The Annual Summer Flea Market in Rorschach, Switzerland.

In my last post I mentioned the annual flea market in Rorschach, Switzerland. We arrived there in the early afternoon. Rorschach is a lakeside town. It shares the Bodensee, see means lake, with Austria, Germany, and obviously the rest of Switzerland that rests on its shoreline.

The market is part garage sale and part antique/vintage market. I was in heaven.

This dealer had lots of patio furniture. It looked to be fairly new but he did have vintage pieces as well. Germany is in the background.

Here is another look at his booth. I love that yellow van.

I think this may be the fellow that owned the yellow van, but I am not certain. He was very friendly and was interested to know that I was from Canada.

There were lots of vintage toys to be had.

On the other side of the restaurant in the background was an ice cream stand. I bought 2 scoops of the most amazing ice cream in a waffle cone. One was chestnut and meringue, the other I think was mocha. The scoops were about 3" across. The cone cost me 8 Swiss francs, which is about $8.75 Canadian. Ice cream in Switzerland is not inexpensive but it is better than anything that I have had in Canada!

I had to photograph this snow globe. It is so silly. I have seen life size fibreglass cows around Switzerland, each with a unique paint job.

By now I had totally lost everyone else and just decided to not worry about it and just nose about on my own.

There was lots to look at. Most of the stuff I wasn't interested in. I did have my luggage to think about though when deciding to purchase anything.

Like I mentioned before it was a mix of vintage and antique dealers and garage sale merchandise.

And now we are at the end. It doesn't look to be that big but it took several hours to walk the length of the market. There were many areas that were adjacent to the walkway that had a dozen or more dealers in a group. I did have to take into account the price of items I was interested in, the cost would have been too high once taking in the exchange rate.

Well, I had better get on to listing more merchandise for my Etsy shop. I have more pictures of our Swiss trip to share with you, there was inspiration all around us.

Goodies From Switzerland

I was on the lookout for interesting items that I could use in my work once we came back home. I also collect interesting bits and pieces just because they are... interesting. That isn't a great sentence but that sort of sums it up.

The brass knob and the iron pull were going to be tossed out into the recycling at our son's house. They updated the brass knobs to a much nicer contemporary handle. I figured that I could alter it and use it as a curtain tie-back or something similar. The iron drawer pull has great possibilities but they haven't come to the surface yet!

I tore this logo from the side of a cardboard box, I liked the design; it also reminded me of Josephine Baker, an American singer, dancer, and actress who lived in Paris and later became a French citizen.

This is a beer coaster promoting an open air concert in St. Gallen, another Swiss town about 20 minutes away. The graphic is interesting but the back side of the coaster advertising Shutzengarten beer, the concert's sponsor, is fun. Have a look at the photo of beer cap on the grass.

I picked up this hammered copper pot at a Salvation Army store in Rorschach, at least that is where I think it was. If my son reads this he'll correct me! It stands 2 3/4" high and measures 2 3/4" across the top, a nice small size to be used in a sculpture.

I will be doing a post about the annual Rorschach flea market but in the mean time here is what I came away with. Unfortunately weight, space, fragility, and price curtailed many purchases. This trim was only 5 Swiss francs; that works out to around $5.65 in Canadian dollars. It is 1" wide and about 5 feet long, a very good buy indeed.

I love vintage graphics and when I saw this matchbox my heart leapt, it really did! It was close to the end of the market day and everyone was packing up. I asked the woman how much it was and she just said to take it. I was ecstatic!

I follow a blog called Agence ereuka from France. Occasionally she posts vintage match boxes and this particular box was in a group that she had posted during our stay in Switzerland.

I know, a wooden splint basket... I liked it. This had small white potatoes in it. Other vegetables and fruit would also come in cardboard baskets but did not have the same personality. Sabine, (pronounced Sahbeenaye) Rob's wife, bought these but when I go grocery shopping I will buy for packaging sometimes or get fruit and veggies that are the most interesting to look at. Trish loves to draw them as well.

I bought these playing cards at a Coop store. Coop is pronounced kope NOT co-op.

The cards are from Belgium and are used in some sort of card game.

There are only 9 of each suit, 36 cards in total. I have two sets of these cards.

I have 2 very ornate gold lamps from Spain and have been considering using the cards in place of fabric on the lamp shade.

Well, there are the treasures that I brought back with me, nothing earth shattering but each special in its own unique way.

Don't forget to check out my Etsy shop, I have just added some new items.

Baby Aaron's finished mobile.

I have not been around in "The Land of Blog" for quite a while. I had done a post about that chaise lounge that was not looking the way it should. The last post was showing the mobile that I was making for our new Swiss grandson, Aaron.

The one thing that I did not mention was that the mobile was not going to be mailed but taken over to Switzerland in our luggage. I was on a deadline to get it finished as well as do last minute chores around the house before we left. Other work in the studio came to a grinding halt.

The mobile was finished just in time to quickly photograph it and then pack it carefully in a box to go in my suitcase. The photos aren't the best and the backgrounds are a little tatty but at least I can show it to you. 

Each of the stars vary from 1 3/4" to 2 1/4" high from the two bottom points to its top point. This star represents the nursery rhyme "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". He is holding the constellation Ursa Major also called The Big Dipper.

Here we have the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle".

The candelabra this little guy is holding is for "Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick".

This little star is holding his Teddy bear. I didn't know of a nursery rhyme for a bear but Trish, having taught kindergarten for quite a few years came up with a poem she used in her class called "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear". The appropriate action goes with each line of the poem.

Teddy bear, Teddy bear, touch the ground.
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, turn around.
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, show your shoe.
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, that will do.
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, run upstairs.
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, say your prayers.
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, blow out the light.
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, say good night.

This little star has been to the market. There are two nursery rhymes that can be used with this one, "To Market, To Market to Buy a Fat Pig" or "This Little Piggy Went to Market".

Here is another two for one! "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" is one possibility or your could use 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 I caught a fish alive. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 I let it go again.

"Pussy cat, pussy cat where have you been? I've been to London to see the Queen."

That umbrella took far to long to make, but it does look quite nice. This nursery rhyme could only be "Rain, Rain Go Away".

That is all of the stars that were made for the mobile.

The Man-in-the-Moon is at the top of the mobile and is holding the cord that the stars are hanging from. 

This is the finished mobile from little Aaron's view point.

Each of the stars hang flat when you are looking up at them. It took a bit of time to find the centre point of each star so that when he was looking at them they were looking down at him.  It took even longer counter balancing each of the stars on the rods and then on their various levels. I am very pleased with the finished mobile.

When we were in Switzerland we took LOTS of photos that I have been going through and sorting for blog posts. There is so much inspiration over there... and amazing cheese... the best chocolate... bread is so tasty, it would be considered artisan bread over here but is everyday bread in Switzerland... ice cream, so expensive, but oh so good... enough, more posts to come.

I almost forgot tp mention; check out my Etsy shop, I have been adding new items in the last week or so. I did mention on Facebook that I would have stuff added in the last week of August... well that didn't happen! Three weeks in Switzerland is the culprit. When we arrived in Switzerland the jet lag lasted maybe a day and a half max. When we came home it took over a week to get back to normal.

Mobile for our new grandson

Here is an update on the mobile that I have been making for our little Swiss grandson, but first I should introduce you to...

 Aaron.

I showed this picture a while back at the end of this post. The stars and the arms were made as well as a bunch of the props were chosen.

The stars were gessoed and then painted with silver acrylic paint.

On one of my trips to Salvation Army I picked up some bronzing powders. Once the acrylic was dry but still tacky I dipped my finger tip in the powder and rubbed it on various areas of the star points. I have a silver, a gold, a spring green, and a dark green so I varied each star.

The faces were painted minus the pupils, they will be added once the star has the little nursery rhyme character in it's arms, and silver tinsel was added around the face.

Here are four of the stars almost finished.

The top star on the left is "Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat Where Have You Been?"

The star with the Teddy Bear is not a nursery rhyme but a poem about a Teddy Bear, "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around".

On the bottom there is "Hey Diddle Diddle" and "Jack Be Nimble".

This post about the Sidney thrift shops revealed this wondrous brassiere. My daughter-in-law said that I should have gone to a craft store for the diamonds. I never or should say very seldom go to craft stores for supplies so this never even occurred to me! The hunt for the elusive diamonds was fun as well as being very funny once I did come across them!

The plastic diamonds have been removed and the bra is in the garbage.

Meet "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Originally he was going to hold a star but the idea of a constellation was so much fun and hopefully will lead to star gazing when he is a little older.

My post about the lounge that went wrong, "It's time to call it quits" was originally meant to give you a somewhat humorous inside look at the disasters that occur in the studio. I think that I may have failed at the light hearted approach and given the wrong impression, sorry about that!

 I have been mulling that dastardly divan over in my mind and I may have come up with a way of getting the look that I am after.

That is all that I have to share at the moment so off to the studio.

It is time to call it quits!

I bet that little title caught your eye! I suppose I could have called this post "The best laid plans of mice and men" or even "OH POOP!" I thought that I would share the amount of work that has gone into creating or I should say hopefully was going to create a lounge to be used in a sculpture for a levitating lady illusion.

Originally I was going to show this wonderful little lounge but things didn't work out that way. This seldom happens to me so sit back and vicariously follow me down the rabbit hole of wonder only to be vomited out again.

As I was working on this settee I kept thinking that it was taking to long and should be aborted; obsessive compulsive, anal retentive, never say die, who knows what to call it but one or all may apply to me.

I like detail.

"#@*^!+%$," is about how I feel about detail at the moment.

This antique brass lamp base was the starting point for a sculpture of the levitating lady illusion. I started with an image in my mind of a tufted Victorian lounge with no head rest, more like a large settee.

This sofa is an example of the tufting that I had in mind. I pulled the image from the internet and I'm sorry but I don't have the source. If you know the source let me know and I will add it in or delete it if it is yours and you do not wish me to post it in this blog.

I cut a piece of very heavy card and inserted it into the inside of the frame.

The bottom shows the wire on the brass arms to hold the card in place and also the wire around the tabs  near the foot. This wire will follow the curve of the foot and then be attached to the stage floor securing it in place.

 I have been figuring out the tufting in my mind for a week or more, did I want it square or in diamonds. Either design had to fit into the shape of the frame.

I very seldom draw the item that I am making, most of the time I figure it out in my mind and then make it. This is more precise so I used graph paper to plot it all out, a good 3 or 4 hours of figuring the size, the shape, and the direction of the square or diamond tufting.

I taped it onto the heavy card top and used my Dremel drill to make all of those #@*^!+%$ holes that took me about 4 hours to figure where they were supposed to go so that I would have this wonderful small prop for this amazing sculpture of the levitating lady illusion!!!!!

I am breathing more steadily now...

I cut the side pieces and glued them in place. Oh by the way, all of the drawing on the top of the card was pre-graph paper designs. There were 4 or more attempts and each one erased so that I wouldn't get mixed up with lines from an old design.

Here is the finished card shape nestled in the brass frame that will support the padded fabric tufting.

I also spent time figuring out how thick the padding should be. I settled on a layer of cotton batting, a layer of polyester batting as it wouldn't become compacted, and another layer of cotton batting. The padding needed to be thick but yielding so that it would have a nice finished fullness. Once finished it would be about half the height of the cushion that you see.

You can see the wire twisted and tucked out the way that holds card onto the base.

I first glued a layer of cotton batting to the top of the heavy card. I next placed about 1/2" of polyester batting on top of the cotton batting and then finally another layer of cotton batting. This last layer was glued around the edges to hold it in place. The fabric was then taped in place so that it wouldn't move while I was stitching through the holes of the card.

I stitched one set of holes to make a square shape on the top of the settee. It looked terrible! I realized that the amount of time doing the tufting alone was ridiculous. 

I have salvaged the cotton batting, the polyester batting, and realized that the card support was a total write off, such is life.

As I said in the beginning, this never happens to me. Life keeps you humble doesn't it!

Saturday street sale, Sidney thrift shops, plus one.

I have been working in the studio. I'll show you some progress on a few of the items in my next post.

A week ago last Saturday morning our son phoned to tell me that they were going to a street sale and to meet them there if I liked.

I liked!

I went!

There was not a lot of interesting stuff to consider buying. I did buy this 4 foot length of 8 inch bullion fringe and this long length of cording; all for $3. The only other item that I bought was a silver teaspoon and that is pictured in the next photograph.

The last garage sale had 2 vendors with some great stuff but unless I can use it or it is something that is an absolute must have I have trained myself to say, "Someone else can have it." Mind you if I can talk the person down I will buy the item/s. The prices were firm and they were reasonable so I saved myself some money.

Here is the silver spoon that I bought at the street sale for a whopping 20 cents!

I had planned on going out to Sidney that day, there is usually some great stuff at reasonable prices out there in the thrift shops. I wasn't disappointed. This set of 3 brass pots will come in handy, possibly for the flying carpet. The rosewood pot stand I am thinking of turning into a cushioned platform for a variation on the levitating lady illusion.

These 2 brass candle sticks were $1.00 each and unlike most brass candle sicks are very light so a figure can hold it without the arm drooping from the weight. I do like the shapes of them as well.

The brass and wood candle snuffer comes apart so the size will work for a figure putting out a candle.

The brass frame looks like a large watch. The embroidery was in the frame it may be used to upholster something or it may be donated back to Salvation Army, we'll see.

If I come across the candle wreaths that were popular about 10 years ago I sometimes buy them, rip them apart and use them for accents in bouquets, as "cake" decorations or anything else that I think of.

This embossed metal plaque is about 11" across. I liked the bold design and figured that It would make an interesting 3D portrait frame

The ceramic tile came out fairly easy. I have been thinking of having a table top jutting out with something on it... we shall see.

I have been looking for some "diamonds" to use in a mobile for our new Swiss grandson. The few that I found were not that nice or were very heavy. I was in the St. Vincent de Paul in Sidney and happened to see this bejewelled black bra and started to laugh, I wasn't expecting to find a diamond encrusted brassiere! It cost me a whopping 50 cents.

Another second hand shop had a few vintage magic tricks. This particular one was complete and in good shape so I bought it. I can now change a stack of nickels into a stack of dimes!

Some more goodies that I have purchased in the last little while. The playing cards are some of the smallest that I have seen at around 1 1/2" high. Those "Chinese coins" are small enough to use with an oriental figure. More jewelry to take apart and use as belts, sashes, or necklaces. The ceramic bowl is from the base of a vintage glass plant from China. I will be using the glass leaves and glass flower petals at some point when I get enough to create a lampshade for our home.

There we go, more goodies to work with. I have been working in the studio not just buying stuff. I'll give you a behind the scenes look in my next post.