New things

I've finally managed to list some new pieces.  There's this necklace... (this is really annoying but the format is screwed up and the only way the text shows up is like this...why does it do this?)

I made this mostly in Topeka out of the supplies I purchased there.  Alice asked what shops I went to and this piece contains things from several.  I got the blue vintage plastic beads from a necklace at a Topeka institution, the wonderful Pastense.  I used to work there off and on in the 80s.  It's gone through several incarnations since then, when it used to be housed in the oldest still-standing house in Topeka; it was hooked on to another Topeka institution, Mother Earth.  Here's a photo of the building that housed Pastense.  I just searched for a photo and found only my own that I found online in a search and then posted to flickr a few years ago. 

.Gosh this place brings back memories.  Didn't even drive by it when I was in Topeka this time.  I always forget these huge things I mean to do.

Anyway, Pastense was for years in another location near some other antique shops, then moved to a cool space in a shopping strip I can never remember the name of on Oakley street.  If you know Topeka, it's the strip where the old Orange Crate used to be and Porterfield's, etc.  It moved from there  just this April into my very favorite shopping area in Topeka, Brookwood Shopping Plaza.  I can barely believe Pastense and Brookwood have converged.  I spent much time there as a kid.  It was within walking distance from my house and my junior high school was just a block or so away.  I still spend a lot of time there in my head.  It's a really great place and very much the same as it was in the 70s with all the original dark woody, fern bar- like signage and vibe.  I love it love it love it that it hasn't been left to rot or refashioned into a contemporary beige gag fake adobo looking deal.  Leave that crap to the outskirts where it belongs.
                                                             Brookwood:

I took these photos a couple trips ago.  Since then, there have been some changes--the flower shop in the first photo there has since closed.  It was there for almost 40 years!  The Linen Tree in the next photo is still there.  That's been there for at least 30 years.  We used to go in there and try on perfume and buy those Village Naturals double lip gloss in the little sliding tins.  That brick planter thing is where my cousin and I used to sit and eat ice cream sandwiches he'd buy us at Dillon's.  Can't believe it's all still there.

Anyway, there is now an antique mall in this shopping center where I purchased many many vintage necklaces, bracelets, and bags of broken and 'junk' jewelry for extremely reasonable prices.  Highly recommended for supply buying.  Although you might need to wait a little bit for restocking because I bought an insane amount of stuff. Got all the good stuff.  Pastense is on a little offshoot strip to the west side.  

Another place I got some stuff is a bead/craft shop called Creations Unique.  They also have a lot of stained glass supplies, so they carry Novocan.  Last year I bought all the bottles they had, and this year I called ahead and had them order 10 bottles so I could pick them up.  I can't find that anywhere around where I live.  I also purchased many strands of beads and lots of big fancy bead caps and spacers.  The necklace pictured above has some metal flower disc spacers I got there.  They were so crazy bright and shiny plated gold, so I only got a couple bags of them in case they didn't take a patina well, but they did.  So I wish I would have bought more--love them; they bring a great fancy quality to plain beads, like a good bead cap does.

The other places we hit for supplies were the thrift stores.  There was a new one housed in a building I used to work in which used to be a restaurant called Union Station.  It's at 17th and Gage.  Pretty big space for an independent thrift, with good prices.  I bought bags of junk jewelry which had some real treasures including a 70s Egyptian Revival Cleopatra Collar necklace, all Sterling Silver.  My mom loved it so I fixed the broken clasp and it looks so great on her--why didn't I get a picture?  

The big black buckeye-looking beads and metal saucers in the black necklace above are from that thrift shop, as is the leather cord, which was still sealed in its little original Tandy bag.  I loved braiding it and working with it, so I was inspired to buy some more similar leather cord.  Not Tandy, so we'll see if a generic brand has the same high quality feel and vibe.  

 Ok, reminiscing is over.  The above necklace is listed in my shop...

And these earrings too.  I think the red briolettes were in one of the trades I recently did--anyone recognize them?  I can't figure out what the material is!  I thought it was glass at first, then I was sure it was carnelian, and now I think it's lucite or plastic.  I can usually always tell.  These sure have an intriguing quality though. 

There's more listed as well, and more to come.  Go see...