Collections: Vintage Chandeliers

Over the Christmas break, Jonathan hung our vintage chandeliers. Three of them are family heirlooms that previously hung in Joan's house. When my mother decided to list the house in 2010, I begged her to take down the chandeliers. One of them dates to 1960 and originally hung at my great-grandmother's house in Palos Verdes, and my grandparents bought the other two when they built the Cerritos house in 1973. Needless to say, the chandeliers came down, and two of them have been in storage ever since. The other hung in our living room, along with the other vintage chandelier that Jonathan and I found at Stars Antique Market in Hermosa Beach (walking distance from Palos Verdes) in 2008 for $150. It was a very special moment when they came out of the boxes. I feel as though we've been especially close to my grandmother and great-grandmother this year, but having their chandeliers hanging in our home brings them even closer.

Joan's chandelier now hangs in our dining room.

Elsie's chandelier now hangs in our entry way.

Joan's chandelier now hangs in our living room. This chandelier also hung in the living room of our old house. It plugs into the wall. The picture in the background is Elsie at 21, taken in 1921. It previously hung in the foyer of Joan's house, along with the big chandelier that is now in our dining room.

The chandelier that Jonathan and I found in Hermosa Beach, California in 2009 now hangs in our guest bedroom.

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Collections: Vintage Christmas Cards

I found these vintage Christmas cards at an estate sale last year. The little details are so fun, and of course I love the vintage glitter touches.

Which one is your favorite?

Family Stories: Meeting Santa

Among the photographic treasures I inherited this year are these photographs of my mom with Santa.

Her first Christmas. She was just over a month old:

This photo is still in its fancy mid-century photo cover.

Her family lived in Alaska until she was three. You can definitely tell which photos were taken in California (visiting her family) and which photos were taken in Alaska.

Her second Christmas. Halfway through her visit with Santa, she decided she didn't like him very much:

Her third Christmas:

This wasn't the same visit with Santa, but it was the same Christmas. She still wasn't sure about sitting on Santa's knee:

Her fourth Christmas. Looks like they went to the same department store as the previous year:

Here's one in color. Again, here's the tree from the previous year:

Love the frame for this undated Christmas photo:

I love that Joan kept these together. It's really fun to see them as a group.

Collections: Vintage Shiny-Brite Ornaments

This is the first of several posts about our personal collection of vintage Christmas ornaments. We have a lot of Christmas ornaments in our family! Some of the few ornaments that Jonathan and I have purchased ourselves are vintage Shiny-Brite ornaments. Five years ago when we first began visiting Memphis antique malls, we kept seeing these lovely faded glass ornaments that also happened to be very affordable. We learned these ornaments were called Shiny-Brites and were marketed as such on their original boxes and metal caps. We bought several boxes of Shiny-Brites that year. After doing some research, we learned that Shiny-Brites were the original American glass Christmas ornaments. According to our research, all glass ball ornaments came from Germany prior to World War II. Shortly before the war began, a savvy American businessman named Max Eckardt (who had previously been importing the ornaments from Germany) decided to make American-made ornaments. The ornaments were proudly marketed that way and were all decorated by hand. The age of the ornaments can usually be determined by the hanger. The WWII-era balls didn't include the metal cap because of the metal shortage, but the ornaments that were made following WWII did.

Sadly, the company closed in the early 1960s when plastic ornaments and artificial trees increased in popularity. Fortunately, thanks to their mass appeal during the '40s and '50s, today they can be found at estate sales and antique malls. As you can see, we are quite addicted to their faded charm!

This was the first box of Shiny-Brites that we purchased. They are cute mini ornaments.

The boxes are as charming as the ornaments themselves. I think this box is from the '40s.

We bought this green ornament by itself. You can see "Shiny-Brite American Made" on the cap.

The colors are amazing...

...as is the graphic design on the boxes. Notice the price. Lowenstein's was a popular Memphis department store back in the day.

Pink ornaments were really popular in the '50s and '60s. I bet these were some of the last ornaments Shiny-Brite manufactured. I love the crackled look they have.

More pink ornaments with a beautiful patina.

Lovely vintage Shiny-Brite boxes.

Do you have Shiny-Brites hanging on your Christmas tree?