How would you spell Aidan?

When Tom Huerter of Omaha contacted Timeless Treasures, San Francisco recently in his search for old sign letters, one of his priorities was that we come up with "an eclectic blend" of letters for a couple of phrases as well as to spell out the name of his son, Aidan.

Jenny Price, who works her creative magic on special requests from customers around the world who have discovered us by googling, assembled the variations for AIDAN shown below using a mix of materials, sizes, colors and type fonts.

Our method for coming up with what we call "word art" -- words and phrases made up of vintage letters salvaged from discarded store signs and theater marquees-- requires collaboration and a sense of fun with people who go for the look and feel of "the real deal" of found objects with a history.

Tom chose a combination of letter options, which are now enroute to Nebraska. We're eager to see how he decides to spell out Aidan.

You've got (gorgeous) mail!

Last week Alice So, a San Francisco aficionado of handwritten (and decorated) correspondence, popped by and spent several minutes checking out our vintage rubber stamps. She chose a variety for her collection, including a one-of-a-kind set of vintage stamps with names of musical instruments.

Then a few days ago, we received the most amazingly clever and unique and personal package in the mail. Stunning! Colorful! Enchanting!

Words fail us, actually. See for yourself, both front and reverse of Alice's one-of-a-kind envelope.

If you're a scrapbooker, a collage artist or a snail mail correspondent, we invite you to stop by and see the vintage ephemera we've got in store for you.

Imagine how delighted your friends will be when they go to their mailbox by the front door and receive your surprise! We applaud people like Alice who make the dying art of letter writing really come alive.

What's in the window on Sutter Street?

Occasionally someone comes up with a window display that seems too tongue-in-cheek not to share with more than just passersby who see Timeless Treasures on Sutter Street.
Last week, during a visit to San Francisco, New York photo stylist Nan Whitney created a red-and-white tableau featuring a vintage advertising sign and a checked kitchen table found in France. The advert for LIEBIG-brand soups offered an immediate opportunity for creating slogans in English.
"Lie Big? Expect to pay the consequences."
"Lie Big? Well, if you must tell a lie, make it a whopper."
The symphony of red and white, including the vintage stylized red letter L, vintage red marquee numbers and the small white stool with a border of red paint, makes a simple color statement, and something for pundits to ponder.
If you're interested in purchasing something you see here -- including the vintage French glass wine jugs that you can barely make out in the morning sunlight glancing off the window-- give us a call.
To see more of Nan Whitney's work as a stylist and set designer, click here.

To encourage her son Alex's love for music, Lynne Bauman of Roswell, Ga. began painting a series of colorful murals on the wall of his bedroom.
When she completed the first mural that depicts a wavy keyboard, she and Alex both loved the look of it, Lynne says, but "thought it needed something more."
She remembered seeing vintage sign letters at Timeless Treasures during a visit to San Francisco some months ago, and decided to check out the options for spelling out "MUSIC!" when she returned to the city last weekend.
So after considering several combinations of letters, Lynne chose a series that she used to embellish the mural practically the moment she got home to Georgia.
The best news of all?
"Alex loves it!" according to Lynne.

Whose turn is it to dry?

Recently we discovered the perfect housewarming gift for just about everyone. . . tea towels in luscious color palettes and clever patterns that look simply beautiful in any style kitchen. Here you can see two patterns displayed on fancy vintage French hooks at Timeless Treasures.

We find them very appealing for another reason --they are designed and produced right here in the Bay Area. San Francisco art director and designer Christina Weber transforms a seemingly utilitarian object -- the everyday dish towel -- into a whimsical art textile. She collaborates with a printer in Oakland who hand silkscreens each one onto high quality linen/cotton from Poland.

Great for drying wine glasses without leaving lint and silverware minus any fingerprints, these tea towels are equally suitable for framing as a simple "pop" of subtle color in a kitchen or breakfast nook.

We are especially smitten with Christina's play on words with the "T" for tea towel, and now have in stock the four patterns shown below, available either in pairs ($42) or as singles ($22): the Stripe Tea Towel set, shown on the left, comes in willow and mineral. The Flip Tea Towel duo comes in mineral and cinnamon. Each towel measures 18" by 26".


You can see Christina's clever suggestions for using a towel to gift wrap a bottle of wine or champagne, as an oversize napkin to protect your dry-clean-only pants, to tuck into a waistband as an apron, and other details by clicking here.

The next time you're invited for dinner or a weekend away, consider packing a pair for your host or hostess. Then when you offer to dry the dishes, you know you're in for a treat.

As a gift for someone in a new place, or as a small wedding present for friends you want to congratulate with "a little something special", these tea towels are easy to mail.

Opposites Attract

I love visual puns, don't you?

Take, say, the juxtaposition of a vintage fire engine and a SLOW sign.

A few days ago, as we were creating displays of new merchandise at Timeless Treasures, San Francisco, the old hook-and-ladder was placed on top of a sign laying on a table.

A bit later, someone noticed the apparent contradiction, and commented about how we can all be "so much like a fire engine, racing through life," and the SLOW sign is a reminder to -- yes --slow down.

Not terribly deep stuff perhaps, but nonetheless an interesting observation.

The antique fire truck came from the estate of a Bay Area toy collector, and the SLOW sign once was a roadside warning. Maybe one would be an appropriate gift for someone you know who has a special birthday coming up, for Dad on Father's Day or for yourself to add a sentimental element to your decor.

A piece of the past for writing about the present

A few months ago, in our search for new treasures made from recycled materials, we discovered Attic Journals, the brainchild of Portland, OR, entrepreneur Michelle Sanders.

She takes covers from discarded hardbound vintage books, often cast-offs from libraries or schools, and remakes them into journals and notebooks. We placed our first order just before Christmas, and customers snatched up the unique and different, as well as eco-friendly, gifts made from children's books, cookbooks and vintage books about writing and editing .

Earlier this week we received a new collection, including titles chosen by Michelle especially for Timeless Treasures. We're especially smitten with Margo and the Tiger, shown above, which would be a marvelous gift to commemorate the Chinese Year of the Tiger (2010), and Le Francais Vivant, a perfect place for noting details about a trip to Paris.

Each one contains 75 pages of unlined white paper and is bound together with a sturdy wire spiral. You can choose from our current selection at Timeless Treasures on Sutter Street, or see Michelle's online store here.

These intriguing notebooks remind us of what Oscar Wilde said about journals. "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something interesting to read on the train."

big letters for a little lady

Last spring, soon after learning she was pregnant, Tara Swain, a photographer based in Paris, Texas, emailed to ask about buying vintage sign letters for the baby nursery she was designing.

Eager to help her "long distance", we suggested she email us when they found out the baby's sex and chose a name for him or her.

So in August, Tara sent us the details: "Okay! I am ready to order the letters.... the name is Briley." The color scheme for her daughter-to-be's nursery was chosen -- lime green walls, black furniture, hot pink and turquoise for accents. "No brown, no pastels," Tara emphasized. She wanted mismatched letters, and since she planned to hang them over the baby's crib, "I'd like them to be fairly big, but not TOO big." And finally, she added, all the letters didn't have to be pink, green or turquoise. "I just like the 'junk' look." I can't WAIT to see what you work up!"

With that guidance, we chose three options for BRILEY from Timeless Treasures' current store stock, took snapshots on the sidewalk on Sutter Street for the excited mom-to-be, and awaited her decision.

As you can see, Tara chose the mix in the lowest row shown above. Briley arrived in December, and a few weeks ago her proud mama shared the photo of her snuggled in her crib beneath her name.

All we can say is, "Sleep tight, Briley!"

You can see more of Tara's work, which she describes as a mix of photojournalism and creative portraiture, here.