OISEAUX
There’s just something about vintage illustrations that make me happy. Maybe it is the knowledge that these pieces were created by hand without the aid of a computer. Just an artist, an idea and a medium. Shelly Kommers owner of the Etsy shop Oiseaux, shares my appreciation and uses illustrations of yesteryear to create beautiful designs to be put to use today.
Shelly is an artist-illustrator-designer-painter-gardener who lives in a little cottage in the woods. This little cottage houses her collection of vintage books from the 1920s that she inherited from her grandparents. Over the years she’s added to her bookshelves with finds from antique stores and thrift shops. To create the bookplates and personalized prints in her shop, Shelly scans vintage illustrations from her library, often worn and weathered with age and lovingly restores them. These vintage memories are redesigned to make art that is both beautiful and functional. It is such a wonderful way to bring new life to pieces that could otherwise collect dust and showcase them to the next generation.
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Miss Lindsey, our Honorary Ambassador of Sunshine and Weekend Editor, seeks gratitude every day and believes life is a celebration. She blogs about creative, inspiring and beautiful finds at her blog, GreatFull Day.
My grandmother collected old storybooks for me so I would have something to read when I visited her. I treasured them. They were already old when I got them, and I had never seen the stories anywhere else. I had a favorite. I don’t remember the name of the book, but it was a beautifully line-drawn story about three brothers that were allowed to choose a bird as a reward. They each chose a bird that reflected their personality. One was all gold, one was steel, and one was alive. The birds all led them to fulfill their individual dreams, wealth, strength, and love. I wanted the live bird that led the brother to love, and it is the one I ultimately chose for myself. It was a beautiful book and I still have it packed away with all of my other childhood treasures.
I’d have to say Charlotte’s Web. It taught me to be kind to animals. To this day I still won’t kill spiders. I just can’t!
Madeline was a book and movie that really meant a lot to me I think. It touched me….a little girl in Paris, dressed in pretty outfits. However it was the lessons in it, such as when she fell into the river and the doggy helped save her life and when she had to go in to get her appendixes removed. Also, how daring and unafraid to say what she wanted!
I loved so many books, but Three to Get Ready had beautiful language. It was a story about three kittens and their mother and learning about how to interact with the world. But more importantly, the language the author used had such beautiful sound and meter, it made the world sound exciting and beautiful!