Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I thought I’d bring some street art from New York City and New Jersey to you this spring and summer. This first post has pictures of New York Street art from the Lower East Side of the East Village. Every time I walk around there are always people around the First Avenue Park and lots of them are having their picture taken with the street art, or just taking pictures of it. Street Art really livens up the scenery outside and draws a lot of attention. The Huffington Post even mentioned that the popularity of street art assists in driving up real estate prices, since people currently feel that it is a colorful addition to a neighborhood. This means no more sneaking around to paint a mural like in the 1970’s or early 1980’s for street artists. Artists are traveling the world to do murals and have their work recognized in various places. I think it is great that street art is more accepted and therefore available to be appreciated.

I was a bit annoyed to see that subway cars are now being used for ladies’ lingerie and underwear advertisements. It is a shame they took away all the street art on the subways and now are replacing some of it with these advertisements. New York Subways do have great art underground and I will go into some of that in another post. There are loads of stations with wonderful art and mixed in with this blog on urging you to rewind, reduce and recycle I like to share some other artistic things I enjoy with you.

Some of the pictures I had to take at a distance, one through a fence (the one of the woman that says Miss Behave). Some had no signatures, or at least not that I could easily see. I did find information online about several of the artists.

The Belgian artist Roa Metazoa, painted the lovely bird that is on the East Village mural on East 2^nd Street between the Bowery and 2^nd Avenue. The website http://streetartnyc.org/ has more information and pictures of his artwork. Apparently he has an exhibit at the Jonathan LeVine art gallery at 529 West 20^th Street in New York, NY. The exhibit runs through May 2^nd, 2015.

Mural by Roa Metazoa

The constructions bins for collecting waste from construction sites were decorated by a variety of street artists. There was a large one of these bins right behind the park on 1^st Avenue. Matthew Denton Burrows has a Master degree in Illustration from The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He has a website at: http://dentonburrows.com/index.php/text/work

I was particularly intrigued by the lively pink Pidgindoll, which is a fashion icon created by a NY Illustrator, Joshua David McKenney. He has become a doll maker as well and his dolls have a lovely, classic look. On his website:www.pidgindoll.com/ he carries a line of his paper dolls, which I was pleased to see since paper dolls are not as popular as they once were when I was a child. He also creates a line of boudoir dolls, which was a popular item in the 1920’s. So McKenney has a flair for vintage classics.

NS/BC is a collaboration of illustration done by Nicole Salger and Chuck Berrett. They have a website at: http://nscb.tumblr.com

I really like the polar bear in the blue water. I have no idea who painted in since they only put their initials. The young lady peering down into her coffee cup is a mural I found further down in the Little Italy area of Manhattan.

The lovely statute of the lady holding a fish is in front of Urban Archaeology down in Tribeca, on the West Side, near where I usually go kayaking in the summer. I just wanted to insert that picture too for a bit of eclectic variety. Once summer arrives I will have stories of the kayaking on the river , which is free and one of my favorite things to do in NYC since I am a lady on a budget!!! In the event that you live here and are interested, or are visiting soon you can get all equipment needed from the NY Boat House for free as long as you can swim. They lend you the kayak and paddles, life jacket and as long as you sign a waiver and can swim you can go kayak in the river. I see a lot of wonderful sites walking around before and after kayaking and will share them with you this summer.

I hope you enjoy this post. Also I imagine you are getting out and enjoying spring where ever you are. It is a lovely time to get out and walk around, bike ride, hike and enjoy street art!

Tips For Successful Garage Sailing & Bon Voyage!

April 19, 2015

04/192015

When I lived in Boulder, Colorado I went to garage sales regularly for years. People held them all over town and I often found clothing, housewares, books and little things for my child when she was growing up. Now that I live back in Brooklyn, New York it is not so often that I go to garage sales however I always enjoy them when I see a good one and I have gotten a few nice things at them here as well.

I think the best garage sales are community garage sales. In Boulder for instance, the Mapleton Hill area would have garage sales and numerous houses all over that hill area would participate. These sales were always great fun for my daughter and me as we walked from house to house and gathered items we wanted. Last time I was in Boulder this Mapleton Hill garage sale was happening and I stocked up on several clothing items for work and sent them home to NY. Even with the shipping the cost was less than what I would have paid in NY for those clothing items at thrift shops. Plus I prefer the more earthy, sporty look of the women’s wear in Colorado as opposed to the often shiny, glamorous look that is popular in New York women’s clothing. As a result I often plan to buy clothes when I am in Colorado. I still know where the good thrift shops are in the event that I get there at a time of year where there aren’t many garage sales.

Flicker photo

From Flicker

In a place such as the city of New York one has to often resort to checking craigslist.org or sites such as gsalr.com that list garage sites by area. I still find I have the best luck finding nice items if I go to a neighborhood that is a more upscale neighborhood, unless you live in one already. Even in Boulder when I lived in a lovely neighborhood for some reason most of the garage sales were in the area across the main road and up towards the mountains. Otherwise they were in small clusters spread out further east in town.

It is always a good idea to bring your own bag to garage sales. Also arrive early enough to see the bulk of the items the person or family is putting outside. If you get there too early they might not be set up. If you arrive too late most of the good items will most likely be gone. If it a whole community having garage sales it can often be worthwhile to hang around the area and see what happens later on in the day. Often people start to have free boxes they set outside or if they are wrapping up their outdoor sale, or sometimes they ask for “good karma donations.” My daughter and I have found some really nice items in the free boxes or once people are only asking for donations.

Thrifted blazer, new shirt was a gift, and a new skirt

Blazer from a garage sale, new shirt was a gift, and a new skirt

It is a good idea to ask people if you think they might have something you are looking for but don’t see. I met a lady who had no vintage buttons out however I asked her if she had any and it turned out she had a whole box in her attic. She asked someone to watch her things and ran upstairs and I ended up buying a bunch of buttons from her. Once I met a lawyer having a garage sale when I was taking a paralegal course years ago. I told her that I was studying paralegal and she went inside and brought out some books for me to take. She just gave them to me and was happy to do so. So by all means open up conversation since it can often be helpful.

Generally I have found most people try to sale clean items however if you have any doubt obviously wash things once you get home and get a chance. I even wash new items of clothing since you never know about the dyes in them, etc… When I bought one coat last year I was slightly concerned because I did not know the lady selling things and had never bought from her before. Nowadays people are concerned about bedbugs since they seem to have resurged in a huge way. I wanted to take the coat to the dry cleaners immediately but they were closed. If that is the case then you can always tie it up in a plastic bag and wait until the dry cleaner is reopened. I later found out this lady had repeat customers coming to her garage sales and so far no problems for any of her clients. In this post I have a picture of a pink Anthropologie top that I bought at a garage sale last fall. It still has the price tag on it. I haven’t worn it yet since spring just arrived but I am sure I will be wearing it soon. The lady I bought it from bought it at a half- price sale and never wore it. I bought it for about 1/6^th of the original price and it has never even been worn!

I have never had any problems with buying used items in terms of cleanliness. My grandmother taught me that even with new items to pull the seams, see if they are good and to check the corners of seams if things were used.

I was recently reading a post by Jessica Cangiano of the blog Chronically Vintage (http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/) and she was writing about going garage sale shopping and how she sometimes finds vintage pieces for her Etsy shop. Here in New York vintage pieces can be expensive so I assume many shops owners travel to Vermont or Michigan where they buy vintage ta a better price. Either that or they have to sometimes buy at places that sell by the pound.

In Boulder, Colorado there are so many college students that move once the school year is over that the local young adults call it “Christmas.” The wealthy college students often leave behind practically new clothes, appliances, and other assorted items. They just pile them up near the dumpsters in boxes and then the locals, who know how often there are goodies in those boxes come by for “Christmas.” Really it is good for the environment to reuse these things as long as they are still in decent shape. So that day in Boulder is like a Freegan Day. If you don’t know about Freegans they aim to reclaim reusable items that others toss.

A small knicknack shelf from a garage sale.

Jewelry rack and hand fan from garage sales

Years ago I saw a television news program about a woman who has collected a beautiful wardrobe by taking things people had placed on fences as free items to take, or she had found them in bags left open in areas such as Soho, in New York, NY. She had clothing items that would sell for up to $2,000. Obviously one sets certain boundaries. She never took stockings for instance unless they were still in the package they were sold in.

Dress from garage sale

So if you use your common sense and good judgement there are many good things to be found for a good price at garage sales, or even things that people left out that they wish to donate or give away. I have found that a lot of people who have garage sales, do so because they care about the environment and are eager to recycle things in a responsible way.

Coat from a garage sale

Garage Sale knicknack rack

I have been to so many garage sales through the years and I really enjoyed many of them. They were definitely a helpful part of how I survived as a single mother, raising my daughter on my own for so many years. If you choose to go garage sailing I hope you enjoy the ride and Bon Voyage!

Earth Day Celebration Coming Up!

April 12, 2015

04/122015

Earth Day is coming soon, on April 22nd, and it is once again a reminder that all of us have options of what we can do to be a part of helping our planet. It is a worthwhile contemplation, then commitment to decide to be a part of the solution instead of mindlessly generating more waste and making matters worse. I like to think that I can have some small part in making the world a better place for my future grandchildren and my friend’s grandchildren.

The photos I am posting here are mostly from my hiking in Boulder, Colorado in past trips to visit where I once lived for fourteen years. I raised my daughter there. I love creeks so there is a picture of the Boulder Creek. The mountains and hiking in them are gorgeous. I love being with nature! There are also a couple of pictures of the garden at St. Luke’s in Greenwich Village, NYC which is a beautiful, quiet space. Also one of the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

If you haven’t already seen the Story of Stuff video that is a worthwhile watch. It takes about twenty minutes but it can make a difference in your shopping habits. I first found the video on the Boulder Recycling Center site a couple of years ago but now it is available on YouTube. They now have The Story of Solutions: https://www.youtube.com/user/storyofstuffproject as well. Ever since I saw the video I have been slowly using up what I have and consuming less.

These are a few things you could for Earth Day:

Have a garage sale.

Donate some of your old clothing to a thrift shop.

Upcycle some clothes or decide to start upcycling this year.

Plant a garden. Plant a tree.

Hold a clothing swap in your apartment or house.

Stop buying plastic tooth brushes and switch to bamboo tooth brushes which are biodegradable, as well as easier to recycle. Website: http://www.brushwithbamboo.com/shop-brushes/

Sing or perform songs about nature. If you don’t sing or perform maybe listen to some.

Enjoy a walk in nature or if you live in a city head to your local park. If you live in a place with lots of open space enjoy it!!

If you aren’t already interested in Slow Fashion consider it as an option to being caught up in nonstop trends and the consumer mass production cycle. This is a picture of my daughter Emily wearing her favorite Oliver Twist look. There is nothing trendy about it!

Lovely Boulder, Colorado creek

In the US we are bombarded by ads to buy things nonstop. Television has constant ads. I haven’t watched television in years since my daughter grew up. Even when she was growing up there was a few years where we went without a television. We played together or read books. Now I watch movies on Netflix or Amazon and they also offer some of the most popular television shows without all the ads. I choose to limit my exposure to nonstop consumerism ploys out there to get me to shop, shop, until I drop. I choose to go to websites like Vogue.com where I can enjoy the fashion videos and choose which designer lines I want to view. I prefer that to buying lots of magazines every month now. I might buy a fashion magazine on occasion but generally I focus on my own style and how I prefer to dress as opposed to what is in. When I choose to buy a magazine it usually has something to do with gardening, birds or literature. If I want to read the Economist for instance, I ask my friend who has a subscription to pass his on to me before he discards them.

Boulder, Colorado mountains

Years ago, after moving back to New York I realized I had quite a lot of books despite getting rid of so many before I moved back East. I decided it might be time to consider a Kindle. I have always treasured my relationship with my favorite books; they are like a friend you want to revisit time and time again. I knew that I could still have that option, to buy a book and keep it on my shelves. I also liked the idea of a Kindle and not adding more physical books too often to the stuff I already choose to keep. A friend bought me a Kindle for a birthday present and now I cherish my Kindle. It really has made my life a bit simpler. For a rare book on crafts, art or herbs for instance, than I might prefer to have a physical copy of the book. Yet otherwise the Kindle books are fine.

In the past year I have been making more of my own granola’s and snacks. I make my own deodorant as well as bake some of my own bread. Recently I learned to make my own shampoo. Now I can reuse one shampoo bottle multiple times. I used this recipe: http://wellnessmama.com/3701/natural-shampoo/ It worked well for me with a mixture of lavender and rosemary oils. If you don’t want to make your own you might opt for another shampoo I tried, which comes in a bar from J.R. Liggett’s and is perfect for carrying when traveling. I found it at Vitacost. I buy things from them regularly since the health food stores here are rather expensive. I find my hair responds better to me mixing up the various kinds of shampoos every now and then. I like the bar one for a different variety to use on occasions when I am alternating shampoos.

In the past two years I have been crocheting and upcycling clothing. It is a liberating process to know that you can contribute more to your own wardrobe by knowing how to alter or repair it, plus to know how to make a dress for instance out of men’s shirts.

You could choose to buy either vintage or thrifted items of clothing since they are all further down the chain of mass production. Buying furniture that you can imagine yourself keeping for years helps also, as opposed to cheaply produced and assembled furniture that one will toss out soon.

Boulder, Colorado Flatirons in the distance

If you really feel like going shopping soon this is a good event to attend:

Buffalo Exchange has a yearly sale in which they raise money to help fund stopping animal testing for cosmetics. Their dollar items on sale for Earth Day raise funds for the animals: http://buffaloexchangefashion.com/2015/03/16/earth-day-1-sale/

This is from their website:

“On Saturday, April 18, we will host our annual Earth Day $1 Sale.

A large selection of clothing, jewelry, and accessories will be offered for one dollar at most Buffalo Exchange locations. All proceeds from the purchase of $1 items will be donated to The Fund for Animals, an affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The Earth Day Dollar Sale is cash or check only for $1 items.”

If you go enjoy the sale! It is great that your shopping, at least on those items, can help animals. If you don’t know about Buffalo Exchange it is a good chance to find out about their buying, selling, and trading of previously used clothing. It is a great place to find clothing and accessories.

So however you choose to acknowledge Earth Day or celebrate it I hope you enjoy it. This is all something we all have in common, our Planet Earth and Mother Nature. It is a wonderful thing to be thankful for and not to take for granted. Happy Earth Day to you!

Boulder, Colorado mountain scene.

These are from St. Luke’s Garden in Greenwich Village, NYC.

Portland, Oregon Japanese Garden

Spring Stroll in the Village of NYC- Visiting Vintage Shops

April 5, 2015

04/052015

Spring is in the air although it still has been chilly and very windy here. The last couple of weekends I have been taking strolls with the aim to visit vintage shops so as to tell you a bit about the places I find or revisit those that I had found before. The cluster of vintage boutiques is larger in the East Village as opposed to the West. There are a few really nice ones in the West Village but due to the rents and the atmosphere I think most of them seem to be on the east side of Fifth Avenue down through the Alphabet Avenues. The West Village is very lovely and if you like old architecture it is a great destination, plus the restaurants and cafes are fantastic. The East Village seems to have naturally retained more of the creative vibe that twenty or thirty years ago, was spread all throughout the entire Village. The shops are more clustered so if for instance you wanted to spend an afternoon shopping for vintage clothes you would have a many shops to choose from. I will write more about other ones I find or go back to as the season progresses but today I wanted to focus a bit on the ones I have found that have superior quality, in that for clothing their items hanging in their shops are in very good condition. Therefore if you are not so inclined to be handy with a needle and thread you do not have to worry about fixing up the garments. Plus the care taken to present the clothing in a neat and organized way is also fantastic. There are some shops that are great but their shelves are so overloaded it makes it difficult to easily see everything. I am sure they are loading up their shop with inventory and perhaps they have no storage nearby. I think it is easier to see the clothing, relax and really enjoy your shopping when the clothing is presented in such a way that the shelves have enough space so that you can really move the hanger and see the garments. Vintage is delicate and you wouldn’t want to be tugging on the hangers for the sake of the clothes anyway. I am hoping to go back to a few of these shops and interview the owners and write more about their shops.

David Owens Vintage Clothing has a great collection of vintage clothing and jewelry for men and women and the quality of his merchandise and the display is fantastic. It is evident how much care he puts into his shop. He always has nice shirts and ties for men, so if you are looking for something unique for a man that likes vintage this is a good place to go. I know a lot of you really like my retro and vintage paisley post. I would assume that this shop has a nice collection of paisley items. He seems to have a bit of everything. The shop address is 154 Orchard Street.

Dusty Buttons storefront- photo by owner

Dusty Buttons

The Upper Rust

There are also some nice shops that sell furniture or collectibles. The Upper Rust is at 445 East 9^th Street and the outside corner looks as if you have taken a stroll into a smaller community in a town upstate due to their collection of vintage housewares or collectibles that they sit outside the shop.

Right next door is Dusty Buttons which is a lovely vintage shop where the owner sells vintage and vintage inspired clothing. She said all the new clothing is either made in the US or fair trade certified. Her shoe collection is from Europe. Her shop is small and very colorful. She has some very pretty dresses! Her shop is at 441 East 9^th Street. I haven’t worked my way up to buying all new items fair trade certified, but as I am slowly reducing and being more conscious of what I buy, that is what I aim for.

John Derian Company

65 Bleeker Street Old architectural facade

When it comes to vintage it is also important to not forget the good old staples of Army Navy shops. Army Navy Bags Fashion is a small army navy shop on the Lower East Side that has been around for years. It is a go to place for a reasonably priced army navy jacket and bags. I bought my army navy jacket there, so did my one of my friends and my daughter bought her army navy bag there. She inadvertently set off an alarm at the airport due to her bag having traces of gun powder. She handed them her bag and explained it came from an army navy shop and after they searched it she was on her way. I guess airport security is very sensitive these days!

John Derian Company has vintage inspired furniture and vintage housewares. The sofa I took of photo of was over $6,000 but it was a beauty. There are three shops containing John Derian’s work, one has prints and other housewares with vintage inspired items. It appears to be a mix of new and old in general.

If you are on the hunt for some antique oddities and houseware items such as taxidermy for your walls, old medical supplies, or antique circus items check out Obscura at 207 Avenue A, just below 13^th Street. I didn’t take any pictures but they have an odd collection of unique antique collectibles.

If you walk west and want to complete your walk in a vintage fashion you might enjoy a meal at Hamilton’s Diner on West 4^th Street, at 51 Bank Street. The counter is a reclaimed antique counter and the atmosphere is small and cozy. The shiny metal appliances and round stools at the counters are so 1940’s! They have five dollar burgers and an array of sodas that they make as well as fizzes, sundaes, and milk shakes. I really enjoyed the two times I have been there and plan to return soon. I didn’t get a picture of the place but if I do soon I will post it in here later on.

While you are the in the area, if you have time stop by and check out the vintage shop Geminola which is at 41 Perry Street. The shop is incredibly beautiful and filled with vintage women’s clothing, much of which the owner lovingly upcycles or makes from vintage fabrics. The shops prices are expensive, however for the sake of art, even if it is out of your price range one could enjoy visiting this shop. She also has some vintage clothing for little girls. Her dresses are often one of a kind, so if one can afford them they are well worth the cost for the unique quality and craftsmanship.

There are so many other vintage shops in the village and particularly if you can mend and sew there are several places where one can buy vintage at rather reasonable prices. Some of the lower priced stores will carry vintage that the shop does not repair or alter to fix seams falling apart, and buttons falling off. If you can repair the clothing yourself than that’s fine!

No Relation Vintage is a rather popular shop and as far as fake fur coats go they seem to have had a nice collection this past winter. They also usually have some Gunne Sax dresses from the 1970’s or 1980’s. They have a good amount of both men’s and women’s apparel. No Relation Vintage is at 202 1^st Avenue. There is also Village Style at 111 East 7^th Street and many others. I will go into these more another time. In the West Village there is also Star Struck Vintage on 47 Greenwich Avenue which has an eclectic mix of vintage clothing for men and women.

I have found that some of the very old vintage shops have changed through the years. Reminiscence has changed a lot. They have moved over to 74 5^th Avenue and it seems they focus on selling lower priced items, in terms of vintage than they used to years ago. Prices have dropped a lot, most likely due to the cost of the current mass produced clothing that is made out of the US and sold for barely more than it costs to manufacture. I felt a bit sad that the shop seems to have succumbed to that pressure to lower the price of vintage (which also means not having as much higher quality items) for the sake of selling a lot of it. However all shops have to find their own way to survive in today’s economy! Plus they are now located right near a university so therefore all the more reason to make things affordable to students. If their average customer is under age thirty for instance, they won’t know the difference about the way they were say thirty years ago.

All in all it is fun to walk around and explore the vintage shops and enjoy the scenery. Happy spring!!

Vintage inspired dish towels at Broadway Panhandler

Geminola

Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

To be conscious of recycling

Street Art of the Lower East Side NYC

Tips For Successful Garage Sailing & Bon Voyage!

Earth Day Celebration Coming Up!

Spring Stroll in the Village of NYC- Visiting Vintage Shops