A week from today, we’ll be selling our VK goodies at the Hatch art fair in Champaign. We’re bringing us a big old box truck full of repurposed art. Yay! (Fun fact: I love driving box trucks!)
So, our shop in Tuscola will be closed Saturday, March 2. Plan to come to the Hatch art fair instead! We’ll reopen Sunday morning at 10 a.m. in Tuscola.
For more info, check out the Hatch website here. You can also R.S.V.P. at the event’s Facebook page here. Hope to see you there!
Check out this great blog post by Laura of The Shop & The Blog of Worldly Delights! She is our newest artist at VK, and her post tells the story of how she got into making her adorable plushies and accessories. It also shows what Vintage Karma is all about — supporting local artists and their dreams!
Welcome, Laura! 
Bianca says Merry Christmas, too!
Thank you all for your support in 2012. We can’t believe so much has happened and we’ve met so many wonderful people along the way! 2012 is a year we will always remember, and we are looking forward to continue growing our business in Tuscola in 2013.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!
- Laura and Ainslie
Vintage Karma Holiday Hours
Christmas Day: Closed
Dec. 26: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Dec. 27 through Jan. 1: Closed for a holiday break
Jan. 2: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and resume regular hours
Thank you to all of the artists, our family and all of the great visitors who came to our Holiday Open House last night!
We had almost 80 people attend (and one cat), and we were able to raise $70 in donations that we are going to use to buy pet food for the Tuscola Food Pantry. Yes, Ranger, the famous cat in Tuscola, attended with his Santa suit on!
Thank you so much! The night went off without a hitch and we were blown away by everyone’s support of local handmade art!
If you missed it, we still have plenty of holiday goodies here for you. Our artists were even bringing in new items last night!
Check out some of the photos from the open house:
Folks shopping and having fun. That kitty at the bottom of the photo is Ranger Foote! Scroll down for more pics of that handsome puss!
Bianca had her party dress on!
Snacks and cider.
New items that arrived just for the event! Letterpress cards by The Living Letterpress and decoupaged boxes and book lamp by The Prickly Pair!
And, Burn353 released a special line of steampunk jewelry at the open house! You can only find it here!
Our giveaway table! We had 10 giveaways and raised $70 in donations to purchase pet food for the Tuscola Food Pantry.
Shani Goss (whose cuffs and neckaces you can find here!) won a giveaway!
Kari Carter won the hour of tattoo time!
Rachel Green, right, won Melissa Mitchell’s escutcheon-plate peep! That’s Melissa snuggling with Ranger!
And Ranger is all partied out!
Hope you had as much fun as Ranger did!
I realize that I just posted about not rushing through fall, but people need to plan, right?
We hope you’ll join us after you’re all stuffed full of turkey later this month!
Click the picture for more info. You can R.S.V.P. on our Facebook event page and keep up with the latest!
A lot of retailers have already put up their Christmas trees. Well, we are starting to get out the holiday goodies, but Thanksgiving needs some love, don’t you think?
Rushing through a season isn’t much fun, and it seems a shame to not enjoy fall for a little longer.
Here are our Vintage Karma picks for a happy Thanksgiving!
This apron by Leslie Hornaday of Mother of All Design would make a great gift for a hostess. Leslie suggests wrapping it around a bottle of wine! Click the photo to purchase.
This is our most popular offering from Homer Soda Company, but we have more than 20 flavors you can choose from to create your own six-packs and impress your guests. We’ve even got a ginger beer with a cocktail recipe on the back for the boozy types.
Cute and festive acorn earrings by Anne Potter. Click the photo to purchase!
This handmade triangle shawl is woven with Chilean fibers. A soft and warm treat from Carolina-Arellano Grant. The pin it comes with looks like a little knitting needle!
Looking dapper is never a bad idea. Click photo to get all dapper-fied for Thanksgiving dinner!
For the kiddies! By Kelley Englehardt of Posies and Pattycakes.
Laura Davis of VK made this acorn wall hanging. It’s so TEENY TINY! Click the pic!
Or maybe you’d rather put a bird on it? Joellyn Cobb has needle-felted a turkey for this cute little wreath.
Also made with felt, this brooch by Anna Marx of Posies and Pattycakes, means you can wear mums that never die!
Hugh Bridgeford of MudBugs Pottery made this French butter keeper. Perfect for a holiday table!
We have more Thanksgiving goodies in the store, and different versions of the items above, too.
Happy fall and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Hello! We recently got a new bunch of assemblage robots in from sisters Cheryl Slifer and Janet Alred of Decatur, and they are too fun not to share. Cheryl and Janet aren’t keen on giving interviews, but their work speaks for itself. Check it out!
This rather dapper fellow is Brad. We love his bow tie made from a brooch and antennae fashioned from a wall hook!
Crystal is pretty big city. She’s got her nice purse and her little dog in her arms. I could definitely see her making her way through Manhattan.
Next up is Tattoo Man.
Those are tattoos up and down his arms. His full title is “Tattoo Man aka Snowflake Ain’t No Sissy.” He’s pretty tough with all those tats!
Picture Perfect’s pretty tough, too. I don’t think I’d want to get her angry. She already has her hands on her hips and her head cocked to one side. I get the feeling she doesn’t put up with any B.S.
Don’t even think about touching her purse, or she’ll smack you silly!
A friend of Picture Perfect is Soldier Boy. His body is an ammo canister. Awesome!
Last but not least is Queen Benita. Her name was inspired by her face, a Baby Ben clock. She wears a vintage flower clip and spends her days looking regal.
Hope you enjoyed checking out these wonderfully fun pieces of art! They’re hanging out at VK until they find new homes! Maybe for Christmas?
It’s time for another look at what goes into creating handmade goods at Vintage Karma!
Meet Lisa Schureman of That Old Blue House. We were immediately drawn to the Green Valley resident’s use of old treasures in her jewelry. Words found on her jewelry packaging describe her work best: “She gives us a peek into the past through little windows of time created by heirloom quilts, lace, coverlets, vintage postcards and seed packets she uses in her pieces. All of these things lend clues to a way of life that no longer exists except in little treasures like these, found and preserved to be enjoyed today.”
What was your first piece? What inspired you to create it?
I took my first stained glass class over 25 years ago at a local retail gift shop by day and craft shop by night!
How did you get into making jewelry? What drew you to your chosen medium?
I was drawn to stained glass because I wanted to make a lamp. I started making small suncatchers, and I had a friend that offered to sell my pieces in her florist shop. After she sold one, I was hooked! I have been creating ever since!
Click the photo to purchase one of Lisa’s marble necklaces.
Describe your creative process.
Over the years my work has evolved. Now I mainly make jewelry using the stained glass technique. I combine my love of antiques with glass to create one-of-a-kind jewelry.
What is your favorite part of the creative process? What is your least favorite part?
I have to admit it’s the hunt for antique and vintage items that I most enjoy. I love digging through antique shops, auctions, etc., to find old pieces to repurpose in my jewelry. A friend of mine says I have more “stuff” than I will ever use! My least favorite part is probably the wrapping of each piece with copper foil before soldering.
Click the photo to purchase.
What inspires you?
I usually find inspiration from the vintage pieces I pick up here and there. One day I might be going through my old crazy quilt scraps and spend the whole day cutting and assembling pieces; another day it’s my marbles. At times ideas just randomly pop into my head …
Lisa’s studio
What do you do when you’re not making art?
I spend time going to my son’s games. Right now he is playing in a wood bat league. I also love to read mysteries and watch sports on TV.
Don’t forget to check out a special display of Lisa’s jewelry at Vintage Karma!
Last week, we were interviewed over on Urban Escapee, where the tagline is “Ditch the Commute, Build a Business, & Revitalize Main Street.”
It’s pretty easy to see why we were so excited to be featured there:
Ditch the commute. Check. Ainslie no longer travels about an hour a day, and I sure don’t mind giving up my old commute. When I added up my time on the road, I found I gained approximately 40 hours of life back PER MONTH.
Build a business. Even though some folks think we are crazy, we moved Vintage Karma 800 miles away to a small Midwestern town to expand and offer retail online and in person.
Revitalize Main Street. We’re both excited to be part of what Tuscola is creating! We opened here in April, and more changes are coming to Sale Street with a fitness business, coffee shop and home decor store on the way.
We discovered the Urban Escapee site through our friend James, who was nice enough to introduce us to Katie, a small business owner and the voice behind Urban Escapee. She is also writing a book, and is the author of
The manifesto has lots of food for thought in it about community, small businesses, the environment and rural/small town living. A good read filled with beautitful photos. You can get it here, and it’s free!
Molly Poganski is the printer and shop manager at the Living Letter Press in Champaign. When not printing up “Hey Girl!” cards or roller derby posters, Molly teaches workshops that take participants back in time with blocks of wood type, the rythmn of the press and the smell of fresh ink.
What was your first piece? What inspired you to create it?
I think the first commercial piece we did at the Living Letter Press were the posters for the 2011 Pygmalion Music Festival. Very fun project. The poster is based on a traditional show poster look, similar to that of Hatch Show Print, for example.
How did you get into making your creations?
I learned about letterpress while attending Indiana University and was hooked immediately. The Living Letter Press opened after a Kickstarter campaign and the creation of our “sister project,” an app called LetterMpress, which simulates the process of letterpress printing on the iPad.
Woodie Guthrie print available at VK.
Describe your creative process.
My process is sometimes based on a client’s needs (commercial work) and sometimes based on other inspiration. At the studio every day I’m surrounded by hundreds of pieces of wood type, which most of our work is printed from. There’s an endless supply of words and imagery you can create from the type, and the amount of freedom we have to be creative and experiment really depends on the project.
What drew you to your chosen medium?
The look of letterpress is distinct; each piece of wood type has its own knicks, dents, and idiosyncrasies. It looks old (it is old) and rustic, which I love. It has a warm Americana sort of feel to it. Also, I really enjoy the process of setting type. It’s time consuming, but for me it’s a puzzle you get to figure out and then print with. A puzzle that produces art in the end. I love that.
Click the photo to purchase the cards.
What is your favorite part of the creative process? What is your least favorite part?
My favorite part is probably setting the type to print, and then pulling the first prints off the press. You can never quite tell what your print will look like until you’ve pulled one; there’s always a little bit of mystery and risk. My least favorite part (and I think this is universal among printers) is cleaning the press.
What keeps you inspired/what inspires you?
Old things. Abstract type and type as image. Vintage typography. Linocut and woodcut. Hatch Show Print, Yee Haw Industries, Hammerpress, and a hundred other printers and print shops.
Click the photo to purchase a print.
What do you do when you’re not making art?
Outside of work, I cook a lot, play the drums, root through thrift stores, ride a bicycle, and hang out with my cat Gus.
