five fabulous friday finds

Found here.

I love marcasites, and I love vintage brooches, and I love animals: this is a post about that. Plain and simple. I chose my five favorites from Etsy, out of the usual abundance, and they would all fit my little collection very well. Even though I am only shopping imaginatively this year (still going quite well, if I may say so myself, and to my own surprise). First is a gorgeous bird from ContempoLulu.

Found here.

Second is a little lizard from Bohemian Trading.

Found here.

Third is a delicate dragonfly from Lyonesse4gems.

Found here.

Fourth is a beautiful butterfly from Sanibelsands.

Found here.

Fifth is a pretty peacock from HollyPuppysAngels.

best bargain dress of the summer

This is the amazing antique shop in Ystad I've talked about before, Hemlängtan (Homesickness). I really wanted to take some pictures inside too, but it was pretty crowded when I was there so that didn't go according to plan. I meant to go back at another time, but never got around to it. Oh, well, I'll do it next time. Since it was so busy (which is a good thing for the owners of course!), I didn't really stay that long to check things out either, hence didn't buy anything. I did also feel like I shouldn't buy anymore brooches for a while, at least not until I've used all of the ones I already have, twice. When I have done so, Hemlängtan is definitely the place to go to find some more.



I felt quite excited going down to the Saturday market on one of the town squares in Ystad. It took a bit of an effort to find any potentials, but I quite like the hunt. It's a bit more excruciating though, when it's just regular people selling their old stuff really, and some of them clearly had no idea how to price things (which meant overpricing like crazy). When I say excruciating I mean it can feel a bit embarrassing sometimes, when the things people are selling are just junk, and I just look at the table for 5 seconds. That's why I try to walk up to tables when someone else is going too ... Anyways, I spotted a corner of this lovely fabric on a clothes hanger, and as I pulled it out to find it was a lovely dress my heart started to race!



This elderly very nice lady told me it used to belong to a friend of hers, and that I could get it for 40 kronor. My heart raced even more! I didn't really want to try it on in the middle of the town square, but thought it would fit fairly well, and for that price it didn't really matter that much.



It turned out to fit me perfectly and I couldn't be happier with it, I think it's incredibly pretty! I have no idea when it's from, it's got 40's lines I think, but I doubt elastic waistbands were that common back then (which I could be wrong about too though). It's only got a little tag saying the fabric is polyester and cotton, which would be a giveaway it's maybe 70's, early 80's? Nevermind, it's gorgeous!



From a very talkative and persuasive German woman I also bought an Indian old bracelet at the market. It didn't fit me very well, and I doubt it's real silver, but the parts are really nice and I thought I might take it apart and do something else with them. Not sure what though. Any ideas? I love the elephants and little stars.



What I liked the most with the bracelet was the hamsa hand though, that hangs loose on a little chain. It's got such an intricate design for such a small piece of jewellery. I paid 25 kronor for it, and even if I only make a necklace with the hamsa hand I think it's worth it.



Just before leaving Ystad, I got this lovely piece of red and white gingham fabric from my dad's wife: perfection! Not sure what it'll be enough for, but if nothing else I'll use it as a table cloth, which is plenty. It might make a vest, or short sleeved blouse, maybe using some vintage buttons I got in Gothenburg. Oh, that would be even more perfection!



This iron cast reptile I simply could not resist when I found it, for 69 kronor. So cute! And in all honesty, I didn't get any lizards for quite a long time now, unless I'm mistaking. I've mostly been owl crazy, and I certainly don't want the lizzies to feel left out from my life. That would just be plain rude.

sunny saturday shopping

Yesterday I wanted to go into town for what might be the last time in a long while. I wanted to go down to Beachfront, and visit three of my favorite places for what I intended was mostly gift shopping. Of course I ended up buying some gifts for myself as well. How could I resist, and by doing that also miss out on the opportunity to support local design? That would just be rude. We left quite early, and it was sunny with a slight chilly wind, which by the time we got to the beach had vanished. I'm ashamed to say that I completely unintentionally littered the pier, cos after 3 minutes my icecream melted and I didn't want to throw melted chocolate and caramel into the ocean that was crowded with surfers. I'm sorry, next time I'll eat my icecream in 2 minutes.



One stop was African Arts Centre on Florida Road, which is an amazing place. It's a bit more expensive than most other places, but the design is usually much better, and they do a lot of good projects with women that I think feels good to support. Most of the stuff I got there are gifts, and I can't really show them off, but this little fella for 85 rand I couldn't resist for myself. He's just too cute! So once again I failed my promise of not bringing home any more bead work animals. And he's gonna have to get a passport, cos I'm gonna take him all the way back to Sweden.



Of course we had to go to NSA Gallery too, we started with breakfast in their lovely garden. They make divine cappuccino and delicious food, I've always been happy with everything I've had to eat there. So even if the store wasn't so great, I'd keep going there for the café. Now the store is great, and they had a new batch of this gorgeous red lizard ceramics series that I've bought a few things from before. So this time a little sugar bowl for 55 rand got to come home with me.



Last year I got this bowl that I now keep my hair things in, since I've let my hair grow and suddenly get to use a lot of that stuff again. The first time I came here I got a tiny bowl, cos I was afraid anything bigger might break on the way back to Sweden, but these bigger pieces I'm keeping here. Even though they would look very good together with my new all black and red and white Chinese china I've got in Stockholm.



At NSA I also got a bunch of gifts, and this nice turquoise necklace for 48 rand, and a matching phone wire bracelet for 32 rand.



Finally of course I had to go to Euphoria one more time. I had been thinking about some jewellery I saw the last time, but foolishly didn't buy then, so that's pretty much all I came for. I also didn't want to look around too much, cos I know I tend to spend way too much time there when I do. The only downside to this place, is that it can be rather confusing when you're about to pay for something, and the chick who works there now, at least on Saturdays, is not really enjoying her job or paying customers. Last year a very friendly girl worked there, and I want her back. Anyway, apart from not being able to pay with credit card yesterday I'm happy with my purchases, which are also mostly gifts, but these lovely earrings I'm keeping for myself. They're made from shells, and I just think they look so pretty!



I mean just look at these cuties!? So adorable! They're not exactly cheap, but not super expensive: 70 rand. If they were a little bit cheaper I would have bought the whole lot, I kinda regret not doing it anyway. I bought one pair last year though, so I'm sure there will be more of them next time I'll come by, whenever that will be. Unless, of course, I do take the final chance to visit the I Heart Market in two weeks, and they sell them there, which is not impossible at all. Hmmm, I think I just might have to do that. Cos seriously, this whole idea of not shopping too much during my stay this time, cos of what happened the last time I went back to Sweden (13 Kg luggage overweight, and panickly dumping half of my packing in the car boot in scorching sunlight), well that hasn't really worked out that well, so I might as well keep doing it. These delicate shell earrings won't really add to any overweight, and they make me happy. Happiness by pretty peculiarities is after all my motto.

pretty things on the walls pt. 3

Just before I was leaving for my almost one-year-stay in South Africa in the fall of 2008, I found this beautiful place mat at Åhléns in Stockholm, and I just couldn't resist it. I just fell in love with the colours and the design, and since I was starting up a new home almost from scratch, I thought it'd be nice to add some Swedish 50's touch to it, even though it's not authentic. As much as I do love the vintage and second hand stuff, I don't have a problem at all with repro-retro stuff to compliment it all sometimes. Especially things that look this great. Now it hangs on a wall in the kitchen, looking very lovely and actually succeeds in reminding me of my northern home.



This little darling seahorse is really a bookmark, and was a very much appreciated going-away-gift from a friend. Of course it had to go with me, travel back to the tropics where I'm guessing it'd be happier than the cold north. I wouldn't want to hide it inside a book, however good a book, so it's also been put on a wall, just beside the front door. For as long as I can remember I've had a thing for seahorses, and it was in fact the very first tattoo I got. I was 22 I think, and didn't tell anyone I was getting it before hand, and I choose this tiny little seahorse out of a nature book I borrowed from the library. I don't really remember if I was nervous or not, but I remember that I didn't think it hurt at all, and it was a very good experience. It's to the right on the small on my back, so I rarely see it. The only thing I regret about it is not making it bigger from the start. My family was more surprised than shocked I think, and they thought it was pretty, which it is. Also, for those of you who might not have watched as much Animal Planet as I have: the male seahorses raise the baby seahorses on his own, keeping them in his pouch. That's pretty awesome if you ask me.



My second tattoo, as it happens, was a small lizard. See, I went from tiny to small, maybe a year or so later. Very courageous. The guy who made it must have thought this was a very boring tattoo, but he still did a good job and it was done in record time: 6 minutes! I was a bit shocked by how quick he was, but happy with the outcome. Even though it's quite small it looks good where it's sitting just above my left ankle, on it's way up my leg, but never getting closer. Children usually find it fascinating, cos it looks pretty real from a distance, and it's perfectly within their eye range. This nice beadwork is probably not surprisingly from Durban, NSA Gallery to be exact. I'd sort of promised not to buy that much of beadwork and bring it home and decorate with, but this lizard just had to come with me. It now watches over me when I cook, as it hangs above the stove.



Another thing I brought from home to Durban was this original piece of artwork made by the extremely talented Staffan Larsson. He made this particular piece for a book my publishing house published in 2008, by Véronique Tadjo, who funnily enough now lives in South Africa (she's originally from the Ivory Coast). I really love ships, and I really love this picture, and I also thought of it as a tribute to my late grandfather, who as a young sailor came to Durban back in 1944. I thought of it as this being my ship, following in his foot steps, or waves maybe? I wish I'd known to ask him about Durban before he passed, but back in 1997 I didn't have the slightest clue I would end up moving to the other side of the world for love, that fortunately found me across all that distance.

The nice vintage frame is from Ikhaya next to Corner Café, right here in Durbs. Although I suspect it might not really be vintage, just made to look old. I still think it suits the ship very nicely indeed.



Next to the ship, which is hanging above one of the couches, is this little duo. The blue one is actually painted ceramic, or tile, and it's from the Netherlands, where my husband got it during his stay there some 5-6 years ago. It reminds me a lot of Carl Michael Bellman, a very famous Swedish singer-songwriter from the 1700's, and I like it very much. The other picture is a postcard I bought in Berlin a couple of years ago, I just liked the composition of it, and I would really have liked to hear this group of gentlemen play something. I bet those giant harmonicas have a quite special sound. I wonder who took the picture, and if any of them could've guessed they'd end up on a massproduced postcard maybe 70 or 80 years later, one day being found in a small book shop in Berlin, only to end up on the wall in Durban.

I'll be the first to tell them: anything can happen. Just wait and see.