Category: Blog

A time never lived

by Piece & Quiet Life, posted in Blog, Daily Chatter, Vintage

I guess the majority of my thoughts occur while in transport, travelling from point a to b.

I was listening to the radio and started thinking to myself, whats makes one artist more memorable than another? Why is it so many artists from the past remain a solid staple in history, while others come and go with little recognition. Is it the quality, quantity or what? What music of significance has shaped the last twenty years of my life? I am separating consistent catchy tune-makers from music icons, the greats.

Then my mind really started going, what furniture and clothing designers would be described having derived from this same period 2000-2019? IKEA, replica Teak, Shabby Chic, online shopping giant retailers?

I was feeling a bit confused…Were my teenage years til now a mash-up? A mix of modern, retro and antique all in one, replicating years the past to create a new overall style? It is strange to think that the significance of the 2000’s would be pulling pieces from other periods to create something but this appears to be what is happening. I could say this has always been the case but I don’t think so. Sure, time periods have influenced later decades but the revival of all things (music, fashion, decor etc.) has never been as great as now.

When technology innovation appears to be at an all time high you would think everything would be entirely different but items of popularity seem to have a gravitational pull towards the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. All the old shows (I watched originals of)  are even having reunion remakes, they call them comebacks. I have never seen so many radio channels dedicated to music from other generations. I can’t find a good pair of older Levis to save my life, why because they fly off shelves.

Is there a lack of creators, having the ability to create. Or perhaps we are moving backwards (to the old things) because they were better than what we have now for one or many reasons. Listen to the musical talent, look at the stitches in your clothes and the fabric on that chair. We want authentic, not synthetic and the proof is in the pudding.

A time I never lived is all around me and what I will do is continue to share quality in hopes more quality will come and shape the 2000’s as its own ground breaking time.

Perfect, Imperfections

by Piece & Quiet Life, posted in Blog

I was driving home this evening and caught a glimpse of this new world. One of the largest buildings I have ever seen dedicated to the distribution of goods, sold online. Click, choose, check-out and you shall receive. I thought to myself, how sad.

Trust me, I get it (online shopping) convenience is top of mind, there’s super-saver deals and the dopamine hit can be unmatched. Since the early 2000’s it appears there is a smaller window of patience that has slowly bestowed us all, even myself.

I enjoy the tactile qualities in-person shopping brings, the brief though sometimes memorable chat with the sales person and the ability to use my own judgement to confirm the quality of an item instead of referring to star stamped reviews by individuals I do not know.

Older pieces that are not new have a different purchase process. You always have to do a once over on them yet this can be so fun and gratifying. The more imperfections a piece has the more beautiful and authentic in can be! The more eye wondering that is required, the better. Every stroke of a finger or movement of the hand can shape a piece to become its very own creation, original self.

Machines can print and a blueprint will create the path for reproductions but there is nothing like perfect, imperfections. Straight copied lines aren’t as interesting.

I challenge you to look around at all that we have created and by we I mean humans, by hand or with minimal interference by mass production tips, tool & techniques. Craftsmanship prevails and then all of a sudden those popular, gimmicky, lower quality (break tomorrow) pieces don’t look as appealing or convenient.

The more online shopping takes over, the less community shops there will be. The more the focus is on same-day shipping the more the likelihood that the quality of what we receive, will go down. The more we start using self checkouts the more local jobs we will lose. I am not saying lets go back to the old days all I am relaying is a fulfillment centre to me, is really not as fulfilling as it seems in the grand scheme of things.

 

Finds to last a lifetime

by Piece & Quiet Life, posted in Blog, Vintage
Classic books from the 1970’s that will never go out of style

It was a sunny Saturday morning and with a coffee in hand, I entered a large suburban home estate sale. I was lost in a sea of old books, jewellery, tools and everything one could imagine.

Though not a mansion, the doors seemed endless as did the rooms with their neatly hobby specific set-ups. As I was looking through vintage gardening books I realized something…these types of houses will not exist forever. A space was dedicated to everything – gardening, sewing, reading, alcohol, you name it – it was there. Every piece of furniture was interesting, well made and held a history. Conversation items adorned the shelves and every nook & cranny. Closets were stacked with every container kept and reused over time.

Instead of getting sad about it, I decided I am going to organize my home, so thats what I did all Saturday night. I also took the time to marvel at some of the things I kept in my home for all these years.

Find the finds to last a lifetime and you won’t need to consume as much. Learn how to do things for yourself, turn that soil and your can conserve the planets resources. ~ Quote by me 

My dad can fix most anything, my mother wore the same clothes for 40 years straight and would not throw away anything of any value. My grandparents were frugal as heck!

As my twitter feed was blowing up with a climate strike notification this weekend, I thought to myself we can challenge the greater powers that be to make a change but we can also independently really remember the good we should take away from every generation that came both before and after us.