Fun vintage sale last weekend at the North Shore Flea. Thanks for shopping with us!

See more photos of the sale from Pure Vintage and Dethrose Vintage.

Start out your Halloween weekend with a vintage sale! Bunny’s will be there along with a variety of fun vintage sellers. You’ll find cool vintage jewelry, clothing, accessories and housewares along with good food. This event will benefit Animal Care and Control, so there will be dogs for adoption. If you see jewelry in our shop that you’d like to see in person, please email us at bunny@bunnystrunkshow.com.

Friday, Oct. 28th, 5pm-10pm
Saturday, Oct. 29th, 11pm-6pm

Chicago Party Animals
1133 W. Fulton Market
Chicago, IL

Don’t miss it! Check out The Hot Diggity Dog Vintage Sale for details.

Bunny’s will be at the Vintage Bazaar this Sunday! We will be located outside on Rockwell Street.  If you see jewelry in our shop that you’d like to see in person, please email us at bunny@bunnystrunkshow.com.

September 18, 2011
11am-6pm
Congress Theater
2135 N. Milwaukee in Logan Square
Chicago, IL
$2 admission

70+ vendors of vintage decor, furniture, housewares, clothing and accessories

Plus food from local Chicago vendors, beer, wine and cocktails, DJ entertainment by CHIRP, photobooth and haircuts.

Good times!

I’m on a stripe hunt . . . not to be mistaken with a snipe hunt. I’ve seen these stripes patterning bracelets and earrings, but only in photos. I can’t wait to get my paws on them! This deliciously colorful jewelry is called Philadelphia Bakelite. My pull towards collecting and selling Bakelite is increasing as the standards have risen after this discovery. I’ve been visualizing waltzing into a gritty antique shop, digging through a box of mismatched jewelry and coming across a striped, art deco beauty. And what-da-ya-know, it’s on sale for only $5! I see myself trying to contain my excitement as I pull out a fiver and hand it to the shop owner. Then I run squealing out of the store. Philadelphia Bakelite runs in the hundreds to the thousands of dollars. The huge price tag is due to the craftsmanship, as each colored section had to be carved and then precisely glued together. It is likely that the name came from a Philadelphia auction in 1985 when an amazing example of this sold for $17,000! Read more…

Last year, I picked up an amazing pair of 14kt gold blue topaz earrings. The 1.75ct blue topaz stones are authentic, not synthetic which is very common today. They are pierced, but have a threaded screw back post and are from the 1920s – 1930s. These earrings have a value of $175. The reason I know all this is because the lady selling them at the estate sale had them appraised by Kurt Teeters, GG. She mentioned that he has been appraising fine jewelry for decades and at the time, he was appraising jewelry for Demi Moore. If I remember correctly, the jewelry was from a movie.

Kurt does not buy and sell jewelry which is a plus because it’s more likely that you’ll get an unbiased appraisal. The lady also mentioned that it’s not a good idea to leave your jewelry with precious stones at the jewelers. It’s better to be there with them as they’re doing the appraisal (unless, of course, you have a trusted jeweler). I’ve heard that there’s a chance that the jeweler will replace your precious stones with cheaper ones.

We haven’t used his services, yet, but if you need an appraisal on precious jewerly, contact Kurt at Allied Gem Appraisers, 55 E Washington, Ste 404 in Chicago. The phone number is (312) 263-0090.

As for the elegant, gorgeous, yummy blue topaz earrings, I’m keeping them. They’re mine. Keep your paws off.

Not long ago, Tanya and I met with Elissa Pappas who works for New York Jewelers. We’ve started to acquire jewelry with semi-precious stones, but we don’t yet have the eye to tell if it’s a real stone, a crystal or glass. So Elissa wielded her magic jewelry loupe and along with her boss, they were able to browse our collection and tell us about the stones. Little did I know that blue diamonds existed. They also confirmed that Tanya’s diamond shaped ring is garnets, that the gold stone in her other ring is a citrine and that my little red, white and blue number is rubies, sapphires and diamonds.

It was awesome to have experts letting us know about our jewelry pieces. The shop not only had new fine jewelry, but they also have an amazing vintage collection of precious pieces. I would love to get my hands on gorgeous jewelry like that! One day . . .

Anyway, if you’re in the market for fine jewelry, talk to Elissa and she’ll set you up. The shop is on 11 N Wabash in Chicago and the phone number is (312) 855-4999.

“I remember, when I was so small I could hardly read, seeing a cartoon of two men bathing on a solitary beach. The started to talk, got along splendidly, and after sunning themselves for a long time went behind different rocks to dress. One came out all smartness with a dangling lorgnette and a silver stick; the other in rags. Stupefied, they looked at each other, and with a cold nod each turned and went his separate way. They had nothing more to say to one another.” Elsa Schiaparelli

Imagine the Paris fashion scene in the 1930s with dreamy surrealism and elegant masquerade balls. It was the era of avant-garde artists, writers and actors mingling in Parisian cafes. Women dressed in Schiaparelli duds walked the streets in styles that turned heads – grand capes embroidered with golden rays of light, bows stitched into woolen sweaters, buttons molded into tiny circus horses, black velvet telephone handbags, hats fashioned from a shoe, black gloves with golden nails, and necklaces in the shape of a terrifying serpent, yet lined in red rubies. Read more…

I was recently at a outdoor antiques market when I saw this dazzling purse and couldn’t keep my eyes off of it. The purse is made of wood and has a whimsical bird pattern bejeweled with gold and brown translucent stones and gold coins. I could tell that the design was from either the 1960s or 70s. Flat 2-D bird images have been popular and I wondered if this is where it began. The lady who sold it to me asked if I knew Enid Collins. No, I’d never heard of her.

Once I got home, I started to research Enid Collins and what I found was an interesting lady. Enid and her husband, sculptor Fred Collins, moved to Medina, TX to ranch. After struggling at making a go of ranching, they had to turn to their talents. She had graduated with a fashion design degree, so it was only natural that she would design purses. Enid made unique, stylish purses using paint, charms, sequins, rhinestones, sculpted brass ornaments and leather trim. Collins of Texas was born in 1959 and at first sold her bags locally in gift shops and dude ranches. But then Neiman Marcus placed an order and Enid’s totes and box bag purses became the ‘must-have’ accessory. I find her story inspirational because she followed her bliss. It seems that a lot of us get caught in the money trap of having to rely on a day job when only we’d be so lucky to lose our jobs and then have to rely on our passions. I know it seems a little scary, but the payoff is huge, not only money but what you have the potential to create.

After poking around the internet, I’ve learned that the purse that I’ve acquired was made in the 1960s. This purse is in excellent shape, but for missing three small sequins – hardly noticeable. It has a mirror on the inside flap to allow for powdering one’s nose at any moment. The purse design is called “Money Tree”, so you’ll be rich if you carry this bag around. Well, you’ll look rich anyway. It’s like carrying a portable piece of studio folk art. I’ll be posting this one for sale soon . . . if it can be wrestled out of my hands. What a find! If you’d like to see more designs, check out Enid Collins Collection.

Update 3/3/11 – This purse has been sold!

When I shop, I’m on the lookout for artistic, unique jewelry that is quality. You won’t find me at a mall store looking through repetitious stacks of a jewelry fad – although I have been known to hunt for the perfect gold hoop. But at any art show, you can find me mulling over pieces and checking my wallet to see how much I can buy. I don’t necessarily look for the trendiest jewelry and buy a piece just because the ‘hot movie actress of the moment’ happened to show up in a magazine wearing some bling-blang. I shop for pieces that will remain in my collection for years. And as my clothing styles change, my jewelry still looks good and accents my outfit. Of course I’ve been through my jewelry stages from gold to silver, thin to clunky but when I look at my stuff, I find that I have a well-rounded lot.

A funny thing happened when my sister and I decided to buy and sell vintage jewelry last summer – all of a sudden I saw it everywhere! In fashion magazines, store catalogues (reproductions, of course) and even first lady was matching vintage jewelry to her outfits (well, her style advisor probably was). Vintage is the current trend! I’m sure it has something to do with the state of the economy. In tough times, people historically look back. And that’s where we’re at right now . . . looking back to when life was easier and people didn’t live in fear of losing their job.

Whether or not vintage is ‘in’, I still have a deep appreciation for it. I got into this biz because I love to treasure hunt. When someone asks me, “Where did you get that?” I have to tell them that it’s a unique jewelry piece (either vintage or from an art show) that you won’t find at the local chain store. In our shop, I try to sell a mix of simple to elaborate so that I can post jewelry pieces that are in a range of prices. It’s fun to mix and match jewelry, even if they are not from the same era . . .it lends to a unique, personal style.