To be honest, Barbara and Russell’s artistic talents are a little intimidating. Hand them pretty much anything-textiles, dyes, gold, silver, precious stones, everyday rocks, wax, wood, feather dusters, agave stalks, wasp wings-and try not to be amazed by the results.
Under the name Scattered Light, the couple has developed a devoted fan base for their original jewelry designs, especially their botanical charms, collage necklaces and custom wedding rings. Lucky for RT fans, Barbara and Russell recently opened Lark Spirited Giving, a completely chic and cheery gift shop in Bybee Square. You’ll find the jewelry there, along with a carefully curated selection of artisan chocolates, vintage barware, cards, books, and perfectly perfect gifts.
A sweet story: The name Scattered Light comes from Barbara’s childhood memories of hearing predictions of “scattered light showers.”
Sometimes RT is about breadth and sometimes it’s about depth. These folks go into pottery deep.
Singleton’s set-up at Renck Hall is a boothandahalfful of authentic antique pottery. Hundreds of spattered, etched, glazed, perfect and chipped pieces are displayed in shady warren of tables and shelves.
With such a special collection, it makes sense that Singleton moves over to Marburger for the last stretch of the show. Even in that competitive company, the booth is a stand-out for its sheer number of pieces and smart display. Love the peachy terra cotta that comes through in every photo.
The photos above are from Renck Hall and the ones below are Marburger. See what I mean about both being great spaces?
Isn’t it where everyone starts their Antiques Week shopping day?
Here’s something I didn’t know anything about: Tobacco felts, aka tobacco silks, aka tobacco flags. Apparently, about a hundred years ago, packs of cigarettes were wrapped in these little giveaways. Men did the smoking and women were encouraged to quilt the felts into blankets and coverlets.
Seems like a fantastic revival opportunity for some company that markets to craft-crazy maker-y hipsters. Are you listening American Apparel? PBR? Vilano? Dr. Bronner’s? Imagine free vintage-styled felts with every purchase. Then watch the backyard quilting clubs spring up. Then the acoustic grooves-to-quilt-by playlists. And the inaugural Felties Convention in Kreuzberg Berlin…
If you know me, you know that rug hooking is my hipster craft of choice and that I’ve lovingly created a few mediocre pieces over the years. So one of my favorite reasons to shop Clutter is because of its support for Charlotte Bell’s non-profit group, The Rug Hook Project. She helps folks from a village in Mexico market their hooked rug artworks. Don’t you need one for the back of your jean jacket?
The Rodeo Royalty ladies have transformed Round Top’s iconic Merry Christmas store into a heavenly space for their fashion fantasies, and it’s open weekends year round. The space is now a romantic beach shack, submerged in light and full of waves and waves of lacy, frothy bits. So very,
very pretty!
My trusty iPhone 4S camera seemed possessed by this store. Every single shot glows with girliness.
What’s best about the new Rendezvous field is that it truly is a place to rendezvous. There’s primo shopping, of course, but there’s also bottled beer, wine and margaritas, great food from the Bake Shoppe and Cafe, and Shivers’ frostyful snow cones (Yes, you definitely want the Rendezvous Special with lemon, cream and lavender sprinkles).
The location is practically across from Marburger, so when you’re in the neighborhood be sure to pull in, pull up a picnic bench and join the bloggers, birthday partiers and plain old happy antiquers for the refreshment of your choice.
At the end of a long day walking the fields, I found a new frame of mind.
The combination of actual still life items against painted settings has become a recent obsession of mine. I’ve been intending to affix little shelves or hooks to all of the two-dimensional art on my walls and then add a dried orange or a golden bell or a raku pot to the piece. It seems like a smart way to invigorate paintings that I still adore but have gone a bit stale and unseen.
So when I discovered Maria Teresa’s booth in the way way back of Arbor Field, her dimensional paintings leapt right out at me. A real linen curtain in front of the lovely seated lady. A billowing wire cage as Frida’ skirt, tied with mysterious offerings. A tattered, twiny, bewitching family tree. Bones and test tubes, sacks and threads, jewels and tassels and talismans. Yes.
Please excuse me while I go hang some hooks and shelves.
The good news? You've discovered The Crush List. The not so good? I haven't been actively posting here for a few years now, which means the never terribly reliable details about my crushes are even more unreliable. Antique vendors have switched venues, shops in town have moved or passed on, donkeys may or may not be in the same front yards... In spite of the risks of massive misdirection I've left the site up in hopes that it still achieves its goal - to inspire you to visit Round Top for the Antiques Show or any time you have the time.
With that said, I leave you to explore this random list of my very favorite things about my very favorite place. I’ve tried to capture the area’s special pieces and parts. Some are big deal, some are small gestures, some are legendary and some are just tiny pip and squeak.
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