lorimarsha

Last week I was at the Goodwill, excited to have just found a vintage A & W root beer mug, when I spied this coffee table. I set down my handbag and the mug and did a quick inspection of the hardware, the drawer and looked for scratches, knicks, etc. It appeared to be in almost pristine condition. It’s hard to know the vintage…I’m guessing 60s or 70s. Beautiful solid wood and a removable marble top. When I saw the price, I was shocked- $14.99. Without a clear idea of what I’d do with it at home, I decided I couldn’t leave it behind. So I walked up to the counter and asked if someone could help me move it to the front so I could pay for it. A nice gentleman carried it to my car after I paid for it and I somehow managed to get it into the house myself. Amazing what you can do when you’re motivated. It looks nice next to the sofa….the scale is very similar. It wasn’t until two days later that I realized I had left the A & W mug behind. Oh well.

In the process of trying to rediscover my waistline, I’ve been looking at belts lately. I haven’t worn one on my waist for a looong time and thought maybe it was time to revisit the idea.

After shopping at a few stores and searching on-line, it hit me. I have leather scraps. I have a sewing machine. I could sew one. I hadn’t been down in the studio for a while so maybe it was time? I headed downstairs, opened my bin of leather and pulled out some brown and black pieces.

I measured my waist and decided I had enough scraps to make a brown and black reversible belt about 4 inches wide. Using the upper part of a black leather skirt I’d rescued from a thrift store, I removed the zipper and cut the base piece. It was the perfect place to start because the skirt already had slightly curved sides which created a good belt silhouette. I patched together a few scraps of brown leather (upholstery grade) for the reverse and sewed both sides together. I cut a slit on one side and stitched the opening, creating a large opening to slide one end into the other. I then cut and sewed the black and brown ties.

I spent about an hour cutting and sewing my belt and calculated my savings at about $80- the price of the belt I had most admired.

Yesterday I found a huge plastic bag of vintage matchbooks at one of my haunts in downtown Riverside. Displaying an eclectic love of both graphics and locations, it’s clear the former collector was a real cool cat or kitty….hanging at The Stardust and Flamingo in Vegas, the Luau in Beverly Hills, Chasens in West Hollywood, and the Egg and the Eye Restaurant on Wilshire in Los Angeles. The interesting graphic on the Egg and the Eye matchbook cover (bottom left) made me want to know more. I googled and was fascinated to read this:

“The legendary Edith Wyle cultivated her love of folk art in the ’60s, after growing disenchanted with abstract expressionism and minimalism—the art trends of her day. Edith’s search for a more meaningful art form transformed her into a “chronic enthusiast” of indigenous art, an art form that couples tradition with function. She yearned to support diverse and socially relevant art.

In 1965, Edith channeled that yearning into The Egg and The Eye, an innovative café and shop on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles, which soon became the preferred hangout for artists, travelers and dreamers. Edith’s belief that a celebration of culture should include both food and art inspired the clever café name. The Egg and The Eye served over 50 exotic omelettes inspired by international cuisine and offered guests a dazzling array of international folk art to enjoy.

In 1973, The Egg and The Eye became the nonprofit Craft and Folk Art Museum, which displayed a wealth of folk art and an eclectic offering of contemporary craft. Determined to make it a “living museum,” Edith initiated workshops and educational programs involving community members whose arts were on display.”

And to add to the story, The Craft and Folk Art Museum bought several of my pieces in the late 90s when I was making these cigar box handbags.

I’ve always wanted one of those big glass bowls full of vintage matchbooks and now I have one. I’m sure that’s why these showed up yesterday.

And in the name of vanity….

Back story:
I don’t mind getting older and try to embrace each new year with as much grace as I can muster. I haven’t opted for Botox, Restylane, microdermabrasion or facial reconstruction but I’ve obviously done some research because I didn’t have to spellcheck those words. That said, one of the benefits of age is an increased self-confidence and decreased concern about what others think.

I’ve always wanted to wear red lipstick but never had the nerve. One sunny day last summer full of positive self worth, I visited the Chanel counter and purchased an extraordinarily expensive tube of red lipstick. The next day, I applied the lip liner and lipstick feeling like I’d reached some higher plane of cosmetic hierarchy. Well, if you’re over the age of 40, you may know the rest of the story. I spied myself in the mirror a couple of hours later and saw thin red lines heading toward my nostrils. Not sophisticated. Not pretty. The Chanel lipstick ended up in the bottom of the makeup drawer.

Fast forward:

I get the weekly newsletters from Sephora and save them for late night viewing. A couple weeks ago I saw the ad for Duwop, read the reviews and doled out more for this product than I had for my cherished Chanel Passion #14. It’s a reverse lip liner that forms a seal around your lips, creating a barrier to seal in color. Like magic. It came in Monday’s mail and I tested it out.

It works just like the wax resist process used in batik dyeing. I’m thinking someone on the product development team attended art school and then changed her major to business because her parents refused to finance a masters in fine art. So she banged out an MBA and applied for jobs in graphic design and visual arts but got discouraged and responded to an ad for a junior assistant to a product specialist at Duwop. As they brainstormed ideas for lip-related cosmetics, and her knowledge of textile manipulation inspired the breakthrough. Ta da….the reverse lip liner.

Bottom line:
It works. It’s something I like and want to share. I’d rather wear red lipstick than a red hat. Here’s to a healthy dose of vanity and self indulgence. Cheers!