Research on Vintage items

Researching vintage items is part of the allure for me.  And the frustration!  Records can be hard to find and finding reliable sources is more than half of the battle.  Collecting and selling vintage items is a labor of love, heavy on the labor side.....but learning about the history of an item is worth the digging!

I am currently researching a vintage ladies pocket watch I bought a few months ago-finally looking at it closer and trying to find out more about it.  It is a cute smaller size for a pocket watch with a beautiful etching of a bird and flourishes on each side of the case.  Inside, there is an engraving of the name "Rachel Barden".  Imagining who owned this watch and the wonderful occasion when this must have been presented as a gift!

The clock face is marked Hampden but is missing the crystal.  The other side of the case is marked Dueber Special with an anchor mark, meaning this case is gold filled per the research I uncovered.  There is also a serial number but that is for the case only, I need to determine how to open the case to see the "guts" of the watch to see the serial number for the inner workings.  The watch also has "1938" scratched inside, but per research, this must be a watch repairers marking, as the Dueber-Hampden company went out of business in 1930.  My best guess at this point is early 1900's.....I hope I can find out more about Rachel Barden and her beautiful watch!

If you have any tips on vintage research, I'd love to hear your ideas!  Happy hunting.....

Fall 2012 Horseshoe Market

The Fall 2012 Horseshoe Market was completely opposite from the Summer market.....weather was at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit colder than in July!  We had a great time and can finally feel our fingers again......

I finally took some pictures of the booth...we didn't end up hanging up the curtains as a backdrop, we ran out of steam with the cold!  We're getting much better at being organized for packing and unpacking for the booth, and I'm hoping that the next show we do will be even easier to set up.

 The "Man-tiques" cart is a specialty of Vogel Haus Vintage, it's great for grabbing attention!

 My husband got my vintage door set up with hooks for some great vintage skeleton keys and pictures!

 My great krewe, Erla, my hubby Richard, and Megan....all fabulous!

Denver's Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market

Yesterday my husband and I checked out the Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market in Denver at 46th & Tennyson.  Vogel Haus Vintage is lucky enough to have been chosen to be a vendor for the next market on July 14th, so we wanted to check it out and get a feel for how it works.  There were tons of great vendors!

The location is perfect and since it's a parking lot, there is never a worry about a muddy spot - and yesterday's sunshine made it a great place to be.  I was thrilled to see so many vintage vendors with a lot of customers milling about.  I took some photos to give you an idea of the great items that were available.  Vogel Haus Vintage should fit right in!

After the market, we went to have our hair done (yes, we both see the same awesome David "Cha Chi" Morales at Voila in Denver) and they had a poster in their window about the market!

Vintage Ad Piece

How wonderful is it to find a piece that is referenced in a vintage advertisement?  I couldn't believe my eyes when I noticed one of my brooches in a vintage Coro ad and it makes it even more special now!  Dating pieces of vintage costume jewelry is difficult at best, but having a reference point makes my life easier!  Check out the pictures and let me know what you think.....have you found any of your items in vintage ads? Visit my Etsy store if you're interested in this pretty piece or other beautiful finds. Coro Tulip Brooch

New Items Inventory

Last night I started to catalog the immense findings from the weekend.  My husband and I didn't make it to many places, but I hit the jackpot at two sales!  I worked hard to get to every piece, but was only able to get through the jewelry box.  These great pieces will start to be available soon, but I still have lots of work ahead of me as not every piece turns out to be Vogel Haus Vintage quality!  I included a picture of a bracelet that I may not be able to include for sale, the Art Deco bracelet matches my wedding and engagement rings really well....

Preparing for a booth at a craft show/flea market....yikes!

So I made a leap of faith on Sunday and applied to be a vendor at an upcoming craft show/flea market in July.....my husband has been encouraging me, so I'll blame him for this new stress/excitement!  I haven't done a show as Vogel Haus Vintage, but I did one when we lived in Arizona...means I know just a bit of what to expect. 

With that being said, I'm using every spare moment of thought to think and plan out my booth and make sure I have enough product available then.  There is a lot to plan/stress about:

1. Will the show even accept me as a vendor
2. Creating a theme for the booth
3. Deciding exactly what to bring/lug to the show
4. How to build displays to show off the items
5. Finding the best deals on a canopy, banner, etc.

I've started with the theme...and of course it's vintage {you didn't expect something else, did you?}.  My shopping has begun with a trip to one of my favorite thrift stores yesterday (Monday is 25% off day) and my car is full of funky items that may or may not help me plan the booth......I'm adding some pictures I took with my cell to give you an idea of the chaos I've created for myself!  Watch this space for updates.....ideas are certainly welcome and appreciated!  Tell what's worked/not worked for you...

Vogel Haus Vintage Giveaway on Raeoflight!

Check out one of my favorite blogs...Rachel has great photos available in her Etsy shop and has been so gracious as to mention Vogel Haus Vintage!

    www.raeoflightphotos.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-fling.html

Vogel Haus Vintage studio progress

The studio is a work in progress, but as you'll see, it still has the pink and blue butterfly wallpaper...that will be there at least until we the spring/summer.  We were able to get my mom's bankette and table up into the room and it's a perfect place to stage photos with my small light box.  On the list is a larger light box....I googled "light box" and found some tutorials that were reasonably helpful, and I'll apply that to a larger box.

My drafting table work bench is cluttered with new items waiting to be cleaned, inspected, and researched before they will be available for purchase.  I spend a lot of time on each item before listing, I want to make sure it is the best it can be!  You'll see a picutre of a light/magnifying light I received from my mother in law to help with "seeing" the jewelry, plus you'll see the view from my drafting desk....sorry it's so gloomy today!

Since I'm home on a sick day today, I thought I'd also take some photos of our favorite items around our house.  These are items we've collected or inherited over the years and they bring a smile to my face!  Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

No blog post seems to be complete without a bird photo....it's a reminder that we need to refill the birdfeeder, especially since we went from 70 degrees yesterday to less than half that today!