Kipkoo Joins the Junction Flea!

Come and see Kipkoo and friends at the Junction Flea this Sunday July 8th at 9:00 am! 


The Junction Flea is Toronto's newest west side outdoor flea market presented by SMASH and Russet&Empire. Held on the second Sunday of every month in the summertime, the Junction Flea features a mix of select independent vendors selling antiques, handmade craft+design, food, vintage clothing, records and more.


Rain or Shine -- come on by!
Sunday July 8th
2803 Dundas Street West (one block East of Keele) at 9:00 am


For more information, visit junctionflea.blogspot.ca

My first etsy purchase!

Last night I made my first etsy purchase EVER! I know it's weird -- to have an online vintage shop and not actually have purchased anything on etsy -- but I'm still hesitant to buy things online without touching them first.

For years I've been visiting etsy, feasting my eyes on all the goodies there, and always wondered, what will it take for me to finally buy something? And what would that item be that I couldn't live without?

Windchimes, apparently. I can't live without these beautiful windchimes by Irona. I don't know where I'm going to put them, but I love their rough-hewn, rustic, hand-made, timeless quality. I hope to find a way to display them so that every little dent and scratch can be fully admired.

Check out more of Irona's work here.

My 3 beautiful windchimes, made from recycled and antique metal. Photo by Irona.

Same photo as above, just a close-up crop.

A Mid-Century Modern Garage Sale!

KIPKOO.CA is having a mid-century modern garage sale!

Saturday April 28, 2012

9 am to 4 pm

1529 Dufferin Street (Dufferin and Davenport)

Toronto

All items on the site will be on sale. Most items will be at least 50% off the prices you see on the KIPKOO.CA website. There will be TONS more items not currently shown, including dishes, lamps, chairs, tables, framed art, coffee tables, fabric, housewares, and much more. Prices ranging from $5 and up, but all priced to clear!

- Lamps (chrome cylindrical lamp, teak floor lamp, pair of teak table lamps, sputnik lamp, vintage IKEA pendant lamp, brass pendant lamp, and others)

- Dishes (Kathie Winkel, Red Wing pottery) and other housewares (Arabia, Royal Copenhagan)

- lots of pottery, earthenware, trivets, bowls of all sizes and styles

- vases (Rosenthal, Royal Copenhagan, Royal Bonn Germany)

- vintage art glass

- strange, stunning, charming, quirky and beautiful -- come and discover the right item for you!

- vintage skis (not functional, but aesthetically pleasing)

- strange spears/props from a Stratford festival play (would make an interesting wall sculpture)

Rain or shine, this sale will take place in the KIPKOO warehouse, which is actually a residential garage (Please don’t ring the doorbell of the house). Please park on the street and then walk up the driveway into the back where you’ll find the garage.

30% OFF EVERYTHING IN STOCK!

Great promotion going on right now  -- receive 30% off ANYTHING and EVERYTHING Kipkoo is selling! This vintage chimayo blanket, for example, which is regularly $300, is now only $210. This is significant considering I've seen this piece selling for $1500. Seriously, there are some great deals to be found. Please check out the site!'

If you're buying online, just type in the coupon code (EASTER2012) at checkout, and you'll get 30% off. If you're buying in person, just mention the sale and I will give you 30% off, using my trusty calculator.

Domino Magazine is back!

Few things capture my imagination as easily as a big, juicy design and decor magazine. Everything around me dissolves away and I feel I've shrunk down to mini-size, walking around inside the magazine. The great thing about an especially successful magazine is its ability to inspire me, even 8 to 10 years later. Good design is good design after all. So I have stacks of magazines that I refer to regularly for inspiration.

As a Christmas present this year, S gave me a subscription to Elle Decoration (UK). I probably don't need to tell you that this was my favourite gift! It's so exciting to receive something in the mail other than bills.

And a few weeks ago, I heard some pretty exciting news about an old favourite magazine of mine that has since gone out of print: DOMINO MAGAZINE IS COMING BACK!!!

Published from 2005 to 2009 by Condé Nast, Domino Magazine was one of the few magazines that featured achievable style ideas for non-millionaires. It its first year, Domino received many media awards for Best New Magazine. But sadly, in Jan 2009, Condé Nast announced that, because of the economic downturn, the magazine was folding.

So when I heard that Domino Magazine announced a "new guide to living with style," I was thrilled! A special edition, entitled Domino Quick Fixes, will be available at newsstands across the US (and hopefully Canada?) on April 17th. Quick Fixes will feature easy, inexpensive design and decor changes.

You can read more about it here.

Image from www.dominomag.com

Pop Up - Day 2

The pop up shop is behind me now and I'm looking ahead to a sale I have planned for the month of March. I want to clear some items out of the warehouse so I believe some price-slashing is in order -- stay tuned!

I'm also planning for Kipkoo to make an appearance at an upcoming Sunday at the St. Lawrence Antique Market, so watch for that as well.

In the meantime, here's a pic of two items that sold at the pop-up shop on day 2: the stocking forms and a lovely embroidered piece that once belonged to Lauren.

Thanks to all those who came out and supported Kipkoo! It was nice to see a few familiar faces in the East end.

Pop Up - Day One

I'm exhausted. Day One of the pop-up is over. The first day is always the hardest, because you're tired from all the setting up. Day Two should be easier.

There's lots of stuff left. The weather is keeping people away, so don't be shy, barter with me for the price you want!

Also, the other vendors are amaaaaaazing. I couldn't resist buying a few things myself.

The details again, for those who want to come and see:

The Cat and Fox Vintage Collective
Hearts on Fire Pop-up Shop
666 Queen Street East
(Queen and Broadview)
Sunday Feb 12, 10:00 AM til 5:00 PM

Also, can I just tell you that I have the best friend in the world? LS has devoted her whole weekend to these pop up shenanigans, including the set-up on Friday. Thanks, L, for being so wonderful.

J.I.T. Manufacturing

Just in time!

I finally finished my chair. It's been waiting to be stained and finished for months now. Also, I needed to put the finishing touches on the upholstery job: two little buttons. It always dresses up a chair so nicely.

A quick snap via instagram, taken at 6:45 this morning...

This chair has a sexy back!

So, this weekend is the Pop-Up Shop at 666 Queen East (near Broadview). I've packed LOTS of goodies that aren't on the site, some cool pieces I forgot I had. I think my "collector" self was hiding some items from "seller self" so that I could keep them! I'm going to be selling some items at a reduced price, because I don't like the idea of lugging them back home at the end of the weekend. So please come and take a piece of two off my hands!

Kipkoo pops up!

I'm very pleased to announce that KIPKOO will be selling its wares at Hearts on Fire: A Vintage Pop-up organized by The Cat & Fox Vintage Collective on Feb 11-12 at 666 Queen Street East in Toronto!

Be sure to check back to see how things develop. There are several vendors signing on, offering an assortment of cool stuff, including men's and women's vintage clothing, art, antiques, and yummy treats to eat! It'll be a great opportunity for Kipkoo fans to see pieces that haven't made it onto the site yet, including a favourite vintage chair of mine (if I finish staining it in time!).

Artwork supplied by The Cat & Fox Vintage Collective.

Bedroom Design Inspiration

If my bedroom looked like this, I'd never want to get out of bed:

apartmenttherapy.com

Wanna be in a quilting bee?

It's snowing today, and I'm dreaming of quilts. Soft, puffy quilts with intricate patterns, or scrappy quilts with fabric pieces from my childhood, something to whisk me away from the present.

I've always wanted to be in a quilting bee. I grew up in a small town in Southern Ontario, and Mennonite quilts were everywhere. I have this image of observing a group of Mennonite women sitting around a large quilt, focused on their work. I used to go to a quilt show every year with my mom, and we'd walk around and pick out our favourite.

I think a huge part of the appeal of a quilting bee, for me, would be to escape computers and cell phones and just sit and stitch with a bunch of people who's company I enjoy. Lately, I feel like I spend too much time in front of my computer, so the idea of sitting around with the room of crafty women (and men!) is so inviting.

I've actually NEVER owned a quilt, but now that I'm in the vintage business, perhaps I can keep a lookout for one that suits me.

I've been eyeing up some of the more modern quilts I've found online. The one that makes me swoon the most is 9 Patch Color Study by Eleanor McCain.

Left: Jack's Modern Quilt by Nancy Stoval.  Right: Roots Ginger Queen by Denise Schmidt 

Left: 9 Patch Color Study by Eleanor McCain.  Right: SkullFucked by Quiltsryche.

Left: Bedeviled by Regina Alexander.  Right: Snakecharmer by Denise Schmidt.

Look! Even hipsters (and their dogs) love a good, old-fashioned quilt!

Publicity shot for "The Rosebuds," a band on Merge Records.

Trolleys and Carts!

I don’t know what it is I love about vintage carts and trolleys so much. Two or three have wheeled their way through my life over the past few years. One was a teak bar cart which I promptly sold on Craigslist, the other was an old medical cart painted pink, acting as a microwave stand for many years.

Does owning a cart imply that you have a lot of space and you need something to transport your riches around vast living quarters? Too much space is not a luxury I "suffer" from, but I picture these trolleys and carts in vast condo lofts. Alternatively, they'd make an excellent way for artists to transport their supplies around easily.

Here are some carts I found online that I'd enjoy rolling around my imaginary loft:

1) Industrial metal cart (circa 1950) from styledevie.com
2) Wood and iron utility cart from Sierra Living Concepts

3) Vintage wire laundry cart on casters from ethanollie on SellSimply.com
4) Another cool cart from styledevie.com

5) Poul Hundvad teak serving cart from scandinavianmod.com
6) Vintage mail cart from my shop, kipkoo.ca

When I saw the vintage mail cart at an auction, I couldn't help picturing the breathtakingly beautiful Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) from Mad Men pushing something like this around the office. Though I suppose technically that's probably not in her job description, I couldn't help picturing it!

The cart and clock shown here are available at kipkoo.ca (Joan Harris not included).

Kipkoo is open for business!

At long last: kipkoo.ca is finally open!

I can't believe it took me so long! But then I remember the hours and hours of work that happen behind the scenes: finding items, transporting them, researching, photographing, cleaning, fixing, measuring and weighing. Not to mention all the admin tasks: PayPal, shopping cart set-up, domain name (x3 since I kept changing the name!), business bank account, marketing, surveying potential customers, and more research than I care to mention. It might look effortless, but there's a crazy amount of work involved!

The interesting thing about an online store is that you never know who is going to find out about your products or who is going to buy them. Will my first customer be a friend, a friend of a friend, or some random woman from, say, Connecticut, who stumbled upon my site while looking up Holt Howard ceramics (I have two of those, Ms. Connecticut, hope you saw them both!)?

The store is heavily in favour of local (Toronto and GTA) buyers, since larger (ie: furniture) items are for local pick-up and delivery only. I can't imagine anyone spending more than the price of a dresser itself to have that particular item shipped halfway across North America.

I'd like to point out that this is a consignment shop. So if you have any mid-century modern furniture or houseware that you're looking to sell, please contact me! For more details, read the "how to sell" page on the kipkoo site.

So, let it begin.

For posterity sake this is what the kipkoo homepage looked like upon first launch.
The image behind is the site my desktop image, "Wood Grain Crowd" from Veer.com

tracking down a family heirloom

This Christmas, there was a mysterious parcel from Portland, Oregon under our tree. No one in our family knows anyone from Portland, and my dad was being quite secretive about it. He wouldn't let anyone open it until my sister and her family arrived for the day.

Inside the box was a faded old rug that I'd never seen or heard about before. My dad explained that my grandmother hooked the rug in the early 1960s. He remembers her giving the rug to the Nelson's, the family who sold them the farm in rural Alberta. As a Christmas surprise to our family, my father tracked down the rug. It was with one of the Nelson children in Portland.

It's quite a bit more faded than my dad remembers it, and it's a bit shabby, but the handiwork is impressive. The rug is my grandmother's artistic interpretation of the property itself, which was called "Stonewall Farm", named after the stone wall that was built around the farmyard. As is common in this region, the rocks were pulled from the field to create more arable land. Stonewall Farm was one of the few places in the area to repurpose these rocks by creating a wall -- an early example of upcycling, before the term existed.

So now the question is, what will my parents do with the rug? I think they'll likely get it framed and find a nice place to display it. Any other ideas?

homage to matte living

I received my first Christmas gift this past weekend from my best friend, LS.  It's so beautiful that I felt it deserved some mention on my blog.

I was originally going to call my vintage furniture business "Matte Living", and this blog was going to be called "Unglossy: The Art of Matte Living" -- a nod to my preference for the humble beauty of hand-crafted, non-glitzy furniture and houseware. Several incarnations later, here I am as Kipkoo, but I still possess a fondness for all things matte. So the gift -- a porcelain maple syrup dispenser with a decorative wood grain -- is a welcome addition to my home.

maple syrup container by www.mariannechenard.com

beyond fun fur - designer cat beds

Maybe (that's my cat's name) told me what she wants for Christmas this year: a pEi Pod, or pet egg pod. It's made from high density, fully recyclable polyethylene. Though I try not to buy much plastic, it's still fun to imagine her lounging around in such a stylish cat bed. The beds and pillows come in several different colour options, all of which remind me of Cadbury mini eggs -- a favourable comparison, I think.

Read more about this pEi Pod animal bed at www.peipod.com

A little wizardry in Photoshop and -- poof! -- my cat has her own pEi Pod!
The original photo (without cat) can be found at www.peipod.com

Perhaps a more eco-friendly choice would be the "wingdream supa plush" by kittypod. Their site is filled with designer cat accessories that aren't harmful to the planet.

The "wingdream" is patterned after a bug's wing and made of soft organic cotton
sherpa on one side, woven hemp on the other.

And if money were no concern whatsoever (and I had the space for such a thing) I'd buy this coffee table designed by Koichi Futatsumata for Japanese design firm Case-Real.

Sleek and sophisticated glass and steel table with rattan kitty hammock.

Okay, to be honest, Maybe didn't tell me she wants a pEi Pod for Christmas. She really just wants me to buy her a knapsack and leave it lying on the floor all the time. That's her idea of the perfect cat bed.

Sometimes there's no accounting for taste.

What to do with a collection of art glass vessels?

It's funny how something you don't see right away as particularly beautiful can really grow on you. 

I bought a lot (I mean a LOT, as in a set of articles for sale at an auction) of art glass recently.  In general, I've been feeling rather ambivalent towards it. But once I put the pieces in front of the camera, I changed my mind. Now that I've become better acquainted, I admire their graceful curves and playful colours.

four of my favourite glass beauties

I'm still wondering what to do with them, how to sell them. In some ways, I don't think they belong on my store site "as is". I feel I need to devise a purpose for them first. As a collection, they'd make an amazing light fixture. Definitely a project for someone much handier than I am. Or maybe they'd look good displayed on a light table, with light pouring in from underneath them.

Coincidentally, that same day, I found this magazine clipping taped to the wall of my workshop. It's from the home of British interior designer Tara Bernerd. I'm pretty sure I originally clipped it because of that amazing orange couch and reverential pigeon photos, but this time around I found myself taking in the table full of bubble glass ashtrays. Now, if the table had a lower level lit up with candles in the evening, wouldn't that be splendid?

from Elle Deco (Dec 04)

a year in the making

I spied this awesome vintage chair at the market about a year ago, but the dealer didn't want to part with it. He wouldn't even give me a price on it. He said he had to do some research on it first.

Then about a month ago, he was selling off everything in his store and my friend arranged for us to have a visit before the general public ascended.

"I still have that chair you wanted," he told me. At first I didn't know which chair he meant, but then I remembered and was pretty excited! The chair has beautiful curves and a lovely profile, but unfortunately, it needs an overhaul.

Here's my to-do list:
1. web the base with Pirelli rubber (crazy, high-quality webbing that's hard to find)
2. sand down to the wood
3. varnish/finish
4. buy soy-based foam
5. sew box cushions

So I've just completed step 2, and I've got my work cut out for me, but when I'm done, it's going to be beautiful.

Last week, I was in the middle of a photo shoot of some product shots, and felt inspired to create a little vignette. The chair took centre stage:

Chair draped in a deer tapestry, with 3 wooden bowls +  vintage trouble lamp cage.

setting up shop

As some of you may know, I'm opening an online vintage furniture consignment shop! I've been very secretive about it online because I don't want to give too much away before it's up and running. For one thing, I've gone through about four name changes. I moved pretty far into the set-up process with the last name, only to drop it at the last minute, due to a potential trademark infringement. It's been quite the process, finding a name -- and quite the process switching over the domain name, business license, bank account, etc etc. I advise any future business owners to do a LOT of research before settling on a name. Otherwise, it just makes more hassle for you later. (Tip: if in doubt, make up a word!)

Anyway, here's a sneak peek at a few things happening behind the scenes. This photo shoot took place at the storage area where I keep most of the larger items. Unheated and uninspiring, we had to dress in our jackets and toques and bring along my iPod deck to provide some musical motivation.

A big THANK YOU to S for helping me with the photo shoot, and for suggesting we take off our shoes so as not to ruin the seamless backdrop.

S, incongruously, in winter coat and stocking feet, setting up the Wassily knock-off.

Of course, when we turned our backs on the chartreuse twins, there was some horseplay.

This sofa was too long for the backdrop. Will be calling on my pal, Photoshop, to help later.

broken things

I have an ongoing list in my head: Items That Have Been Broken. It's a pretty long list – I think. You see, I also (luckily?) have a bad memory, so I'm only able to recall the last 3 items on the list:

Item #245: a spherical hand-blown glass oil lamp (I broke it the first time I used it.)
Item #246: an animal horn cuff bracelet (The vendor at the market swore it was stronger than it looked. She was wrong.)
Item #247: my favourite little potted plant.

The last one, #247, happened today. It was hand-painted by someone who clearly knew how to paint. I marvelled every time I looked at it. Honestly. It was a special piece.

I found both pot and plant on the bathroom floor, in pieces, apparently knocked over by my cat, Maybe. (That's her name – Maybe. I'm not questioning whether she did it or not!)

1. The planter, while it was still in one piece.  2. The furry culprit.

3. Check out the artist's mysterious monogram.