Alameda Flea Market

The Alameda Flea Market was back yesterday, and I think we all felt like the shopper pictured here: on high from all the fabulous treasures we discovered!

These vintage fruit crates would be great at a rustic fall wedding -- for holding programs, a photo booth backdrop, to serve cold drinks, or just stacked for ambiance!

We noticed some gorgeous vintage jewelry this time, and even spotted some people shopping for wedding rings -- so sweet!

Fancy bling was everywhere...

These vintage collectible cars rev'ed us up!

And we're nuts about this squirrel rocking his fluffy ears. (The Flea is always a great source of vintage illustration inspiration!)

Adorable hummingbirds with 40s flair.

Some lovely boho quilts made with recycled Indian fabrics

Bye, Flea!  We'll see you next month!

Vintage Wedding Dresses

We give props to the women that wear a pre-worn dress on their wedding day. Especially if it's the dress of their dreams. There are so many unique styles out there, so who says a dress from 1950 can't be the one? With Etsy, its not unusual we're caught scanning through pages and pages of inspiration, so when "Vintage Wedding Dresses" popped in the search tool, fantastic results came back. Like this sheer ivory lace dress by Jessica McClintock. We love it because it's bohemian, feminine, unique, and totally affordable.

Do you have a little 50s style in your personality? There are tons of knee-length lace dresses that would make for a fun party dress. This one above from Vera Vague has vintage re-vamped written all over it.

How gorgeous is this silk number from Closet Case VNTG? It's sexy yet subtle, and we love the nude white.

Ruffles have officially made their comeback, so this 1970s era jacquard dress would make a splash at any wedding.

Our favorite may be this 1940s tiered lace dress from Ainslie Wood Co. The delicate lace mixed with tulle overlay is a perfect combination of vintage bliss!

Local Love: Tantrum

This year we're starting a new feature on the blog showcasing some of our favorite local shops, eateries, and spots in both San Francisco and London. We're kicking off with a unique vintage shop in Cole Valley called Tantrum. From the moment we first saw the circus themed window display and sign, to the precious stop-motion video of their shop, it's definitely a new favorite. Tantrum, located on 858 Cole Street, has a sweet collection of mid-century and vintage items for kids of all ages.

They not only carry awesome kids stuff, but one-of-a-kind housewares for moms and dads too! We're really digging all the rich colors in this photo.

We fell in love with them once we saw the sneak peek on Modern Kiddo, then when we saw co-owners Amanda and Michelle in these vintage get-ups and it kept getting better. They gave a fabulous Q & A and we can't wait to get our hands on some of their goodies.

Check out this stop-motion video of the space!

 

Tantrum from Paul Trillo on Vimeo.

They must have such a good time working together. Check out Tantrum at 858 Cole Street in San Francisco!

New Personal Stationery!

Spring has sprung and so has the busy gift-giving season. Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations, birthdays, weddings, first anniversaries, you name it! There are endless reasons to give the gift of fine quality paper. Our brand new collection of personal stationery has a little something for everyone - including moms, dads, and grads. You can even customize the colors and fonts for free, to add a personal touch.  View the entire collection here!

(clockwise from top: Figs, Vines, Flora and Fauna, Feathers)

These colorful designs are inspired by some of our newest wedding suites, along with a few modern trends.

(Daisy, Tropic, Secret Garden, English Rose)

(Bohemian, Ikat, Cross Stitch, Float)

(Calligraphy)

(Sailboat, French Bicycle, Plaid, Whimsy)

(Darling Buds)

Photos by Edyta Szyszlo

Real Wedding: Kathryn And Joe

This wedding has been on our minds and in our hearts for months now, so we're thrilled to finally bring you the details of the event! Kathryn and Joe's glamorous San Francisco wedding has to be one of the most classic weddings we've seen yet. (Check it out on Martha Stewart Weddings!) Set in the heart of the city at the art deco designed venue Bimbo's 365 Club, this wedding was definitely not short on style. Kathryn is the founder and creative director of Dream a Little Dream Events, so without question, her wedding would be a show stopper. We love the classy details she and Joe chose - from all white flowers to fur shawls donned by her and the bridal party. And check out that sparkling backdrop for the ceremony!

Eunice worked her magic on the wedding stationery, which included the invitation suite, table numbers, programs, menus, matchbook favors - the list goes on!  Kathryn and Joe had always enjoyed live music at Bimbo's so a New Year's Eve blowout was a no-brainer for them and creating a design to flatter such a classic San Francisco landmark was a dream come true for us.  The art deco themed invitation suite took cues from vintage concert posters and album covers with a clean black, white and silver color palette.  We called on a neighbor silk screen shop to help out with the impressive tri-fold invitation and the ever-amazing Michele Papineau added the final flourish with calligraphy addresses.

Since Kathryn and Joe are avid music lovers, it was only fitting to create table signs with names of their favorite albums.  This was no ordinary wedding of course, so we created unique artwork for every album.. that's forty-one tables!  The couple had such fun coming up with names that they ended up keeping the cards and framing them as artwork in their home!

One photo doesn't do it justice so below are a few of our working files.  Eunice really knocked it out of the park with this one, now we all want copies!

In keeping with the music theme, the escort cards were custom designed to resemble concert tickets with each guests name printed along with their table assignment and corresponding illustrations.

A classic takeaway from a music venue, each guest left with custom matchboxes as favors.

Congratulations Kathryn and Joe and cheers to a new year and a new life together! View more photos here.

Wedding photography by Kate Harrison Photography

Circus Fever

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It's no secret that we love everything circus. We find timeless inspiration from the peppy colorways and the wild patterns, especially when we find one of a kind vintage circus themed items, like this fabric (above via Cherry Tomato).

circus

The images inside Circus Alphabet from Whitman Tell-A-Tale-Books are packed with hilarious illustrations of the circus days of the 1950s. We can only imagine the excitement of such a fantastic event!

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And we can't forget precious Jude's first birthday party invitations and circus party decor!

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jude

It doesn't end there! We have our beloved Circus Photo Birth Announcement!

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Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! So many wonderful ideas!

Timeless Vixen Vintage

Sunny Yellow We absolutely LOVE vintage clothing and vintage dresses in particular.  Timeless Vixen Vintage (found via Snippet & Ink - Merry Go Round inspiration board) has not only an amazing selection of gorgeous dresses, but remarkably, many of them are in reasonable sizes as well!  How fabulous would these dresses be for bridemaids?

Grey Flowers Small

Red Diamonds

The dresses are a wee bit pricey, but so fantastic and in such great condition, it might very well be worth it for a special occasion!

Black Floral 40’s Small

Love this 40's number...

Blue Daisies Small

We can't get over their really stunning selection of stylish pieces...

Red Ruffles

Love the cherry red! And a fifties party dress is flattering on almost anyone...

Blue Edwardian Small

And they have gorgeous things from somewhat harder to find eras, like this navy blue 1930's flutter dress...(and it's not a size 0!  No offense to all you size 0's out there, but for those of us who have so often gazed longingly at a gorgeous bit of vintage with a 25" waist and then, regretfully, put it back on the rack - hurrah!!)

Edwardian Wedding Dress

This Edwardian tea dress would make a stunning wedding dress...it reminds of us the dress worn in this woodland inspired wedding....

Love, love, LOVE it!