La Belle Brocante

Manuel De Gymnastique

With the Olympics fast approaching, it seems a sensible time to brush up on our gymnastics technique. There is no better guide than the 1882 publication, Manuel de Gymnastique.*

Warm-ups are important. Swing those arms. Lift those arms. And reach, reach reach!

Swimming movements will further limber the body. Ask for assistance in tying yourself to a collapsible bench if you are not able to do this yourself.

Strike some dramatic poses with broomsticks. Be sure to wear a heavy woolen dress and itchy bloomers for this activity.

Ladder exercises require nimble feet. For an extra challenge, cinch corset to smallest setting before completing these activities.

 

* translations are approximate.

Shadow Cabinet

 

A poem in shades of grey and glass and bone.

Camphor.

Ether.

Vetiver.

The jackal is laughing to himself.

 

Vintage Swiss Apothecary Bottles

Antique Lab Glass and Apothecary Measures

For bringing the Pandora's box of lab glass and apothecary measures into the studio.

And opening it.

The Boat Captain really has a lot to answer for.

 

Volks Kalender

Found a stack of these little VOLKS KALENDER at a favourite haunt in Portland. Rather drab grey-blue covers and cracked leather spines, and only 4"x6". 

Each volume contains a treasure trove of imagery, lettering, and gracefully aged paper.

Not to mention calendars galore!

The initial pages are filled with beautifully detailed engravings on fine paper.

The second section has page after page of tables and calendars, important numbers and dates.

Angelic doe-eyed children and serene women abound. Though how serene could anyone really be in those corsets?

Finally, 150 pages, or so, of text interspersed with illustrations and more hastily etched engravings.

Such was the year 1848. 

1846, 1851, and 1855 still to come...

Speechless

Brocante Sale: Petites Bouteilles d'Encre

Teeny tiny ink bottles to add a little dose of French sweetness to your studio decor.

Bottles are approximately 2.5" tall and are for decorative purposes only ... after decades of opening and closing and waiting to write that fateful love letter, the ink has dried up in despair.

SOLD 

Ravages Of Time

Antique plaster hands, worn to the point of exhaustion.

Exceptionally tall handblown vials to hold your every remedy and potion. 

Spit And Polish

Antique stoneware, aged to perfection.

Pretty

Pretty.

Delicate.

Tangled.

Dark.

Complex.

Luminescent.

 

How are you feeling today?