Honky Tonk was never so tough as nails til Them Duqaines rolled into town. Austin, TX had the pleasure of hosting these guys at SXSW this past year.
I filmed this project for these guys–they’re wonderful! So next time you’re in Austin, you’d better make time to go see them live. And don’t forget to wear your dancing boots. 
While voting is a privilege that I’m thankful for, we don’t get to do it all that often—-in my life, voting is about as common as the olympics, leap years, and getting new brakes in my car. However, something I do every week is go to the grocer’s shop, or any other store in my community. This has brought me to the conclusion that a sure-fire way to support or protest certain social issues is through my personal involvement in capitalism. This is the (super short) story of why I decided to start voting with my wallet.
A few years ago, I began to think about how frustrated I was with one particular international mega-store that was not only famous for poor labor standards overseas, but also for its poor labor practices here in the good ole USA. So, my husband and I decided that we would no longer shop there. Considering our normal purchasing habits, they have officially lost at least $21,600 since my husband and I took the plunge and decided to consider that corporation to be dead to us. Corporations are people, too, right?
Now, I know you’re thinking that $20,000 is not altogether that much money in the scheme of things to a major corporation. But it is money that I feel better about having spent with small businesses that are not only giving back to my community, but are truly invested in my community. They have to be, because their success is dependent on the success of our community.
Corporations can be wonderful. I do NOT believe that the word ‘corporation’ automatically equals EVIL or bad for small communities. There are plenty of major corporations that are doing things right and taking care of their part-time workers with access to health care and supporting fair trade, and I have a lot of respect for them. Operating a very large business with ethical, respectful, and considerate standards is hard work and takes a considerable amount of research, reflection and action.
Today, I want to encourage you to remember that spending money at small businesses directly supports families in your community. I have been so thankful for the business to my small print & vintage shop on etsy, and so I wanted to share with you some of MY favorite small businesses, and I hope you’ll share the love with them, too.
You can get custom woodburns through Chipper Things ( a Waco Illustrator who is so kind!)
Or you can get some lovely handmade totes and knit accessories from Ivey Expressions
Or bubble up with some farm-fresh goat’s milk soap in the tub from Wildcraft&Co
Feel like a nomadic princess with creations by JuvaGypsy
Or just enjoy a few chuckles every time you use a product from my favorite cartoonist JimBob
And you can purchase any of my illustrations, prints, or vintage gooderies here at SalvageTheWorld
I have always had an affinity for Tea Towels, and as my collection has grown, I had to think through some ways to give old tea-towels new life. They are usually quite beautiful works of art, and so I wanted to think of a way to showcase them more prominently than in the kitchen, even if their calendars were out of date.
I also happen to have an extensive collection of vintage textiles that have been beautifully preserved from my great-grandmother’s sewing projects. I chose to make pillows from these vintage tea towels and include a deep blue ikat weave for the back of these pillows. In the pictures, they are sitting on my back porch chairs, and I was surprised to see how beautiful the green leaves seemed to pop out of the retro illustrations when paired with the green cushions.
Check them out in the etsy shop, and feel free to message me with any special requests.
This particular tea towel pillow from 1974 also happens to coincide with the same days of the week and dates as the 2013 calendar, and I think that is pretty cool! The birds are still very brightly colored sitting on the magnolia branch.
Here’s the weave on the back; The colors are the same but the thread shows a change in texture and shininess across the pattern. I love it!
On a side note, if you’re ever looking for vintage fabrics, one of my favorite places in Texas is called Cameron Trading Company. It is a 3-story flea-market style resale shop, and it is always loaded with really cool treasures. Many different antique dealers have very large booths in the shop, and since it is so close to Baylor University, there are always amazing Baylor treasures there. Sic ‘Em! I always end up buying something for myself while I’m there shopping for others…so guilty!
Cameron Trading Company is located at
618 Austin Ave
Waco, TX 76701.
Call 254-756-7662 if you’re in the area just to make sure you know their hours.
Do you have any thing you’ve made to bring life to old items? Please share, I’d love to hear about them and see your work!
Wow. I have some seriously fun finds in the etsy shop right now. These babies are beautiful. I grew up with many family member still using phones like this, and when I got my first phone for my bedroom (which totally meant I was grown up), I can remember thinking phones like these had nostalgia factor, but I just HAD to have a phone that had a “hold” button, so that I could answer another call if it came in.
Yes, we live in another time now…but you can bring that nostalgia home with you if you head on over to my etsy shop.
If you are of the creative persuasion, you could mod these phones out to connect to your smartphone, be a speaker-radio, or update them to fit into current plugs. The world is your oyster.
If you like these phones, you should check out some treasuries where they have been included!
 Green Waxed Canvas Min… $69.00
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 RESERVED for ELIZABETH … $34.95
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 Giclee Print – Mid Cent… $16.00
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 Faceted Wall Clock $45.00
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 RESERVED UNCOVET Vtg 80… $58.99
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 Vase / teal home decor … $22.00
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 Box Teal Vintage Glass … $12.00
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 Bright Teal Tagua Nut N… $78.00
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 Vtg 80s Sea Foam Green … $48.99
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 teal green flats / leat… $28.00
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 aquamarine otomi embroi… $40.00
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 Vintage French Provinci… $375.00
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 Vintage Rotary Telephon… $78.00
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 Cast Iron Mermaid Bottl… $14.95
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 handmade summer hat. he… $65.00
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 Gold and Teal Deer Head… $140.00
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Treasury tool supported by the dog house
| Vintage Rotary Telephon… $78.00
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 Vintage 50s teal blue A… $99.00
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 Vintage Drafters Stool … $95.00
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 Vase – Variegated Slate… $30.00
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 Vintage Buttons – Cotta… $4.95
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 World Map on Ombre Chev… $55.00
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 iPhone Case Retro Teal … $17.99
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 Vintage Rusty and Crust… $35.00
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 Polar Cub Primitive Ele… $32.00
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 Vintage Teal Green Glas… $15.00
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 Set of 3 Vintage Pyrex … $32.00
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 8 Panels -The Ultimate … $145.00
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 25 Aqua/Turquoise/Teal … $4.00
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 Industrial Teal Wards S… $80.00
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 Vintage Fire King ancho… $14.99
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 Indiana Green Depressio… $18.00
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Treasury tool supported by the dog house
 Chic 1950′s mint gr… $165.00
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Vintage Rotary Telephon… $78.00
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 Bad to the Bones Eyesha… $4.99
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 Vintage Green Monarch S… $14.00
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 Vintage Smith Corona Co… $110.00
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 Caribbean Dream $175.00
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 Blue 12k cat eye glasse… $125.00
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 Vintage 80s Silky Secre… $24.00
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 Turquoise Satin Vintage… $26.00
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 Lollipop Healing Lipsti… $14.00
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 Celery Stalker : Custom… $8.00
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 Mega Industrial Vintage… $25.00
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 Set of 5 vintage 12 inc… $12.00
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 Vintage Femline Purse i… $16.00
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 White Silk Peplum Flare… $199.80
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 25% OFF Vintage Aurora … $10.00
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Treasury tool supported by the dog house
Hi, All!
Etsy has done some wonderful things in the past few months to improving the selling and buying experience. Yes, you will still have to register with Etsy in order to make a purchase. No, they will not spam you (unless you sign up for e-mail updates…which I recommend. Their curated lists are wonderful). In the past, buyers were required to not only sign up for an etsy account, but they also had to use paypal. Now, paypal does allow you to use a “guest check-out” where you can simply enter your credit card info, but honestly, that is just one more step for a buyer, so Etsy chose to streamline that process. If a seller has chosen to participate, you can now make a purchase directly through Etsy Checkout. You are still welcome to pay by paypal if you have an account with them. Simply put, you now have more options.
Here’s an explanation from the Etsy handbook on why a buyer must register for an Etsy profile to make purchases:
It is that time of year again…not Christmas–well, maybe it is like the Christmas of Art/Entertainment…Yes, South by Southwest! We recently moved to Austin, and so there have been a number of great bands I wanted to call attention to–all three are local bands in Austin, and they are each amazing.
photo by leah muse
(Alternative, Rock) I had the privilege of recording one of their concerts in Waco, TX as I worked on a pilot for series for a local coffee shop. As soon as the first guitar “warm-up” ramped up to their first song–I could tell that they were special–they had all the crazy flamboyance needed to put on a fun performance, their music was tightly performed, their lyrics were both introspective and humorous, and best of all, when we interviewed them after their concert, they were really down to earth and kind. Go see them locally while you still can!!!
(Folk, Orchestral Pop) On a wintry evening, I sat perusing bandcamp.com for great music to license for the documentaries I edit for Mason Jar Films. Lo and behold, I found these guys–Wild Child…they are everything you’d hope for with a name like that. They made me feel like that episode of Freaks & Geeks where Lindsay discovers the Grateful Dead or where Nick describes his love for drumming….or like in real life 2 years ago when I was introduced to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. Just. So. Fun.
Their genre of folk music will leave you almost haunted, it is so wistful and wanting, and at others their message is biting despite the sweetest tenor of their voices. Darkly humorous, you will not be able to keep from joining into their song. It took my breath away. They were kind enough to lend out their songs to us, so below you’ll find a Mason Jar Film with one of their songs–and I do hope you’ll fall hopelessly in love with this band.
Photo by Twin Sisters Photography
(Country, Rock) Okay, so perhaps this is a little bit unfair, but I of course am going to plug The Duqaines, which is the band my Uncle John is a member of. They are a great mix of Core country and early rock-a-billy–A little bit of Johnny Cash, a little bit of Elvis, and every bit fresh. To hear them play live is like feeling your heart turn into a drumkit, where librarians whistle loudly, businessmen throw away their bluetooth devices and phone hip-carriers, and you’ll feel confident enough to brew your own root beer.
In all seriousness, if you ever hear that any of these bands are playing a local live show, feel free to join us in the crowd.
This is a photo from my first dance recital. Here, I am one of 20 "Li'l Bo Peeps" looking for a lost sheep. Notice how my fluffy arm decor has slid down to my wrist. I've never been able to wear something normally...sigh.
As a child, I loved taking dance lessons. I took dance for 10 years from the same studio in Abilene, and if you know anything about a family of dancers, you know that our studio becomes like a family. I think my favorite year performance was very ungirly, though–we danced to the ‘Ghostbuster’s’ theme song, and our costumes were amazing, they had the logo on the back of the coveralls and everything.
Even though those days are long over, I have had so much fun working with Korpi Ballet over the past few years, doing odds and ends graphic design and video for Mrs. Korpi. She very cutely called me her “Girl Friday” as she kept giving me assignments.
Recently I started work on an icon design for an Iphone/Android App called “Poker Night.” If any of you guys/gals are into playing Texas Hold ‘Em, then you will want to check the app out. I don’t want to get into any trouble by sharing any big details before the game hits the market, but I will say that the game integrates really well into a group poker night or group tournament. Also, you should know that it is meant for a group setting, to complement your game, not to take the place of playing with people.
I like icon design–the most important thing is to create an image that is unique enough to convey the point of an app, but similar enough that the icon doesn’t look odd sitting next to the other apps on your smart-gadget screen….AND a designer needs to make the icon branding strong enough that the icons are cohesive across platforms (i.e. iphone, android).
Anyway, here’s a sneak peek at the android icon. The android app is going live this week. Many congrats to Paul Poley and his team for rockin’ out the Poker Night App!
One of my favorite prints in my shop, an owl sketch on texture, was featured in a really cute treasury of owls. I wanted to share them here, and I hope you find something that you like! I always appreciate being featured alongside such lovely artists in these treasuries on www.etsy.com
 Custom Order for a Crochet O… $24.00
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 Coin Purse in Owl Fabric wit… $20.00
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 Set of Three Burp Cloths for… $18.00
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 Girly Owls and Hot Pink Mink… $25.00
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 Art, Snow Owl, sketch, 8×12 … $12.00
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 dress sixties HAPPY OWL vint… $69.00
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 Owl Spoon Rest $18.00
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 BLYTHE Owl on a Branch Sweat… $33.00
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 Owl Cup Coffee Mug Yunomi $22.00
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 Children Wall Decal Wall Sti… $98.00
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 Cream Owl Recipe Box $28.00
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 Owl Paper Mask $35.00
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 White Ceramic Owl Book Ends $25.00
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 Owl weddings cake topper han… $95.00
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 Owl Tea Towel Set of Two Scr… $16.00
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 Whimsical Owl Painting Archi… $21.00
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My dinosaur artwork is usually featured in humorous treasuries on etsy, but I’m always happy to see the artwork and creation of other artists who are also dinosaur enthusiasts–so, please enjoy!
 T-REX (dinosaur) mirror by b… $6.00
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 Dinosaur art, Pterodactyl br… $16.00
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 loves dinosaurs. locket neck… $16.00
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 T-Rex Dinosaur Vinyl Wall Ar… $27.99
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 Scarf screen printed with t-… $20.00
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 Glycerin Toy Soap, favor – W… $4.50
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 Dinosaur Personalized Statio… $20.00
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 Adorable yellow dinosaur adj… $3.00
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 80′s Retro Dinosaur Tshi… $16.00
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 Dinosaurs Dimetrodon Diplodo… $9.99
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 Talking Baby Sinclair- Disne… $75.00
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 T-Rex Dinosaur Image Canvas … $12.00
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 Baby Boy Onesie T Rex Dinosa… $16.00
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 12 Chocolate Dinosaur Lollip… $15.00
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 Vintage 1970s Metal T Rex Di… $4.50
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 1964 NY Worlds Fair Sinclair… $2.00
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