Vintage advertisement for monogrammed china I just LOVE vintage advertisements. I especially love vintage ads featuring china or flatware! I always find myself squinting at the ads I come across, trying to make out the china pattern or silver pattern, wondering if it's one I have in stock for my jewelry making. I think on two occasions I've found ads for patterns that were the same as or very similar to dishes that I had in stock'One was a Limoges U.S.A. ad for a set of monogrammed floral china. I love these old initial monogram patterns. Over the years I have found some orphaned pieces here and there but for the most part these patterns are hard to find! Here are a few pieces of jewelry that I created with damaged vintage monogrammed china:
Necklace pendant made from K monogram china (this is the china in the ad above!)
Heart pendant from vintage H monogrammed china
Bracelet made from a vintage monogrammed tea cup
Necklace pendant from vintage A monogrammed china Vintage and antique monogrammed china is hard to find, but once in a while I come across some that is cracked or chipped or damaged from age or use, and that is what I turn into jewelry. I think I currently have the letters M and K in stock, if you are interested in any pieces similar to those shown above, check out my Etsy shop! Here is the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns What do you think of monogrammed china jewelry?
Pendant approx. 1" "I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn."
-Henry David Thoreau
American china with bird motif Bluebird China
'Bluebird china enjoyed a brief but spectacular history, first appearing in the late 1800s, reaching its zenith in the early to mid-1920s, and was almost entirely gone by 1930. China decorated with the bluebird motif was produced by over 50 different American companies including Anchor Pottery Company, Atlas China Company and Atlas-Globe China Company, Chippendale China, Homer Laughlin China Company, and Steubenville Pottery Company to name just a few.'
-Excerpt from the book Bluebird China (Schiffer Book for Collectors), above, which can be found Here
Classic Homer Laughlin "Fluffy Bluebird" Pattern
Homer Laughlin Fluffy Bluebird pattern china
Necklace pendant
Necklace Pendant
Bracelet made from a broken tea cup
Broken china mosaic heart with bluebird Bluebirds of Happiness 'The mythology of the bluebird of happiness has deep roots that go back thousands of years. Indigenous cultures across the globe hold similar myths and beliefs about the bluebird. It is a widely accepted symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the renewal of springtime, etc. Virtually any positive sentiments may be attached to the bluebird. ' -Excerpt from Bluebird of Happiness, which can be found HERE in its entirety. Other Bluebird China Patterns
Vintage Lovebirds — Unknown pattern Some examples of a few less common American bluebird china patterns:
Necklace with freshwater pearl and Swarovski crystal
Necklace Pendant
Pin brooch with freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals
Bracelet displayed on the plate it was made from
Link bracelet How about these sweet little birds? Looks like they've made their nest in a basket.
Necklace pendant, vintage American china
Necklace pendant Entry May 18 'Your words are born not spoken. Dimensional soft-vowelled words palpable to the eye or to the fingertip. Exquisitely curved as the young that flowers conceive. Often I have watched your lips shape words... and your tongue nudge them out like small birds not wholly certain of their wings. Your sweetest words are those shaped ovally like plums or wild birds' eggs. And the long bright ribbons you laugh, the multitudes of hyacinth and bluebells.' -Walter Benton, This Is My Beloved
Pin brooch with freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals An older, unusual bluebird china pattern, probably circa 1920:
Necklace pendant
Pin brooch with freshwater pearl and Swarovski crystal
Necklace made with Amazonite, Rohodonite, and sterling wire
Necklace
Necklace, unknown pattern Mount Clemens Robin pattern
Heart Pendant
Heart pendant
Pendant
Pin brooch with sterling beads and Swarovski crystals
Heart pendant
Charm bracelet with pearls and various crystals and gems
Silver spoon bracelet
Silver spoon bracelet
Silver spoon bracelet
Pin brooch with crystals Another unusual American bird pattern. These look like lovebirds or budgies. Notice the motif surrounding the heart design in the second photo below.
Necklace pendant
Pin brooch Bird of Paradise & Pheasant Patterns "The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp." -John Berry
Unusual, ornate pattern. Pin brooch with Swarovski crystals and freshwater pearls.
' The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species in this family are found on the island of New Guinea... with a few species occurring in the Moluccas of Indonesia and eastern Australia. The family has forty species in 13 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of most species, in particular highly elongated and elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat.' -Excerpt from Bird-of-paradise, which can be found HERE in its entirety
Antique pattern. Pin brooch with heart-shaped coin pearl and crystal.
Heart charm, approx 7/8"
Pin brooch
Beautiful colors! Pin brooch with Swarovski crystals
Pendant Parrots & cockatoos
Art deco china pattern with parrot motif, American china
Same pattern as above. This pin brooch was made from the design on the center of the plate. This Parrot pattern is from England:
Pendant
Pin brooch
English china, necklace pendant Blue Willow birds:
Pendant
Blue willow porcelain from Japan. Necklace made with glass beads, glass pearl beads and sterling wire.
Necklace A few other bluebird and bird china patterns:
Pendant
Pin brooch
Silver spoon bracelet with 7/8" heart charm
Bluebird china earrings
Heart charm approx. 7/8"
Shelley fine bone china. Flow blue bird motif with gold overlay. "One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Pin brooch with amethyst briolette drop. Newer porcelain.
English transferware with swan motif. Pin brooch
Heart charm, approx 7/8" English transferware
Vintage American pottery with doves motif. Pendant Birds are flyin' south for winter. Here's the Weird-Bird headin' north, Wings a-flappin', beak a-chatterin', Cold head bobbin' back 'n' forth. He says, "It's not that I like ice Or freezin' winds and snowy ground. It's just sometimes it's kind of nice To be the only bird in town." -Shel Silverstein Weird-Bird
Birds are one of my most requested china patterns for jewelry. Because they can be hard to find, sometimes even rare, my finished jewelry pieces made from these patterns on average cost a bit more than other patterns. I hope you enjoyed this look into the world of vintage bird china! No matter how often I look at these patterns, they are still delight me each time I see them! -Laura (all jewelry shown above was made by me!)
My summer wouldn't be complete without a few visits to the Blue Ridge Flea Market in Saylorsburg, PA! This is one of my very favorite flea markets and one the best places in the Pocono area to shop for antiques and vintage treasures. It's about a thirty minute drive from my home, so I consider myself one lucky chick! Today the temperature was in the 90's but that wasn't going to hold me back. It had been a while since I had last been to this market and I was excited to discover some new goodies!
The first two parking lots were full (as they always are) but way in the back grove parking area (which is the best place to park anyway because of its scattering of old shade trees) I was pleasantly surprised to find it empty of cars ' yay! ' it was going to be a good shopping day!
Empty grove=more stuff for me!: -)
Flea market ahead!
One small view of a very large complex Of course the very first thing I came upon was two stacks of monogrammed vintage china. I had to laugh because just yesterday I blogged about this exact same china and mentioned how hard it is to find! Seven bowls, four plates, each with a beautiful floral rose design and bright capital letter K initial monogram. Their condition was new, and I knew they were from the 1940's. How much? I asked the man'$2 for all? SOLD!
My first great find At that point I could've gone home a happy girl, but I was only five minutes into it. A short while later and up a few rows I spied two pretty, antique English transferware dinnerplates that closely resembled the Flow Blue patterns that I adore'How much?....$2 each or you can have them both for $3'SOLD! Cha-ching and woo hoo!
My new lovelies
I don't think this was an antique, but it was neat none the less: a decorative ship's figurehead or maidenhead complete with her very own treasure chest... Arrrgh
My 5-year-old daughter wanted to drive this mini car home! Ahhh my favorite part... little boxes, on the hillside...
little boxes full of....silverware! And boy, was it HOT to touch! Everything was sizzling from the sun. What? You can't find your keys? Here they are!
When I got to this point it was seriously like: What to my wondering eyes should appear?....Keys! Hundreds and hundreds of glorious keys! Short keys, long keys, fat keys, skeleton keys, lots of rusty keyness!
Ahhh, vintage chandelier crystals! These are super good for craftin'
Various taxidermy oddities (note the bears on the roof of the van) A few handfuls of vintage silverplated flatware, antique skeleton keys and vintage chandelier crystals were among my best finds... all will be put to very good use in some new projects I have brewing for the upcoming holiday season!
Silver or Black jewelry finish? Which do you prefer? I recently posted this question on my Facebook page. So far, silver is in the lead...
Shiny silver finish? When I first began making jewelry from broken china (and we're talking nearly 20 years now — yikes!) I would occasionally dabble with the black/vintage/antiqued finishes, but for some reason I always seemed to come back to silver. Silver is traditional, it's easy to wear, it's shiny....as for the darker, vintage finishes — I believe they tend to be more trendy, coming into style right along with the whole "new vintage" era that you see everywhere you turn — in clothes, home furnishings, fabrics....what's old is new again, and so it goes. I like the way a dark finish against a bright floral china pattern makes the colors pop, and how it lends to the "old" feeling of a piece of china. I equally like the feeling of luxury a shiny, silver finish affords. For me personally, I guess it all comes down to what kind of mood I'm in. Which do you prefer?
Silver that has been given a black finish What do you think?
Boy do I have lots of sweet new goodies for spring! This winter I took some time away from my regular line of broken china jewelry to create some exciting new designs with some fabulous vintage materials....I dove into my collection of vintage photos, reproduced some of them, then had a ball adding some fun text to them and incorporating them into some fresh new designs. (I knew I was collecting those vintage photos for a reason!)
If ever there was a day for chocolate and goodies, today's that day! Today we celebrate love ~ some with kisses and hugs, others with cards and candy. What's not to love about the heart itself? Here are some mosaic hearts I designed and created using shards of vintage broken china and vintage images. Like each one of us, these mosaic hearts each have their own unique personalities. Happy Valentine's Day to you! Enjoy, and remember to tell someone that you love them!
~ Find Peace ~
~ Hot Stuff! ~
~ Dream Big ~ all designs & artwork copyright 2009
T his sweet little orphaned bird was once one of a pair of small salt shakers. Now he's got a brand new home — among some shards of history...
Built upon a vintage wooden bowl, this mosaic nest of sorts tells a colorful story of potteries long closed and abandoned. The majority of the pottery used for this piece was collected by my uncle, hand-picked at low tide from the banks of the Thames River in England between the Globe and the National Theatres. Some of the shards in this piece date as early as the 1700's. Like collecting seashells along the shore of the ocean, the banks of the Thames offer colorful shards of broken china and pottery ' reminders of the once thriving potters that populated the area. Collecting these shards is known as mudlarking — as beachcombing refers to ocean shores, mudlarking refers to river banks — and it's history runs deep.
A century or two ago, the term Mudlarks referred the very poor of London who scavenged the riverbanks along the Themes collecting anything they could find that might have some value. Mudlarks were most often children or elderly folk -those without income who needed to scavenge to survive. They looked for coins, bottles, pieces of pottery or coal ' the sorts of things that might have been discarded or fallen off of a ship. They would collect these found objects and then sell or trade them for food. Nowadays you can still comb the shores for pottery shards, but beware....it is said that all that is found on public ground is property of the Queen! Happy Hunting! ~ Laura
If you are looking for a recycled or green gift, be sure to check out Great Green Goods. I was thrilled to recently have my broken china jewelry featured by them on their site, which features eco-friendly products that are made by creative minds with recycled materials. You can read their review of my jewelry here: Dishfunctional Designs — Makes you want to Break your Plates
From Pennsylvania artist, Laura Love, gorgeous pendants, bracelets, charms and earrings created from recycled broken dishware. The necklaces with the added accent of recycled vintage flatware are my favorite. If you're the type who can't bear to toss Great Aunt Mabel's cracked and chipped tea cup, you can send it to Laura since custom work is available. Priced around $50.00 for necklace and $60.00 for bracelet at Dishfunctional Designs.
