Hannah's Treasures Vintage Wallpaper Blog

Artisan Spotlight: Fondue Vintage Homewares

Of all the unique artisan shops that we know and love, none is as invested in engaging, exploring, and expanding their use of vintage wallpaper as Fondue Vintage Homewares. Fondue specializes in using old wallpaper to transform humdrum items into extraordinary coversation pieces. Switchplates, tissue boxes, and lamp shades, once merely functional and hardly worthy of a passing glance, become localized pieces of art for your wall or table, and with a large collection of varying patterns and styles, you can find something for every room. We spoke with Nicole (the creative force behind Fondue) about her shop and infatuation with vintage wallpaper. Here's what she shared with us:

Nicole of Fondue Vintage Homewares

Artisan Spotlight: Mitzi's Collectibles

Motivated by the enduring charm of "old things" and a passion for discovering aged treasures, Mitzi Curi  spreads her love for vintage through her Etsy store, Mitzi's Collectibles, and her fascinating blog, Mitzi's Miscellany. Her Etsy store is a mix of both hand-selected vintage keepsakes and handmade upcycled pieces. Mitzi has many years of experience in collecting antiques and a special knack for creating. Her blog not only offers informative tidbits on an array of past treasures, but it also showcases a variety of upcycling and repurposing craft tutorials. Please visit both her Etsy store and her blog, but before you do, check out what Mitzi had to say to us about her shop (and take a peak at some of the fun things she has to offer as well):

Vintage Wallpaper Cuff Bracelets

Artisan Spotlight: Vintagetypegirl

In collaboration with her two favorite vintage typewriters, a 1972 Super 12 (affectionately called the O.G.) and a 1965 Olivetti Lettera 32 (also known as Oliver the cursive typewriter), Catherine of Vintagetypegirl creates a plethora of amusing and charming items for her Etsy shop. From magnets and framed quotes to necklaces, bracelets, and other jewelry items, each piece harbors the essence of vintage charm, and many of them throw in a dash of contemporary wit as well. Vintagetypegirl hails from Chesapeake, Virginia but brings its clever inspiration to the rest of the world via Etsy. We spoke with Catherine, the creative fingers of the operation, and this is what she had to say about her shop—

Artisan Spotlight: Scodioli Creative

 

Madame Scodioli of Scodioli Creative on Etsy ||
Tintype Photo by Victor Vague

Born of carnival inspiration and teeming with imaginative genius, Scodioli Creative offers a truly unique experience in bath and body care products. From the handmade soaps and perfumes to the alluring bearded figurehead of Madame, Scodioli Creative may in fact be the boldest, bravest, most amazing and magnificent show on Etsy! We asked Riley, owner and visionary behind Scodioli Creative, to share with us a little more about her shop, and here’s what she had to say—

Vintage Kraft Wallpaper (aka Decorative Building Paper)

Vintage kraft wallpapers are easy to spot. While most vintage wallpaper designs were printed on relatively thin, light in color, and pliable paper, some vintage wallpaper patterns were printed on a thick, dark, almost cardboard-like kraft paper. Today we call these darker, stiffer wallpapers "vintage kraft papers" or "vintage kraft wallpaper," but at the time they were printed, they were known as "decorative building papers".

The two pictures below show the difference between regular vintage wallpaper and vintage kraft paper:

traditional kitchen vintage wallpaper

same pattern but on vintage kraft paper

The differences between traditional wallpaper and vintage kraft paper may be obvious (especially if you touch the two types with your own hands), but what's not obvious is the purpose behind vintage kraft papers. What were they created for anyway?