saturday morning vintage

paper pack week #2 - the paper chase.

I am often asked where I get all of my vintage paper.  My answer is usually, "Everywhere!" because it's the truth.  I certainly don't have one go to source for the ephemera I find, although I wish I did.  However, I know the "Everywhere!" answer isn't terribly helpful so I've pulled together a few tips to help you on your own paper chase. 

Get lucky.  Like any other form of antiquing, searching for vintage paper takes a good deal of luck.  You can know all of the thrift stores in the area and have the inside scoop of all of the flea markets, but you can't control what you're going to find when you're out looking.  Sometimes you might come up empty, but other times luck will be on your side and you'll find more ephemera than you ever expected.

About two years ago I stopped at an estate sale on the way to a fitting for my wedding dress.  The ad, found on Craigslist, said a couple who had owned a stationery store was retiring and clearing out everything from their store and the apartment below.  Most of the ad focused on the contents of the apartment.  The pictures in the ad showed a few neat things, but nothing too special.  I didn't have my hopes too high and stopped in to kill some time on the way to my appointment, but was shocked and thrilled when I arrived and found box after box of new old stock from the 1950's and 1960's.  I literally had never seen so many boxes of Dennison labels at one time.  I scooped up a car full and even returned the next day.  While I don't anticipate running into this kind of sale again, you never know when luck is going to strike

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Know your area.  I can't really tell people the best places to look for vintage paper because it varies so much by area.  Look up all of the thrift stores and flea markets in your city, and check out garage sales and estate sales in various parts of your town.  Try them all out a few times and see where you find the most.  For me, I know I usually find the most at one particular thrift store in my neighborhood and estate sales so I skip the rest. 

Also, I love review sites like Yelp, but wouldn't use them in this instance.  Everyone is looking for something different at second hand and vintage markets so a well reviewed thrift store might have nothing for you.  Likewise, a thrift store with bad reviews might be perfect for what you're looking for.  Give them all a shot.

Go to the office and garage!  Estate sales where an entire house is open often work well for me.  If this is the same for you, my big piece of advice is to go to the office and garage right away!  Most people like to look through the dining and living rooms, but I disagree.  The office is obvious.  You have a good chance of finding some old labels, notebooks, and other office essentials.  The garage is a little less obvious, but I've found many vintage tins and boxes that were being used to hold nails and other tools.  You'll probably need to give these a good cleaning, but might also get a good price!

Go often.  I've heard people say there just isn't anything good in their area.  While it's possible, it's more likely that they don't go often enough.  Inventory is constantly changing so you can miss the good stuff if you don't check in often.  Try to set aside some time each week, maybe Wednesday after work or early Saturday morning, to make your rounds at the places you've pinpointed as your best bets.  Never knowing what you're going to find and having to shop often can be a little frustrating and take some time, but it's also the best part!

 

 

Dig in!  You might come upon a good selection of vintage ephemera nicely displayed and at reasonable prices, but chances are you're going to have to dig for it.  Don't be put off by vendors with jumbled displays and isles of overstuffed boxes.  You'll probably have to dig through a lot of boxes, but will also find some good treasures. 

Similarly, don't be put off by ugly packaging.  If you find a box that appears old, open it.  An ugly, dirty box might be filled with gorgeous flashcards in pristine condition.  The box took a beating to protect what was inside.  You also might find an old box or tin in which someone stored their ticket stub / airmail label / postage stamp collection!

 

 

Let people know what you're looking for.  Make sure your friends and family know the type of old paper you collect; you never know who might have some for you!  My parents collect antiques so they're frequently out and about shopping and nearly always pick up something they know I would like and might be good for my shop.  Similarly, a family friend was an estate sale recently and picked up a bunch of vintage postcards that she knew I collected.

Obviously it helps if your friends and family also like vintage and might already be out at thrift stores, flea markets, and antique shops.  However, you would also be surprised at what people might already have had home and don't have a use for.  My father in law came upon some old flashcards while cleaning out some boxes and knew I would love them.  If he didn't know I would be happy to take them, the flashcards probably would have ended up in the trash because he's more into modern electronics than vintage paper!  Your parents and grandparents might have old collections stored away that they would love to share with if they only knew you wanted them. 

Does that help at all?  I hope so!  Do you have any of your own tips and tricks you'd be willing to share?  Any stories of lucking out and finding the ultimate ephemera stash?

 

WEDNESDAY'S DEAL:  Save 25% off all Paper Packs!  Use coupon code PaperPackWeek at checkout for the discount.  Valid on all colors and themes on Wednesday, December 4 only.

paper pack week #2 - recent additions.

Offering Paper Packs in the shop is pretty much the best excuse to shop for ephemera.  Always need new papers to keep things fresh, right?  Here is a glimpse at some of the latest papers added to the Saturday Morning Vintage ephemera collection.

 




Vintage transit tickets, usually bus or train tickets, are my latest craze.  I think it's the grid designs and typography that draw me in.  Plus it's always fun to find one with a destination you've been.  Some of the bottom tickets are from Seattle, one of my favorite cities.

 

I always have my eye out for vintage airmail stationery.  These envelopes and postcards are the latest additions to my collection.  I'm happy to finally have envelopes small enough to fit in the Small Airmail Paper Packs!

 

Old playing cards always catch my eye as well.  The green ones are full size.  Isn't the sailor's striped shirt just perfect?  The blue ones are miniature.  The plaid and floral designs are cute, but the children's silhouettes is a personal favorite.

 

My mom shared a bunch of vintage photographs with my over the Thanksgiving holiday.  These ones jumped out at me right away.  Suits and fancy dresses.  Christmas tree drowning in garlands and tinsel.  Small bird providing the entertainment.  All makings of the perfect Christmas photos!

 

 

I don't find vintage price tags as often as I would like, so I scoop them up whenever I can!  These are quite small at just about an 1" across - a good size to add to the front of birthday cards, Project Life cards, and mini scrapbook pages.

Are there any particular types of paper you'd like to see in future Paper Packs?  I'd love to hear your suggestions so I can keep my eyes open at thrift stores, flea markets, and antique shops. 

MONDAY'S DEAL:  Use coupon code ThePaperParcel for 10% off any Paper Parcel subscription.  Valid for Monday, December 2 only.

eX Postal Facto.

 

 

Have you heard about eX Postal Facto?  It is an upcoming mail art show organized by Jennie Hinchcliff - the incredibly creative force behind Red Letter Days.  Part of the event includes a day of shopping.  I knew immediately that I needed to sign up to be a part of this marketplace as soon as I learned about it from Margaret of Paper Pastries. 

The planning stage is my favorite stage.  I love brainstorming ideas, making lists, and sketching plans.  Right after signing up as a vendor I used this upcoming event as an excuse to make a journal to house all of my planning. 

 

 

I gathered a bunch of new and vintage office papers - accounting sheets, business forms, graph paper, airmail envelopes, and more.  I bound them together and used an old file folder as the cover.  I couldn't resist collaging the cover with a bunch of red, white, and blue postal ephemera. 

 

 

I've already started gathering some new old paper for the event.  I'll be bringing along all of the papers already available in my shop, but also introducing some new products. 

 

What are you doing February 14 - 16, 2014?  Here are ten reasons you should be spending the weekend at Ex Postal Facto:

• The event is being organized by Jennie Hinchcliff, one of the authors of Good Mail Day, so you know it's going to be good.

• All of the events are free and open to the public.

• There is a good mix of events to please everyone - reception, round table discussion, shopping, lecture, and others.

• All of the venues are easily accessible by public transportation.  Never taken a ride on BART before?  Don't worry - it's easy!

• You will be able to view the exhibition “mail/art/book” featuring hundreds of mail artists from around the world.

• You can shop Saturday Morning Vintage in person - flip through all of the Paper Packs to find the perfect one for you, be the first to see new products, and avoid those pesky shipping charges.

• You can also shop Paper Pastries and a bunch of other awesome vendors.

• San Francisco is one of the best cities in the country to spend a weekend.  Aside from the popular tourist attractions, Japan Town has neat stationery and there are several photo booths throughout the city. 

• You'll be around people like yourself who get excited when the USPS releases pretty postage stamps (like these vintage seed packets!).

• There will be a special postal cancellation station.  Enough said.

personal paper collection - airmail envelopes.

 

 

One of the hardest parts of running a paper shop is not keeping everything I find for myself!  I have gotten better at this in the last few years and try to focus on just a few different ephemera collections. 

 

Airmail envelopes are one of the first paper collections I started and probably my favorite.  My collection consists of about 40 different airmail envelopes.  There are certainly bigger collections out there, but I'm happy to add to mine slowly, but steadily.  I don't collect any duplicates and usually find several airmail envelopes at a time, so I add one to my collection and put the others away for my shop.  

 

 

My collection is pretty broad.  I collect both new and vintage, used and unused, envelopes and postcards.  I search for airmail envelopes pretty much anywhere I go.  I often find old ones at antique shops, flea markets, and occasionally the thrift store.  Most of my new ones come from office supply stores and, perhaps surprisingly, drug stores that have tiny stationery sections.  Recently I have begun to seek out airmail envelopes when I'm traveling out of the country - again, usually at office supply stores.  So far I have found some great ones while honeymooning in Paris and traveling in Mexico City. 

I love the classic airmail border, but also look for envelopes with slightly different designs.  I find these to be more common when traveling abroad.  My brother brought me back the middle envelope from his time in Central America.

 

A few others from my collection - both classic and a little unusual.  This is one of the only "Business Reply Mail" envelopes I've come upon with an airmail design.

I am really drawn to those with unusual colors.  It is a bit tough to see, but the top envelope has a pale mint green background.  The blue bottom two are United Nations airmail envelopes.  When I bought them I didn't know anything about the United Nations postal system that I shared with you guys recently. 

 

Without question, my absolute favorites are these (addresses removed for privacy) from my late grandmother.  Last year my parents gave me a vintage wood box for Christmas.  Inside were several old letters that once belonged to my grandmother sent from family in Germany.  Some of the envelopes are torn because she kept them for the memories, not to be pretty ephemera.  But they are still my favorite gift from last Christmas and my favorite envelopes in my airmail collection. 

 

UN Postage Stamps.

 

 

I recently found these vintage postage stamps, but noticed each was printed with "United Nations".  I wasn't sure if these were regular postage stamps so I did a little digging. 

Turns out the United Nations issues their own postage stamps.  Did you guys know this?!  The United Nations Postal Administration is the only organization in the world that isn't a country / territory that can issue postage stamps.  The very first UN stamps in dollar denominations were issued in 1951.

There is one catch though, and it's a pretty big one.  United Nations issued postage stamps cannot be used outside of UN offices.  That means if you want to use these postage stamps to send mail, the mail must be sent from UN offices in either New York City, Geneva, or Vienna.  Because of this constraint, UN postage stamps are more of a collector's item.

 

    

 

You might be lucky and find some vintage UN postage stamps at a local flea market or antique store, and you can buy current UN postage stamps either in person at a UN headquarters or online.  It's even fun to just browse the catalog - so many different designs.  

 

 

If you're able to visit the UN headquarters in New York you're in for a treat.  You can have your photo taken and printed on personalized postage stamps.  These are valid postage, but again have to be mailed directly from a UN headquarters.  You can read about one visitor's experience here.

Pretty awesome, right?  Did you know about UN postage already?  Has anyone been to the stamp shop at the UN in New York?  It will definitely be on my itinerary the next time I visit New York.

paper pack week - ephemera storage.

Collecting ephemera is fun, but if you don't have a way to organize it all you'll end up with messy piles of paper everywhere.  As my paper collection has grown, I've started to play around with different ways to organize it all.

 

Much of my paper is stored in this 30 drawer cabinet that I shared earlier.  The top drawers are filled with completed Paper Packs, and the bottom drawers hold paper sorted by color. 

 

Old metal tins and paper boxes keep everything neat and tidy within the drawers.  I try to keep most of my business and crafty goods tucked in my office.  However, because my husband and I both really like the industrial feel of this piece, it resides in our living room.  

 

This red bookshelf is in my office.  The stacks of mostly wood cigar boxes hold my vintage label collection.

 

Each cigar box holds a different type of label - blank, words, airmail, metallic foil, etc.  These are some of my favorite papers.

I purchased this metal and plastic set of drawers at a flea market about a year ago.  It was clearly used in a garage in its previous life as evident by the layers of dirt and grease.  It was a deal at only $1, but took a lot of time and scrubbing to get it clean.  Now it stores all of my vintage postage stamps - sorted by color of course!

 

Having specific spots to store my papers has been a life changer.  Beforehand I had little piles of various papers all around our house just waiting to be put away.  Now I can quickly and easily organize any papers I'm lucky enough to find.