2015/07/23

Thriftfinds Thursdays - Vintage Lamy fountain pens

Last weekend we had a visit to the ijhallen again. It's been a while since we've been there and it was fun to browse the stalls in the wonderful shunshine. Next to some fun clothing (you can score really fun clothes for a very cheap price) I actually found a few really cool and older Lamy fountain pens! even ones I have not seen before.

Yesterday's awesome thrifting score! LAMY studio's from West Germany(pink and musterd yellow), Lamy 27 (black) and Lamy Ratio (red) with golden nibs. And my ultra sonic cleaner is my new best friend! These were incrusted with ink! #lamy #lamylovers #fount

From left to right, Lamy Studio Pink (from West Germany), Lamy 27 Black with gold nib, Lamy Studio Musterd Yellow, Lamy Ratio with gold nib.

I am glad I invested in a sonic cleaner as these pens were really incrusted with ink. The gunk got cleaned right off the nibs! 

Close up of the older Lamy Studio:

Old school Lamy Studio from West-Germany. Cap and section is safari like material. #lamy #lamylovers #fountainpenporn #fountainpen #funtainpen #fpgeeks #collectibles #lamycollection #vintage #thriftfinds

You can see the inscription on the cap. It has a safari like cap and sectionand a brushed stainless steel body. Very interesting design. Another interesting fact; it takes international ink cartridges instead of propiatary Lamy ones. I have never seen these before and it's hard to find anything on the web about it... so if anyone has any info on these pens, please share :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Namaste

2015/07/17

An hommage to Lily Chilvers from the Octopode Factory

This past monday sad news was announced; Lily Chilvers, the talented girl behind the Octopode Factory, passed away from a battle with cancer. She was so young and life can be so unfair. My deepest sympathies goes out to the family, Mandy and Amber. The world lost a wonderful talent person. We share this great loss with you.

When I heard the news of Lily's condition about 6 weeks ago I made the art pieces below using her rose flower rubberstamp.

Flowers for Lily

The world lost a talented and inspirational young woman. I made this piece when I heard the news on her battle with cancer... Sending my heartfelt condolances to @mandysmagicalworld and thanking @octopode_monster for brightening the world with her imagina

Like so many others I was hoping/praying for her to battle this through... That's why I put hope in the middle of the rose. And now I hope she can rest in peace as she is no longer in pain. Thank you Lily for giving us a peek into your imagination. I cherish all the work you've done and it inspired me like so many others to adapt your creations into my own work. Sharing things I made with few of my fave images she created:

mail art 365-332
Dorothy and the flower rubber stamp

Society Queen
Audrey Hepburn digi Stamp

nautical exploration
Steampunk Girl stamp

I'm MAD about you!
Mad hatter and Alice stamp

mail boxes
and these themed Oz and Alice mailboxes I still use every day

Thank you for your inspiration Lily. 
You will be missed and always be cherished.


namaste

2015/07/15

Shopping Highlight: Posthumus in Amsterdam

Posthumus store displays

To say that this is a dangerous place for a rubberstamp aholic like me, is an understatement. Posthumus store in the centre of Amsterdam is a well known place since 1865. They are in an Ally next to the Amsterdam Museum, a tucked away little gem of a shop. As their blurb on the 'about us' page from the website says:
Set in one of the most historical parts of the city center of Amsterdam is the Royal Posthumuswinkel, a  "winkel" (shop) that has been making and selling custom-made stamps of every kind since 1865. The store is a landmark for lovers of rubber stamps and stationary.You can find not only a seemingly limitless array of stamps, but also beautiful paper, envelopes, inks of all colors and sealingwax. The store is somewhat of a museum too, with antique letters with embossed letterheads an monograms, antique engraving machine, and old photographs of the store.The time-layered ambience gives a lovely sense of nostalgia, but the diverse stock accommodates modern times.
 And true to their word, the store is packed full with gorgeous stamping and stationery materials. A few examples of their stamps on display:

Posthumus store displays
Posthumus store displays
Posthumus what a wonderful store :) can't leave without buying something here!

Gorgeous Zenspirations stamps
Posthumus store displays
Posthumus store displays

And I could not leave without this stamp because of the true statement of this sentiment:
Could not leave this gorgeous #zenspiration #rubberstamp behind at my recent visit at #posthumus A sentiment that resonates its truth.

You can also follow some workshops and make and takes at the store mostly given by Miranda Degenaars. I was lucky to have done a few, which were very inspiring!

Hope this inspired you and when you are in the aria, don't forget to visit this wonderful shop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Namaste

2015/07/09

Thriftfinds Thursdays - The philatelist edition

Look at all the pretty colors! I just love sorting through my stamps #filaterie #stampcollector #postzegels #postagestamps #postage #vintage #glassinebags #sorting #colorcoordination #postal

In a little quaint town called Orvelte, they had a fun market around pentecost. And the towns people also sold some vintage stuff. I came accross a huge suitcase of glassine bags and upon further inspection, the glassine bags contained a lot of vintage stamps! I was in heaven! Took my fine time deciding which stamps I wanted to take home with me and kept it at a modest 10 bags.

I found these awesome vintage stamps in glassine bags on the right at a fleamarket. It inspired me to get soms bags myself to sort my stamps and keep them in these bags too. #filaterie #postzegels #postal #postagestamps #stampcollector #stamps #mail #post

I got home and started sorting them. It's always such a nice and relaxing task. I'm not a collector in the sence that I keep them in albums, I use them for my mail art mostly. So I got myself some glassine bags to store the stamps in.

Some of the mail art I make with postage stamps:

Some late night mail art crafting #snailmail #mail #mailart #postage #stamps #postzegels #postagestamps #postcard #handmade
Profiling #mailartsunday #mail #mailart #snailmail #snailmailrevolution #postage #post #paris #mapart #IUOMA #briefmarken #postzegels #postcard #maskingtape
A portrait #mailart #snailmail #snailmailrevolution #swap #swapbot #sent #postage #stamps #postzegels #IUOMA #postcard #handmade
Going postal mail art rond robin zine, my page #mailart #mail #snailmail #postage #post #postal #sma #stamps #zine #roundrobin
Mail Art Bonus 2013-370 back
mail art 365-014

Are you a stamp collector? Do you use postage stamps in your art?

Thanks for stopping by!
Namaste

2015/07/01

Fairly Naughty or Nice?


This is a piece I made for the Scary Fairy bloghop in which Loast Coast Portal to Creativity participated last week. I'm not usually into "dark" themes, however I am into different and this challenge inspired me to think out of the box. 
Stamped used are from Lost Coast Designs:
Inkpads used: Memento danube blue, paris dusk, rich cocoa and Brilliance Moonlight
Distress stains: fired brick, peeled paint, forest moss, wild honey, antique linen, spun sugar and broken china
I used Pro-markers to color in swimsuit girl. And a water brush pen with distress stain inks to color the brick background. 

More details on how I made it: