1.18.2011

Introducing: Snapshots v. 1

A few years ago, Chris and I spent the summer living with my mom is southern California. My mom is an expert thrifter. She goes to garages sales, thrift stores, and flea markets weekly, and Chris and I got into the habit of tagging along with her. L.A. has some amazing flea markets, and at one in particular Chris and I started a new collection: old photos. One seller had boxes and boxes of photos, and we spent at least an hour going through them and picking out our favorites. We ended up collecting quite a few photos that summer, and they're very special to us. We haven't had much luck finding any old photos since that summer, but what we have now is a great little collection of forgotten memories.

Part of what I love about vintage and thrifted goods is that every once in a while, you can get a glimpse into the previous owner's life. One time, I bought a travel bag and in a hidden pocket inside was a typed list of members of a group called The Rusty Nails. There wasn't any information about what the group was, just pages and pages of people's names and addresses. I love finding these kinds of things and imagining what these people were like. I may have one single photograph of someone, but they led a whole life that's a complete mystery. I guess that's the historian in me.

So on to my new blog feature! Every week I'll be sharing a photo from our collection in a feature I'm calling Snapshots. Some of my favorites have captions written on the back, and I'll do my best to copy that over to the blog. I might point out something I love about the photo, or maybe I'll make up a story about who I think the subject is, or maybe I won't say anything at all! I'm really excited about this, and I hope you guys enjoy this feature!

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This is one of my favorite photos we have. I love everything about it- the blurriness, the eeriness... Why is she at the beach in a winter coat? Was she visiting somewhere new? Who took the photo? There's no date, but I'm fairly confident this photo is from the '40s. I love love love the scrolled edges of this type of old photo, I wish you could still get prints cut this way.

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8 comments:

  1. fabulous new feature! cant wait to see them all!

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  2. Ahh! We're collection twins! I love love love finding old photographs when I go thrifing/antiquing. The mystery of it all really makes it interesting. I haven't had anywhere to put mine seeing as I still live in a dorm right now, but once I get my own place- watch out living room walls.

    Great idea, I can't wait!

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  3. I love the new feature! That's such an awesome picture. I love the way she looks like she is floating out of the frame

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  4. What a unique feature! by the looks of how much i love this photo, i am really looking forward to seeing a new one every week now :)

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  5. Thanks everyone!

    @val: Thanks! I'm excited about this too!!

    @:EmilyJosephine: YAY! Twinsies! I love the mystery too, and the handwritten captions are for sure my favorite part. I've wanted to display mine, but have held off because I wouldn't be able to read the backs. This way I'll have the captions documented and can still hang them!

    @mike: Thanks! I'm super excited about sharing these, I have some gems that I'm excited to post! I just love the look of old photos so so much.

    @michelle: Thanks love! I'm glad you're looking forward to it, I wasn't sure if anyone would be as interested in it as I am!!

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  6. You should frame your pictures between two pieces of glass. So, put glass on the back instead of the regular cardboard backing that way you can hang them and still be able to see the writing on the back. I used to do that all the time for people when I worked in a frame shop.

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  7. @Mike: I've thought about that, but I don't want it to get too expensive. Plus, I like the idea of finding a vintage multi-picture frame, you know where some are ovals/squares/rectangles, and having them all in one place. We'll see!

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  8. I love old pictures! My grandmother has a whole collection of old family photos from the 30s/40s/50s and a lot of them have scrolled edges.
    I like to see the difference between those photos and the way we take/pose on pictures now (for example, a lot of people on old photos don't smile). And my granny and her friends used to wear beautiful clothes, which I find very inspiring.
    So I think I'll like this new feature on your blog :)

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Hey there! Thanks so much for your comment! I read every one I get, and I try to reply as much as I can. You can also email me if you want! susannahbean AT gmail DOT com.

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