Vintage Rentals Archives - Page 20 of 24

Vintage Feature – New Website is Up!

Whoop whoop!! Our new website is up and running! My wonderful, fantastic reviewers (Trudy, Carrie, Priscilla, Jami, Mary and Pat) and I love the color scheme and the slide shows featuring our beautiful, vintage inventory. I am so excited our site pages and blog posts all are here at the same place! I can even check my site stats here and now everyone can pin photos directly from the site. Yippee!

~ If you are on our old blog site, go here now to view this post at its new home! ~

Email subscribers, here’s something really important to note – this will be my final post at my wordpress.com blog. I will be posting from this new website but it is super easy to re-subscribe at the top right of this page. New subscribers are welcomed!! When you subscribe, you’ll be notified via email that a new post is up, which is every Sunday. (Also note, this post and all the other posts are published on both blogs but I will be taking down the old one soon.)

I’d love, love, love (and be most appreciative!) if you’d also follow us on Southern Vintage Table’s Facebook page. I tried adding a Facebook Like Widget but I couldn’t find a position on the page that looked right. That’s one thing I need to figure out. I post on Facebook once or twice a week, mostly about new vintage finds or treasures, which I think you’ll love to see!

For those who are interested, I am using GoDaddy’s feature, Managed WordPress, which means I went from WordPress.com to WordPress.org because it’s now a self-hosted site. With this change, I now have more control over the themes and can add widgets to add all kinds of features – like the slide shows on each page featuring our inventory, a footer with contact information and a email subscription field only on the blog page. There is still much to learn! I also dropped my Dreamweaver subscription and, with the Managed WordPress on GoDaddy, I have reduced my hosting fee. GoDaddy provided a temporary url to use while building the site, took down the old site when I was ready to launch, and migrated all the pages over to the same domain name. All in all, this is a terrific update for Southern Vintage Table!

Take a look and tell me what you think! I’d love to hear your comments, ideas and suggestions.

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Vintage Feature – A Mother’s Grief Kindles a Porcelain Legacy

I saw this unusual candy dish in the thrift store and, I admit, my first impression was that it was a bit gaudy. Without my glasses, I couldn’t read the mark very well but I did see that it was made in Pasadena. The script of the mark and the place clinched the deal – I bought it.

It sat on my table for weeks, and occasionally I’d pick it up and admire it, running my fingers across its smooth, ruffled edge. The muted colors and delicate handiwork of the roses captivated me. Finally, I took a photo and decided to do a little research about its history. I couldn’t find the exact piece but I did see another one that was pretty close. However, it turns out the story of this woman-owned American company was the best part of this vintage find.

According to the International Ceramics Directory, Florence Ceramics began in the early 1940s by Florence Ward, an anguished mother who lost her young son to a rare blood disease. To cope with her grief, she took a ceramics course at the Franklin School for ceramics and pottery. Her artistic talent was quickly revealed in her figurines of women and men dressed in authentic historic dress. Friends admired her work and she began selling her signature pieces from her garage.

As her success grew, Florence Ceramics moved to a large, modern facility in 1949 and began mass producing her figurines. Her employees loved working for the Ward family and high standards were always revered. Eventually, as the story often goes, cheaper reproductions from overseas and the death of her husband caused Florence to sell her business to Script in the early 1960s. According to the eBay article, Florence Ceramics aka Florence of California, “A great era of perfection and detail in porcelain figurines came to an end.”

Alas, I do not have any figurines to share but you won’t be disappointed if you take a look at some of these found at Replacements. So beautifully vintage!

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Vintage Feature – Revamping the “About” Page

This past week I have been working on my new website. One page I have wanted to change and update is “Our Story.” So after researching effective “About Me” pages, I hit on this idea. The page title is simply “About.”

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Hello, I’m Shelly.

I’m the owner of Southern Vintage Table, a vintage tableware and decor rental business. After two years of scouring thrift stores, estate sales, antique shops, auctions, craigslist and even my own home, I have collected lots of vintage china, glassware, flatware, serving dishes, linens, and accessories. Many things have been generously shared by friends and family. Our collection spans the 20th century and everything is available for hire.

Here are a few things about me – in no particular order.

~ I’m an optimist, like my mother, and believe things have a way of turning out okay. Maybe not in the way you envisioned but perhaps how it must.

~ I’m a retired middle school teacher, wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, niece, and friend. I am a twin with 7 siblings and have two children. I met my husband in the 6th grade.

~ My alma maters include Orange High School, Western Carolina, and UNC-CH. I have a masters in education and earned National Board Certification.

~ My last teaching assignment included a video/news program class called MNN, a web graphics course, and yearbook. I taught 6th, 7th and 8th graders and sometimes had a student for all three years, which always delighted me.

– Whenever I can afford the time, I take the scenic back roads. Thankfully, I usually have the time.

~ I especially love candlelight, potted plants, flowers, pretty china, and wooden boxes. My hobbies have included sewing, playing tennis, making mosaics, and rearranging furniture.

~ As the owner of my business, I have learned how to drill holes in china, get rid of stains in china and linens, and – gasp – properly set a table. And, I love setting tables!

~ When I go thrift store shopping, I’m not necessarily thinking about what the item is, but what it can become or how it can be repurposed. Sometimes I can see it right away, and other times I buy it knowing the vision will come eventually.

~ I’ve started reading a few pages of a book before I go to sleep. I’ve almost finished “Bossypants” by Tina Fey, which I highly recommend. Witty and profound.

~ I’ve written a country song I want Miranda Lambert or Kelly Clarkson to sing and have a movie I want Reese Witherspoon to produce. I’ve messaged the cosmos to help me with these two projects. Hey, it can’t hurt and it just might help, right? That optimism my mother gifted to me is kicking in here.

~ I love meeting new people and listening to their life stories. I especially enjoy hearing the names of their children, parents, grandparents, and even further back. Makes me feel like I’m time traveling with them.

~ I am so grateful for my friends and family. Their wisdom and stories have infused my life with joy and love.

~ I’d love to talk with you and promise our Southern Vintage Table collection will create a memorable, lovely affair for your special guests!

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Let me know what you think about my new “About” page. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or additions, I’d love to hear from you. Really, I mean it…

New website is well on its way – should be unveiling it soon! Here are some photos I took this past week for it.

Vintage Gold Rimmed Glass Compote With Fruit

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Vintage Feature – 3 Goals for the New Year

A new year is the perfect time to set a few goals and we have three major ones on our list at Southern Vintage Table. Here they are!

~ Goal 1 – Develop a “Table Decor” package ~

We have collected all kinds of cool, wonderful vintage doo-dads and small linens – tins, vases, books, postcards, coasters, votives, doilies, hats, gloves, small purses, small stands, candle holders, small frames – to use as table decor. Our next step is to put together a “per table” package so clients can customize their own vintage look for their guest and serving tables. If I haven’t checked this off my list and you would like to know more, please let me know! I’ll get right on it!

~ Goal 2 – Work on assorted DIY projects ~

This one may be the most fun goal of the three but figuring out which ones to tackle first will take some time. For instance, I found two 3-paneled dividers but both of them need a little work – one needs embellishing and the other needs to be repaired. We also have a few wooden items that would look so much better with a distressed look and a couple of trumpets just waiting to be upscaled into something unique. Just waiting for some cosmic inspiration…

~ Goal 3 – Revamp our website and Pinterest Boards ~

H-u-u-ge job, I know, but it’s time for a fresh look and we now have lots of terrific photos from this past year to showcase. I will be moving my business site to Wordpress but I have a lot to learn about how to do it.

Okay, my goals are out there which means I better start checking them off. In the meantime, sending you wishes for a wonderful, happy and prosperous new year from
Southern Vintage Table!

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Vintage Feature – A Blissful Wish for All!

I’ve been working on an upcoming new Pinterest board featuring vintage kitchen ware decor and created this lovely holiday vignette using three vintage candlelit shredders. Although I’m not quite ready to unveil my board and post, I thought this photo would be perfect for my holiday wishes to all our friends, followers and fans of Southern Vintage Table.

~ Wishing you all a blissful holiday and new year ahead! ~

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Southern Vintage Table Event – Anne of Green Gables’ Photoshoot

“It’s delightful when your imaginations come true, isn’t it?”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Last month Bekah, owner of Ardent Darcy, invited Southern Vintage Table to help with a photoshoot – how exciting for us! Bekah and photographers Anna and Brent Deitrich of Live View Studios were inspired by the classic story, Anne of Green Gables, written by Lucy Maid Montgomery in 1903. With purples, pinks, a delectable cake, handcrafted stationery, a lovely farm venue and vintage tableware from our elegant collection, the shoot was a magnificent success.

Be sure to see more of these artful photos posted on Live View Studios’ blog, Anne of Green Gables Inspiration.

Vendors who contributed to this shoot included:

Bekah, Wedding Stylist and Floral Design: Ardent Darcy
Anna and Brent Deitrich, Photographers: Live View Studios
Shannon Fox, Owner of Venue: Iron Horse Events
Randi Smith, Baker: Sugar Euphoria
Molly Gaither, Stationery: Ply Studio
Shelly Heath, Vintage Table Rentals: Southern Vintage Table
Kristal Cloer, Vintage Rentals: Farm & Filigree

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Southern Vintage Table Event – A Romantically Vintage Wedding

Rebekah and I started working together last fall on the table details for her wedding reception. For their September wedding, she and Joey had chosen Mt. Lebanon Chapel in Airlie Gardens for the ceremony and Saint Thomas Preservation Hall in downtown Wilmington for their reception. Saint Thomas Preservation Hall, a restored former Catholic church built in 1846, is a wonderful setting for a vintage wedding reception. They had fallen in love with its beauty and to complement its rich history, Rebecaa wanted vintage table settings. As you might guess, Southern Vintage Table was thrilled to help!

Her wedding reception vision was vintage romance with elegant vintage china and goblets. In addition to the vintage inspired guest tables, Rebekah and Joey’s dessert table idea was both unique and personal – they wanted to offer their favorite tea flavors with the wedding cake at a tea and dessert bar. When she shared this idea with me, I remember thinking what a wonderful idea!

With our vintage dessert plates tucked in the drawers of the vintage cabinet provided by Simply Put Vintage Rental, and our teacups displayed on the vintage sewing machine, also from Simply Put Vintage Rental, the dessert and tea bar was charming and beautiful! One of my favorite features on the tea bar was the samovar, a Russian hot water kettle. Finding this treasure was very memorable and you can read more about it on this post, “Vintage Adventure – A Thrift Shop Miracle.”

We set the tables with our elegant vintage china collection. My staff (aka friends, Mary, Louise and Jami) layered the dinner, salad and appetizer plates to create a beautiful, mixed and matched setting for each guest. Along with our vintage silver flatware, napkins, clear goblets and gorgeous flower arrangements by Kickstand Events, the reception tables were splendidly romantic!

As a special request from Rebekah last fall, Southern Vintage Table gathered a collection of small vintage goblets for their wedding toasts, and although we don’t have photos of these from that evening, we do have a previous post that features them, “Vintage Feature – Small Vintage Goblets are Perfect for the Wedding Toast!” We think you will want them at your wedding, too!

Congratulations and best wishes to you, Rebekah and Joey! Thank you for letting us be a part of this romantic, lovely and magical experience. Also, thanks to Anna Kirby Photography for many of these extraordinary photos and, again, to friends Mary, Louise and Jami for all of their help!

Folks who helped with the beautiful, romantic wedding reception include:

Photography: Anna Kirby Photography
Reception Venue: St. Thomas Preservation Hall
Event Coordinator: Jill White
Floral Design: Kickstand Events
Vintage China and Tableware: Southern Vintage Table
Vintage Furniture: Simple Put Vintage Rental
Reception Entertainment: Stray Local
Caricaturist: Bill Smith
Catering: Pine Valley Market
Baker: One Belle Baker
Lighting: High Performance Lighting

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Vintage Colored Goblets with Vintage Plates

Southern Vintage Table Event – A Vibrantly Vintage Lakeside Wedding

When I met Maria last spring, I felt this instant connection as she shared her wedding vision with me. She and Jonathan were getting married at Bass Lake and, like all couples, they wanted their wedding to be memorable for themselves, their family and friends. Even though we all appreciate the look of delicate, elegant, vintage china, Maria’s vintage wish for their wedding was whimsical, cheerful and vibrant. I was certain our casual vintage china collection with vintage jewel-toned glasses would fit perfectly!

The mid-century vintage collection at Southern Vintage Table is wonderfully eclectic – some patterns are bold, some are demure, and others are just charming – and seeing them all together is delightful. The spectacular sparkle on the tables was our gold, green, pink and blue vintage goblets. With our vintage stainless collection and vintage napkins, the final look was so lovely!

Maria artfully designed her vintage-inspired welcoming station. Along with our vintage suitcases, crate and books, Maria created a collage of photos clipped to framed chicken wire, decorated a mailbox for cards and displayed a welcoming sign for her guests. She also used a vintage window to frame the seating charts which stood on our large easel. This happy wedding ended with a dazzling sendoff with the sparklers ready to go in our wooden bucket.

The prominent feature of the dessert table was the stunning cake with its vintage record player pedestal. The dark vintage wood against the creamy cake icing and vintage overlay created a dashingly dramatic look. The vintage dessert plates and dessert forks in vintage silver trays completed this gorgeous display.

Vintage is a style with many interpretations. It can be romantic, elegant, shabby chic, retro, bold, charming, quaint or any combination thereof. For Maria and Jonathan, vintage meant sharing a vibrant, memorable experience, filled with love of family and friends. Thank you for inviting Southern Vintage Table to be a part of your wedding day. Wishing you endless love, joy and fun!

These folks helped make this a memorable wedding for all:

Cake: Erin Lodeesen, Friend of the Bride

Photography: Rachel Dennis, Friend of the Bride

Videographer: Cinema Film

Appetizers: The Fresh Market

Catering: Johnny Carino’s

Officiant: Raudel Hernandez

Venue Site: Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs

Photobooth: A Picture to Remember Table Settings: Southern Vintage Table

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Vintage Feature – A Mélange of Vintage Vases

The purpose of a vase is simple – to hold pretty flowers. The vase, however, is also the frame for the bouquet, creating a look that might be beautiful, elegant, colorful, fun or whimsical. Today’s post, short on words but long on photos, features the eclectic mix of vintage vases and containers at Southern Vintage Table and how they display their lovely flowers in many different ways.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

Beautiful flowers always are appreciated at any affair and even more so when framed in a vintage vase or container. Southern Vintage Table has many choices – milk glass, blue mason jars, petite ceramic, silver pitchers, green glass vases, teapots, sugar dishes and creamers, small bottles and even a Coleman jug or two. To see more of our collection, take a look at our new Pinterest board, Vintage Vases. More pins are on the way!

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Vintage Feature – Vintage Metal Trays

Another delightful vintage accent for your next event – decorative metal trays. Along with their metal partner, vintage tins, these trays are beautiful, historic and practical. As I surveyed our small, growing collection at Southern Vintage Table, my organizing instinct just kicked in. I decided our vintage collection fell into three categories: advertisement, decorative printed and hand painted.

Advertisement Trays

This grouping of trays tell a story about America in the early 1900s. Heinz, Pepsi and Coke were three of many companies that used trays to advertise their products. Although these are reproductions of their original run, they are all vintage 1970s. Check out the evolution of the latest fashions depicted in these advertisements!

Decorative Printed Trays

These trays, with their printed motif, are all interesting. The round tray has a well around the center, perfect for crackers or cheese, and the raised center could hold the dip – in a vintage bowl, of course. The small red floral tea tray is very dramatic and would definitely add color to a table. The gorgeous, romantic rectangular tray, made in England, is a Daher tea tray from the 1970s. A bowl of treats would look so sweet on this lovely tray.

The oval “Old Ironsides” tray was produced in 1976 to mark America’s 200th anniversary and would be perfect at a bar or drink station. As the story goes, the wooden sides of this 18th century ship, officially called The Constitution and named by George Washington, were so strong that British cannon balls would bounce off. One other tidbit – it was one of the first original six frigates of the Unites States Navy and is the “oldest commissioned ship in the world still afloat.”

Hand Painted Metal Trays

These three trays are literally works of art. As you can see, each has a handwritten note or signature that gives it that one-of-a-kind uniqueness. I think each qualify as tole trays – hand painted metal trays. According to French Garden House, tole refers to a tray or metal ware that has been painted.

Tole refers to decorated tin and iron wares from 1700-1900; but most people also use the term to refer to various painted metalware from the late 19th to mid 20th Century… American Toleware features fruits, florals and symbols. Mostly these pieces were painted by amateur artists using the “one stroke” technique with the paintbrush loaded with several colors at once.

Along with our vintage tins, collection, these vintage trays would add beauty and history at your next gathering. Our collection of both now can been viewed on our new Pinterest board, Vintage Metal Tins & Trays!

For more information about metal trays, check out these articles.

French Garden House

Antique Coca Cola Trays

What is a Tole Tray?

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~ If you are on our old blog site, go here now to view this post at its new home! ~

~ Goal 1 – Develop a “Table Decor” package ~

~ Goal 2 – Work on assorted DIY projects ~

~ Goal 3 – Revamp our website and Pinterest Boards ~

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Advertisement Trays

Decorative Printed Trays

Hand Painted Metal Trays

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