The dreary weather we’ve been getting these past few weeks has been preventing us from doing any restoration on some of the outstanding projects on our plates. Not to be deterred, I pulled out something I bought last fall, a vintage Mole Richardson Fresnel light during one of the rare clear days last week.

For those who don’t know about Mole Richardson, they are an American  lighting company that started in 1927. Mole’s claim to fame is their innovation for using the Fresnel lens from lighthouses and adapting them into smaller portable lights.

During the war, Mole used this technology on boats and tanks. From the 50’s through to the 80’s, Mole Richardson lights were a the main staple for many types of films such as Star Wars.

I bought my light off eBay which is a great place to start if you’re looking for one. This one is probably from the 50’s. It’s the size of half a garbage can and extremely heavy.

It’s in decent shape and has its share of dings and dents. It makes me wonder what films is was formerly used for. I’m planning to pair this up with the desk I bought last summer. I’m undecided about how to restore it as the paint is not the original Mole Richardson red.

As for making it work, the light itself draws over 2K in power which creates some extremely bright light and insane heat. I’ll probably be converting it by stuffing it with LED’s and 110v power. I’ll do another update post later this summer on this project.

I’m not sure how I didn’t come across Vancouver based Union Wood Company sooner, but I’m so glad I did. The owner, Craig Pearce, founded Union Wood Company in the summer of 2009 and combines vintage and industrial objects to create beautiful custom furnishings.

Using materials mostly reclaimed and re-purposed from salvage yards, antique stores, demolition sites and other sources, Union Wood Company creates pieces that are solid, bold and one of a kind.

I love this industrial looking pendant light – I’d love to have it hanging in my living room.

This is the E.Woodward Spotlight and I think it’s fabulous.

Union Wood Company’s original works are for sale through the website, at select retailers and is available for custom work on a commission basis for projects both large and small.

Union Wood Company
http://www.unionwoodco.com
Powell Street, Vancouver, BC
(604) 992-5485
sales@unionwoodco.com

A few weekends ago after Ryan and I visited the Cloverdale Flea Market, we decided to explore Cloverdale further and came across the MOTHERLOAD of all antique stores. This place is badass – like badass to the extreme. On the outside, it looks like a cutesy place with typical vintage wares. Inside, it’s heaven within four walls and I walked around with my mouth open wide enough that I would give any venus fly trap a run for their money.

When you first walk in, it seems like a pretty typical place. There were bubbly space aged televisions, retro stoves and a super cool looking vintage cash register. One of the coolest things I came across was a stack of old books of consolidated newspapers from The Vancouver Sun. They were sorted by year and had every single page in them including all original ads and comic strips ranging as far back as the 1930’s.

It’s difficult to tell how big this place is from the outside, but once you’re inside you realize how absolutely huge it is. There are tons of smaller rooms that they’ve sectioned off to group themes of things. It seems like a lot of the items are also from movie sets and old advertising memorabilia. After being to so many flea markets, vintage shops and thrift stores, it’s hard for me to see something and say, “OMGSOCOOLIWANT.”

Everything in this place made me say that!!

I love the collection of old tins on the shelf. I’m not totally sure what they are or what they used to hold.

One thing I do have a soft spot for is vintage advertising. Anytime I see a box of ads for sale I always navigate my way towards them and stand there sifting through them all, usually chuckling at the hilarious one-liners. I especially love these old vintage cardboard cutout ads.

Vintage jukebox anyone? How about an old-school drink dispenser or a room full of stuffed animal heads?

I must share these next few rooms with you – the Coca Cola/Pepsi Cola/Soft Drink room. I’ve never in my life seen so many Coca Cola advertising pieces in one place at the same time – EVER. It felt like a trip down cola memory lane. It was also pretty neat to see the evolution of the logos over the decades.

If you’re ever in the area (or why not just make a trip out to this place) – definitely check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

Red Barn Antiques
5553 176 Street
Surrey, BC V3S 4C2
(604) 576-8737

One Sunday, Naomi and I decided to explore Cloverdale after a trip to the Fleamarket. We came across what seemed to be a small antique shop located along a strip mall. Little did we know but this little store turned out to be an 18,000 square foot antique mall filled to the brim with all sorts antiques and vintage paraphernalia!

The Cloverdale Antique Mall is a massive maze of furniture, lighting, dishware and printed ephemera. What caught both of our eyes was an amazing display of Pyrex type dishware which was amazingly arranged from pinks, yellows and blues on the top floor.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

If your visiting the Cloverdale Fleamarket swing by the Antique mall which is about a 5min drive away.

Clover Square Village Shopping Centre
#106 – 17780 #10 Highway
Cloverdale, B.C., Canada
V3C 1C7

Phone: (604) 576-2263
Fax: (604) 576-2363
info@cloverdaleantique.com
www.cloverdaleantiquemall.com

I love heritage houses – there’s just something romantic and mysterious about them. We were lucky enough to get a tour of a gorgeous one owned by my co-worker’s parents. What’s better than heritage house eye-candy? Heritage house eye-candy with the cutest French Bulldog on the planet. I have to admit, he stole the show. I should have called this post: ‘Photos of a cute dog inside a heritage house’.

Meet Jay. He’s 8 and enjoys long naps in sunbeams and chasing stuffed animals.

Jay greets all guests to the house from the top of a long flight of stairs.

This house was built in the early 1900’s and was originally the only house on a fairly large lot. Since then, it’s been lifted up and moved to the corner with three additional houses built on the empty space, forming a strata with 7 units spread across 3 houses. The house is the one on the right in the photo below.

I love the view from the balcony – wouldn’t you love waking up to this view every day? How about enjoying a cup of coffee and reading your favorite book with the oceans and mountains as a backdrop?

While I love big loft spaces like my friend Tara’s gorgeous penthouse Gastown loft, I also love the look and feel of heritage houses.

Which do you prefer?

This past weekend, Ryan and I had the lovely opportunity to pay a visit to my friend Tara who happens to live in the most gorgeous loft I’ve ever been in. My eyeballs basically fell out of my face as soon as I stepped inside. The building itself is called The Edge and was built about 10 years ago in the historic Gastown/Railtown area of Vancouver. I could write a huge long blurb about this place but I know what you really want are the photos. Show me the photos!!

Brace yourselves.

One of my favorite features about this place is the hallway. I love how the wood and the glass compliment each other. The shelving unit is completely custom and can actually pull away from the wall, revealing a second shelf inside – great for hiding things you don’t want seen and for storage.

The loft is just over 1000 sqft of goodness and the patio is 1000 sqft of deliciousness. Shared amenities within the building include a darkroom, recording studio, woodworking and ceramic shop.

I love the view from the living room into the bedroom – the arched doorways give it a subtle European elegance that just works so well with this space.

Inside the bedroom, a huge ornate bed doubles as a seating area when guests are over.

LOVE the long floor to ceiling curtains.

Loving the Indian themed decor mixed with more modern pieces throughout the living space.

In case you’re wondering, the lovely little pendant lights are by Bocci. I love how they look like fat drops of water.

One of my favorite parts of the place is the bathroom and the awesome window gates that open up into the bedroom. Who doesn’t want to take a bubble bath and chat to their guests at the same time?

Hop on over to our Flickr page for more photos – I didn’t have room to fit them all here, but there are also some great detail shots of the place, including a photo of an old clothes dresser turned into a sink.

IDSWest took place this past weekend at the Vancouver Convention Centre and boy was there a ton of eye-candy. There was no shortage of vendors, designers and independent contractors with various displays for people to look at. Pictures speak louder than words so take a look at the plethora of visuals after the jump.

The shots below are from outside the convention centre, an awesome desk and chair combo and a beautiful chandelier we came across inside the show.

I love the mini vintage piano with the fashion books stacked high.

The highlight of this show for me was the custom all-wood kitchen installation designed by Christian Woo – super nice guy who does such beautiful work. Check out his website for more gorgeous examples.

Photos below are from The Cross Decor & Design booth.

I love the European single pendant lights – wouldn’t they look pretty strung up high across a backyard? Gorgeous.

It’s the end of summer and I’m trying to make the most of the rain-free days by being outside and poking my head into the shops in my neighborhood. There are a ton of places to explore around my area but I usually find myself inside Stepback, perusing the shelves stocked high and full with glorious vintage treasures, refurbished antiques and quality retro reproductions. I love the selection and rarely leave empty handed.

All items inside Stepback are hand picked by the owners and make great one-of-a-kind gifts. Need a school classroom world map circa 1930? How about vintage suitcases, milk glass vases of various sizes or part of a cloakroom? Stepback has you covered.

My most coveted piece(s) at the moment are the awesome library card sorter and the large selection of vintage letters they have at the back of the store. I’ve managed to collect a couple but there are so many it’s difficult to decide with kind of look I want to go for. There are letters from old movie theaters, highway signs and random store fronts.

If you’re in the area, definitely check this place out. My favorite coffee shop is also a few doors down – Cafe Artigiano. They make the best mocha in town – I like mine iced.

Stepback
3026 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
V6K 2H1

Tues – Sat: 10-6
Sunday: 12-5

Tel: 604-731-7525

It was rainy last week, so Naomi and I decided to visit The Vancouver Flea Market. It’s located indoors, open all year round and costs $0.75 to get in.

What’s not to like?

Bursting at the seams with more than 350 tables we found everything from vintage lamp shades to cellphone cases. Among the clutter there was some interesting stuff. Naomi bought a very old Crush soda bottle for $1. I purchased a pair of vintage opera glasses that can be folded and put in your coat pocket for $8. I’d have to say 50% of the flea market consisted of antiques/vintage items. The other 50% was miscellaneous junk. The Vancouver Flea market is definitely a great place to visit for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The Vancouver Flea Market
703 Terminal Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6A 2M2
(604) 685-0666

You can read Part 1 here.
You can read Part 2 here.

So yeah, about the chair.

Long story short, it was accidentally kicked over and the top half broke off. I went through a series of emotions like when you break up with someone – denial, anger, sadness, acceptance. Fortunately, it was a fairly clean break so we’re going to attempt to glue it back together and hopefully it will be better (and stronger) than before.

A trip to Home Depot, some rags, clamps, wood glue and an adjustable belt thingy to hold everything in place and this chair should be as good as new. The chair is now in a safe spot away from foot traffic and the threat of being accidentally kicked over again.