Original Folk Art Reycled Metal Banks by Aaron Voigt

Aaron Voigt started working in his father's home shop at an early age. By his teenage years he was making furniture and elaborate art pieces. Since then he has graduated to creating his own unique designs. In Aaron's own words:

I find my current materials of choice in a city full of industrial, electronic and military manufacturing history. With items sourced from such diverse products as old manufacturing machines, aircraft, cars, household fixtures and who knows what, my robots come alive with the history of the donor machine parts. ... My parts are found hiding out in junk yards, old business, yard sales, friends garages and swap meets. The endless hunt for these parts brings me to some very interesting places full of even more interesting people all the time.

We have some of Voigt's folk art metal banks. Wonderful. Whimsical. A perfect place for all those coins you get in change.

These banks are available in our online shop and in our Los Gatos shop as well. The small size that we have in stock is $115.00 each.

Makin' Time Computer Art Clocks

These High-Tech Computer Art Clocks are individually handcrafted timepieces. Many of these one-of-a-kind clocks incorporate a hard drive platter, a CD or a DVD as the clock face and an embellished circuit board as the background. Other models are crafted from pocket or mini-CDs, floppy disks, drive housings, video laser disks or main frame drive platters. Each clock offers a whimsical view of our rapidly changing technological world, preserving it as art rather than sending it to a landfill. In addition to their functionality, they help contribute to the overall recycling effort by utilizing obsolete, discarded or surplus computer components.

Carol Baum has been creating computer art clocks for many years. The first one was a going away gift for a retiring chief engineer at a video production studio. At the urging of friends, she started Makin’ Time Computer Art Clocks in Boulder, Colorado. Baum is self taught, dabbling in mixed media art since childhood. Her outside-the-box creativity and personal values help care for the environment by reducing, reusing and recycling made Makin’ Time a perfect venture.

Computer Art Clock with Built-in Stand priced at $49.95

At Vintages we now have these folk art clocks in stock and ready for you online or in the shop. Prices range from $39.95 to $66.95, depending on the complexity of the clock design.

Card Holders & Thank You Cards from Ian Nicholas

Ian Nicholas, a designer and artist from Atlanta, Georgia, has a wonderful line of fantasy-inspired cards and accessories. We are offering his card holders - perfect for business cards, driver's licenses or credit cards - and some wonderful bird "thank you" notes. Check these out!

Card holders ($4.95 each)

Thank You note cards ($6.95 for 6 cards)

A companion piece to the card holders are these luggage tags with vintage images made by Susan. 

Luggage Tags ($5.00 each)

Eco-friendly Decorative Accessories

There are some materials that have heart and soul. It can be the paint, the texture or maybe the history that is carried on. The intrinsic beauty of these materials is what inspired Margaret Taylor to begin creating. Working beside her father on house projects was her training ground. Through those experiences Margaret gained the necessary knowledge, as well as the belief that she could make anything. Her creations, which began as a hobby, have evolved into a business (that) began with picture frames and birdhouses and has now expanded to include garden art, mirrors and furniture.

Margaret Taylor

These wonderful hand crafted pieces are all made in the little town of Chamblee, GA. The pieces of folk art that we have in Vintages are made from salvaged bead board and antique ceiling tin, with a few vintage doo-dads added to complete the image. They are playful and unique, good for the environment because they use reclaimed materials, good for the economy since they are made in the USA and are good for you because they will warm your heart with a smile. 

This folk art bird is from a series of delightful handmade "Fowl Folks" that can either hang on the wall or sit on a table. Measures about 12" tall. ($59.95)

Old tin ceiling tiles cover reclaimed barn wood to create this Fleur d'Lys. These lily flowers symbolize a multitude of things, but the association with the French monarchy and Paris is most noteworthy. It is also a symbol of recovery in post-Katrina New Orleans. Measures about 19" tall. ($115.00)

What Valentine wouldn't love this large red heart? Created from old bead board and vintage hardware, these hearts are about 22" tall and would make a BIG statement. ($115.00)

A bit smaller that their big red brethren above, these "Junk Hearts" are about 12" tall and come in assorted colors. ($59.95)

Skimmer Dragonflies made from old rusted tin and fence parts. ($59.95)

Skipper Butterflies made from old rusted tin and fence parts. ($59.95)

Made in America

What do all of these products have in common? Well, they are all US made items. Some are antique and some are contemporary. Many are hand made, but all are made by skilled American workers, craftsmen and craftswomen who take pride in their work.

Starting in February, we will be featuring strictly "Made in the USA" products on this blog. We find excellent products made all over the world and will continue to carry global products in our shop and online. But over the past couple of years, as we have increased the number of American-made products that we carry, we have seen an increased interest in items "Made in the USA". So we thought it was a good time to highlight American products on this blog, while posting about everything else we love on our other blog, Postmark: Vintages of Los Gatos.

Vintage Paper Ephemera

This month we would like to highlight vintage paper ephemera. We recently listed quite a sizable selection on Susan's Pretty Ribbons Etsy site. These papers are wonderful unique items that are perfect for that special tag, note or card. Imagine using these one-of-a-kind pages, letters, envelopes, menus or ledger sheets in a scrapbook or altered art project, or embedded into a collage, under an encaustic layer or in a decoupage. Your limit is your imagination. Here are some of the pieces we have on Etsy ... and we have much more in the shop.

24 Gifts of Christmas: Murano Glass Hearts

These beautiful Murano blown glass hearts with gold leaf inclusions are another perfect stocking stuffer.

Murano glass hearts (small $22.95 each; large $48.95 each)

REMEMBER: For items purchased in Vintages we can wrap your gift for you and arrange for shipping as well. We have gift certificates and Christmas cards, too.