Flowers & Hope are Common at The Guild Shop

Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady to the US in the 1960s, left Texas with many memories, including a gift of roadside flowers and a gift each spring of hope.  The Guild Shop also spreads hope through it's mission, which is based on enriching the community as a Christian ministry and sharing financial support with organizations that help the elderly.  Flowers and Hope are common within The Guild Shop walls with the smiles of our volunteers and the treasures to be found.

Mix your media to create Mosaic

I love the idea of creating a mosaic from colorful pieces of just about anything.  To me it seems like the first mixed-media pieces of art, beginning long, long ago.  According to Wikipedia, the Mesopotamians did some amazing artwork in 3^rd Century B.C.  Imagine how small pieces of stone, tiles, clay, etc., can become a masterpiece.  Its also a bit like color-by-number kits in which certain colors are placed in concrete, glue or epoxy and voilà a beautiful color-form appears.  

This mosaic side table that came into the Guild Shop at the beginning of summer is now gone.   I’m hoping whoever purchased it, created a wonderful little scene on it, perhaps with a even a glass of rose on top. Cheers!

Antiques and Collectables with Flowers

Beautiful trinket boxes come and go at the Guild Shop.  Each week we have at least a few of these dainty boxes that are made in various parts of the world.  And what woman wouldn’t want a beautiful flower box to hold her pearls, special necklace or rings?  These little boxes are perfect for any setting, eye-grabbing and at the heart of the trend of #cottagecore.  All ages love these special gifts.

Bone china or English porcelain, of which several of these boxes are made, is a classification of the strongest of the porcelain family.  It is made derived from animal bone and calculated calcium phosphate, which sounds complicated, but what it means is that is it strong.  Pieces can be somewhat transparent, because they can be so thin and beautiful!  The English perfected making bone china over the centuries.  China, Japan and Ireland now also make some of the most beautiful pieces.  I also recently saw some from South Africa that were amazing. Come see what we have this week and perhaps you too will be surprised.     

Marked Porcelain and other Treasures

From 1945 to 1960, several English companies, including Staffordshire, began to create little pins and jewelry pieces that were a bit of a fashion trend.  The problem with these beautiful pieces is that the porcelain is very delicate for everyday wear.  Recently, a small bag of Staffordshire flowers came into the Guild Shop, and I mixed them with some other flowers to create a beautiful photo and then created my newest pair of earrings, which I am excited to wear.  Can you tell which flowers are porcelain and which ones are paper?

Staffordshire names include Spode, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Royal Worcester and Ridgeway.  If you look in the Guild Shop dish and teacup sections, you will find all these names.  Because it is a bit rare to find Staffordshire pieces as they are considered luxury, we display them in our special cases in the front of the store and in jewelry.  So, if you do see them, you know you have a real gem.

May you find your treasure,

Karina