What's Old is New

It's been coming on for the last 2 years if not longer, blame it on the recession if you like,  but popularity of vintage Americana, blue-collar working class life, bringing things back home again, and farm to table eating, continues to grow in interest. I like it.


Tennis - South Carolina from woodsman man on Vimeo.

This was posted by a friend on Facebook today and it personifies this "trend" with the Burlesque girls, the vocals, and the way the video was put together, it almost looks like watching an old vintage reel film.

With this new found love of the old, canning, farmer's market shopping, gardening, baking, knitting, sewing, and crafting are heading towards mainstream, instead of making you seem like some geeky outcast lost in another time.  Sites like Canning Across America have new found popularity, and I can't help noticing that every store from Target to Whole Foods is now carrying canning supplies.

Urban Chicken farming is becoming as common as having a garden for some, if you are handy you can build them yourself, but if not never fear there are places like Bake's Binster all over America that come right to you and get you all set up and ready to raise chickens.  

In June I attended the Show of Awesome at the Doug Fir and found a space filled to capacity with hipster crafters, these aren't your typical craft shows and not the typical attendees either.  While there I found finely crafted smoked almond butter toffee from Rose City Sweets. (sinfully delicious, and I loved the old candy dishes she uses here with tea towels)

Also of note was that the creator of these lovely treats was dressed in a 1950's era little dress, had a beautiful curvy figure and reminded me instantly of a pin-up girl... and that smoked flavor in her toffee,  a signature new twist on a classic.

I've been reading about brands like Levi's, Pendleton, Woolrich (America's oldest apparel company), Filson, etc enjoying a new found popularity amongst a younger crowd.  In fact I took on a big design project for Woolrich this winter overhauling their entire outerwear collection and working with them to restore vintage branding a labeling for 2011.   I was thrilled to spend hours combing through their archives and getting my hands on vintage woolen jackets from the early 1900's.  

         

vintage Woolrich

I find myself constantly in search of old "finds", some of my most recent scores were in Walla Walla, Washington at the Shady Lawn Creamery vintage store.  Where I picked up this vintage Mt. Hood postcard, I paid $7.50 for it, youch!  But...it's a beauty.

I also had some serious love for these too.

It's good see this happening and I look forward to seeing how it evolves.