Who doesn't love a nice surprise in the post? On Friday night, I arrived home to a parcel from a lovely girlfriend that contained a card and this bag from Lark. She knows me so well. Oh, how I do love Op Shops. Pictured above are some of my thrift purchases from the past few months. Most of all, I love the idea of giving a stranger's old treasure a new home. The cane lounge has to be my favourite recent find. I look forward to the post christmas house clean-ups...Op Shops are always brimming.
I had to make a mad dash off set a few days ago to purchase items from two of my favourite stores. We needed a hand prop in the form of an old-school Slinky from Remo General Store in Bondi (the place to go for any random Kris Kringle gifts that may be on your list). I then drove on to Darlinghurst to pick up a vintage dome lamp shade from Ken Neale. I haven't mentioned Ken on here before, but I certainly should have. Ken is the king of collectors in all things 20th Century Modern - the film industry would be lost without his bulging warehouse full of beautiful period items for hire. It's worth visiting the showroom in Darlinghurst - literally 4% of his personal collection. His minimal (and matchbox tiny) christmas window display made me smile too - Ken is not one for frills.
Out of all the veggies that live in our crisper, I often forget how exceptional cauliflower can be - until I remember my grandma's incredible cheese/white sauce creation I was raised on. Cauliflower made another rare appearance in a dish my husband made last weekend - combined with Orecchiette pasta, bread crumbs and pancetta. It may sound like a strange combination - but it works. Let me know if you would like the recipe.
As a props buyer in the film industry, you often rely on people who like to collect. For example, David from Penrith who collects vintage cigarette lighters or Brian from the Telstra Museum who can show you the exact phone Australians were holding in 1962. The photo above was taken on set today, and I wanted to share it with you for two reasons: 1. The super size* plastic camera belongs to Rob and Irene from Bowral- who have the largest collection of vintage camera equipment in the country. (Irene also has an impressive collection of Barbie cars, if anyone is interested). And 2. I want to buy the camera to hang in my home, but unfortunately it's not for sale. I might ask Irene just one more time. *Super size = over 40cm in length...it's super cute.
Season's greetings to Sunday Collector readers. I can't believe there are 102 posts on this little blog since the first night I logged in and talked about Mr Gardner. I really do love putting together stories, and it's made that bit sweeter by you - thanks for taking the time to check in over the last six months. I'm off on a Summer holiday down to the South Coast of NSW, but my travels and finds will be back in early 2011. And, for those who are interested - above is my version of the Christmas tree this year (mainly due to being completely over them by December after all my Christmas shoots). When it came to wrapping all the gifts, I raided my ribbon collection (which was starting to get a bit ridiculous in size), the bells were purchased from E & M Greenfield, and I made the swing tags from and an old Women's Weekly. The squirrel was purchased from Orson & Blake. The garland is made from twine and yellow decorations from Polli. I hope you all manage to have a relaxing break. Remember: Eat lots of fabulous food, drink good bubbly, and wear sunscreen. See you back here soon.
