Vintage treasures to be found here!!!

Vintage inspired bespoke memorabilia jewellery

I love bespoke jewellery and I find this particular example of bespoke jewellery to be so inspiring and sentimental. I am almost ready to send off a clipping of lace from my wedding gown, matched with rosary beads I picked up while visiting the Vatican city 10 years ago, and a small broken pendant my grandmother gave me. With a combination of these items a very talented jewellery maker, Shelley Marie VonStrum creates vintage inspired, memorabilia jewelry that you can wear and love throughout your lifetime and pass on for generations. Have you got a part of your wedding invite, a string of pearls from your grandmother, a small drawing, an “I love you mum” scribbled on a piece of paper from your loved one or child, a lock of hair or a piece of vintage fabric that you adore??? The list and possibilities go on. All of these items and more are inserted behind a clear stone (they come in many shapes and sizes) set in vintage inspired filigree and fixed to a necklace, ring, bracelet, pair of earrings or brooch.

Secret Lace Bridal offers this jewellery exclusively in Auckland, you can either chose from their sample range, or design your own. Ladies who are choosing to sell their pre loved wedding gowns are increasingly benefiting from this amazing jewellery range.

“ My wedding dress has been sitting in my wardrobe taking up valuable space ever since I got married. I obviously was never going to wear it again, and I didn’t want to assume that one day I would have a daughter who would want to wear it. I really liked the idea of selling my dress, and giving someone the opportunity of loving it as much as I did, however I was still attached. When I heard about the jewellery at Secret Lace I was immediately convinced to let my dress go. We are going to take a clipping of lace from the hem and put it into a pendant. I will be able to enjoy my wedding dress everyday now, and the daughter I might some day have could wear this beautiful necklace on her wedding day” Sonya Richards

Secret Lace Bridal is located at Unit 2, 82 Main Road, Kumeu, Auckland.

Ph 412 9584

www.secretlacebridal.co.nz, secretlacebridal@gmail.com

Divine detritus of domestic life

In a quiet nook of Hastings New Zealand lays a passionate shop..."grown out of a passion for hand-made, design led, found, upcycled and recycled objects - the beautiful, the useful, the interesting, the obscure, the nostalgic, and sometimes - given the right light - the grotesque. The divine detritus of domestic life" (Coco&Co)

Coco & Co is its name and I was absolutely delighted when my mother in law introduced me to this delightful, quirky and creative little shop. It's philosophy is "hand made" and almost all of its items have been reinvented, upcycled and recreated to take on new meanings. I loved the children s jackets made from old woolen blankets, vintage fabric and buttons, quirky aprons made from hessian sacks, cushions covers made from doilies, artisan handmade jewelry and an array of bright bunting and newspaper lamp shades. Something that really caught my searching eye was J.DANESMAKER collection, an eclectic range of retro glassware crystal and china, filled with scented candles or paper flowers. They carry the tagline "I may have chips or cracks but please don't judge me, I just want to light up your life" How brilliant would these be at a wedding...for table displays, gifts, or to light up the aisle at an evening ceremony. I think I will be going back to purchase these for my home, anything that wants to my light up my life is a no brainier.

https://www.facebook.com/j.danesMAKER 

https://www.facebook.com/j.danesMAKER

https://www.facebook.com/j.danesMAKER

https://www.facebook.com/ladyvonsturm

https://www.facebook.com/ladyvonsturm

https://www.facebook.com/cocoandcotheshop

232 Heretaunga St, Hastings, New Zealand

   

I have discovered the most perfect and meaningful reinvention story. It's a story that I am sure many would love to tell and yet so few are lucky enough to experience. It comes concealed by one of the most beautiful and gracious brides I have ever seen. I think what makes her especially beautiful is the wedding dress she is wearing. Every wedding dress is potent with meaning, however this particular wedding dress carries far more. In its fibers and vintage lace lay the love, sweat and tears of three generations of women and the emotional symbolism it created for this bride, her family and beloved Oma (Grandmother). 

Her name is Johanna Sorensen and this is the story of her wedding dress and the day that represented the love between her and her husband...

Their wedding day explained by Johanna was home-spun with vintage touches, in which her husband Nikolai and herself shared a common creative vision.

 "We designed and printed everything together, one of the touches that I really liked was a photo of his grandparents running from the church with the guests throwing rice. Our church had a strict NO RICE policy (what the?!) so we had to change that to grass seed which we put into tiny envelopes with the order of service printed on." Said Jo. 

One other "creative vision" that Nikolai had the opportunity to share with his wife before most other grooms, was his wife in her wedding dress. I love that Jo was so relaxed about this precious moment and reinvented the common belief that a groom shouldn't see his bride in her wedding dress before the big moment and instead let their own set of rules evolve by chance. 

And how does something usually so controlled by society's expectation become left to chance you say? Within this lays the beauty of this couple and how Jo's perfect dress evolved. 

"I had tried on my mothers wedding dress a couple of times as a girl as it was in the dress up box. Growing up I had said it was the ugliest dress, it was stained with make-up from playing dress ups and had a bra sewn into it that I thought I would never possibly fit. I went about visiting bridal shops, tried on many dresses but none of them really felt like me. After one of these fittings I came home and mum mentioned she had come across her dress in the bottom of a clean sack when she was sorting out the toys and dress-ups. I thought I would try it on for a laugh (still thinking it would be far too big). Turns out it fit like a glove- even the bra, my husband was there (gasp) and said "it's not THAT bad". That was all the encouragement I needed. My sister cleaned it, finding grass seed in the lace from 30 years ago when mum wore it. After washing, we were surprised to see it was white and took it to my aunty who lengthened it a bit and added a bit of boning to the bodice.I loved it!!! My mum had worn a flower crown and another aunty surprised me (and my hairdresser) by making me one on the day" Said Jo. 

The fact that Jo wore her mothers wedding dress and "reinvented" it to create her own special meaning on her big day explains only half of this magical dress. Jo's Oma (Grandmother) lovingly handcrafted this dress for her daughter (Jo's Mother) 30 years ago. In it's stitches holds the stories of three women, it connects them, and bonds them in such a way that words could never explain. More importantly for Jo and her family it represented her Oma, it was a way she could be at their wedding without being physically present. 

"The only person that wasn't there that we would have loved was my Oma who has sever Alzheimer's disease and is in a home. It was something I thought about before the wedding and I remembered she was the one who made my mothers wedding dress. My Opa (Grandfather) was so thrilled that a part of my grandma was at the wedding" Said Jo. 

With this story and the untold love story between this incredible couple how could this wedding not be emotional? 

"I am a super emotional person so was surprised when I pulled myself together to walk into the church. All of this changed when I saw EVERYONE else crying. My husband Nikolai which was surprising,  all of the grandparents and parents, even most of the guys. Needless to say I cried for most of the service, Nikolai had a tissue which was passed back and forth behind the celebrants back and caused some giggling from the congregation" Said Jo. 

It is so very important for couples to inject personal meaning into the day in which they celebrate their love. Its almost equally important for families to be involved, represented and respected in the process. For it is them  who we call upon as witnesses to observe the sacred vows, and it is them who we call upon to support us through the journey of marriage. I would image it would be hard to feel something more meaningful than carrying the love and support of your family and the two woman who have stepped over the threshold of marriage before you than wearing it in the form of a wedding dress. 

"I was so proud to wear my mums dress, I hope one day I will have a daughter who wants to wear it too" Concluded Jo.

I wish the story of Johanna and Nikolai to be one of happily ever after and achieve fairy tale status. I look forward to this creative and charming couple reinventing and rethinking the world around them.

 These photos were captured by J&P Photography www.jonnyandpia.com  

Call it reinventing the wheel or recasting old ideas, but these contemporary versions have a spirit and style all on their own.

I have been totally obsessed with the "Reinvent" concept since I was a little girl. I suppose you could say its in my blood. My grandparents owned an inorganic rubbish collection business and almost their entire house was made up of someone else s trash "reinvented". It was a magical treasure trove of creativity and practicability  I couldn't understand how some people could chuck out such potential. My grandmother Lenora was also a milliner by trade and had a keen eye for fashion and fabric. The dresses, lace, curtains and tablecloths she collected from the rubbish collections were turned into the most amazing dolls, hats, clothing and costumes. It was when I realized that a dress and its fabric should be appreciated and respected. Each piece no matter what shape or form has had an interesting story, and has a story yet to tell.Taking after my grandmother is my freakishly talented mother who I used to watch as a little girl shine in all her artistic glory restoring and remodeling old furniture, stripping back paint to reveal the native timber, adding decorative handles, and bright cushion covers.  

As I have experienced its the love, passion and creativity that goes into the reinvention process that gives an object more value. It carries all the charm of the past and can suddenly reinvent it self into the future. Call it reinventing the wheel or recasting old ideas, but these contemporary versions have a spirit and style all on their own.

So why buy brand new, or buy into someones else s idea when you can reinvent and rethink your own existing world around you?? With this concept I began Reinvented Bride, and tapped into the amazing potential of wedding dresses already sitting in wardrobes all over the world, pre loved designer gowns, spectacular vintage gowns, and the reinvention of dresses and vintage fabrics. However the reinvented movement is growing and I want to tell you all about it, I want to inspire you, get your creative juices flowing, save you money, and help you act in a sustainable way.

This blog was created to capture the magic of reinvention in all of its shapes and forms, from weddings, to fashion, into your home, and out to your garden...prepared to be amazed and inspired!!!