectacular 70s partridge print on them.  It is so hard to find vintage children's pants, especially ones like these so I was pretty elated when I found them.

 

VKC: How do you juggle your business and your personal life/motherhood?  

Jeannie: My children love thrifting like their mommy!  We tend to drop off a lot of old books and toys at the back door of resale shops and go around to the front door to buy replacements.  When I go out by myself to do grocery shopping and errands, I plan my thrifting route depending on where I'm headed.  I work on my shop when my two year old is napping and after both kids are in bed for the night.  It is the perfect job for a stay at home mom!

GIVEAWAY

Jeannie is so kind to offer a GIVEAWAY for a 

 $20 Gift Certificate to Sweet Shop Vintage! 

Enter to win by visiting Sweet Shop Vintage and leaving a comment on this post letting us know your favorite item.

OTHER WAYS TO ENTER:

(Leave a separate comment for each one!)

1. Become a follower of the VKC blog (along the right sidebar).
2. Blog about this giveaway and comment with the link. 
3. Become a follower of the Sweet Shop Vintage Blog. 
4. Follow VKC on Facebook.
5. Subscribe to the VKC via RSS or email (along the right sidebar). 
6. Visit another member shop and let us know your favorite item (one comment per shop visited).

Giveaway ends Sunday, June 5th at midnight (EST). 

GOOD LUCK!

A Vintage Summer BBQ

Thought I'd share this awesome colorful collection perfect for a Vintage Style Summer BBQ.  It features a few VKC members and was created by new member, OliversForest. 

So, when can we plan this bash?  I'm totally there!

*KRISSY*

of B.Inspired Vintage

Member Interview & Giveaway: B.Inspired Vintage

VKC: Tell us a bit about yourself, Krissy, and your shop, B.Inspired Vintage.

Krissy: I'm a former art teacher turned stay at home mom to two (*awesome*) little ones, Sawyer (age 4) and Priscilla (age 2).  And I haven't announced it yet, even on my own blog, but my fiance, Cliff, and I are now expecting another little one, too!  Which wasn't planned but is definitely a welcome surprise!  While I sometimes miss my professional life, I am SO happy to be able to be home with my kiddos.  I fulfill my creative and professional desires through my blog, B.Inspired Mama, and my Etsy shop, B.Inspired Vintage.

 

VKC: Why are you drawn to vintage?

Krissy: I started selling handmade photobooks on Etsy after my son was born and a relocation (for my ex-husband's work) resulted in me leaving my career as an art teacher.  But I had such a hard time, with a little one at my feet, finding time to create, market, and list items.  So I started selling vintage.  It was great because I could take my little guy right to the thrifts and flea markets with me and involve him in the process.  After the birth of my daughter (a divorce, another relocation, and finding my love, Cliff), I've narrowed my niche to fun vintage kids clothing, toys, and decor.

VKC: Where do you find your treasures?

Krissy: I find most of my goodies at thrift stores, like Goodwill and The Salvation Army.  But sometimes I get lucky at a yard sale, too. 

VKC: What is your process when working?

Krissy: My process has gotten a lot more streamlined since narrowing my focus to kids stuff in the shop.  When I'm in a hurry I can just stick to the kids sections in the thrifts.  Then when I get home, I have a spot in the corner of my dining room to hide my treasures that need to be photographed.  After photographing a batch, they get moved into the living room near my laptop to list.  Finally, after being listed, they go upstairs into storage bins until they are sold.  I ship on Saturdays when I can get to the post without the kiddos in tow.  So on Saturday mornings, I print my sales receipts, go gather the goods, package them up, and head to the post office. 

VKC: How do you promote your business?

Krissy: Here's my blog post about my top 3 favorite ways to market my Etsy shop.  I LOVE social networking, so I love Etsy's new circles feature.  And I utilize Facebook and Twitter.  I utilize my blog, B.Inspired Mama, to journal my fun and preschool homeschooling with my kids as well as updates in my shop.  I've just started advertising on great blogs like Modern Kiddo, Mama Loves Papa, and So Fawned.  And last but not least, I've had great sales (and made awesome friends) since starting the Vintage Kiddo Collective!

VKC: What do you do when you are not working?

Krissy: Hang out with my kiddos, my love, family and friends.  During my marriage to my kiddos' father, we lived over 3 hours away from my hometown, my family and friends.  My kiddos and I are so happy to be back "home."  So we spend lots of time with my parents, my brother and his family, and my friends. 

VKC: What is your favorite item in your shop or that you have sold and why?

Krissy: Honestly, I love EVERYTHING!  I wouldn't put something in my shop that I don't totally love.  It our home were bigger and we had kids of every size running around, I'd keep it all!  (We're working on the kids of every size part!  haha!)  But really, my favorite thing in the shop right now is this Striped Pinwheel Toddler Dress that my daughter wore when she was little.  If we find out that we're having a girl, it will NOT be in the shop long!

VKC: How do you juggle your business, your personal life, and motherhood?

Krissy: This is a constant battle for me.  I never really feel in balance.  I'm always just swaying back and forth between focusing on my business, my kids, my love, and myself.  It helps that Cliff is totally supportive and interested in my business.  He loves to go treasure hunting with me.  And it also helps that I've made my kids a part of my business by focusing on them on the blog.  Spending time with them, playing and doing creative things, and helping them learn is my first priority, but also gives me blog content!

GIVEAWAY

I would LOVE to offer a GIVEAWAY for...

 TWO ITEMS of CHOICE from B.Inspired Vintage!

Enter to win by visiting B.Inspired Vintage and leaving a comment on this post letting us know your favorite item.

OTHER WAYS TO ENTER:

(Leave a separate comment for each one!)

1. Become a follower of the VKC blog (along the right sidebar).
2. Blog about this giveaway and comment with the link. 
3. Become a follower of the B.Inspired Mama blog. 
4. Follow B.Inspired Mama on Twitter.
5. Follow B.Inspired on Facebook.
6. Follow VKC on Facebook.
7. Subscribe to the VKC via RSS or email (along the right sidebar). 
8. Visit another member shop and let us know your favorite item (one comment per shop visited).

Giveaway end Thursday, June 2nd at midnight (EST). 

GOOD LUCK!

Affordable Vintage Kids Clothing via Offbeat Mama

I was thrilled to see one of our new members, Jenny of Frecklewonder and Kidwonder, mention so many of our great member shops as sources for affordable vintage kids clothing over at Offbeat Mama.  Thanks, Jenny!

Vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy Sweetness

I just listed this friendly guy in the shop today.  It got me thinking about how much I just love anything vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy.  So I thought I'd go hunting for some goodies from Etsy to share.

Ceramic Raggedy Ann & Andy from aesthetikara

Alarm Clock from BornAtTheWrongTime

Hallmark Playing Cards from bostonbaglady

A Pair of Wall Hangings from Sweet Shop Vintage (VKC member)

Cupcake Toppers from YesterdaysWhimsy

Vintage Sheets from sheetsnsuch

A Thank You, Please, and I Love You Book from oopseedaisies (VKC Member)

Sweet Girl's Dress from Lishyloo (VKC Member)

Did you ever have anything Raggedy Ann and Andy when you were a little one?  Do your kiddos?

Member Interview & Giveaway: oopsee daisies!

VKC: Tell us a bit about yourself, Atty, and your shop, oopsee daisies.

Atty:  i am atty from minnesota. i grew up in mt prospect, il and moved to minneapolis 23 years ago for interior design at the u. design is just a hobby now. my career took a 180 and now i work at a hair salon with insanely creative people. oopsee daisies is my second store on etsy, first is attysvintage.  when i was 7, my parents and i moved to the u.s. from korea. one of the first american movies i remember watching was the sound of music. i thought all american women had milky skin and wore kitten heels and chiffon dresses, that homes were decorated with french provincial furniture and gold guilded foyers, and that everyone just sang their problems away. i didn't speak english at the time so you can understand my confusion. that was not how americans lived i soon realized but that was when my love for vintage all began.  the items in my shop are handpicked by me. my finds cover a variety of categories and decades. i like to see them as a reflection of me; nostalgic, timeless, and never too serious. i hope you enjoy your look around!

VKC: Why are you drawn to vintage?

Atty: like anything handmade or handcrafted, i believe vintage has a soul. there is history and character to things that are old, and it looks so damn cool!

VKC: Where do you find your treasures?

Atty: thrift stores, antique stores, estate sales, and soon my friends grandmother's basement! 

VKC: How do you promote your business?

Atty: word of mouth, now awesome blogs like vkc!

VKC: What do you do when you are not working?

Atty: when i am not scouring the city for lost treasures, i enjoy being with friends for martinis and great food, pretending to be a great cook and constantly restyling my house...with vintage pieces of course.

VKC: What is your favorite item in your shop or that you have sold and why?

Atty: there's so many! there are a few books in my shop that i had when i was a little girl. the moment i found one, i almost burst into tears right there at the thrift store. one of them is the Walt Disney Storyland book. that was one of the first books i owned when i moved to america. 

GIVEAWAY

 Atty is so kind to offer a GIVEAWAY of...

...a $25 Gift Certificate to oopsee daisies!

Enter to win by visiting oopsee daisies and leaving a comment on this post letting us know your favorite item.

 

OTHER WAYS TO ENTER:

(Leave a separate comment for each one!)

1. Become a follower of the VKC blog (along the right sidebar).
2. Blog about this giveaway and comment with the link. 
3. Follow VKC on Facebook.
4. Subscribe to the VKC via RSS or email (along the right sidebar). 
5. Visit another member shop and let us know your favorite item (one comment per shop visited).

Giveaway end Thursday, May 12th at midnight (EST).  Winner will be announced Friday, May 13th.  

GOOD LUCK!

Vintage Nursery Decor: Dutch Heidi Girl Style

(Psst... don't forget to enter the great giveaway for a gift certificate to June-Bugs and Beila-Bots!)

I just listed this adorable dress in my shop today.  Priscilla modeled it for me, but it's just a bit too tight to keep in her wardrobe.

But I am loving this dress so much.  It's Dutch "Heidi Girl" style with the ric rac detail and tie-up front just send me over the moon!  And the subtle print on the red fabric featured dancing Dutch couples and folk art flowers.  *swooooon*  I'm always drawn to this folk art style and primary colors.  So I though I'd share some of my favorite DECOR items inspired by this little number.

1940s Folk Art Poster

Sweet Cardboard Sewing Box

Chalkware Dutch Couple Wallhanging

Heidi Girl Wallpaper

Folk Art Dolls

Cuckoo Clock Bank

Shopping List Holder (from VKC member shop, fuzzymama!)

Folk Art Metal Tray

Dutch Boy and Girl Pillow

Now I don't know about a nursery or kiddos room with ALL of these items.  Might be a little much in one room.  But I would love just a few in my little "Heidi Girl's" room!  Wouldn't you?!

*KRISSY*

from B.Inspired Vintage