Posted by: Lesley

Where there is no imagination there is no horror.

We are what we repeatedly do. -Aristotle

©Lesley Breen Withrow

Hope you have a great weekend!

As I said, I picked up a few things at the Brimfield show last week, because you can’t go there and NOT find anything, that would be impossible.
For me, anyhow!
Old stuff is aesthetically more interesting than most new stuff.
Again, for me, anyhow!

Some of the things I am a sucker for are vintage children’s books:

This coloring book is from 1934, and was never used. Why is that a little sad?

These are from 1950- I especially love the alphabet one!

These are teeny- about 3″ each. Wee stuff is always extra cute!

A little salute to Belgium and Holland:

That’s a wine label, I think…plus some sweet wooden shoes.

I always manage to find at least a few “new” old fabrics…

New-old stock Easter candy box= LOVE!

Another mysterious love- old, unused stickers, preferably the gummed paper kind, and especially if they’re in their original package!

Also an unused decal from one of our favorite meccas…Santa’s Village in NH!

And a little something more medieval, too:

Rampant unicorns! Huzzah!

That’s most of what I picked up. I guess I am generally an ephemera lover!

… can you smell it? Fall, Autumn, the wind whistling, a few leaves blowing by…and miles of antiques!

September is when one of the three yearly Brimfield shows occurs, and I snuck away for the day with my mom to partake in the hunt. It turns out that I collect pictures just as much as real stuff (no, more), so herewith are some photos of things I thought were cool, and some of the stuff I got while there. Really, I think the fun is just in the poking around, looking through decades past.

‘Twas a brisk fall day, cloudy for the most part, but with sun poking through occasionally.

Every season is Christmas at Brimfield:

These are some mighty fine paper candy containers:

Here’s something you don’t see anymore, not even in Scotland!

I love the naive painting on this set o’ dwarves…

Here’s a good way to get ahead!

Cute horse ride-on…

This set of cut-out house from the turn-of-the-century was SO beautiful:

I wish they still gave out Green Stamps!

Nifty Halloween stuff:

That’s a lotta bling in one place!

I came *this* close to buying that little tin stove… but it was a little big for where it would go.

If, after walking down row after row of goods you find yourself losing your marbles, you’re apt to find some eventually…

Ah, the prom dress I never had (and never wanted!)… quite spectacular nonetheless!

This painting was wacky but oddly compelling (in a 70’s kind of way!)…

Lovely Quimper faience from France…

Seeds! And plenty of them!

Here’s Mom, with some chairs from the faux-early-American era of the 70s. They just so happen to be exact duplicates of ones we had for years at our house!

Early festive ware…

This great suitcase reminds me of the one George Bailey got in “It’s A Wonderful Life”… but of course, he never got to go anywhere!

Amazing German painted trunks. Love these.

And so we bid adieu for this year to Brimfield. The next show is in May if you want to go!
So, what did I buy? I’ll put them in another post…

Here’s a quote I like and part of a pattern I designed on a card for Gartner Greetings. Have a great weekend!

©Gartner Greetings

Men always love what is good or what they find good; it is in judging what is good that they go wrong.

-Jean-Jacques Rousseau

]]> http://www.licensingnook.com/surtex/philosophy-friday-flower-pattern/feed 0 http://www.licensingnook.com/illustration/pen-and-ink http://www.licensingnook.com/illustration/pen-and-ink#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:06:19 +0000 Lesley Breen Withrow http://www.licensingnook.com/?p=704

Posted by: Lesley

©Lesley Breen Withrow

©Lesley Breen Withrow

I got re-inspired to create more patterns the other day while visiting a local sewing store with my mom. I loved seeing all the fabrics and patterns and COLORS! So fun and beautiful. Here’s a fun pattern I recently made of some circles with different textures and patterns.

©Gartner Greetings

I illustrated and planned the subject matter for this religious greeting card collection called ‘Sharing the Faith’ from Gartner Greetings (an imprint of Gartner Studios ). It’s a beautiful collection that has a soft natural look, lots of textures and patterns and art that ties in nicely with its up-lifting verses. It’s a 40 card collection that I shared with another fabulous illustrator and was a joy to work on.

©Lesley Breen Withrow

Today I woke up to a ton of snow on the ground. What a surprise it was! Unfortunately, it turned over to rain and now it is a slushy mess. But, the snow has helped to put me in the holiday mood. Well, the snow and the Christmas tree we just put up! There are no gifts under it right now and I’m not sure if we’ll ever has as many gifts as those under the tree I illustrated. Ha! But that’s okay.