A question about vintage...

I was asked this question today...

"Why do you like old stuff so much?"

I knew immediately what I wanted to say - but I stopped and thought about it for a minute.

And I realized that there is not just one answer to that question.

I realized today that my love for vintage comes from many things-

1. Visiting my Grandma as a child and seeing all her pretties. She is a military wife/mom and she lived all over the world. She has beautiful kimonos from Japan, depression glass from her years growing up, jewelry from all over the world, and a myriad of other items. I was endlessly fascinated every time I visited.

2. The durability of vintage items. Older items were made to last. People couldn't afford to run to Wal-Mart and buy something everytime theirs broke. So things were made to last and last and last.

3. The history of things. Where did it come from? Who first owned it? Why did they sell it? Did she save pennies for months just to buy this one dish for her table? Did she work at Woolworth for years to buy her Coro brooch?

4. The uniqueness. While many items were made in large quantities (depression glass), they were all still slightly different. An air bubble here, a machining mark there, each has its own story of how it was made, and I want to know that story.

5. Recycyling. When you purchase a vintage item, you are preventing it from ending up in a landfill. Think how much prettier that Art Deco bracelet is on your wrist or a friends' verses thrown away.

6. And my last reason? Just because! Vintage is beautiful! Vintage is fun, its creativity, its vitality, and its beauty.

So that's why I love vintage.

Why do you?