Antique French ? Wooden Candlestick & Vintage Bedroom Chair

Antique wooden Candlestick, imported from Europe, possibly French in origin. This stunning piece is carved from a single tree trunk and has some lovely cracks and age to the wood. Placed in the back room of a local Antique Auction house this item was mine for $100!.  

Striped Bedroom chair = $35 bought at Auction. Lucky for me it had a few rust like spots here and there that just needed a good clean and a bit of sunlight to remove.

Mirror also $30 bought at an Opp Shop/ Charity Store... I instantly loved its nautical feel. The frame is cast from plaster.

French Chandelier & other DIY bits and pieces

Tea for two and two for tea... there will be more tea party fun a  bit later... Love these Robert Gordon Heart shaped Doilies. China purchased from the local opp shop.

French Wooden Chandelier re-purposed as an outdoor light feature using egg cups as tea light holders on each branch and two cans of high gloss black spray paint.

The Chandelier was an Auction find @ $45... it was in awful condition at the time with two branches dangling down and the paintwork chipped and faded.

 Paper bunting for my nieces bedroom 

Old fashion DIY fun!

mirror: $5 at Vinnies Kew East!

 Stamp letter set was a Spotlight purchase 

Flying Ducks... a vintage favourite!

While we'd all love to have a set of Beswick Ducks, I'm more than happy to settle for the cardboard variety atm!. A great project for a rainy afternoon, takes ten minutes and it's free!.

Circa 20's Original Painting

This was an Auction purchase I couldn't let go... a circa 20's original painting by a female illustrator of the time Doris Palthorpe. I haven't been able to find a lot of information about her but I'm so glad I found this small example of her work. You can find postcards and prints of scenes much like this but to have an original is a really lovely thing.

The lanterns above and the chaise lounge, in the backgound, are so beautiful. It is a gorgeous account of fancy dress parties of the 20's and 30's or perhaps it's a post circus after party scene???. How sweet are the two central love birds!.

This is what I love about buying antiques and vintage items, you just don't know what you will find and when. This painting was displayed on the bottom corner wall at a weekly sale in Melbourne if you blinked you would've missed it... it pays to scour on viewing day.

Antique Vintage Industrial Letterpress Cabinet

Antique Letterpress Cabinet

I love the way people wall mount letterpress trays filling each small compartment with vintage ornaments etc... inspired, by this well known trend, I began scouring Ebay looking for the perfect tray while pining over the various arrangements clever creatives had completed on various blogs and sites. 

I passed two at Coburg Trash and Treasure and regretfully let them go, thinking I'd find better!. Then finally, about 6 months later, this cabinet appeared before me at a garage yard in Melbourne's north.

I use this cabinet as a central focus in the living room... it continually attracts interest and holds a number of objects that are swapped around every other month.... The steel cabinet is painted using Taubman's lowsheen in Willunga Green.  

Vintage Boudoir Chair

The Boudoir Chair... if Bourdoir means 'sulking place' then this is THE CHAIR I want to sit on while sulking in mine!

This stunning wicker patio/ boudoir chair had been sitting in my parents hallway for about a year.... I fell in love with it straight away and always assumed the day would come where I would  borrow it for my home and by borrow I kind of mean forever/keep!! I'm the youngest of three girls, this was not going to happen... and it now sits in my sister's music room!!!

The hunt continues for a similar chair.... I love vintage cane & wicker furniture... with a lick of paint you can transform these easy to find vintage items into high fashion pieces for next to nothing... 

Tea by Margaret Roberts is a beautiful collection of recipes like her sage and mint herbal infusion - YUM!  

Repurposed Advertising Sign

Repurposed Advertising Sign

A gorgeous friend of mine gave me this old circular cut out following a garage clean out.....  I think it was once part of an old advertising sign for shoe parts perhaps?????  Anyway, a round mirror, stencil and a handful of skewers later it's transformed into part artwork, part mirror and sits at the base of a Tree Decal on the entrace wall.

I love the idea of taking something old and discarded and making it new again. This was a fun little project, I know many people are creating beautiful things out of scraps of nothing these days and this is my take on repurposing.

Martini Anyone? Vintage Martini Glasses and Vintage Mirror drinks tray

My Mum gave me this set of Harlequin Martini glasses as a birthday present... they're great fun, date back the 50's and are a great way to identify the glass you are sipping from. There were six until we moved last year and smashed the green one!.

Vintage Martini Glasses Harlequin Colours
 Vintage Martini Glasses presented on a vintage Marilyn Monroe mirror

The Vintage Monroe mirror was an Op Shop find that we use as a drinks tray, perfect for serving cocktails and mocktails. Any vintage mirror would work as a drinks tray/ serving platter as long as its light enough to carry, if not just place it on a table and allow your guests to serve from there - makes a great centrepiece.

The Milky Way... Vintage Milk Glass

A few of the items here came from two great little Opp Shops in Mont Albert and Kew East. The large compote (back right) was purchased at Auction. Some bargains, some not.

I totally love Milk Glass and this is just the start of my collection... Op/Charity shops and markets are great places to find Milk Glass pieces priced anywhere from $2-70+ depending on what you have age/where it's from and the maker. Some Milk Glass items fetch far more. You will find just about anything from compotes to light shades and serving platters constructed from Milk Glass .... my fave items are the little Hobnail bud vases centre right - a single orange or yellow garden rose placed in each makes for a cute display!

The Metal sign was purchased on Portobello Road late 2010... it's just a reproduction but I love it all the same and will feature this and others later on.




FYI: Milk Glass was first created in the 15th century in Italy to  imitate Porcelain from the east. (source Millers Buyers Guide)

DIY Fabric Remnant Stag Heads

DIY Fabric Remnant Stag or Deer Head
Love the look Animal Tropheys without the cruelty factor? These are for you!

A gift for my three year old nephew Lenny but would work in any interior setting, just choose fabric to suit your space.... Constructed using Recycled Newspaper scrunched and moulded to create the head, wire covered with scrunched magazine pages for the antlers, fabric remnants strips and PVA to cover. The backing is a piece of painted cardboard shaped like a trophey head board and hot glued to the stag head.

Hoot Hoot! Retro/ Scandinavian Inspired Owl Cake

Retro / Scandinavian Inspired Owl Cake ... I made this cake late 2011 from batter to the fondant - messy but good fun!!! It reminded me of the felt toys I had as a child..."

Who doesn't love an Owl? Taking inspiration from Giggle and Hoot and Retro felt toys this Scandinavian Style Naive Owl came to life. The cake was Chocolate Nut and Egg free... still haven't mastered the recipe but practice makes perfect. To ice I just made a simple marshmellow fondant for the icing (about 2-3 packets marshmellows (melted with a dash of water and microwaved for about 30-60 seconds (be careful at this stage, the mixture is hot), then add icing sugar till you get a nice dough consistency and add food colours to suit your design.

Quit Horsing Around! Vintage Fibreglass Horse Head

The latest Purchase found at a sale yard in Melbournes outer Northern Suburbs. A Life Size Vintage Mid Century horse head once used as a promotional costume. The Hobnail Milk Glass bud vases will be featured 
This is one of my favourite purchases.... I found this treasure hanging high in an old metal traders factory. You just never ever know what your going to find and where...  I found this baby jumping over rusty old pots American Pickers Style!!!.

Vintage Movement Blog - For the lovers of all things Vintage, Antique, Retro, Shabby Chic,Industrial and Repurposed!

Welcome!


Based in Melbourne, I LOVE finding vintage treasure and hope to share some of my best buys, crafty bits and pieces, cooking bits and pieces and the rest!


Vintage Movement is all about resurrecting and celebrating the past whether it be collecting vintage homewares, art, clothing or hosting a tea party and baking a batch of scones. Commercial trends are always inspired by the best of the bygone era, and so, this blog is all about sharing the vintage bits and pieces in my life and furthermore the appreciation of timeless style.    


The Daughter of an acentric Antique Dealer I’ve clocked up years of buying experience checking for makers marks, crazing, chips and rarity. Yet, when I'm collecting for myself, whether it’s a rusty old Bon Bon tin or a retro Sunburst Clock if it makes me smile and the price is right – it’s mine!


x Cherry Tree