Inglewood - a collectors treasure trove

 

One of the many second-hand and collectable stores jam-packed with old wares

vintage furniture, books, kitchenware, kids toys, ceramics etc.......

     Some of the decorative signs, window and doorway details on the historic buildings

 

Inglewood...... it's a tiny little town north of Bendigo and there aint' much going on.......HOWEVER, what it lacks in size and population it certainly makes up for in its concentrated selection of antique, vintage and collectable stores. 

 

Once a small gold mining town, Inglewood is a great example of a Victorian Gold Rush town demonstrated with it's period architecture.  But most importantly I'd heard it was a great place to visit for finding second-hand paraphernalia, and it didn't disappoint!

 

There are at least 4 or 5 large shops filled to the brim with all-sorts of vintage, retro, antique, second-hand and collectable items - from ceramics, kitchenware, tins, old packaging, furniture and books, to childrens toys, clothing, machinery and tools.  Phew!  

 

It's well worth a visit for an afternoon.....take a bag......take some money.......and take your time to browse, fossick, hunt and collect for a few hours.  

yellow.....orange.....green

 some recent 2nd hand purchases in accidental colour groups......yellow,orange and green

A few weeks ago I was visiting Daylesford - and it's impossible for me to visit Daylesford without a trip to the fabulous Mill Markets to see what second hand, vintage or retro bits-and-pieces I can find.

It was only when I got home and unpacked my goodies, that I realised I'd unintentionally purchased in colour groups!  My little second-hand lovelies were all yellow, orange and green.

I picked up the very cute retro melamine cup (love the square shaped handle), saucer and plate set featuring a yellow rose pattern, which sits so happily on the ceramic plate with the orange and grey geo pattern on the rim.  I also picked up 3 jugs; a small English jug with a yellow and green floral pattern, the larger orange melamine jug, and finally the large green and white polka-dot jug (which I think is Australian).

And lastly I found an old English 'Mackintosh's' tin, with an over-scaled daisy pattern - in orange, yellow and green!    

The Owl and the Woodpecker

 

 

 

I was really chuffed to come across this Brian Wildsmith book The Owl and the Woodpecker in the
second-hand section of my local bookshop the other day.  Not in the best condition, however at $4 I wasn't complaining!   

The book (published in 1971) tells the story of an owl and a woodpecker who live in a far-away forest.  The woodpecker lives in a tree where he sleeps all night and works all day - however - in the tree next door lives an owl, who likes to work all night and sleep all day!  All the animals in the forest get together to resolve the disagreement between the angry birds, so that peace can return to the forest.

It's the fabulous illustrations by Brian Wildsmith that captured my attention - Wildsmith has created a series of lively, expressive and frenetic animal illustrations to accompany the story.  Painted in what appears to be layers of gouache, oil pastel and the occasional use of collage, the multi-textural illustrations are playful and portray a sense of movement and energy on each page. 

I love Brian Wildsmith's freedom and relaxed illustrative style, and these colourful animal illustrations are really delightful (the photographs don't do them justice)..... and they make me want to rewind my life by several years and go to study illustration at college! 

There are some more examples of Brian Wildsmith's work on my blog here and here.