Tuesday, April 6, 2010

barn bits

One of my favorite things to do at my mother's barn is poke around the studio and peek into drawers. Most of them hold beautiful art supplies that she's collected as meticulously as her vintage treasures, but sometimes I stumble upon something else. This little drawer was totally intriguing, especially to that fix-it side of me. My mother loves when others appreciate her finds, so shall we peek together?
Look at all of those varied bits of wire! I love how some are wound on chunky spools, the top copper one on a scrap of wood, and there's even some on good ol' cardboard. I think what I enjoy most of all is the subtle palette of this group.
Most of the drawer was filled with little boxes. There were multiples of most them. When my mother goes to a garage sale of an elderly person, she heads directly to their tools and workshop supplies. I love the graphics on each box! Let's see what they hold...
Tacks, screws, safety pins... all common sites in most home repair/tool kits, but their age gives them a sense of mystique somehow, don' t you think? My favorite item of the entire drawer are those "Domes of Silence" in the top left corner. First of all, that name is fabulous... but what's even better (in my humble opinion)? That smiling woman with a hammer! Collections that may also be utilized hold a special place in my heart. I realized that most of my personal collections are focused on supplies and tools. I don't even think of them as collections because I use them, but they are still groupings of similar objects; be they fabric, yarn, or hammers (yes, I have a few!). What kinds of tools or supplies do you collect? Pin It

8 comments:

  1. oh! i just posted a collection of wooden kitchen do-dads. and a link to "fix it friday". love the goodies you found in your mom's drawers...

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  2. I bought someone else's small collection of tiny whisk brooms. So cute!

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  3. What a treasure trove of inspiration that barn is. I love it when you give us all snippets of it. I can't pass up vintage buttons so I have way too many of those, but don't say I actively "collect" them, I just can't say no.

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  4. How amazing !! My heart just skipped a beat:-)

    Have a wonderful day :-)
    *ash

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  5. I love the old illustrations for products! They are awesome. I'm glad you got these things out to photograph.

    Cheers,
    jen wheat

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  6. when i was 12 we started digging the foundation with shovels for what is now my mom's home. It is an oak post and beam home, not a nail in the entire frame. Having grown up on an old dairy farm we were used to the make do mentality , so for holidays my mom liked old tools, which prominently got hung on the wall, and still hang there today as well as old cookie cutters and baskets. Me? I collect old darning balls, knitting needles and goods, wooden bobbins and glass bottles, milk glass and pottery. (and i use them all as well!) Love the box graphics! Would look cool framed in a shadow box in a craft room.

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  7. love love :^)

    i have the giant dept of geology chest that is full of goodies like this, and then i have a really old store cabinet that looks like this one of your moms .. though not painted such a lovely color .. languishing somewhere down in the recesses of the barn. i really want to bring it upstairs and fill it up. but my husband thinks the fact that it weighs as much as a car is a problem. ;^)

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