"Things that make you smile" ~ handmade by Susan Schneider
One of my daily reads, A Way To Garden did a story on WPA posters. The graphics alone make you want to plant your own garden. Well this year I was unable to plant a garden (but have big plans for next year).
The garden I have been growing has been Shandell’s, rearranging and planting new seeds in all different area’s. In the next few weeks I will be adding a great new online store and my website get updated with lots to make you smile.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, see you in September.
Susan
Vintage Seed Catalog Collection
This winter, as I was organizing my flat files, I came across a wonderful bunch if vintage seed and plant catalogs.
The graphics intrigued me, they are an artistic travel through time. Each tell a story of what was happening in this country when the catalogs were printed. I just could not resist putting these images on everything I make. The winter months went by much faster as I was dreaming about my garden.
I think Sweet Peas were a very popular flower, there are so many catalog covers with them on it, one of my favorite I put on a night light. This one was on a Burpee catalog from 1898.
David Landreth was the first person to produce a mail order seed catalog in the USA. The art of hand drawn catalog covers have been replace by the camera. The photos are beautiful, but pen and ink are my preference.
I love to garden, having my hands in the earth is a pleasure I share with millions. My dogs like to help me with it as well, they dig and I plant. How perfect.
Seed catalogs start arriving in early fall and are all in a basket waiting for the long winter days.
My friend Margaret, from A Way to Garden has been talking about them for a while.
This year I have decided to order only Nasturtiums and Morning Glories in as many colors and types I can find. The white picket fence in front of my yard will be filled with lots of color.
Enjoy your journey through my seed catalog collection.
Hope they make you smile.
The scrap yard, as you know is one of my favorite destinations when I travel. This pair of lamps I have pictured are from a wonderful piece of 19th century fencing with a great silver paint. So, off to the welders they went.
When I got them back from him, I was searching for a great paper to pair them with. As I was looking through my vintage papers, I came across a stack of Topography Maps, dating 1905 that I had purchased years ago. To make it even better, I had some from areas near to where I am located. Saugerties, Ulster and Catskill are some of the towns that are on these maps.
I wonder, these fence pieces came from upstate New York, could they have come from one of the towns that I have pictured.
Check out Good Scrap Yard Part 1 & Part 2 to see what other fabulous finds I created into to lamps. I seem to be drawn to orange as a color to include for the shade making, the rust pairs so nicely with that color.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Susan
This summer I was on a hunting trip in upstate New York, stumbled on a great organized junk/scrap yard. There was a section for everything. I could not contain myself, all I thought was how I was going to get all of my treasures home. There was a 19th century iron garden gate, I love these. They have a history, I use my imagination to wonder who were the people who walked through the gate. The center pieces was the only thing left to salvage, the iron scroll work was beautiful.
On my way home I stopped at my welders and dropped them off. These are the lamps, vintage industrial with style.
The fun part about what I do, is I get to find incredible hand made papers form all over the world new and old to make lampshades for the lamps that get created from my hunting trips. This paper I found this spring in New York. The paper is a light version of Kraft paper with scrolls of espresso and bronzes screened on it. A perfect match for these lamps.
If you are in the area stop by to see works in progress or visit my online shop.
Have a great weekend.
Susan
This past Sunday, I took the morning off to visit Margaret Roach’s garden , head guru of A Way to Garden. She had a Garden Conservancy Open Day.
I took my camera along to inspire me in my own garden. I took over 100 pictures, of flowers, trees, Frogboys, Jack the cat, chipmunks and architectural elements around her home.
She was busy answering questions from the hundreds of people that came to see her creation.
When I got back to my studio and downloaded my pictures, I was so inspired by my visit,that I made a Memory Box of the occasion.
I had a hard time picking which pictures, but these are my favorites. All have different elements, textures and color. Vintage iron fencing leaning on a tree, a rusty headboard for a gate. Buddha among foliage. A purple chair with alliums next to it and anyone who knows me, purple is the best. Topping the box off are a group of Pansies smiling at you. As I was making this, there was a smile on my face the entire time, remembering my walk through her garden.
Enjoy my memories of that morning.
Susan
Click on the first thumbnail to start your tour of my Memory Box.
On a bright sunny day a couple of weeks ago, I stumble on a fabulous bolt of floral English printed linen in my basement. I remember when I bought this a couple of years ago falling in love with the pattern, spring time flowers on a beautiful linen from England. I brought the bolt into the studio and combed my collection of vintage lamps for a perfect combination for this fabric.
Well I think I found it. A pair of vintage white ceramic lamps, fashioned to look like either baskets or large knots of rope, I will let you try to figure it out.
I made a wonderful pair of shades out of the linen, trimming them with chartreuse grosgrain and a bright mossy green velvet. Topped the lamps off with a pair of iridescent porcelain finials that brings out the colors of the shades. These are made to make you smile, bringing spring time flowers indoors all years round.
Happy Spring,
Susan
As one of my winter chores has been to organize my new studio space, I have been going through all of my inventory of fabulous finds. I came across a wonderful pair of architectural pieces, these came from a 19th c main gate of a formal garden.
I made them into lamps and paired them with lampshades made of sea grass, giving a wonderful texture and glow.
Thistles are a favorite of mine and these seem to show that off.
Enjoy looking, spring will be here soon. Come and explore Shandell’s studio in person or visit my shop online. New items will be added weekly.
Peace,
Susan
Shandell's is the creative home of me, Susan Schneider, a longtime collector of things vintage with a passion for recycling them into things that make you smile. Shandell's, a working lampshade and vintage lighting studio, has just relocated to 2976 Church Street, Pine Plains, NY 12567. I draw on a collection of thousands of unique handmade papers, antique wallpapers and other very special materials in my work. We will be open by chance or appointment. Sign up to receive new product updates as well as specials!
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