So excited to announce that we have a winner for our handmade gift giveaway! The Happy Scarf mentioned in the previous blog post will be heading out in the mail to…
(drumroll please….)
….Tomi!
Congratulations! You are the new storyteller and caretaker of this vintage sari table runner – a piece of fabric that intimately ties together at least the lives of five women, two continents, and a journey that spans over 8,300 miles.
How fun! I hope it brings many years of happiness and joy to your table.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this giveaway. Guesses as to the contents of the mystery box were incredibly creative and ran the gamut of possibility. My most favorite ones included a set of decorated bowls, a spice grinder, napkins, a set of bracelets, a henna kit, a mini mortar and pestle, spice seeds, a Ganesha statue, a travel guide book, a piece of Indian art, an Indian stamp set and a collection of powdered dyes. How fun would any one of those prizes be?!
In a marvelous feat of guesswork though, there were two entrants – Christine and Karen – who both suggested that the box could contain a scarf. Christine even went so far as to say a small sari for use as table decoration! If the giveaway was about guessing the exact contents of the box these two ladies would have tied as winners for sure. But alas, the contest was open to anyone who submitted a guess. From there, all names were then written down on paper and pooled together in a box. Tomi’s name was selected from a random draw, and I like to think, a little bit of fate from India:)
Cheers and congratulations to Tomi for the win and to the Happy Scarf who now has a happy new home!
Invisible threads are the strongest ties. That’s what the 20th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) believed. He wrote those words over 100 years ago, and since then, this statement of his has come to take on many different meanings to many different people. Depending on context, mood and circumstance, for some, it suggests spirituality or a sense of place. For others, it describes personal relationships or attachments, affinities to particular objects, or even an inner knowledge of one’s own self. But here in the Vintage Kitchen, this quote always reminds me of history and how we are tied to the past in subtle yet powerful ways.
Today we are embarking on Week 22 of the International Vintage Recipe Tour which takes us to India via the kitchen to discuss fabric, second chances, and a savory chicken dish that is slathered in spice. Welcome to Week 22 of the Tour! Welcome to India…
It’s impossible to look at photographs of this amazing landscape and not notice all the color. From flower gardens like this cascade of hibiscus tumbling over a brick wall in Utter Pradash…
…to the spice markets of Mapusa where all the shades of the rainbow greet you around every corner…
…to the splendid architecture of buildings like the Mysore Palace in Karnataka and the Taj Mahal in Agra, which seem to magically change color throughout the day depending on the direction of the sun…
…pops of color bloom throughout India every minute in delightfully unexpected ways.
In a country that is over 250,000 years old, there is no shortage of source material when it comes to tying in a cultural companion, but ever since the Recipe Tour started I had a definite idea in mind about this particular post and the focal point of it.
Whether you are talking food, fashion, flora or fauna (or all four!) one of the dazzling componants to life in India that float around the landscape like jewels come alive are the traditional saris worn by women of all ages throughout the country. Seen in all shades and patterns, girls typically start wearing saris in their teenage years as a symbol of femininity, independence and equality among all women regardless of social status.
Made of just one uncut length of fabric (usually 9 yards in total) with the ability to be styled in over 100 different ways depending on folds and drape, the sari has been a part of India’s history for over 5000 years.
Each region throughout the country has its own style and customs surrounding saris and the wearing of them, but Indian women as a whole, view saris as an important part of their national identity. They are even passed down through generations as a source of pride, nostalgia and honor.
Today, they also symbolize strength, resourcefulness, and female empowerment in a new, exciting and creative way that previous generations never knew.
Last Thursday, I announced a giveaway here on the blog of a special prize tucked inside the white box above that would be awarded to one lucky winner. It’s a gift that was handmade in India and clues hinted at color, purpose, and longevity of use. Tonight, I’m excited to reveal the contents of the box.
Are you ready to see what it is?
Tah-dah! It’s a five-foot-long Happy Scarf (ie table runner) made of two recycled cotton saris. Repaired, pieced together, and hand-quilted to form a completely new and functional item for the table, this type of Indian handicraft is changing the fate of women all over the country. Reversible, with a different pattern and color arrangement on each side, this Happy Scarf holds up to its name in more ways than one. Suitable for all four seasons of display and use, it features colors bright and sunny on both sides. One side contains shades of spring and summer in pink, yellow, peach, white and raspberry…
…while the other side features a warm wash of autumn and winter hues in butternut, marigold, black, white, beige, pink and yellow…
Made in Calcutta by a woman from an impoverished village who was given the opportunity to learn the textile trade, this Happy Scarf represents a new kind of freedom for women in India. By learning skills within the textile and handlooming industry, working with fabric offers women a chance to gain independence and improve the quality of their lives by earning fair wages, receiving health benefits, job training and education, and also by being a part of a community of artisans striving for a future bright with possibility, potential and a fulfilling career.
Typically it takes a sewer about two days to make a table runner of this size. Like a homemade quilt, distinct signs of each sewer’s handiwork can be seen throughout. In this case, unique touches are found not only in the selection of sari fabrics that she chose to combine but also in her vertical hand stitching of the fabrics as they were joined together and her repair work , which we can see in three different places on the light pink side…
These patches cover over holes made in the fabric that occurred through normal use and wear when the sari was once part of a woman’s wardrobe. The ancient Indian art of textile repair is known as rafoogari and represents a powerful philosophy that sums up the beauty and integrity of the Indian culture. Instead of simply throwing a piece of good fabric away because it is slightly flawed with a hole or worn thin by a frayed area, each garment gets repaired, patched up, so that its life and purpose can be extended for years to come. Some garments in India carry examples of over 200 years of rafoogari repairs. This was not thriftiness at work for the sake of reusing fabric, although that was a beneficial attribute, but instead it was a gesture of respect and honor towards the fabric and the memories it held for all the people that it came in contact with.
This type of fabric work utilizing recycled saris can be seen in all sorts of Indian handicrafts. Kantha is the type of stitch work featured in the Happy Scarf, which involves sewing together five layers of fabric and highlighting the running stitch that pieced them all together by using brightly colored thread. I first fell in love with this type of Indian textile art when my sister gave me this tote bag for my birthday a few years ago…
Like the Happy Scarf, my tote bag is made from five layers of two different saris, contains patchwork repairs and features lots of bright color. The front and the back both contain different imagery and the fabrics are super soft.
It even features the name of the sewer inside (which I love!).
Although the bag and the Happy Scarf are made by women employed by two different companies in India, they both contain similar stories and similiar missions – to help women get out of poverty. Like the curator of the Happy Scarf, the maker of this bag, Arati, experienced a tragic side of life. Involved in human trafficking within the commercial sex trade, Arati through the help of a female empowerment company, Sari Bari was able to escape her cruel circumstance and change her life completely. Through education and training in the textile industry, Arati was able to gain support and financial independence as well as create beautiful works of art that promote a sense of pride and fulfillment within herself and her community by carrying on a centuries-old art form.
Whenever I go on a trip via plane or car, my Indian art bag joins me. By taking it on as many adventures as possible, I like to think that the spirit of Arati herself is out there traveling the world too via her talent and creativity. It’s always fun to imagine stories about her. I like to think about the possibility of one day traveling to India and running into Arati on the street. If that happened we would only know each other solely by her recognition of the bag. Wouldn’t it be fun to stop and chat with her for a bit! To find out more about what her life was like when she made this bag and to see how it differs now. Wouldn’t it be fun to thank her in person for making a piece of art I absolutely adore and to share with her all the adventures we have had together so far?
The visual beauty of each of these recycled sari creations, whether they are transformed into blankets or bags or table runners or napkins or, is that each one is one-of-a-kind. True works of art based on each sewer’s skill, fabric selection, and choice of color arrangement. The emotional beauty of these creations is that they helped improve one particular person’s life, one piece at a time.
In the Hindu religion, to which 95% of India’s population belongs, the color yellow symbolizes learning and knowledge. That makes the Happy scarf an ideal companion for a table full of diners ready to engage in interesting conversation. Sized at 5′ feet in length x 15.75″ inches in width, it fits practically every table shape from long to short and is ready for a wide variety of styling fun. Here, I paired it with antique serving platters and flatware, vintage hotelware plates and midcentury napkins. The change in color palette from side to side adds a nice change in mood and aesthetic too…
Tonight’s recipe is as equally colorful in sight and history as our table setting. The previous stop on the International Vintage Recipe Tour took us to Hungary, via the kitchen, where we explored the bright red world of paprika, but this time in India we are diving into the sunshine shades in all areas of the culinary experience.
On the menu tonight it’s Chicken Bengal, a warm and saucy stewed chicken featuring five distinct spices – coriander, cumin, cloves, ginger, and turmeric. But before any of those flavors are introduced, the chicken marinates in a yogurt and garlic bath in the fridge for a few hours. After that point, the whole marinade, yogurt and all, slips into a sizzling pan of spices where it cooks for some additional hours over a low simmer until it reaches the point of falling-of-the-bone tenderness.
Easy to make, low maintenance, and wholly satisfying, the end result is a saucy blend of spice and chicken that can be adjusted to your liking for heat or enjoyed mild but nuanced in a pool of sweet, savory and salty flavor. Total cook time including prep work and marinating is 4 1/2 hours, so make this on a cozy day when you have some time to spend at home. Pair it with our favorite historical BBC drama, Indian Summers, and you have a theme night all wrapped up in one fun package.
Chicken Bengal
Serves 4-6
1 large chicken (4-6 lbs), cut in eight pieces
1 cup yogurt ( I used 2% milkfat Greek yogurt)
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely minced onion
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 cloves
1 hot red pepper – optional ( I did not use)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon powdered turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Basmati rice for serving
Toss the chicken in a large mixing bowl with the yogurt, salt, and pepper, and half the garlic. Toss until the chicken is well coated…
and then transfer to a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for two hours.
Melt the butter in a heavy casserole and add the oil and onion. Cook until the onion starts to brown, add the remaining garlic and spices, and cook over low heat stirring frequently (about 2 minutes).
Add the chicken and marinating liquid.
Cover and simmer until the chicken is fork-tender (approximately 2 hours). About thirty minutes before the chicken is done make the rice and set it aside, but keep it covered so that it stays warm. When the chicken is fork-tender and falling off the bone, remove it from the heat and let it rest for several minutes before serving it atop a bed of rice along with whatever juices are leftover in the pan.
Not quite as creamy/saucy as the Hungarian Shrimp Paprika recipe, the basmati rice in this dish acts as more of an aromatic companion than a vehicle to soak up juices. The main stars of the show here in this recipe are the turmeric, which gives the whole dish that bright yellow color, and the coriander, which adds a foundation of flavor.
Coriander, according to the language of flowers, symbolizes hidden worth. The Bengali region of India from which our recipe is named is where the ancient art of Kantha originated. The predominant color yellow in the saris symbolizes learning. The woman who sewed the Happy Scarf together, escaped an unhappy environment and discovered her own self-worth through learning an ancient art. When you think about all that goes into making a meal, from the food to the place settings to the company that sits around the table with you, it is mind-boggling how much connects us to other people in other parts of the world in other eras of history in a myriad of unsuspecting ways. This post started out as just a simple Indian dinner. But the more I dug into the history of India, the more transparent the relationships between fabric, food, color, country and symbolism all seemed to go hand in hand. Completely unexpected, all the elements of this post practically connected themselves. It formed a perfect symbiotic relationship. It formed the words that Nietzsche wrote. Invisible threads truly are the strongest ties.
On Monday, the winner of the Happy Scarf will be announced on the blog. My fingers are crossed for everyone that entered. In the meantime, cheers to India. Cheers to all their beautifully artistic ways of carrying on the color of their culture with the memories of their past. Cheers to strong women and to bright futures.
Join us next time for Week 23 of the International Vintage Recipe Tour as we head to Indonesia via the kitchen!
India photos courtesy of Lewis J. Goetz, Varnan Guba, Aditya Joshi, Claudette Bleijenberg, Bhim Chauhan, Vivek Dashi, Hari Nandakumar, Tiago Rosado, Joshuva Daniel, Akhil Chandran, Ashim D’Silva
If you had to look one kitchen appliance in the eye and consider it most human which would you pick? Your coffee contraption that wakes you up each morning? Your mixer because it sings as the beaters whirl and whip? Or maybe it is your dependable dishwasher who is always so eager to clean a mountain of dirty pots and pans.
If I had to choose one such appliance, I would pick the fridge. It’s human height, its doors open like arms and even though you stock it yourself, there always seems to be something unexpected going on in there. Whether it’s restaurant leftovers you forgot about, a surprise treat added by a family member or a curious case of bacteria sprouting on last week’s loaf of bread, the fridge is the one appliance that consistently brings a little personality to each new day.
It’s also the one that gets the most use. Every day, you open the doors and close the doors so much so that you don’t even think about the physical action of that process anymore – the pulling and the pushing – but at the same time you are also careful with it. You reorganize it. Sometimes more than once a day. You jockey things around from shelf to shelf to make sure everything fits. You clean it and you care for it. You worry about it. If the power goes out, then what? You think about it in the middle of the night. Will the Thanksgiving turkey fit? Will the watermelon suck up too much cold air? Will the icebox pie set firmly?
If you are like my mom, you also outfit it. You buy lots of clear glass storage dishes and a label maker and you get to work making the inside of that fridge look like a beacon of efficiency and organization with this there and that here. Or you take the opposite approach and just stuff things in as they come with less rigidity and more relaxed effort.
And that’s just the inside.
The outside of a fridge is an equal blank canvas. It seems this school of thought has two camps – the people who decorate and the people who don’t. Do you prefer a plain, sleek front to your fridge or a personalized collection of life’s pieces in papers? Here in the Vintage Kitchen, we like the outside of our fridge decorated. Right now, ours contains a family photo, a calendar, three business cards, one Chinese takeout fortune cookie message (which proclaims that this is the year that ingenuity stands high on the list!), two stickers from a recent comedy show, two love notes, one watercolor painting, one recipe and one autograph. All these are held together by a collection of magnets that my niece, Olivia, made for me when she was 11…
That was eight years ago. Now she is off at college, and these magnets were and will always be prized possessions. A lovely gift and a pretty memory all wrapped up in one, they also were the start of my love affair with magnets. Thanks to Olivia’s gift, I re-discovered that magnets were an invaluable tool providing the ability to help hang on to the little bits of life that I didn’t want to forget about (like that fortune cookie message!). This leads to the topic of today’s post. Yesterday I promised to reveal the contents of this mystery box that one lucky winner in our giveaway will receive…
Are you ready to see what’s inside?
Ta-dah! It is a trio of floral fridge magnets handmade from vintage costume jewelry. These beauties are the work of Heather Dean, the Los Angeles based artist behind Jane Dean Gems, an online jewelry and home decor shop that specializes in pieces made from vintage items and found objects.
As one of the original pioneering artists of Etsy, Heather has been around the handmade marketplace since 2005 but her designs and ultimate inspiration go way back to her grandmother Jane Dean, whose name Heather not only borrowed for her shop but whose collector’s spirit Heather tries to instill in all her pieces. What I love about Heather’s work is that she is a storyteller in sparkles and shimmer, offering a new way of looking at familiar objects from a finder’s point of view. A brooch becomes a magnet, a bauble becomes a bracelet, an arrow becomes a compass in the same way that your commonplace, everyday, utilitarian refrigerator suddenly becomes the canvas for a glamorous work of art.
In today’s post, we catch up with Heather, interview style to learn more about the muse behind the magnets, how her grandmother helped lead her down the handmade road and where to find the best places for artistic inspiration in all of L.A.
In the Vintage Kitchen: First of all, let’s talk about the name of your shop. I understand it is named after your grandmother, Jane. Please share a little bit about her with us.
Heather: My grandmother’s name was Jane but I called her “Mimi.” When I was a little girl I was enchanted by her large collection of costume jewelry. She had drawers full of colorful brooches, sparkly rhinestone earrings and long beaded necklaces. I loved opening her jewelry boxes, examining the pieces and trying them on. My grandmother was a working woman who didn’t have a lot of money, but she knew how to put herself together on a budget. She shopped at the Garment District in downtown LA (now known as the Fashion District) to find good deals on clothes, and she accessorized her outfits with jewelry and beautiful silk scarves. It just seemed fitting to name my business after her since I use vintage pieces in my own designs. I also love the simplicity and traditional character of the name, Jane. It goes well with vintage style.
Jane as a young girl with one of the necklaces she acquired later on.
Did Jane teach you a lot about jewelry or did you learn through your own natural fascination? What attracts you to it?
I was certainly inspired by my grandmother’s love of jewelry and flair for accessorizing, but I definitely had my own fascination with vintage items. I started collecting vintage jewelry as a teenager in the 1980s, when more was more. I would go to garage sales and second-hand shops looking for interesting pieces at great deals. I loved old rhinestone choker necklaces, sterling silver bracelets and rings (I wore one on every finger, including mid-knuckles). Back then, pre-internet, I would go to the library to learn about the vintage treasures I had found. Researching vintage is sooo much easier these days, thanks to the internet!
These fridge magnets are desert themed! Everybody needs a little cactus, don’t you think? Find this trio in her shop here.
How did you happen upon the idea of refurbishing vintage jewelry into fridge magnets? Such a cool idea!
I had been buying box lots of old jewelry so I could use the components in my own designs. I was mostly looking for pieces that could be used in necklaces and charm bracelets, but I ended up with a surplus of broken bits and bobs, orphan earrings, etc. that didn’t really work for my jewelry making. One day, I decided to glue magnets on the back of a few old pieces and they turned out really cool! They sold well and soon became my favorite things to make. My first magnet sets were fairly simple but over the years they have become much more complex, with several pieces stacked on top of each other and often embellished with paint, rhinestones and charms. I also love using rustic found objects like old bottle caps, rusty washers and miscellaneous thingamabobs. I’m always finding things on the ground and putting them in my pocket to be used later in a creative project. When I do my laundry I usually find some kind of nut, bolt or pebble in the lint trap, because I always forget about the little treasures in my pockets!
Small treasures lying in wait for Heather’s unique designs.
Please explain a little bit about the process of making magnets – does one piece set the wheels in motion for a particular collection or does a set evolve as each magnet is made, or do you figure out a color palette and then go from there?
I create magnet sets based on one fabulous piece, or a color combination that I love, or using one of several themes that I work with over and over again. Some of my most popular themes are beachy seashell mixes, Southwestern, Day of the Dead, Victorian and robot (made out of junk and google eyes). I have also made many custom magnet sets to coordinate with people’s kitchen colors and for wedding message boards. I’ve even had customers send me their own vintage jewelry to turn into magnetic keepsakes.
It’s easy for me to pull sets together because I keep my huge collection of jewelry bits very organized. I have a large vintage letterpress cabinet, several craft drawers, boxes and glass jars full of stuff. Everything is sorted by type; hearts, flowers, animals, celestial, bead clusters, rhinestones… that way I can find what I need quickly!
Heather’s wonderfully organized cabinet!
Are there jewelry magnets on your own fridge?! And if so, what are they like?
I do have magnets on my own refrigerator. My favorite one is made out of a big rhinestone flower brooch that belonged to my grandmother… I was never going to wear it so I turned it into a functional object that I get to see every day in my kitchen!
Find this set of 8 Southwestern mini fridge magnets available in her shop here.
Is there a holy grail of costume jewelry that you are forever on the hunt for? Do you have a favorite vintage designer or type that you like to collect?
Because I sell vintage in my other shop, CuriosityCabinet, I’m always on the hunt for sterling silver. I love unique handmade jewelry….Southwestern, Native American, Mexican, and mid-century artisan pieces. But for my handmade work, I honestly look for junk! I love the challenge of turning something broken or damaged into something new and fabulous. A lot of my supplies are things many people would throw away. I don’t use anything collectible or valuable.
Who are your top three most favorite artists and why?
It’s difficult for me to pick favorites because I appreciate so many artists and creative mediums, but having recently returned from Mexico, I’m still thinking about the magnificent murals I saw painted by “Los Tres Grandes” the leaders of the Mexican muralism movement; Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. The enormous size of the works, with their bold colors and emotional subject matter really made an impression on me. It’s nothing like studying them in books and on slides! One piece by Sequeiros actually brought me to tears when I saw it.
From top left: Jose, David, Diego and the trio as pictured in the 1940s.
Because I’m an avid recycler of junk, one my favorite contemporary artists is El Anatsui, a Ghanaian sculptor who creates enormous, flexible tapestries made out of salvaged bottle caps and metal pieces from liquor bottles. They have the fluidity of fabric and can be bent and formed into different positions. They are truly magnificent and are created entirely out of recycled materials!
The art of El Anatsui
Back when you were studying art in college, did you always plan on opening your shops, Janedean Gems and Curiosity Cabinet, or did they just evolve naturally over time?
I never ever thought I would be able to do what I’m doing now! I definitely didn’t plan it. After working various retail jobs for many years, I went back to school in 2000 to study art history at UCLA, thinking I wanted to work in a museum or gallery. I bought my very first computer to use for school and discovered Ebay at the same time. For fun, I puta few pieces of my handmade jewelry up for auction to see if I could sell them. I was so excited when they sold, that I made more pieces and sold those too! Soon I’d created a nice little side business. That’s when I first starting selling my jewelry magnets.
In 2005, I read an article in the Los Angeles Times about a new selling site specifically for handmade products called Etsy.com. I signed up that same day and have been selling in my janedean shop ever since! In 2007, I opened a second Etsy store, CuriosityCabinet to sell some extra supplies but it soon turned into a vintage shop when I realized how much I love finding, researching and selling unique vintage and antique pieces. Now I balance 2 shops on etsy and 2 accounts on ebay.
So it is technology that allows me to do what I do. Computers and digital photography have changed my life, allowing me to offer my handmade items and curated vintage collections to people all over the world, from the comfort of my own home. Nothing could have suited my personality better! I’m an independent loner who likes to make my own schedule (and work in my pjs) and I’m now able to use my years of retail and life experience to benefit my own business. I’m maker, buyer, merchandiser, photographer, advertiser, packer, shipper and I love it!
A fun sampling of items that you’ll find in the Curiosity Cabinet… from top left: Vintage Southwestern Brass Cuff, Portrait of Robert Browning, Vintage Carved Horn Bird Brooch, Antique Brass Hand Paperweight, Vintage Brass Elephant Figurine.
Name 5 things that inspire you.
1. Creativity- other people’s creative works inspire me constantly… from designers, crafters, artists, film makers… when I see what fellow human’s brains and hands are making, it inspires me to come up with new ideas of my own.
2. Walking- from beach walks to nature hikes to urban exploring, I always get inspired by things I see when I’m on a walk! When I’m out and about I like to take lots of pictures with my phone and gather small objects that intrigue me, which can end up being sources of inspiration later on.
Collecting in Heather’s hands looks like this!
3. Nature- I just love the natural world, in all its perfection and/or rustic beauty. From gardens to beaches to mountains, I love being surrounded by plants, flowers, trees, rocks, water and wildlife. I love the sights, smells and sounds of being out in nature.
4. Animals- I love animals of all kinds, domestic and wild. They fill me with happiness and joy. I’m a cat lady for sure, but I love dogs, little critters, watching wild birds and I am continually inspired by the biodiversity on this earth.
5. Music- Finding just the right mix of music to suit my mood really helps inspire me when I work. I have eclectic taste so it may be anything from jazz to old country to punk music, depending upon how I feel that day.
What top five places would recommend to visitors in L.A. (based solely on what you think is great – not necessarily what is typical to tourists).
I’m not into hot spots or the latest trendy restaurants and if I’m going to brave the nightmare of LA traffic I want to see art, culture or nature!
From top left: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA); The Getty Villa; The Broad; The Fowler Museum at UCLA; the Bergamot Art Center; The Natural History Museum; La Brea Tar Pits
I love museums so that’s what I’d recommend the most! The major art museums, LACMA, MOCA, The Getty and The Broad are must-sees, of course. The Getty Villa on Pacific Coast Highway has a fascinating collection of ancient art, housed in a Roman villa overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Ocean. The Fowler Museum at UCLA has some fantastic exhibits of African, Asian, and arts of the Americas. One of my very favorite places to visit is Bergamot Arts Center (previously Bergamot Station) in Santa Monica. It is a collection of art galleries located in an old railroad station that showcases local and contemporary artists. I also love the Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits because I love science and I’m fascinated with prehistoric animals.
The beach bike path weaving its way along the California coast. Photo via pinterest.
My favorite outdoor place is the beach. I love walking along the water, watching the shore birds and gathering seaside specimens. There is a beach bike path where I live that winds for about 25 miles from Pacific Palisades to Santa Monica to Venice, then Marina del Rey to Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo beaches. My favorite time to go is early in the morning, or in late afternoon/early evening during the long days of summer.
If you could have dinner and drinks with five famous people (living or dead) who would you choose and why?
I’d love to have dinner with David Attenborough, the naturalist and documentary film writer, producer and presenter. I would enjoy talking to him about animals great and small, evolution, and what we can do to protect our environment and the future of this planet.
Heather’s dinner guests(from top left)… David Attenborough, Mike Leigh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman.
I would also love to talk with a few of my favorite film directors about their processes; Ingmar Bergman and Akira Kurosawa, who have passed, Mike Leigh and Paul Thomas Anderson who are still working. These directors have made some of my favorite films of all time and I have lots of questions.
Having been a part of the Etsy community since 2005, you are a true pioneer. Share with us how your journey has changed over 13 years. Is it a continuous process of refinement in what you offer and what you design and what buyers want? If Etsy did not exist, would you still have wound up in the same place you are today?
I can’t even believe I’ve been on Etsy for 13 years! Where did the time go? If Etsy never existed I might have just stayed on at Ebay full-time or started selling through my own website. Etsy is a very different site than it was in the early years but I try to roll with the changes the best I can, and make them work for my business. If it ever stops feeling like a good fit for me I’ll probably sell through my own website and maybe do more craft fairs (which I don’t do now… too much work!)
I actually still make many of the same things that I have since the early 2000’s, but for a while I got worried that magnets were becoming obsolete when stainless steel refrigerators starting taking over the market, but recently they have started making them magnetic again (yay). I guess some people were sad when they discovered they couldn’t stick their favorite magnets or kid’s pictures on the fridge.
Jandean has become more of a side business the past couple of years, since selling vintage has taken over my life! I don’t have the energy to run them both at full throttle so I tend to make jewelry and magnets when the creative bug strikes. It’s nice because I can just make what I want when I want to, and don’t feel that I have to turn out as many pieces as I did in the past, which can cause burn out.
I do plan to devote more energy to the handmade side of my business this year. I’ve been feeling very inspired lately and have started lots of new projects. I’m hoping to fill up my janedean shop with lots of new one of a kind, recycled goodies very soon!
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We can’t wait to see what Heather has in store, for her stores, in the coming months. Will there be more sparkly magnets in our future? I sure hope so! Keep up with Jane Dean Gems here and with Curiosity Cabinet here.
In the meantime thank you to everyone who popped in with guesses for the giveaway. Possibilities ran the gamut from handmade candles to antique salt cellars to wooden kitchen utensils, showcasing what a creative bunch all you readers are. The winner of the giveaway will be announced on the blog tomorrow night from the random pool of guesses submitted yesterday here on the blog and via Instagram.
Cheers to Heather for finding beauty in found objects, for turning fridges into glamour girls and for providing all the gorgeous pictures throughout this post of her shop and workspace.
Hello dear readers! The Vintage Kitchen is very excited to announce a gorgeous gift giveaway from an incredible artist inside the white box pictured above! What could it be? What could it be? Here are a few hints…
It will last forever.
It’s made from history.
There is more than one inside.
It is meant for a specific item in your kitchen.
Back in the day, they were referred to as statement pieces – now they add sparkle to any space.
We will keep you stumped until tomorrow when we reveal the contents of the giveaway, which is tied into a lovely interview with the artist that will be up on the blog this week. Submit a guess today as to what’s in the box in the comments section below, and you’ll be automatically entered for your chance to win this magical prize. And please note, you do not have to correctly guess the contents in order to win. A winner will be selected at random from the pool of comments provided. The winner will be announced on Wednesday!
Good luck and happy guessing!
P.S. If you are new to the blog, giveaways in the past are all kitchen themed in one way or another. See what fun items we have given away in the past here and here.
“I need to burn it all in my memory banks. I need to remember that no matter where I end up, Paris will always go on and on. It will be here even if I am not. Eternal Paris. Paris ever after.” – A quote from the book, Paris Ever After by K.S.R. Burns
In many romantic stories about Paris, a move to the City of Light winds up being the final destination – the reward for hard work or self-realization or love newly understood. The place where it all makes sense. But what happens when you move there in a fog of confusion about life, escaping a perfectly acceptable marriage back home in the States (for reasons you don’t even understand yet) only to discover that the magic spell of the city doesn’t instantly decide your future? What happens when you get there and feel comfortable and safe but have no direction and no support and your carrying along the biggest bit of baggage from your old life imaginable, a baby in your belly?
That’s the situation in which we are introduced to Amy Brodie, a food blogger, wife and newly pregnant mom from Phoenix, Arizona in the novel Paris Ever After. In the opening pages, we find Amy at a crossroads in her life, processing the fact that she can move in any direction – forward to a new independent start in France or backward to the familiarity of Phoenix with her baby’s father. Both are viable options and she spends the book deciding between the two with both her head and her heart.
Other characters emerge… William, her husband left behind in Arizona… Manu, the Frenchmen who offers her a job in Paris… Margaret, the British ex-pat who offers her friendship… and Herve who offers her the ultimate place to stay when all her decisions start unraveling. At the beginning of the book, Amy prefers the lifestyle of France over Phoenix and feels more in tune with herself there. But as William comes to Paris looking for her, we learn more about Amy’s complicated relationship with him, both the good and the bad and her feeling of ease in the city starts to dissolve. She juggles the natural desire to have a father for her baby’s life and a romantic partnership for herself while fighting feelings of dread and despondency when thinking of her home back in Phoenix.
William’s got his own reasons for going in search of Amy though, carrying a secret with him that he’s not exactly rushing to share. As the story progresses we learn that life going forward with him in the future would never be the same as what Amy knew of it in the past. Margaret and Manu and Herve also have their own dramas to contribute, each turning out to be not quite what they seemed in the beginning. As their peculiar situations evolve, Amy’s decision becomes more weighted. With her ultimate goal of choosing a lifestyle that is suited for both her and her baby, taking up residence in France isn’t necessarily the fairytale incubator it once seemed.
K.S.R. Burns (aka Karen), the author of Paris Ever After, takes readers on a twisting journey full of surprises as each new chapter unfolds. A pure escapist read for anyone who wants a break from their own complicated realities, Karen’s novel will whisk you away quickly into Amy’s dramatic world, where big decisions have to be made in a small amount of time before baby arrives and before Amy loses her total sense of self. Readers will be able to relate to the pressure she puts on herself to get things right – to make the best possible decision that ensures a successful new beginning for her and her family.
Can such a momentous feat be conquered in a matter of months? I won’t say any more to spoil the story, nor to interrupt the flow of dramatic twists and turns, other than to say surprises abound and just when you think Amy has it finally all figured out, new obstacles arise to alter her course of direction. In addition to surprising plot points, there is also a surprise recipe in the back of the book for Madeleines – a very French dessert that offers comfort and satisfaction to Amy in the story. It is a fun addition that will enable you to truly taste a little bit of France while you also read about it.
As part of a collaboration between Karen Burns and the Vintage Kitchen, we are very excited to announce a giveaway of a signed copy of Paris Ever After for one lucky reader. Enter for your chance to win by subscribing to our kitchen shop newsletter here before Wednesday, May 2nd at 12 noon (CST). One winner will be selected at random and will receive notification via email as well as here on the blog and on Instagram.
While you wait to hear the results of the contest, stop by Karen’s website. She is one of Amazon’s bestselling authors and has lots of stories to share including the prequel to Paris Ever Afer.
Paris Ever After is a thoroughly complete book on its own, but it also happens to be part two to her 2016 novel The Paris Effect, which dives into the life of Amy’s friendship with her best friend Kat and offers backstory on Amy’s life in Arizona. Although you don’t need to read The Paris Effect in order to understand the characters of Paris Ever After, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about Amy’s foodie past and the decisions that drive her to seek refuge in France. Find out more about The Paris Effect here.
Cheers to Karen on her new book launch! And cheers, good luck and bonne chance to all you readers!
The first week in May is quite spectacular this year as we celebrate Kentucky Derby, Cinco de Mayo, James Beard’s birthday and a very special Paris themed giveaway all in one week. That means you’ll be hearing from the Vintage Kitchen every day for the next six days (an unprecedented amount of communication from us!) as we pay proper tribute to each event. Hope you will be as excited about the week ahead as we are!
The giveaway kicks off all the festivities with a special blog post tomorrow announcing the specifics of the prize and a feature that will transport you to life in the magical city of Paris. Enter for your chance to win between now and 12 noon CST on Wednesday, May 2nd by signing up for the Vintage Kitchen shop newsletter here. One winner will be selected at random on Wednesday afternoon and will be notified via email and announced here on the blog and on Instagram. Stop by tomorrow and see what we have in-store for all you fans of France…
There’s a passage from Homer’s The Iliad that reads:
“Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth, now the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to life, another dies away.”
This is not only a great quote for Autumn, as the leaves color and float and fall to the ground reminding us all that change is natural and seasonality vital, but it is also a great introduction to the guiding principles behind our next interview.
In today’s post we are traveling 5,000 miles away crossing over Homer’s “roaring seas and many a dark mountain range” to the country of Greece to the historic city of Sparta where we are chatting for a bit underneath the olive trees with Jehny and George from The Spartan Table. Purveyors and producers of an assortment of agricultural delights in this Mediterranean section of the world, Jehny and George come from a small town that is very BIG on ancient history.
First having discovered these two by way of Etsy, I fell in love with the sights and sounds of Sparta on a field walk with Jehny and her family as they described picking herbs in the Taygetus Mountains via their newsletter…
“The talk stops and for the next couple of hours, we ‘re “lost” in a green and white sea” of wild oregano together with thousands of bees and relative insects. We ‘re all busy to get as much as we can from this amazing plant. We stop for few minutes from time to time just to lay our eyes on the surrounding mountainsides while the sun has starting to set. There are so much peace and beauty and even some sounds of some sheep somewhere around echoing like an old song from the distance…”
It was a combination of their descriptive writing, their enthusiasm for the job at hand, their accented words, the beauty of their landscape and their deep-rooted love for their country that caught my heart. As part of the American culture’s ideals of constantly being on the move, always next-best-thinging our way through life, it was refreshing to read about people who were so settled into their sense of place and so appreciative of their natural surroundings. And then there was their national pride. Read further to understand this.
View of the Taygetus Mountains
We all know that Greece has had their hardships, most recently with the economy – but as you learn through Jehny’s newsletters the detailed account of her family’s history over the last one hundred years and that of the olive grove that she now cultivates, we begin to understand this extraordinary set of determined people passionate about seeking and seeing the positive, progressive side of life. “To plant an olive tree is to proclaim a faith in the future, for it will be the following generations that will benefit, will reap no matter drought or storm, dictator or revolution, once the olive has made its home,” said Jehny in her February 1st, 2016 newsletter.
Jehny’s family photographed in the 1930’s
The Spartan Table was born in 2013 after Jehny left behind an unfulfilling corporate job and discovered by way of a small series of realizations that her passions leaned more towards olives than offices. In the early days of shop-keeping, she first offered a selection of local wild herbs cultivated from the mountains around her. Quickly her shop grew to include olives, olive oil and olive paste from her family’s olive trees. Each year added a new series of local products and a new level of ancient history to back it up. Today you can find an increasingly interesting array of Greek products in her shop including sea salt dried on the sun soaked rocks of Mani, traditional sweet treats baked in Jehny’s kitchen, honey from beekeeper Bill, handmade soap and cutting boards (from the olive trees!) all made and/or procured by Jehny, her family and her friends in their local environment.
A sampling of treasures from The Spartan Table!
How does she do it all you wonder? Can one woman’s love of her country and culture sustain a life worth living? You bet! Get to know more about Jehny and George and their storybook landscape in their interview here and then sign up below for a chance to win a complimentary souvenir from Sparta courtesy of Jehny and The Spartan Table.
Experience the flavor of Greece for yourself with these two special treats from The Spartan Table.
Your location in Sparta is gorgeous! In your bio, you mention that it is your family’s region and that you have lived there a long time. In the United States families move around A LOT. So I am intrigued by your permanent sense of place in Sparta. What keeps (or has kept) your family there for all these generations?
Sparta is our homeland. It’s a mythical land with – perhaps – the most know Greek Ancient city (With Athens) The landscape is just beautiful. If you could see, even for a moment what we see every morning, the magnificent mountain Taygetus and the Spartan valley, you’d fell immediately in love with the place. Living in a place which great people once lived in, makes us feel truly blessed.
Sparti, Peloponnese, Greece.
Tell us little bit about daily life in Sparta. Do you live in a farmhouse in the country or do you live in the city center in a more urban type dwelling?
Today the “modern Sparta” which has built in 1836, is a small town with near 20.000 inhabitants. We live just few blocks from the center and beside the Ancient Acropolis & Theater. Just 100 meters from our home, there are hundreds of very old olive trees amongst the Ancient ruins.
The Acropolis in Ancient Sparta.
If we were to visit you in Sparta where are the first three places you would take us?
The Acropolis and the Ancient Theater. The Mystras Byzantine castle city, where the last emperor left to save the Konstantinople. (Like King Leonidas, the last emperor went to fight into a war, knowing in advance that everything had being lost). And the museum of the Olive Oil, which is unique in Greece.
Clockwise from left to right: The Museum of Olive Oil, the Mystras Byzantine Castle City and the Ancient Theater.
So many people in life don’t appreciate the environment around them which is what makes The Spartan Table and all your lovely newsletters so refreshing. Your national pride is wonderful. What keeps you excited about your culture on an everyday basis?
As we mentioned before, living in a land of heroes, it’s impossible not to feel the “vibes” of their acts despite that hundreds of years have passed. We feel that we have to make something for the next generations and keep the spirit of dignity, pride and freedom alive.
King Leonidas, the gorgeous indoor and outdoor architecture of Byzantine Church and Mystras.
From harvesting olives to farming sea salt to collecting herbs and honey and making soap – are you involved in all these endeavors personally or do you have a big team that helps you gather items for your shop?
Since we started from the scratch – after a stressed corporate life- we tried to make everything with our hands and our small team (our Family). Getting some big inquiries and interest about our humble treasures, we decided to add some more People in our small team. These are people with great passion and love about what they do and we are honored and proud having them with us!
In the olives!
Of all the items in your shop right now, which is your most favorite?
Jehny: wild walnuts with honey from wild flowers and herbs.
George: Sheperd’s tea with honey from wild flowers and herbs.
Jehny’s favorite on the left, George’s on the right.
What are the differences between Greek olive oil and Italian olive oil? Do they contain different olive varieties or are they harvested in a different way? Does the different geographic landscape/environment affect the taste of olive oil?
First of all, remember that Greece is the 3rd biggest olive oil producer in the world with an average of 350.000tn annually. Italy is at 600.000 tons (when their internal consumption is 800.000tn – think about it) And Spain is more than 1.200.000tn. Greece produces mostly extra virgin olive oil (which Italy and Spain does not) Laconia, our regions produces ONLY extra virgin olive oil and it’s one of the 3 biggest producer regions in Greece. “Koroneiki” is one of the best and most well know varieties of Greece but we have one more unique one: “Athinoelia” (the tree of Goddess Athena). This is an exquisite EVOO and it’s the “first extra virgin olive oil” in Greece every year. This EVOO has a strong and spicy taste and almost all of the yearly production is going to abroad every year. It’ s the EVOO that everyone must try even for once in life!
Extra virgin olive oil from The Spartan Table .
Which country do you ship your products to the most?
Mostly to U.S and secondly to Canada. We’ve met wonderful people in these first 3 years and we hope that one day we’ll have the honor and pleasure to welcome them in our home.
Soap handmade by Jehny’s mom!
You mention in your olive oil listings that you can also use the oil as part of your beauty regiment. How would you recommend using it?
Simply by putting on the skin (massage). Or make “oil with herbs”.
Handmade Olive Paste
What is one thing that has really surprised you this past year in regards to your business?
As we said before, through these 3 years since we started, we met wonderful people which not only supported us as with all their hearts but also shared few lines and messages with their beloved ones. This led to warm feedback and to a genuine interest from a company from Netherlands which asked for a big project for Christmas. Upon our first contact and we asked how they found us , they simply answered : “We read your story and every feedback about you”. Then we understood that the love and support of our Friends in the States (mostly), “drove” them to our door!
If you could invite five famous people (dead or alive) to dinner at your house whom would you choose and why?
Well, we can’t really choose. There are a lot of people which we’d love to invite. So instead of this option, we want to invite as many people as we can to share our table. You know, “common people” like us.
A recent addition to the Jehny’s shop – Olive Wood Drink Coasters!
What is your most favorite meal to make in your kitchen?
Greek Salad (and many another kind of salads) and Meat (pork, chicken in the oven with EVOO, herbs, and different vegetables).
When you are not cooking or harvesting or collecting for business what hobbies do you enjoy? Reading and sharing moments with family and friends (and sometimes trying to get some decent sleep – cause we miss it often!)
On George’s bookshelf…
What book are you currently reading? What music are you currently listening to? Jehny : Reading books and articles about decorations (special events and weddings). Greek pop music. George: “I contain Multitudes” & “The secret life of plants”. Old Rock and classical music.
Do you ever dream about living somewhere else in the world? If so, where would you choose and why?
No, but we love to travel and meet new friends. Unfortunately due to the heavy crisis in Greece, we can’t afford to any trips but we hope that one day we ‘ll start traveling again.
What inspires you about your business?
The superb landscape. You can’t be “unaffected” when You see the mountains and the valley every morning!
View from the olive groves!
Understandably so, with a view like that! Throughout history, the olive branch has been a symbol of peace the world over. Although they lead busy lives as blooming entrepreneurs, you can see how the olive trees have brought peace and fulfillment to the lives of Jehny and George. And you can taste it too. In the aromatic flavor of their olive oil, which is fresh and raw like newly cut grass. In the sweet, earthy smell of their wild mountain oregano. To breathe these two cooking staples in, is to breathe all the myths and legends and stories of a thousand centuries. It is to breathe in the sun and the sky and the windswept air of Sparta, where great men and women have dared to accomplish great feats. But maybe most importantly you are breathing in generations of a country’s faith in itself and in it’s future.
Jehny and I are so excited to offer three lucky readers the opportunity to sample the wild oregano cultivated from the Taygetus Mountains and the extra virgin olive oil from the family groves of The Spartan Table. Three winners will each receive one complimentary packet of oregano and two mini bottles of olive oil to test and to try, to experiment and to explore.
All you need to do is fill in the comment box below with your name and email address (so we can let you know who won!) and then answer the question: Who is your favorite author? in the comment box, so we can avoid spam messages. Winners will be picked at random and will be announced both here on the blog, on Instagram and via email on Monday morning, November 21st, so please enter for your chance to win by midnight (11:59pm) on Sunday (11/20). Enter as many times as you like and please spread the word to fellow culinary lovers.
Please note, the Vintage Kitchen totally respects your privacy. Your contact information will not be sold or shared and is simply used here for contest purposes only. If you are reading this post on your phone you may have trouble seeing the actual contact form box. Please visit inthevintagekitchen.com to access the private and secure form which will send your entry directly to a private email account. Any troubles beyond this, please comment on the blog post and we will help you ASAP!
While you wait to find out if you are the lucky recipient of a Sparta souvenir peruse the lovely offerings of The Spartan Table here .
{After a long nap in the question and answer department, the interview series is back in full swing, bringing you face to face with real-life creatives from around the globe. If you missed last week’s interview with museum director Louise Van Tartwijk, from Washington, Connecticut’s Gunn Historical Museum find it here. If you are new to this series, catch up on a bevy of previous interviews here.}
It’s Kentucky Derby time dear readers! As you know from past years, this is always a fun and festive time in the land of Ms. Jeannie. The roses are blooming, the mint is growing and the party planning is underway. Post time for the big race is Saturday (May 7th) at 6:34pm, where 20 horses will compete in the 142nd run for the roses. As of this (blog) post publication time, the field is large this year with 26 entrants in possible contention, which means six names will drop off before Saturday.
It’s a big guess as to who will make the final list and who will win the Derby. Anything is possible in horse racing and nothing can be left up to certainty until hooves pass the finish line, which is one of the elements that make this Saturday so exciting. In honor of such spirited sportsmanship, Ms. Jeannie is hosting a little competition of her own right here on the blog. Post the name of the winner in the comments section between now and 5:45pm on Saturday and you’ll win a very cool vintage prize that will be mailed out to you on Monday.
Here are all 26 entrants compiled in three sets in random order. Pick your favorite, type their name in the comments section below this post and Ms. Jeannie will be in touch if you (lucky you!) have chosen the winner!
You can only enter once, so make your selection count!
8. Dazzling Gem 9. Mo Tom 10. My Man Sam 11. Creator 12. Adventist 13. Shagaf 14. Fellowship 15. Trojan Nation 16. Exaggerator
You can be easy breezy about this whole contest by picking a horse by name or face value or you can read up on each of the entrants on kentuckyderby.com
Good luck dear readers and happy guessing! Contest winner will be announced early next week!!!
Catch up on past Derby Day festivities here. Photo credits of all racers in this post courtesy of: ladyandthetrack.com, coady photography, thisishorseracing.com, dylan buell, el porto roberto, horse racing nation, kentuckyderb.com, clb photography
Ladies and gentlemen… it’s a great day to name a deer! On behalf of our statuesque stag, Ms. Jeannie is pleased to announce a winner in the Name That Deer contest!
After much deliberation, Deer is excited to say that from here on out he will now affectionately be called…
Hudson!
Named after the 19th century Argentinian born writer and naturalist William Henry Hudson (1841-1922) who wrote the gorgeous rain forest love story Green Mansions, our newly titled Hudson was taken with this name because it combined both literature and nature.
But this was not to say that this was an easy decision to make! Ms. Jeannie herself marveled at all the fabulous suggestions. The choices included gorgeous classicals: Charles Dickens, Brete Harte, Sebastian Flyte, Hemingway, Jack London, E.B. White, Clement C. Moore and Washington Irving along with super creatives: Val and Belletristic. There was a nod towards Deer’s feminine side with the suggestions of Emma and Pearl S. Buck. And there was even a funny one among the mix with the nomination of Vinnie’s Son – a play on the word venison! Such choices. Such fun.
A big, big congratulations goes out to mariedge2033 over on Instagram for contributing the winning name! A most special prize is heading your way shortly! Hudson would also like to sincerely thank each and every one one of you who took the time to help him find a name. Thank you, thank you dear readers for being so fantastic.
Dear readers, Ms. Jeannie needs your help! Her resident deer needs a name. He’s been a handsome part of the Ms. Jeannie landscape for almost a year now, quietly adding some elegance and dignity to the library where he lives. But this morning he woke up on the wrong side of the shelf. He was upset, and most rightly so.
For close to 365 days he’s just been called Deer. That was fine in the beginning but now he wants a proper name. It seems Deer will just not do any longer. Upon hearing this, Ms. Jeannie racked her brain. She couldn’t come up with anything creative except for George Eliot, which Deer reminded her was the masculine pen name for a lady writer. He wants something manly. Rhett Butler she suggested next. But they both knew that wasn’t quite right either. What then? Ernest, F. Scott, William? Tolstoy, Kipling, King? There are a million names, a billion names, centuries worth of names, but Ms. Jeannie couldn’t think of one that seemed fitting. What could a good name be?
This is where you step in, dear readers, with one of your super sensational suggestions. Deer has fabulous taste and a shining disposition. He’s statuesque in style with a head for poetry and a heart for adventure. Before he met Ms. Jeannie he lived in an attic for so long he forgot his own purpose and turned the color of dust. Now he grazes everyday on the great words of great writers and acts as shepard to a growing flock of books. Now he wants to be called something captivating… something big… something bold. Now he wants a name of literary proportions. Now, now, now he says!
Please help! Contribute a name in the comments section below. The one Deer loves the best will win a prize and a place in his heart forever and ever.
In the Vintage Kitchen: Where History Comes To Eat 