{Vintage Inspiration} Elephant Love…
Every once & awhile, I run into something at a thrift/antique shop that makes me goofy with excitement & Friday I had one of those moments. I stopped by an old favorite antique shop that I used to go to all of the time – it had been awhile & I was on the search for some vintage hooks for a project. After I passed an awesome coin operated elephant, something spotted & happy caught my eye. I had to dig through some stuff to get to it but I’m glad I did. I had a gut reaction to this thing. It was an elephant toy box from the ’60’s & it immediately conjured up memories of the Dumbo & Teacup rides at Disneyland. I have a thing for elephants so I was extra interested in this treasure. The man who owned the antique shop said his kid’s both had this elephant as a toy box but they weren’t interested in keeping it when they were adults. I probably stood in front of this thing for about 15minutes – hemming & hawing.
After some bartering, I found myself trying to cram this thing into my 2 door VW. It was pretty funny driving home with it. I smiled the whole way. Once I got home, I gave it a good wash down in the back yard then took it up to my studio with me. I was so excited to see Sayer’s reaction to it & hoped he was tickled with it as I was. I wasn’t exactly sure where it was going to go- I just knew it needed to be in our house. As I worked, I kept glancing at it – completely giggling. I loved having that thing watching me sew. I actually think it may inspire some new designs.
Sayer responded exactly like I thought he was going to- after all, he is my son. After a loud laugh, he opened the lip & hopped on in to hide from Chris. Then we took the elephant to his room.
He wanted me to read him his bedtime story while he was curled up in it. He didn’t stay there all night, although he wanted to. Instead he tucked in some of his favorite plush buddies with a pillow & a flashlight. When we put the lid on, the whole thing lit up like a giant nightlight. It was really cool. We have been moving that elephant around all weekend- filling it up & emptying it over & over. Sayer introduced it to my Eames Elephant– he said they got married. They look like long lost friends. Sort of cool that they were both designed around the same time. I think they complete each other.
So, how was your weekend?