RENEGADE.CRAFT.FAIR.

I’ve had the Renegade Craft Fair on my calendar for almost 3 months now. There was no way I was missing it this year and I must say my expectations for the event were exceeded. The best way to describe it is etsy exploded inside of a warehouse. Even the boys came along but it wasn’t necessarily to see the heaven of craftiness….there was word of a bar in the building.

As soon as we walked into the pavilion, I knew I was in trouble. I have a feeling Deric had the exact same thought as my eyes lit up at the site of rows and rows of vendors selling anything from cupcakes to jewelry to clothing. I work for a non-profit now (i.e. I am poor) so I have started to master the art of self control and was able to walk away from the day with just a few things…..but I did grab a ton of business cards for future purchases. J

Map of San Francisco by The Harbinger Co.

My first item of the day was this very simple yet amazing map of San Francisco done by The Harbinger Co. Apparently, I can’t read maps because my husband told me the spot I had designated as our house was downtown….which we are not. I love it and have already sent it off to be framed.

Pocket Watch Necklace by Love Nail Tree

There was no way I was walking out of the pavilion without jewelry. I think that was what the majority of vendors were selling or maybe that is just what I gravitated to? There was a range of prices from very affordable to the “wait, what? how much are you selling that for?”  My second purchase was this awesome pocket watch necklace by Love Nail Tree. And yes, it is functioning. This must be the new must have item because I saw variations of this at more then a few booths. Nonetheless, I thought this particular one was very well done and just way too cool to pass up. I’ve been wearing it for a few days now and realize that not only is it fashionable but it’s totally practical. I never really thought about how much easier it would be to look at a watch then to constantly fish through my purse for my phone to tell me the time.

Here are just a few of the other vendors that I loved….

The Social Dept. - These guys make some hilarious tees.

Just a few t-Shirts by The Social Dept. available on their site. 

Erin Feller - She makes some really cool wood necklaces (although the ones I saw at RCF aren’t posted on her site yet) that are cut to be miniature logs.  

A sample of Erin Feller's jewelry from her website.

The moral of the story is Renegade Craft Fair is awesome. If one is coming to your town do not pass it up! 

And Away We Go!

I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had much time to even think about Cowboy Jack unfortunately but today I’ve got a little free time and started thinking about what I need to pack for our upcoming trip to Baltimore and DC.  It’s cloudy and gross out here and I can’t wait to be in some real summer weather. We just had a record setting rainfall in the city yesterday. Apparently it hasn’t rained that much on June 28^th EVER. Ugh. I haven’t been able to come to terms with the rain so I just put this dress on regardless of the weather. I am always checking out what other people are selling on etsy. It’s sort of an obsession of mine.  I came across this blue number recently and had to have it. I think it was the ruffled collared that drew me to it. I’m definitely taking this with.

Recent purchase from Lone Mountain Phoenix on etsy

I only own one pair of shorts so I need to pull out all the stops with the dresses so I’ll be taking these along as well.

And just in case the evenings are a little cooler, I’m packing these tunics to wear with a cute jacket and some leggings.

Now that I am an etsy seller and a sometimes blogger I am excited about visiting other cities and observing other fashion trends. I bought a rad pair of boots and a jacket in Baltimore years ago so I know there are some good boutiques there. Let’s hope we can take a break from the site seeing and beer drinking for a little shopping time.

Happy 4^th of July! 

Its FINALLY mine!

I’ve had my eye on a certain purse for awhile now. It belongs to my friend Christina and from the first time I saw her with it, I wanted it for myself. I have an obsession with kisslock wallets and purses but that is just the tip of the iceberg of love that I felt for this bag.

On one of my recent shopping excursions I came across a gold clutch that I instantly knew Christina would love. I posted it on etsy but as soon as I showed it to her I knew it was sold. In a flash of brilliance she offered to trade the clutch for her purse and my dream had finally been realized! My husband, who has proclaimed himself the CFO of Cowboy Jack, turned his nose at the deal because no money exchanged hands but there was no way I was turning down this trade. I have used this purse every day since the day I got it.

Left: My new purse!; Right: Christina's new clutch

My husband’s disapproval also stemmed from the fact that he recently noticed a similar purse already in our closet. I was quite surprised that he even made that connection (I did earlier but really didn’t think anything of it) but I promised to post the other one on etsy and that seemed to satisfy him. Some lucky person is going to be able to add this pretty damn cute purse to their collection.

Happy Friday! 

Adventures in Indiana

It’s been a busy few weeks. Not only have I been juggling two part time jobs and some volunteer work but our social calendar has been insanely full lately too. I think it’s the change in seasons that causes everyone to want to be out and about. We also just came back from a trip to good ol’ “Indian-er” as Deric calls it - (translation Indiana) where we celebrated a dear friend’s wedding, had a few too many beers (which may be a requirement for any trip to this state), visited with family and did some fishing! Of course, I had to do some shopping there as well. There is always something unique to be found at antique stores or garage sales in small towns and I must say Ferdinand did not disappoint.

While at lunch with some of the ladies from the Muller and Oser families, we heard about a local garage sale happening in a neighboring town, St. Meinrad, so we made our way over. Most of it was your usual garage sale fare – books, old t-shirts, shoes, VHS tapes, lawn chairs, etc. I was ready to give up when I spotted something very, very exciting….another vintage piece of luggage. It’s almost exactly the same as the Samsonite mustard yellow bag I’ve been apprehensive to give up but this one is blue and made by Sears. On the spot, I decided I’d keep the blue one for my own use and sell the yellow one. Problem solved! I also found a very cool brown leather vintage camera bag. My husband marveled at how I was able to spot these two things in all of the boxes and piles of stuff scattered around.

L: My new blue tote, R: Vintage camera case

My next shopping stop had been on my list of places to go. We’ve driven by the Antique Emporium many times but for some reason, I’ve never ventured inside until now.

I’m a little upset at myself for not going in sooner. This place was a 10,000 square foot vintage heaven. It just seemed to go on and on. If we lived closer, I would’ve had to take home more then just the few purses I settled on…..

L: Blue & white knit handbag, R: White wicker purse with mother of pearl accents

As fun as my shopping excursions were, I did learn a very important lesson on this trip… always check the inside of your purchases for leftover belongings from previous owners BEFORE you go through airport security. While getting my bags checked, I was singled out by a TSA agent. She requested to thoroughly check the blue bag. I thought it was odd until I figured out what prompted her to do so. The x-ray machine had shown what appeared to be a knife. After pulling every last item out of my bag, she revealed a rusty old steak knife hidden in a side pocket. Luckily, she was satisfied when I agreed to let her throw it away. Little did I know that my beloved blue Sears bag would cause such a nightmare. Lesson learned!

Keep your eyes out for my new finds (sans knives) on etsy!

Lots of New Developments!

Things have been quite busy over the last few weeks and I’m excited to share some news! As a young breast cancer survivor I can’t tell you how happy I am about the opportunities that have just been presented to me. I was just invited to be part of the volunteer planning staff for a breast cancer fundraiser called Beats for Boobs – a fun collaboration of art, music and fashion. I’ve been involved with this amazing organization for a few years as a model in their fashion show and have baked boobie cupcakes for the event. I am also lucky to be able to call many of the amazing ladies on the staff my friends.  I’ll be working as the Event Coordinator/right hand woman for their 3 events – in SF, LA and Seattle and I couldn’t be more honored to be a part of something so special!

Also, through my connections at Beats for Boobs, I was just hired at the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund which is a non-profit social service organization that provides emergency financial assistance to low-income women and men of San Francisco and San Mateo County who are in active treatment for breast cancer. After working for seven years at an art gallery, it is such a breath of fresh air to know that I will actually be helping people in need for a cause that is very dear to my heart.

I'll be dividing my time between Cowboy Jack Vintage, B4B, BCEF as well as the little part time job I decided to keep with the frameshop. WHOA! So I have a lot to do! :) I should get started.....

Have a good week everyone! 

Shopping with Grandma

I don’t get to spend too much time with my grandma but I was home for Easter this weekend so we had breakfast at her favorite restaurant, the Waffle House, and then did a little shopping at her favorite thrift store. My grandma can thrift with the best of them even at 84 years old. She has her own frequent buyer card and she even commented that spending $5 on a dress was a little excessive.  I think she wanted me to haggle with the pricing! To her anything more then $1 is just plain overpriced.

I wish I had captured some of our shopping moments from the day on film…my grandma carefully inspecting each shirt, my husband rolling his eyes as I tried to convince him just how awesome a John Wayne painting was, my eyes lighting up at the site of a vintage Samsonite carry on bag and at the end of the day, my husband resting on the thrift store couches.  

Here are a few of the items I found on our shopping excursion….

This is the amazing Samsonite bag that I found. The cashier said this bag was in their front window for months until I came along. I don't understand how anyone could've passed this up! I am definitely having some reservations about selling it though. I need to start lugging my laptop around and I think this would be perfect. Hmmmmm…decision, decisions.

And a few dresses…..

Most of these things will be up on etsy in the next few days. I'll keep you posted! Have a great week! 

Dresses, Dresses, Dresses!

I have a deep obsession with dresses right now. Of course I am partial to vintage dresses but it’s not always easy to find the size I need in a something that was made 40 years ago. So where do I turn? The internet of course! I regularly comb through fashion blogs to see what all the cool kids are wearing these days but it’s also a great way to find links to different online stores. These are just a few of the stores with some impressive dress collections that I have come across in my fashion blog travels.

Spotted Moth

L to R: Battenberg Lace Dress & McGillicuddy Dress 

ModCloth

L to R: Semaphore Front of Fashion Dress & Rosehill Lane Dress

Olive & Orange

From their 2011 Spring & Summer Collection

L to R: Domino Print Trapeze Dress, Chambray Frill Shirt Dress & Wallflower Spot Print Dress

Summer is right around the corner and I can't help but imagine myself in each of these dresses! Cheers to the coming warm weather!

Top Shops

I’ve had a few people ask me where I shop. If you’re ever in the city and want to go on a little shopping excursion here are my favorite go-to thrift and vintage stores, in no particular order.

1. Buffalo Exchange. There is a chain of these stores but my favorite by far is the one on Valencia Street. They always seem to have great everything – dresses, coats, shoes, etc. I’ve found that each store in this chain is sort of reflective of the neighborhood and most people our age in the Mission district have a unique, fun sense of style.

Buffalo Exchange at 1210 Valencia Street

This is also where my husband found the infamous cowboy boots that he gave to me for Christmas a few years ago. The same pair that I just wore under my wedding dress... 

Photo Courtesy of Kris Hosack (aka Reverend Ho)

2. Crossroads Trading Company. This is also a chain of stores, however, in my opinion, their inventory is a little less flashy then Buffalo. It’s a good go to place for standards – jeans and shirts. 

3. Wasteland. I used to spend a lot of time shopping in the Haight but as I’ve gotten older the crowds of tourists, teenagers and street kids have turned me off to the neighborhood but whenever I do make it to that part of town, I must stop here. They have some amazing vintage wears that aren’t overpriced.

Wasteland at 1660 Haight Street

4. Thrift Town. I actually went here for the first time a few weeks ago and it has the potential to be added to my rotation of stores. It’s one of those places that people of all ages go to….senior citizens looking for a bargain, moms looking for kids clothes, 20 and 30 somethings looking for that one hidden gem. It’s definitely one of those places where you can find some cool stuff BUT it takes forever to pick through everything. It’s 2 stories of clothing, shoes, kitchen ware and home décor.

Thrift Town at 2101 Mission Street

5. Held Over. You can find anything from a crazy Halloween costume to a really pretty vintage dress here. Definitely some unique stuff.

Held Over at 1543 Haight Street

6. Goodwill. There are a ton of these stores in the city alone but I think my favorite is the little one at 820 Clement Street. I always manage to find a few fun items here and I think that’s because it’s not in the most trendy of neighborhoods. It is mostly frequented by families whose taste in clothing and accessories are far different from mine.

7. Alameda Point Antiques Faire. If you are ever in the Bay Area on the first Sunday of the month, you must check this out. There are over 800 vendors here who sell anything from clothes to accessories to home furnishings. You need to give yourself at least a few hours to see most of it but if you’re ambitious like me I reserve the whole morning and afternoon to peruse all the booths. And just a word of advice – ladies, leave the men at home unless they are REALLY into antiquing. This is no place for the weary! My only complaint about this antiques fair is that because it has grown so popular over the years, I’ve noticed an overall increase in prices by most vendors. You can still find very reasonable stuff but you may also be quite surprised by some of the asking prices for things. For more info follow the link below.

Alameda Point Antiques Faire

 Hope everyone finds this list helpful! Happy shopping!

Exciting News!

While I was in Tahoe this weekend honing my skiing skills, I received a very exciting email from etsy. I sold my first item! Although it was just a wallet, it was a meaningful sale nonetheless. Thank you to Danielle in Washington DC! Now my husband can stop asking - When are you going to sell something? I think I’ll celebrate with a glass of wine (or two) with the girls tonight.

And to make the sale a little sweeter, I noticed when checking on my etsy account that some of my items and my store have been tagged as buyers favorites already! Guess I must be doing something right so far! 

Anyone Need a Wardrobe Refresher?

I’m not sure how common clothing swaps are elsewhere but in San Francisco, I seem to hear about them all the time. It’s the best way to get some new items in your closet without spending a dime. Just invite a bunch of friends to bring over those bags of unwanted clothes (shoes & accessories are welcome too!) that have been taking up space in the back of their closets, throw in some wine and appetizers and voila! - it’s a party with free clothes! My book club (nicknamed the “wine club” by my husband) has thrown a few clothing swaps and it’s always a fun time.  Everyone is designated a small space to display their goodies and when we’re all ready, we start swapping. You take what you want and give away what you can. There really are no rules except don’t try to pawn off your ripped and torn clothing on anyone else.

These are just a few of my recent clothing swap finds.

A fun little dress and a white winter coat courtesy of my friend Deena…

Some adorable cowboy rain boots, sandals and some mid-calf boots…

And what happens if no one takes my clothes, you ask? Don't worry they will still be put to good use and appreciated by someone...at the end of the night any undesirables are bagged and sent off to a charity like Goodwill.

Happy swapping!

Things I Want...

Every few months I have a new wardrobe obsession. I’ll see something on a blog, in a store or on the street and immediately know that I MUST have it.  It’ll stay in the back of my mind until I figure out where to find it or in most cases, save up enough money to get it. I once fell in love with a pair of boots that I couldn’t afford on a visit to Baltimore. I thought about those boots every day for three months after that trip until I just couldn’t take it any more. I had to do some research to figure out the name of the store but I finally found them and bought the last pair in stock!  It was a joyous day!

Right now there are a few things I have been dying to add to my wardrobe but now that I am unemployed (happily I might add), it’ll probably take me a little longer to buy them. 

Number One. A pair of colorful shoes. Except for my boots, most of my shoes, although stylish, are pretty boring colors….black, grey, brown. I would love to own a colorful pair of shoes like these….

Right photo: Nick and Nessie's Vintage; Left Photo: jlinsnider on etsy

Number Two. My biggest obsession right now is finding a pair of sailor pants. I used to own a pair in college but they were too big and as much as I tried to wear them and make it work, I just swam around in them. One day I finally admitted that they just didn’t fit and gave them away. I just found these on etsy. Hmmmm....maybe I’ll get them when my unemployment checks kick in.

Available at hillbillyfilly on etsy

And finally, Number three. Bright colored tights. If you have ever been to San Francisco, you know the weather is pretty moderate year round. Not too hot, not too cold. I think tights are a must have here. Not only can they spice up any outfit but they can keep you warm on those days when it's sunny and you really want to wear a dress but it’s on the cooler side. 

Left available at Mod Cloth; Right available at Hue

I'll be daydreaming about all of the above for the foreseeable future. 

Sunshine Safari!

It has been unseasonably warm here the last few days. I’m talking in the 80s. Knowing that it was going to be another scorcher today, I already decided on my outfit for the day before going to bed last night. It’s one of my favorite summer dresses. When I was getting ready, I realized that every item of clothing that I was going to put on was a thrift store find so I thought I would document it in a blog!

I have nicknamed this my safari outfit. The dress has a jungle scene across the bottom complete with palm trees and a lion.

There’s also this little guy whose species is unknown!

The sweater could use a little TLC…..one of the seams is coming undone but luckily it’s not too visible. The gladiatior sandals are faux snakeskin. 

All of the above cost me somewhere around $30, maybe even a little less.

This outfit epitomizes why I love thrift and vintage store shopping….I’m positive no one else is wearing this today and it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg to put it together.

CJV is on Etsy!

Photo of me courtesy of New Vintage Photography by Jen

I’ve scoured a few vintage sales since I decided I wanted to open this store. I’ve bought a ton of clothes and accessories but my camera and photography skills are pretty awful at this point so I haven’t added much to my etsy store so far except for the purses and shoes. The items posted have photos that I deemed acceptable but probably need to be re-shot if they don’t entice any buyers. My friend Deena has graciously agreed to model the clothes so hopefully, I can add a lot more to the store this weekend!

At least Cowboy Jack Vintage is open for business now! Follow the link below to my store!

Cowboy Jack Vintage by kmasuda

Bye Bye Gallery!

I haven’t been much of a blogger. Between training for my team relay in the Oakland marathon, training my replacement at work and just life in general getting in the way, I haven’t had much free time to daydream about my store. That all changes today though!! I ran 7.5 miles for my team in Oakland last Sunday and yesterday was my very last day at the gallery. Even though I’ve been wishing for this day to come, it’s still hard to believe that it actually happened! I’ll have a lot more free time to work on CJV and hopefully, just be an all around nicer person without the job stress.

I’ve been thinking about the home décor side of the store all morning. I definitely want to sell art and vintage frames. The art side of things is going to be the most challenging part for me and it may just test my relationship with my husband! HA! I recently bought this painting for our home at an antiques faire in Sacramento. I am VERY excited about it and he is not, to say the least. I absolutely love owls! The frame definitely looks dated and needs to be replaced but I think it’s a pretty awesome piece. What do you think?

Happy Tuesday!

Most people have no opinion of Tuesdays. It’s too close to Monday to feel like you’ve accomplished anything with your week and too far from Friday to get excited about any weekend plans.  But Tuesdays are one of my favorite days of the week because I work from home. No drive across town, over the bridge and into the tourist trap that is Sausalito. When I got home from work yesterday I realized that my job is so emotionally draining that it sucks all creativity or desire to be creative out of me. This morning I woke up refreshed and renewed. Ready to shoot some images of the rest of the clothing and accessories I found for Cowboy Jack. Ready to do some planning, research and writing. Here we go….

My first thought of the day was about one of my lingering decisions, whether or not to include men’s apparel in my collection. Oddly, I can spot a man with a lot of style and admire his attire from a mile away but in a store, on the spot, I can’t piece together an outfit for my husband. So we’ll see. I recently came across these old photos of my Grandpa. Now this is style and grace! Although I can’t see my husband in suits like this, if I were to sell men’s apparel I would love to dress my client’s like this.

Sneak Peak!

 

I spent the morning in line with about two hundred eager people waiting for a 96, 000 square foot warehouse to open its doors and reveal all of its rummage sale goodness. I really had no idea what I would find but I was hoping there'd be a few things to help get Cowboy Jack off and running. I must say it was well worth the wait. When I left my husband in the dust and made my way through the crowd over to the women's clothing section, I thought I was in heaven! I had to constantly remind myself that I wasn't just shopping for me and that I needed to scope out a variety of sizes and styles. This turquoise dress immediately caught my eye. Luckily, it is a little too big for me so it will definitely stay in Cowboy Jack's inventory. I love the bright color and swirly details. 

After I found her, I proceeded to fill my arms with hanger upon hanger of dresses. The selection was pretty amazing. I'm a no nonsense shopper though....I won't even touch an item of clothing if I don't instantly love the color or pattern. There's no doubt that I love to shop but I also don't like to waste my time. As the crowd inside the warehouse grew and grew, I decided to tackle one more section before calling it a day. Since this was my first venture into finding inventory, I didn't want to go overboard too soon. My next and final stop was in the women's accessories section. This is where I found the most adorable olive purse.

All in all, it was a very successful morning and my husband was very happy that we only stayed for an hour. I definitely found enough clothing, shoes and accessories to start my etsy store so keep an eye out for the news on that!

When I grow up...

What am I doing? I have been asking myself that question for years. I realized long ago that the number crunching I’ve been doing at my job, even if it’s at a place that should be creative like an art gallery, wasn’t my calling and I’ve been complaining about it to anyone who would listen. The problem is I haven’t been able to figure out what I want to do with my life. Where would I be happy? My husband asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” That question affected me more then he knows. I’m going to be 34 in August and up until a few days ago, I didn’t know how to answer that and it was troubling to say the least. I started thinking about all the things that interest me and the one thing I kept coming back to was fashion.  So after a little bit of soul searching and some much needed inspiration from one of my best friends (Thanks Jeff!), I’ve finally answered that age old question....I’m going to open a vintage clothing and home décor store and it’s going to be called Cowboy Jack Vintage.

My friend Jennifer (aka Jeff) is an amazing photographer who has always been a big fan of blogging. She blogs about her beautiful images from different projects. She’s inspired me in many ways in the past few days and one of them is to start blogging about anything that interests me. I never realized what a creative outlet it could be for the blogger until I started reading blogs from all over the country. So I’ve decided to electronically put pen to paper and start documenting my experiences in my quest to open Cowboy Jack Vintage. Don’t worry. I’m not going to rush into anything. I am quitting my job but will still work over the next year as I plot and plan this “shop,” as my husband calls it. I’ll record all of my successes (and hopefully just a small number of failures) as I research how to open a business, where I should locate it, gather some amazing inventory and get to selling!