Vintage Inspiration

Visiting Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Coral Gables always gives me inspiration for photographing the items in my shop.  I wish I could take all of my shop pictures there!  

Here are a few photos from one of my many visits to Fairchild:

The Dale Chihuly exhibit is amazing! 

Fairchild has some of the most beautiful plants in the world.  I love the vibrant colors of these flowers!  

This is not actually a painting, it's a Rainbow Eucalyptus tree!  Isn't it exquisite?  

Thank you for visiting Fairchild with me!  More picture to come soon.............

Mid Century Etsy

Here are some of my favorite Mid Century items on Etsy.com ..................


I love this awesome mod lamp by Never Too Old on Etsy.  Dave, the shop owner, is one of the nicest Etsy sellers!  He truly loves vintage and his passion shows in his amazing shop!

go go vintage  has the most beautiful vintage clothing!  The pictures in their shop are very creative and unique!  They should be called personal vintage stylists, instead of Etsy shop owners, because their pictures really help you imagine how you can wear their beautiful clothes.

Mid Century FLA  specializes in offering the most unique and beautiful mid century items.  Margaret, the shop owner is one of the kindest store owners you will meet on Etsy!  She is very knowledgeable about the items she sells.  Her passion for design really shines through in her incredible shop photos.  

This C Jere style sculpture is one of my favorite items in here shop:

Vintage Euro Design is an awesome Etsy shop based in the Netherlands.  This shop offers the coolest vintage items!  

This bright orange typewriter is one of my favorite items in this shop:

6010 is an Etsy shop based in England <3.  The photos in their shop look like works of art!  The offer cool and colorful items at amazing prices!  I LOVE this shop!  

These Harlekin coffee cups are so beautiful and colorful:

Richard Foye's Raku Pottery

I recently purchased a beautiful copper raku pottery pot from the 1970s.  The pot turned about to be the work of amazing artist, Richard Foye.  Richard Foye actually confirmed this himself!  He is very, very nice!  For those who are not familiar Ricard Foye's work, Foye makes the most exquisite raku pottery pots featuring the most stunning colors!

Here is my piece of Richard Foye raku pottery:

Foye confirmed this was his pottery by the stamp on the bottom which he made from a silver maltese cross some forty years ago, long since lost. 

Here is another example of Foye's exceptional work:

If you would like to read more about Richard Foye, please check out the Rock River Artists Website

Coral Gables

I just moved to a different part of Coral Gables and I wanted to share the city's breathtaking beauty through some personal photos I took on one of my many walks through my new neighborhood.  This romantic city was built in the 1920s by George Merrick.  Merrick wanted to create a city that blended perfectly with the rich, lush environment it was built in.  He definitely achieved that!  What other city would let snake-like trees grow over it's sidewalks?  

Can't you just imagine a dashing Douglas Fairbanks acting out a daring sword fighting scene on these steps.  Why are these steps there?  Where do they lead?  The mysterious architecture is all part of the romance of Coral Gables.  

These beautiful trees attach to the ground creating a amazing curtain!  

I adore 1930s architecture! This beautiful house reminds me of an ocean liner.  The circular, "port hole"  windows remind me of Shirley Temple singing in a scene in the movie, Captain January.

This beautiful house is completely made of the famous coral rock Coral Gables is named after.  

Venetian Pool was originally the quarry used to build Coral Gables.  In 1924, Denman Fink, an artist, architect and uncle of Coral Gables founder George Merrick transformed it into an amazing pool.  The gorgeous Esther Williams swam here, the talented Paul Whiteman and his orchestra played here and the pool was even drained once so the Miami Grand Opera Company could perform in the pool's basin.  

The famous George Merrick house hiding in the lush Coral Gables landscape.  

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my new neighborhood!

Rosenthal Lidded Jars

Bjorn Wiinblad, Danish painter, designer and ceramic artist, was a very important designer for the Rosenthal porcelain company in Germany.  His most popular dinnerware design was called Romanze.  The exquisite white porcelain featured incredible gilt decorative detailing.  These gorgeous pieces have become very collectable and highly sought after.  

The opera, The Magic Flute, had special meaning for Wiinblad.  The melodies and characters from the opera were his inspiration when he created the Rosenthal Magic Flute Series.  Each unique piece of porcelain in this series depicts acts and scenes from the opera. 

Wiinblad translated the music through his bas-relief design.  The bas-relief was left unglazed, allowing the beautiful raised design to really shine through.  As if these pieces weren't exquisite enough, Wiinblad then hand-painted a gilt painting on top of the unglazed bas-relief.

Bjorn Wiinblad's designs were so unique, a special firing technique had to be developed for his work.  Even specialist who worked with Wiinblad had a difficult time translating his work onto the porcelain, but their final efforts produced the most unique and beautiful masterpieces in porcelain and bone china.  These pieces are more than just decorations, they are fine works of art.  

I have two amazing Rosenthal lidded jars by Bjorn Wiinblad for sale in my shop!

Here are the links:

Romaze Lidded Jar

and 

Rosenthal Studio Linie Gilt Lidded Jar

Mushroom Pictures

Here are some more pictures of my mushroom vase photographed with more beautiful flowers by Dragonfly Expression!  It was very fun to photograph this vase!

Mushrooms, no not the magical kind!

Have you ever wondered, "What are mushrooms?" Well don't, because you won't want to eat them anymore! Just enjoy their beauty and amazing taste! Not only do mushrooms have amazing flavor, they are also a low-calorie food and a good source of vitamins.

Mushrooms come in all colors, shapes and sizes. They have been eaten for thousands of years and have even been used for medicinal purposes and in fairy tales and folklore. The ancient Egyptians believed mushrooms were the plant of immortality. In many other countries, it was believed mushrooms held super-human strength. Images of Superman are flying through my head right now! I have to find that mushrooms that will give me super-human strength!

France led the way in the cultivation of mushrooms. Mushrooms were grown and cultivated in caves near Paris. Imagine how mysterious these mushrooms looked growing in Parisian caves! Mushroom Cultivation didn't reach the United Stated until the late 1800s.

Today, mushrooms are sold in grocery stores and farmers market everywhere. I love going to my local Whole Foods and seeing all the varieties and textures of mushrooms. Mushrooms are amazing!

I just listed this amazing mushroom vase by German porcelain manufacturer, Hutschenreuther in my Etsy shop! It is extremely rare and exquisite.

I found this amazing picture on Wikipedia of a tree mushroom in Sweden that reminded me of the vase in my shop. It is best not to eat mushrooms you find in the wild, because some mushrooms are poisonous.