I love vintage glass beads, especially the flower shaped ones. I don't know what it is about the glass but it just seems different (it probably has heavy metals in it so don't put them in your mouth). One of my favorite time wasting habits is searching the net for vintage glass beads and herein is the problem. I think of something as being vintage if it is OLDER THAN ME which means something manufactured before the 1950's. I think we're heading toward antique status here rather than vintage but in my world, it's still vintage. Imagine my surprise when I pop 'vintage' into a search engine and find plastic - vintage plastic? plastic? that's not vintage - (now before you correct me please remember that this is my own personal world that we're talking about here) and these plastic beads aren't cool bakelite which is really resin and not plastic anyway - we are talking about things taht I found in my Aunt Elaine's jewelry box when I was a child in the 60's. NOT VINTAGE - (remember this is still my own private world we are discussing).
The same goes for the Melamine that they are now selling at vintage - it was ugly at Aunt Ruth's house and it's ugly now. My children (who are in their 30's) were so excited when they received a set of 'vintage' melamine dinnerware for their wedding - the pattern was the same that my Aunt Alice had with those mod little rounded triangle thingys - ugh. And the 'vintage rafia tumblers'. I saw some on eBay for $12.50 each. They used to give those to you at the gas station when you filled your tank (after they were done checking your air pressure, oil and windshield wiper fluids).
I suppose now I'm sounding like my Grandma Lola - remembering the 'good old days' - but that's not it at all. All I ask is that when searching for things that are 'old', I don't find things that were manufactured after I was born. Is that too much to ask?
4 comments:
No, not too much to ask! I keep running into the same thing in other areas. There is however a new line I've drawn. It USED to be that I felt comforted when my doctors were gray haired and well wrinkled giving me a sense of security due to all that experience. If they looked old enough to be mistaken for vintage, even better. The first time a doctor entered the examining room looking far younger than I...my knees wobbled. Now the vintage line has been redrawn. I want the guy closest to the new research. It doesn't hurt if he also likes to check in with some of his gray haired partners in practice of course. They look more like me. Now my beads and buttons...give me the truly VINTAGE, as in OLD, when ever possible. Their more experienced too. :)
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstanding and misrepresentation in the bead world. Personally, I try to ignore the words vintage and antique, although sometimes a search using these words may turn up a treasure. A lot of people selling beads love their beads, yes, but don't really know much about them. I used to get wigged out about descriptive mistakes, but now I just buy what I love when I can afford it and let it go at that.
Robin A.
Being in the "vintage" age group myself, I understand your frustration. I love looking for the old stuff too.
Arline
I bought some "vintage" beads with which to make rosaries. My sister said I should sell them as "rosaries made with pre-Vatican II beads" so I guess it's all in how we look at things. Perhaps if you place things as pre-flower power or post flower power days would that help any? I am glad I am living long enough to find things as old as I am (and I am only 55) being considered oldish. I plan to stick around till I hit the days when stuff from my days is considered antiqueish!
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