Vintage Fans: Retro Style on Etsy

Handpicked on Etsy

Whirring motor twirling whirling blades....something in a vintage fan brings out my inner poet, for better or worse. My silliness aside, vintage fans caught my fancy today and turn my thoughts to warm summer days. These delightful small appliances inspired the artistry of two photographers and eight talented vintage sellers, who used skillful eyes and their camera to tell a story. Old fans like these not only send cooling breezes about your space, but they inject nostalgic ambiance into a room, charm the eye, and create a lovely rhythmic white noise and pleasant commotion. Click on the pictures to go directly to these Etsy listings, and find out which of these fans are pictorial art and which are working electrical collectibles. Prices range from $20.00 to $149.00.
From to left to bottom right, today's featured Etsy sellers include: rescueme, thesundaytimesmarket, AliciaBock, sydg, oldcrowfarm, lucysnowephotography, happydayvintage, bohemianvintage1, OhHelloVintage, grynbergs

St. Paddy's Day: Wear Green from Etsy!

Handpicked on Etsy

Saint Patrick's Day is March 17th, a festival originally associated with the color blue. In the 17th Century, the shamrock, which was supposedly employed by Saint Patrick as a teaching tool to explain the Holy Trinity, was adopted as the symbol of the holiday, and shamrock-green became the iconic color. What began in the middle ages as a religious holiday honouring St. Paddy, evolved into a day of feast and gradually became a day of revelry, parades, beer drinking and, throughout the Irish diaspora, a salute to Celtic roots and culture. In modern day America, our custom is to wear the touch of green or suffer the penalty of getting pinched. Inspired by the "wearing of the green" tradition, today I searched on Etsy for adornments in this hue, and found these accessories in a variety of media that would be wonderful additions to a wardrobe and will always come in handy for Saint Patrick's Day. Click on the pictures to go directly to these Etsy listings. Prices range from $12.00 to $228.00

From top left to bottom right, today's featured artisans include: twoknit, gurlygirl, KnotOriginal, JurgitaMi, Bijouxdart, cocon, amityjoy, galit

Synesthesia & Musical Inspiration on Etsy

Handpicked on Etsy

If you hear a sound and concomitantly sense a color, you have a rare condition known as synesthesia. An example might be the musical note middle C provoking you to envision the color red. Such perceptions are involuntary physical responses to auditory stimuli versus examples of conscious response to sensory input. For whatever reason, the word synesthesia popped into my mind today and led me to wonder what I'd find searching it on Etsy. While I only came upon one artist who has the unusual phsysical syndrome, I found others who were intellectually inspired by a specific piece of music and applied their response in their creations. Working in various media, today's featured artists tell a musical story in these pieces. Click on the pictures to go directly to each listing and discover which piece of music inspired these creations! Prices range from $11.11 to $430.00.

From top left to bottom right, today's featured artists include: wschweizer, bjwcreative, AncaNY, debrasoriginals, wifflestudios, InvisibleFountain, Rodiegear, 3crows, klaart, debrasoriginals

Beetles: Insect Fascination on Etsy

Handpicked on Etsy: Scarab beetles in ancient Eqypt symbolized the transformation of life, and became an iconic motif for artifacts including amulets, talismans and jewelry. Nowadays, the word "beetle" is more frequently associated with the famed rock band, The Beatles, or with the "bug" auto by Volkswagon, than with the insect. Living, crawling weavils and everyday beetles are typically dismissed as mere pests in modern life, but artisans have long recognized intriguing manifestations of color and form displayed in this class of insects. Today I searched for examples of beetle-inspired creations on Etsy and came across these lovely examples of jewelry and pictorial artwork. Click on the pictures to go directly to these Etsy listings. Prices range from $14.00 to $48.00.

From top left to bottom row, today's featured artists include: aquakej, enchantedbeas, banastrudel, redfoxjewelry, tarabrisbine, sugarandfig, honeybeeceramics, mietoile