live. breathe. design.

this week’s “pack it up, baby!” features another vintage design. this one was a particularly unique  find (thanks again to Tom). federal meats is a local butcher shop with several locations and has been around since 1930, making it a buffalo,ny staple. this insulated paper bag looks like it was from the late 40s or 50s. the illustration is so whimsical and charming in it’s simplicity. what is particulary exciting about this find, is that my father-in-law is a long time employee and manager of federal meats. so not only is it a great piece of local graphic design history but we have a personal connection to it, too! enjoy

i love vintage ephemera, it is one of my favorite things to check out at estate sales and thrift stores. it’s so often the items that get tossed aside, that it is so exciting when you get to see some little bits here and there. my good friend, Tom Walton of Bossa Nova Bungalow came across a huge pile of mid-century decorating items. magazines, ads, paint swatches – all collected with the intention of a fabulously modern mid-century home re-do! we spent hours last night pouring through all of the fabulous goodies. i shot some photos of my favorite pieces and will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks.

i love the layout of these samples. it is so organized and easy to navigate. plus the swatches all running together have a great visual effect! from the type to the wonderfully organized layout this is a very nicely designed piece.

i really enjoy the texture in this irish linen swatches – might need to do something design with that soon!

a month or two ago i stumbled across these fabulous pyrex cruets, which are now happily at use in my kitchen. i had never seen them before so i wanted to do a little research on them. turns out, they were originally packaged in a pretty awesome way. i adore this packaging style, and can just picture these items on display in a department store in these boxes! simple 2 & 3 color design is very underrated in modern packaging – this box shows off the product perfectly. plus i am a sucker for mid-century design…

these photos were taken from joe’s addiction, a blog of many interesting vintage finds!

not too long ago my recipe cards were featured in a treasury with the ladies of pickfair. the treasury was great, packed with retro goodness. i looked into some of the shops and spotted these great vintage milk caps. i love the variety of fonts and color combos. i also think the up-cycling here is great. there are so many great vintage design pieces out there and finding a new use for them, like this party decor, makes my retro heart happy. mad men party anyone?

photos from the pickfair shop.

this is an artist i just adore. i came across jenn ski’s work probably 4 years ago and have been a follower of her blog since then. i will have to feature her again in the future, because today’s post is dedicated to photos of the fabulous placemats i won in a contest on her blog. her work is very mid-century inspired which makes these placemats no different. they go perfectly in my home as continue to decorate in a mid-century style. love, love, love these! you can get your own in her etsy shop!