Collections: Vintage Avon

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="1939,1936,1937,1938"] These Avon pretties have been in our family since the 1960s. I'm not sure if they were originally purchased by my great-grandmother or grandmother, but I remember seeing them at Joan's house throughout my childhood. When Jonathan and I moved into our first apartment, the bath oil bottle was the very first thing of Joan's that my mother gave us. We inherited the powder box a few years later. It is particularly special to me because I can remember it being filled with Joan's curler pins. She curled her hair every single day, and I can still remember the way her curlers smelled as they were heating up. As I child, I loved to watch her at her makeup table -- curling her hair, applying foundation, mascara and lipstick and spritzing herself with her favorite perfume -- O de Lancome. It has been more than 10 years since I watched her with awe, but the image in my mind is still very vivid and will always be one of my favorite memories of her.

I would imagine that many women across the country have similar memories of their mothers and grandmothers, thanks to Avon. If you frequent estate sales or antique malls, then you’ve likely seen quite a few of their pretty bottles and boxes. Avon is one of those nostalgic brands that still feels very current, but it has actually been around since 1886.

Their story is pretty inspiring. Avon's founder, David M. McConnell, started his career as a traveling bookseller with an entrepreneur’s intuition. As he was peddling his books, he noticed that his female customers enjoyed his free perfume samples (that he made himself) more than his books. He also recognized that many of these customers were struggling to make ends meet but that they would make excellent salespeople. With these thoughts in mind, he launched his California Perfume Company.

Mr. McConnell’s ideas caught on like wildfire because he fulfilled a need and genuinely cared about his products and his employees. The California Perfume Company followed simple but very important principles that remain in place today – it brought jobs to people who needed them, recognized that each employee could bring something special to the table, gave back to the community and offered great products with a satisfaction guarantee. By the turn of the century, Mr. McConnell had recruited 5,000 salespeople. In 1920, his company’s sales topped $20 million. Today, sales have exceeded $11 billion. In recent years, the company has been through numerous financial struggles and scandals, but the Avon name still holds special meaning for generations of American women.

Also, if you’re curious about the company’s original name, Mr. McConnell chose the California Perfume Company to honor his business partner friend from California. Although the company began using the Avon name (a reference to William Shakespeare's home Stratford-upon-Avon) on packaging as early as 1930, it officially changed its name to Avon in 1939.

To see more vintage Avon beauty products and ads, visit our Vintage Beauty Pinterest board.

Do you have a favorite Avon memory?

Remembering Joan

Ten years ago today, my dear grandma became my guardian angel. Although she has been physically absent from this earth for a third of my life, she has been present in my heart every day for the past ten years. I was fortunate to sit by her side during my last week of summer break before I flew home to start my first semester at the University of Mississippi. Less than 24 hours after my plane landed at Memphis International Airport, I received the dreaded call that she was gone. I made the tear-filled journey to Oxford three days later, and I became friends with my next door neighbor, a person from my adopted hometown who shared my history, values and quirks. It is still hard for me to believe they'll never know each other, because they share so many similar traits. If she could have picked my future husband, she would have chosen Jonathan Hardin. A decade later, the role she plays in our lives is more apparent than ever. Most obvious is the homegrown business that shares her name. Gerald & Joan has forced us to have conversations about our home, family, and children, and it has also allowed us to spend more time focusing on the areas of life that truly matter.

Next week, we'll honor Joan's legacy by putting down roots closer to our families in a home where we'll add millions of beautiful new memories with the people we love. In the heart of our new home is the studio that she and Jonathan's grandfather, Gerald, inspired. The studio will officially open for business on Tuesday, September 10, her 80th birthday, and with it comes everything Jonathan and I dreamed of when we first began discussing the idea of Gerald & Joan.

Thank you for your love and prayers today and every day. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support we've received since we launched Gerald & Joan in February, and we're proud to be starting this next chapter with you.

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Family Memories: A Birthday Post

Our patriarch and namesake, Gerald Hardin, is 79 today. He shares his birthday with his only granddaughter, Julie (How cool is that?). Over the weekend, four generations gathered together to celebrate their birthdays. We enjoyed dinner and cake, and then Gerald requested that Jonathan and his brother Larry play their guitars and sing. During their show, our seven-year-old niece Eliza started dancing and everyone else was smiling and laughing. From my front row seat in the living room floor, I recognized what a precious moment it was.

There is nothing quite like family. When we're caught up in the daily grind, it's easy to forget how important these little moments of togetherness are. We need to make family memories every chance we get, and they deserve to be bottled up and treasured for lifetimes. They are the most important heirlooms we have.

Thank you, Gerald, for giving us so many beautiful memories. May you and Julie have the happiest of birthdays.

We love you both so very much.

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An Old-Fashioned Fourth

Our neighborhood has hosted a Fourth of July parade for 64 years. It's the oldest in Memphis, and people come from all over to be a part of it. Everyone dons their most patriotic attire, flags adorn the streets and dogs wear silly red, white and blue outfits. At the end of the parade, a fire truck sprays all of the kids, and the parents stand around and catch up on the neighborhood gossip. It's a fun tradition and a great way to celebrate the holiday.