We’ve only just begun…

One or two things that I know about blogging (with some 60s inspiration):

Like crocheting and canoeing, blogging is one of those skills which looks do-able from the outside but actually takes a remarkable amount of discipline and practice to gain much ground or speed.

This wordpress endeavor has unveiled a myriad of challenges and deep questions regarding the virtual world…

I think that I probably have more respect for it as a result-seeing the time and knowledge which is required to maintain a blog, not to mention the conflicts and concerns which crop up along the way, really overwrote my initial impressions of the scale of this project. The time required for maintenance is something they never mention, those internet fiends!

To market…Etsy-lent

Need to stock up on fancy Great Gatsby-esque dresses and a teapot or two? Don’t we all? In the tradition of tea parties that this blog has seemed to encouraged, here’s to foraging for the essential, simple requirements for tea:

The Party Dress:

Head off to markets in search of frills, or gentlemanly suits, whatever your preference. Where to find them? Well, if they’re any good, they’ll find you, but have a click here for a full list.

Some minor recommendations include The Rose St Market and Fitzroy Market. Fitzroy is the first Saturday of the month, and Rose St every weekend. The thing about both of them is their abundance of design/vintage elements, making it pretty much set that you’ll find something for a party.

And then there’s the fact that even if you miss out, Fitzroy streetscapes such as Brunswick and Gertrude will be there to catch your fall and offer more Mad Hattery goodies.

The Tea Pot:

Oh, Etsy, how we love you so. Tea pots are a surprising addition to the handmade and collectable pages of this online craft emporium.

And despite the concerning realities that many of us know about tea pots: that they can be exorbitant in cost, and vastly impractical if one chooses a poor design, etsy seems to possess enough nouse to inform us exactly regarding cost, benefits and styles. Check out this Vintage Czech style and others at www.etsy.com

 

The Kitsch Crockery:

Well well, we wouldn’t call it kitsch as a bad thing. The truth of the matter is that vintage crockery is around everywhere, in a strange yet blissful abundance. And if you want to get your hands of some, perhaps going no further than your grandmother/great aunt/hoarding parents will be enough. If not, it makes sense to check out op shops to collect the odd bit and piece.

Because it’s already sitting there, people! Perfectly capable of housing high tea desserts or serving as a vaguely amusing account of 60s/70s pottery endeavours. You know where to look, and happy looking.

For fun times, though, etsy also possesses some quite bizarre utensil related jewelry, like these I’m a little teapot earrings from meiguidesigns. Have a little look-see, if you’re inclined to such things.

 

Silence of the Crafts

Not sure if anyone agrees, but I think that there is only so much time you can spend in blogged sparring with another internet user over the merits of cross stitch patterns before you realise that maybe, just maybe, everyone should just take a deep breath.

This logic may explain the ridiculously amiable examples of cross blogged commentary across crafting and retro collectors’ blogs. Largely we are friendly, encouraging folk. Is this a good thing, ladies and gents? Or does the immense amount of love, praise and support that circulate within this corner of the blogosphere display a major weakness?

Geert Lovink (who is, I may guess, infinitely wiser than myself), has spent a lot of time on this idea. He discusses the positive and personal natures of blogs such as this one, but sees the construction of blogging communities as a kind of limitation.

It’s raining outside

Oh my goodness. What is this falling precipitation from the sky?

An invitation to find all manner of rain protection awesomeness, of course. Umbrellas, gum boots, anything that will protect your tootsies from harm while splashing about.

May I strongly recommend you start at www.umbrellas.net? Because it seems to have all bases covered from these increasingly frequent showers, and we know that the  pernickity umbrella shopper in all of us demands the very best.

Ahoy, it’s tea time…

I’ll bring the gin. Just kidding. Kind of. Have you ever craved something frivolous and airy during that assessment driven, exam preparing haze that is the end of a semester? I certainly have, and right now I would like nothing more than to throw a tea party. I kid you not. People don’t picnic or party in gardens like they used to, and the prospect of holding a little bit fancy high tea (to break up the study, of course) is quite enticing.

Creative individuals (are common)

A Creative Commons license was placed somewhere on the right hand side of Vintage Hijinks last week, so it seems like a suitable time to discuss how and why it is there.

While I realise it isn’t for everyone or every project,  the license will hopefully work for the site and encourage sharing of content-because in this case, sharing will hopefully be caring.

Nichely Balanced

If you are a child of the 90s (or let’s be honest, any decade really), you’ve probably had a parent tell you waveringly that one day you would ‘find your niche’. Chances are that  they didn’t have the net in mind when used that comforting sentiment.

But as I have created enough content now to start defining myself, it’s worth looking at exactly where we fit in, and why. While this is not  as academically worded as much of the material written on niche blogging, the answer seems to begin with this: like an incomprehensibly large Trash and Treasure stall, the online universe allows space to house something for everybody.