Haskell Pearl Beads: Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies June 2013 Special for Newsletter Subscribers

Vintage Japanese glass pearl beads, free with purchase!

Not yet available at Bumbershoot Supplies, we are first offering these vintage glass pearls to our newsletter subscribers.

We recently acquired these vintage glass teardrop pearls as part of a large lot of beads and findings that were purchased from the Miriam Haskell warehouse decades ago. These lovely dark ivory pearls average 12mm long, and do vary a bit in size and shape, due to their handcrafted nature. 
 

During June, we will send 8 of these vintage treasures free with any purchase from Bumbershoot Supplies or Bumbershoot Designs.  See your June 1 and June 15 newsletters for details and the coupon code.

Also, don't forget your 1-time free shipping offer that you received when you signed up for our newsletter.

And YES, you can combine specials. So in the same order, you can have the pearl beads and the 1-time free shipping you received upon signing up for the newsletter.

Not yet a newsletter subscriber? You can read past issues and you can sign up right here and use your free shipping code and get your free vintage glass pearls at your next purchase!

Book Review: Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosphers

I recently read Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets &Philosophers by Leonard Koren, and I recommend this book to those of you who love and work with vintage materials because it articulates so clearly their appeal and beauty.

Because wabi sabi is a core concept of Japanese culture, there is much more in this book than design principles or ideas.  However, when Koren talks about the material characteristics of wabi sabi, it seems as if he could be talking about the vintage materials we source and use at Bumbershoot Designs and Bumbershoot Supplies. Vintage materials often show time-related wear. Wabi sabi recognizes that all things are imperfect, and “tarnish…peeling…signs of attrition are a testament to histories of use”. Further, “Things wabi-sabi have no need for the reassurance of status or the validation of market culture…it is best if the creator is of no distinction, invisible or anonymous.” This reminds me of the deep respect I have for the artisans who created the beautiful vintage glass we enjoy today.  Although not precious gems, these glass pieces are also precious, a result of collaboration between many skilled artisans at each of the several steps in their manufacture, artisans who are unknown to us today, unrecognized for the beautiful items they created.

This is a short and accessible book, with lots of white space throughout the text, and interspersed with black and white photographs that to the author’s mind illustrate the concept of wabi sabi.  Koren explains the genesis of wabi sabi in the tea culture of Japan, the meanings of “wabi” and “sabi”, design principles associated with this aesthetic and the larger philosophical underpinnings of wabi sabi, providing a good overview of this important component of Japanese culture.

Book Review: The New Kimono. From Vintage Style to Everyday Chic

I’m including this book, The New Kimono. From Vintage Style to Everyday Chic, in the list of design inspiration resources on the Bumbershoot Supplies webpage “On Our Bookshelf”, even though it does not specifically refer to jewelry or vintage costume jewelry materials because I LOVE this book!

This book is about wearing vintage kimonos with a modern sensibility and it is one of the most inspiring, creative and fun books I’ve enjoyed in a long time. It is a collection of magazine articles from Nanao Magazine, one of Japan's leading contemporary kimono publications. Translated into English and beautifully photographed, I find myself drooling over the gorgeous vintage kimono fabrics and inspired by how vintage patterns, fabrics and accessories are combined for a fresh contemporary look. Many jewelry designers who work with vintage materials share this goal of creating fresh pieces using vintage materials, and for this reason alone may find this book of interest.  Book details can be found on Amazon.com, here. For other books that may be of interest, see On Our Bookshelf on the Bumbershoot Supplies website.

What is Cherry Brand? History and Provenance of Vintage Japanese Beads and Cabochons

What is “Cherry Brand”? You may have noticed several items at Bumbershoot Supplies labeled “Cherry Brand”. We have beads on wire, rhinestones and cabochons, all glass and all labeled "Cherry Brand".

These items often arrive wrapped in tissue sealed with an orange gummed sakura blossom label.

We love to obtain vintage beads and cabochons labeled Cherry Brand since the label helps us in dating and locating the supplies, providing information about their history and provenance.

My source for information about Cherry Brand comes from Dolce Street Arts and Crafts, a Japanese site. I recommend visiting this link for an English question and answer fact sheet about Cherry Brand. Here is a summary of the information provided.

Cherry Brand was used to label beads and cabochons made by a group of glass artisans in Osaka, Japan, from 1945 to 1952 during the US Occupation of Japan after WWII. Some glass beads and cabochons marked Cherry Brand were made earlier, but the vast majority of currently available items come from this period. Cherry Brand was not a factory per se, rather a large group of individual artisans who were rice farmers during the day and glass workers at night and during the off season.

At the end of WWII, American dealers brought samples of items they were interested in and commissioned these artisans to make similar beads and cabochons. The samples were European, usually Czech and Venetian. This is why you will see vintage and antique Czech cabochons from, for example, the 1920’s and 1930’s reproduced by Japanese glass artisans in the 1940’s. It is very interesting to look through Sibylle Jargsorf’s book Baubles, Buttons and Beads. The Heritage of Bohemia because you will find examples of beads and cabochons that were subsequently reproduced by Japanese Cherry Brand artisans.

In addition to being able to date and locate Cherry Brand beads and cabochons, we also love to obtain them for Bumbershoot Supplies because with Cherry Brand, we can always expect extraordinary beauty, as well as remarkable quality and craftsmanship. When an item is marked Cherry Brand, we know that within is contained a glass treasure, almost always made between 1945 and 1952, in Osaka Japan, by glass artisans working from their homes. Plus with these beads and cabochons, there is a direct connection to the original glass artisan – from their hands to yours. Does that thrill you? It does me!

Products related to this history can be found right here at Bumbershoot Supplies.

Vintage Design Inspiration Board #15 with Creativity Quote

Life is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?

~Margot Fonteyn

Inspiration Board #15 features:

vintage millinery glitter stamens (West Germany, wrapped with hand dyed twine)

vintage glass mirror button (US Zone Occupied Germany)

vintage coral glass beads, whole and halves (Japan)

vintage glass pearl drop (Japan)

vintage turquoise glass bead links (Japan)

vintage plastic flower cabochon (Japan)

lace, hand crocheted with antique crochet cotton (USA) and vintage orange lustre glass seed beads (Czech)
kanzashi flower made from Tracie Lynn Huskamp Nature Inspired fabric, embellished with vintage glass pearl button (Japan)

vintage paper  button tag (Austria)

vintage rhinestone earring component

vintage ivory flower buttons

additional scraps of Nature Inspired fabric

antique embroidery floss

vintage linen tea towel

mounted on 4x5 inch gallery wrapped canvas base

Featured Artist. Ellen Ikemoto of streetnoodles on Etsy.

I’m so very pleased to share with you the designs of Ellen Ikemoto of streetnoodles on Etsy.

Ellen makes beautiful jewelry designs, many of which feature vintage components, including vintage glass pearls from Bumbershoot Supplies. Since vintage glass pearls are some of my personal favorites, I am drawn to see how customers use them, and that is how I learned of Ellen’s shop streetnoodles.

Ellen offers many beautiful designs, so it was hard to decide what to share in this post, but I decided to focus on 2 of her collections, her embellished hair combs and her bird designs.

The combs are glorious confections of flowers, pearls, baubles, some with rhinestones, that are so lovely, I found myself wishing I could see them in person, so I could turn them in my hands to see them from all angles and make them sparkle.  Because I like so many different types of vintage components, I love this type of design that collects so many diverse elements together in one place for me to enjoy all at once.  

The second collection of Ellen’s designs that I hope you will enjoy are her designs featuring birds and inspired by her father.

Ellen says… “this whole series of birds is INSPIRED by my dad...we were never as close as my mom & me...he was a quiet intellectual scholar caught in wartime situation that left him not valuing what he had loved as a child...art, literature, poetry…”

“…years later, when the wounds had healed, dad had passed on... i bought my dad's house. i found in his garage, several boxes of his; one filled with his poetry, one of his calligraphy...and one filled with wonderful wood carvings of birds...so many birds...i found out later that when he had been sent to the internment camps during WWII, he was taught how to carve wood...he chose birds..they reminded him of "home"...but more importantly of his "freedom" lost. when he returned home...he never carved another bird again.”

I am so honored to be able to share Ellen’s designs and this part of Ellen and her father’s story with you. I hope you are as inspired and moved by it as I am and that you will enjoy a visit to streetnoodles to enjoy Ellen’s beautiful designs first hand.

Featured Artist. Fiona Carson of Baba-dee Productions on Etsy

I have recently become very interested in the art of hana tsumami kanzashi, traditional Japanese fabric flowers. These flowers were worn by maiko (geisha in training) and geisha as hair pieces, and there are many customs associated with their use as adornment. 

Just as I was beginning to learn about this ancient art form, I was excited to discover Fiona Carson's kanzashi-style  flowers, available at her Etsy shop, Baba-dee Productions.

Fiona purchased some vintage glass buttons from Bumbershoot Supplies and with her feedback left a photo of a beautiful flower featuring one of the buttons (see the first photo above). Since I had just begun teaching myself how to make these beautiful flowers, I immediately asked her if I could feature her work.

Current kanzashi flowers have their design roots back in the 1600’s in the Edo period in Japan, when women shifted from wearing their hair long and straight to elaborate coiffures. There are currently only 5 tsumami kanzashi masters left in Japan, and one traditionally trained tsumami kanzashi artisan here in the United States.  

Fiona is passionate about her flowers and she has taken elements of the traditional tsumami kanzashi process and made it her own.  She uses beautiful silks, usually 2 layers to provide stability and enhancement of the main color.  She sews and individually glues each petal, often in the evening when her two young children are in bed.  Fiona also is passionate about vintage buttons, and her two loves come together beautifully in her flower pendants. With her design sense and her care and attention to detail, she is keeping alive the spirit of this ancient art form.

Fiona attends a local monthly market in Perth, Western Australia, so if you happen to be in the vicinity, you can see Fiona’s flowers in person – just contact her for details.  Otherwise, I hope you will enjoy a visit to Fiona’s Etsy shop, Baba-dee Productions to see Fiona’s beautiful interpretation of the ancient art of hana tsumami kanzashi.

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. Beautiful Vintage Buttons!

I have been looking forward to the opportunity to share more of the vintage buttons we have sourced for you and the time has come! New at Bumbershoot Supplies this week are several glass vintage buttons (with more waiting for their photos). Here are some of them, available at both Bumbershoot Supplies and also Bumbershoot Supplies on Etsy...

Hope you like them!

Best wishes for a great weekend!

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, The Sound of Water

red bridge over waterfall, Kubota Gardens, Seattle

At the ancient pond

a frog plunges into

the sound of water

~Basho

Look What I Found. Vintage Flower Pins, Klutch-ettes

At Bumbershoot Supplies, we offer a lot of hand painted vintage celluloid flower cabochons and charms.  Our celluloid flowers were made in Japan in the 1940's to 1950's. I have often wondered how they were used back at that time.  Many would be perfect for mixed media and embellishing paper arts, indeed I once heard a rumor that some of these flowers were used for embellishing Valentine's cards.  Today, designers frequently use these vintage celluloid flowers in vintage-inspired jewelry designs. I regularly do research to learn how our vintage supplies were originally used, but in my travels, I have found very few examples of vintage jewelry using these celluloid flower cabochons. A few months ago, I was lucky enough to find a child's set in a Seattle antique store, I posted about it here.

Happy day, I found another! These are Klutch-ettes, three vintage celluloid flower cabochons, embellished with rhinestones, on the original card. They have pin backs for wearing on your lapel, sweater, scarf, perhaps even a hat? These are dusty, as you would expect, but the rhinestones are just as clear and sparkly as can be. One of the flowers was originally hand painted on the edges of the petals with blue which is fading in the most charming way.

Perfect for Spring!

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival

Drummers at the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, Seattle Center

Live in simple faith...

Just as this simple cherry

Flower, fades and falls.

~Issa

Look What I Found. Wired Flowers from Vintage Japan

Aren't these beautiful?

These are hand wired vintage Japanese flowers, complete with crystal leaf beads.

I just love being in the business of searching out vintage components for Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies. I'm not much of a shopper in general, but oh, the pleasure of discovering yet another vintage treasure, each one so delightful and unique, and never to be made again...it's a fabulous treasure hunt that I get to go on every day. 

These flowers have sat on my work table for several days now, as I enjoy their presence and contemplate what their future looks like.

I recently received some vintage-style scent lockets, designed to look like vintage lockets with pierced fronts, to hold a piece of cotton or cloth daubed with perfume.  Ala Miriam Haskell, perhaps it is possible to wire these flowers onto such a locket.  Looks rather like a winged heart to me. What do you think?



Look What I Found. Vintage Japanese Handpainted Glass Bird Cabochon

This arrived in the mail today.  It is breathtaking. It is a vintage Japanese glass cabochon, with 2 tiny birds perched on flowering branches, all handpainted with incredible detail. It is quite dirty. I used a cotton swab dampened with water to clean around the paint, but after working with it, my guess is that the paint is pretty robust, so I'll clean a bit more agressively in the next pass. 

The backs of these cabochons were originally foiled in red, green and yellow, so the colors would have shown behind the birds like a glowing rainbow.  You can catch glimpses of that in this cabochon, but the foil is seriously damaged and is easily removed. The glass is frosted, so I think that if the foil is removed, the cabochon will still be quite beautiful, just a bit different from how it was originally intended to look.

One of the features of this cabochon that leaves me awestruck is the size. This cab is about 17mm or 5/8 inch long. The only word I seem to be able to come up with to describe the degree of detail, artistry and craftsmanship is "breathtaking".