vintage photography

You may have noticed that we updated our blog masthead earlier in the year. I was inspired by the many altered art projects floating around on the web. This one (at left) in particular caught my eye and I saved it in my inspiration file for months.

Eventually I had the opportunity to try my hand at my own altered art piece when updating our blog masthead. First, I set out looking for a really cute vintage photograph with a baby buggy and found this one (below left) on eBay. Then I grabbed one of my cute vintage greeting cards in my endlessly-growing stash (below right).

And presto-chango (and some work in Photoshop), voila! The new Baby Gardner Baby Bloggie masthead was born!

I’m drawn to the idea of reinventing vintage photography — reinventing the past, so-to-speak. Modern and artistic touches added to vintage photography have created a whole new art form that’s soaring in popularity. Here’s some other examples of altered art and hand-tinting I heart…

A few years back I blogged about a vintage photograph postcard that landed me in a heated bidding war. You can read that story here. We eventually altered that photo to create our one-of-a-kind Vintage Stork baby shower collection (at right).

Granted, vintage photography can sometimes border on creepy, but when you see examples of vintage photography like these, you can’t help but be inspired. The fact that the past can be reborn and treasured in a brand new way is just fascinating. Think about these little personalities from so long ago that will remain forever young in these photos and treasured in new ways for generations to come.

If you aren’t familiar with the term pram or know it only by name and not by reputation, let me share with you all the vintage goodness of the perambulator (what a mouth full) — better known as pram for short.

First, a little history… Before 1800, babies were seldom carried outside of the home. When transporting babies was necessary, they were swaddled in clothing or, among the upper classes, carried by nannies. Prams were introduced in the early 1800s and by mid-century, they had become status symbols across Europe and Northern America. It wasn’t until the 1920s that prams became common in all social groups. Although prams were quite popular in their day, the design of strollers and carriers became more modern and convenient — eventually causing the pram to become cumbersome and obsolete.

So you might be wondering, “Okay, they’re vintage and really cool, but what could possibly be the practical use for an oversized vintage baby carriage?”

Good question! And besides the fact that pushing one down the sidewalk will surely make you the hippest vintage mom on the block, the bonus answer is, “Think bassinet.”

Both of my babies slept in a bassinet beside our bed for the first three months (a great helper when you’re nursing). And the wheels on that bassinet were a must for wheeling the little ones from room to room during the day without disturbing their naps. In hindsight, I wish I had thought to use a pram in place of that bassinet. What a wonderfully vintage experience that would have been! (Not to mention the great photo opportunities!!) It wasn’t until years later that I remembered this vintage pram my mom had used with my baby brother…

Although the quality of the photo is not the best, this photo is priceless. My mother custom made the red gingham bedding for the pram and the red gingham chicken mobile that’s hanging above. How adorable is that? If you squint, you can even see the silhouette of my tiny baby brother (born April 1980). She wheeled him everywhere in this thing and even took him for an occasional stroll through the neighborhood.

It was kind of ironic when Krista (see previous post) sent me photos of the vintage pram she used for her son, Shiloh. The funny thing is, I had already started research on this post about vintage prams. (Great timing, Krista!) Krista also used Shiloh’s pram (below) in place of a bassinet and once he could sit up, it was a great photo op as well!

I love the embroidered vintage car below. It works perfectly with the vintage travel theme Krista used in Shiloh’s nursery.

So maybe you’re open to the possibilities of a pram? Many people are taking advantage of these vintage ‘hot rods’, and as much as I would recommend researching them as an option, always be careful in your selection of vintage items that will be used for baby. Be sure any pram you are considering is in excellent, sturdy condition and safe for baby.

For more information and a slew of gorgeous photos of vintage prams, the Prams Perfect Prams blog is a great resource. You won’t believe how many varieties there are.

I’d like to share with you guys a favorite photograph. No, it’s not me. This was years before I came around. This is my mom and big sis, Easter 1969. You gotta love the Easter cake that was surely made from scratch… And the chocolate bunny that looks way more appetizing than anything I saw on the shelf this year… And how about the poodle in the corner… And of course the little ‘peep’ in her Sunday Best with a young momma and her fancy ‘do’. Makes your heart (and the chocolate bunny) melt a little, you know?

Wishing all my bloggie buddies a very happy Easter. Count your blessings and take lots of photos of your little ‘peeps’. You never know which one just might show up in a blog 40 years from now.

I’m not sure if the lack of sleep has improved my writing or just made me delirious, but after a really long day, this post title cracked me up. It couldn’t be more appropriate to sum up my recent experience on eBay…

I tend to hit eBay in waves. I get hooked for a week or two and spend way too much time and often too much money. Eventually I snap out of the eBay fog and ban myself for the next few months. Case in point: After a heated bidding war the other night, I narrowly escaped as victor of this wonderful vintage photograph postcard. How could ‘The Baby Gardner’ not fight for this? It epitomizes the shop, right? But it cost me. Boy, did it cost me. Which brings me to the ‘done’ part. I’ve banned myself from eBay for the foreseeable future. But really — can you blame me?

So what do you think about incorporating this into a product for the shop? Good idea or nah, not so much?

You know, vintage really is a matter of perspective. What’s vintage to me may not seem vintage to someone else. When I started the shop, I felt like we needed to establish some sort of vintage standard even if it was subjective. So our adopted ‘Vintage Description’ for the shop basically states that anything dating earlier than 1975 is considered ‘vintage’ to us.

Well it hit me recently that I fall into that category! I’m VINTAGE? What?! Just because I lived the generation that once had Madonna hair and obsessed over The Police, does not make me vintage now, right? (Agree with me, people.) So I got a grip and calmly reminded myself that vintage is just a matter of perspective. And the great thing about getting older is that you begin to appreciate the things that remind us of a simpler time.

Which led me to get a little nostalgic and take a trip through some old family photos… ‘vintage’ in varying degrees of course…

The first photo is my dad decked out in blue when he was 3-years-old (circa 1947). His mom (my grandmother) had entered him in a local ‘Prettiest Baby’ contest the day this photo was taken. He won first place! Doesn’t he just look thrilled to be there? Hilarious, right? My dad still had this photo AND the trophy he won that day — both of which I quickly confiscated once I was old enough to appreciate them for what they were. Today the trophy sits on my son’s dresser and this photo hangs in his room. Kinda cool, huh? (Footnote: I thought the polka dots made it a little more playful. How I love the many wonders of scrapbook paper!)

The second photo is my mom when she was around 4-years-old (circa 1953). This was the Little Miss Peanut Pageant which she won! What a ham. Every time I look at this photo I can see glimpses of myself and my daughter. It’s amazing all that we pass on to our children. This little charmer hangs in the hall.

And finally we come to moi. Here I am at my 4th birthday (circa 1978). I guess it does kind of have a vintage flair already. Those rounded corners are a dead giveaway, not to mention the Dorothy Hamill hair on my mom and the bright yellow dress I’m wearing. What I wouldn’t give to have that hair again! This one stays in the family album, but the funny thing is that some day one of my kids will probably pull it out (thinking it’s really cool and vintage) and maybe even frame it for their children to appreciate — just like I’ve done with my parents’ photos.

Weird how that works, isn’t it?