New at Bumbershoot Supplies. Buttons, Buttons and More Vintage Buttons

OK, we are up to 39 new items at Bumbershoot Supplies since our last newsletter on July 15.  Yes! So much vintage goodness!

Several of our new additions are glorious, gorgeous, pristine, wonderful, decades old vintage buttons.

Such as these beauties from occupied Japan (1945-1952)...

And these charming hand painted glass Czech bird buttons...

These tiny pinched pearl buttons from Japan, in teeny 6mm and also 8mm sizes, adorable...

And these knock-your-socks-off jet and silver glass beauties from West Gemany...

In addition to vintage buttons, there are many more additional vintage items at Bumbershoot Supplies.  I invite you over for some browsing, and our next newsletter will provide further updates - expect it in your inbox on Monday, August 2.

Not a newsletter subscriber?  Sign up here. Subscribers receive a one-time free shipping coupon, and regular special offers, such as bonus free shipping days, free beads, cabochons and other products. You can check out past issues of our newsletter here, to see if you might be interested.

Featured Artist: Lori Morse of BeJeweledNH on Etsy

I'm very happy to share with you the work of Lori Morse of BeJeweledNH on Etsy.  Just look at this ring! I love how Lori has layered the tiny light sapphire moonstone-like glass leaves in this design, and how her photograph captures the light that is in this glass.  

As you may know, my roots are in mixed media, and therefore Bumbershoot Supplies stocks a lot of really small vintage glass cabochons and rhinestones that can be used for all kinds of art applications.  The wee bits, like these vintage jade glass leaves, are some of my favorites and I am always interested in seeing the diverse uses to which they are put.

Lori often uses filigree, lucite or metal, to beautifully enhance and complement these tiny vintage glass treasures.  Lori's pieces are one-of-a-kind, so you have the thrill of knowing you are wearing a unique work of art. 

Lori's work is diverse, she also enjoys working with larger vintage glass, such as the incredible vitrail rainbow starburst vintage glass cabochon featured in this cuff bracelet.

I know from my conversations with Lori that she is committed to quality in her pieces and also to providing her customers with a great shopping experience.  I hope you will consider a visit to BeJeweledNH, for inspiration and more.  Tell Lori that Sharon at Bumbershoot sent you :)

The Supremes. Vintage Rhinestones, Beads, Glass Pearls, Part 2

At the Experience Music Project, a music museum in Seattle, there is currently a fabulous exhibit for those of you who love vintage glass bits, baubles, rhinestones, pearls, costumes, and the Supremes. It is called Reflections: The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection.  This is Part 2 about my visit to this exhibit. You will find Part 1 here.

Check out the glass pearls on the Renaissance inspired gown above.  These are big, big teardrop glass pearls. Vintage glass pearls are one of my favorite vintage beads to collect and use, as well as to offer in Bumbershoot Supplies, so I just loved these.  This dress also has some interesting teardrop shaped topaz glass jewel sew ons. They have a slice taken out of the top of the jewel, so the top is like a table.

When I got home, I looked through my personal stash and discovered I have some of these topaz jewel sew ons, although mine are lucite.

I also have some of the same enormous glass pearls in my personal collection, although mine are baroque, and the ones used on the Renaissance dress were smooth.

All in all, I'm considering a return visit because it was so thrilling to see all these beautiful vintage treasures in their natural habitat.  Plus, it was really inspiring to see the designers' visions and how they came to life through the talented artisans who actually constructed these gowns.  

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Sunflower

(sunflower with bee, our garden)

Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light.

~Eugenio Montale

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. 30 New Items Since July 15, and Counting!

Since our July 15 newsletter, in just one week, we have added 30 new products to Bumbershoot Supplies and restocked 3.  Yes it's true!  Come on over to the shop for a visit and check out all the new goodies.  Here's just a few highlights...

New in vintage glass cabochons are these very special leaves from West Germany.  These are the kind that make everyone oooohh and ahhh when they see them.  I was only able to obtain a small lot of these, and I just put them into Bumbershoot Supplies today after looking at them for several days, convincing myself I could share...

I love these vintage glass pearls, perfectly aged, in graceful leaf shapes.  These also were just added to Bumbershoot Supplies today....

We have located more vintage 1940's satin ribbon and as we come closer to fall, the lovely pumpkin orange shown at the very beginning of this post is a nice addition to our ribbons.  It is 1/4 inch wide, and we also were able to obtain some in a rosy taupe, deep navy, and this lovely baby pink....

These beautiful old vintage celluloid roses were another item that provoked lots of oooohs and aaahhhs, and are a romantic addition to our vintage plastic cabochons...

And this double heart rhinestone chain is now available in pastel (shown) and jewel tone rhinestones, as well as the pearl version that we already stock.  I like this chain since no soldering is required to integrate it into in your jewelry designs.

This is just a sample of our latest additions.  I welcome you over over to Bumbershoot Supplies to see the full selection of new items.  Looking forward, yesterday we received some more absolutely splendid vintage buttons, so expect those in Bumbershoot Supplies over the coming week.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Suessical Jr. The Musical, a Seattle Children's Theatre Summer Season Production Opens Tonight!

Where are you going to be tonight? 

Tonight, tomorrow and Saturday nights, we are going to be in Whoville and in other parts of the wonderful world of Dr. Suess.  Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) Summer Season Production of Suessical Jr. begins tonight at 8:15 pm with shows Friday and Saturday night, also at 8:15 pm. 

The word on the street is that tickets are selling fast, so go here to purchase online if you are interested.

We have a personal connection to the Mayor of Whoville, shown above during the rehearsal process, in the red shirt.  Outside of Whoville, he is known as Eric :)

The Supremes. Vintage Rhinestones, Beads, Glass Pearls, Part 1

At the Experience Music Project, a music museum in Seattle, there is currently a fabulous exhibit for those of you who love vintage glass bits, baubles, rhinestones, pearls, costumes, and the Supremes.  It is called Reflections: The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection. 

Mary Wilson of the Supremes loaned her collection of 1960's and 1970's Supremes costumes and gowns for this exhibit. I visited the exhibit today and was IN AWE of the amazing costumes and of all the vintage embellishments.  It was a great opportunity to see the use to which many of the baubles available at Bumbershoot Supplies were put - kind of like seeing them in nature, in the wild... :) This is the first of 2 posts in which I will share what I saw.

The dresses above were worn in a command performance for Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother in 1968.  They are a lattice of glass pearls and crystal aurora borealis rhinestones, set in metal settings, everything individually sewn onto the fabric.

Photographic quality is limited since we could not use flash and we had to stand a distance away, but I am really grateful to be able to get some photos of these amazing gowns.

The bodices of the gowns above were encrusted with rhinestones, seed beads and lots of turquoise lucite beads and pendants.

This amazing coat is covered with rhinestones, sequins, bugle beads, and some really large glass beads around the edges, probably 10-12mm in size. The size of the beads surprised me. The huge emerald rhinestone buttons are absolutely gorgeous.  And notice the big emerald sew on glass teardrop at the neckline of the gown. Overall in the gowns I saw, there were more glass embellishments - lucite was not used very frequently.

Dark emerald rhinestone straps, emeralds set into metal settings, then sewn onto fabric.

I was really glad to hear from one of the museum staff that the alarms around the costumes had been turned off. Apparently everyone was doing exactly what I was doing, leaning in as close as possible to the gowns to get a really good look at them, and holding their cameras as close as possible. This was triggering the alarms constantly. Plus, when the alarms went off, some folks were so startled that they even fell into the exhibits! All in all, the decision to add extra staff instead was a great choice from my perspective, since I could get a really good look and these photos.

This dress features big 25x18mm crystal rhinestones sewn onto the back of this red velvet number...

Part 2 coming shortly...

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Grains of Sand

...beach at Seaside,Oregon...

In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand

there is the story of the earth. 

~Rachel Carson

Vintage Black Satin Ribbon Featured on Etsy Front Page

Vintage Satin Ribbon from Bumbershoot Supplies was featured on the Front Page of Ety as part of the lovely treasury, natural beauties. This beautiful vintage ribbon was made in the United States in the 1940's. It is a deep jet black in color, 3/8 inch wide. It is rayon, soft and silky, with lovely detail at the woven edge.

For other vintage ribbons, see the 'vintage sequins, trims' section of Bumbershoot Supplies.

Vintage Trim. Satin Ribbon, Rich Burgundy Maroon, 3/8 inch, 1940's rib0035 (2 yards)

Vintage Trim. Satin Ribbon, Rosy Taupe Beige, 3/8 inch, 1940's rib0034 (2 yards)

Vintage Trim. Satin Ribbon, Bright Coral Pink, 3/8 inch, 1940's rib0037 (2 yards)

Thank you to monkeyandsquirrel for including this beautiful ribbon in this lovely treasury!

New at Bumbershoot Designs. Vintage Fiery Opal Stud Earrings

Sometimes less is more.

That's why I offer several stud earring designs at Bumbershoot Designs.

These newest vintage stud earrings feature vintage Czech glass cabochons that were made to mimic opals.  I love these cabs because the overall color, a golden pinkish hue, is really exciting and the flecks in the cabs vary, so every pair of earrings is essentially unique.  Some will have green flecks, some will not, some pairs will have a spot of blue...

They are petite wonders to me.  This is the first vintage glass stud earring design for Bumbershoot Designs, as I continue to work with vintage glass cabochons in various ways.  There are several other vintage stud earring designs at Bumbershoot Designs, many featuring vintage mother of pearl, a gorgeous natural material and one I love to work with... 

and these ones with real pearls from 1960's Japan, hand sewn into flowers. Most of my stud earrings use sterling silver posts, but on these, the posts are vintage too.

Here's hoping I will find some time for more designing this weekend!

I hope you enjoy your weekend too!

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. Lots of Beautiful Additions to Bumbershoot Supplies in July

There are 36 new and 2 restocked products at Bumbershoot Supplies since July 1!  A few highlights below...

New rhinestones: I've reorganized Bumbershoot Supplies to showcase our vintage rhinestones. Now you will find a section labeled vintage rhinestones for our products that are all about rhinestones, including bead balls, chain, and the stones themselves. This is where you will find those wee flat back rhinestones that are so useful for all kinds of jewelry, paper, fiber and mixed media applications. Buttons with rhinestones remain in the vintage buttons section. Here's a few of our new rhinestones...  These are some of our new vintage beads. The 1960's cherry red Italian glass beads are already antiqued with gold and are a beautiful, rich, shimmery bead. The large flower heart decal beads from Japan are simply spectacular, beautifully detailed and gilded. The perfectly aged sky blue glass bead drops, also from Japan, are the color of the summer sky... We have many new vintage glass cabochons in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colors. Here's just a few... There are also some new additions to our growing vintage Swarovski selection... We continue to enjoy finding new vintage Japanese handpainted embellishments and cabochons for your art, including these new metallics from 1960's Japan... There's also a few other items that I'm really excited about. Newsletter subsribers who chose to receive the vintage glass pearls in June had a taste of the new charcoal satin pearls - these ones are larger at 8mm. I'm always happy to find more vintage mother of pearl, so these stars are pretty neat, and the vintage millinery bead drop fascinators are a lovely vintage item from West Germany... Finally we continue to expand our vintage brass stampings as I continue to work my way through a large lot of vintage mixed brass we recently purchased. Most of these are available in limited numbers of lots. You will find them in the vintage findings, charms section of Bumbershoot Supplies.

I invite you to come on over and have a look at all these new vintage treasures at Bumbershoot Supplies. And if you are a newsletter subscriber, don't forget the Beach Reading Magazine Giveaway, described on the main page of Bumbershoot Supplies and on my blog here. To become a newsletter subscriber, just go here.  Past newsletters are archived on our website here.