RADIANCE

This is one of my very favorite silverware patterns and up until yesterday I never knew it's name. It is called Radiance and was made in 1939 by the Crown Silver Plate Company. The detail intrigues me, all the beautiful little flowers. When I sell a piece at a show the client always asks what the pattern is and most of
the time I don't know. I've gotten info on some  pieces from the Restoration site but not enough and have never been able to find a book. Yesterday I continued my search online and typed in yet a different search term and -YAY-found a site that had 65 pages with pictures of every piece I've ever seen and hundreds of others that I've never seen but will be on a quest to find.
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                        JACKPOT!!!

When I come home after shopping for vintage silverware I have a system,  I go through all of the brown paper bags that hold 20 each and lay them out in 2's, each of these pairs will be cut for a bracelet, when I'm finished sorting, all the other piles, for necklaces, rings and earrings go in a half box, the kind that you would get six packs in and they are stored in my downstairs studio (my half of the garage). So as I'm prepping for this 4 day Flower and Garden show and realizing that I'm out of pairs for bracelets and have no time to shop for them I figure Oh well, it is what it is. Last night while straightening up my upstairs studio (the converted extra bedroom) I come upon a large plastic shopping bag that I had shoved on a shelf, well low and behold there were 143 pieces of silverware in there! I love it when I do something out of context and it turns out to be beneficial!      twitter.com/jmillerdesigns

CRANBERRY SAUCE SPOONS     I just love these serving spoons! My antique guy Alex told me that this spoon was used to cut and serve cranberry sauce, the premise being that the juice would drip through the cutouts and not get your other food wet. After doing some research on William Rogers Manufacturers I found out that these spoons are actually Tomato servers or Casserole spoons depending on the pattern. Interesting! I have been turning these into beautiful pendants that are certainly a conversation piece and just look stunning on anyone. They are not easy to come by but I keep Alex on the hunt for me and I'm always delighted when he finds me one with a different look.

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The concept of the Tree of Life, a many branched tree that dwells in three worlds. with its branches reaching into the sky, and roots deep in the earth, it links heaven, earth and the underworld, uniting above and below. The tree has many different meanings in many different religions. A new batch of these pendants just came out of the kiln and look wonderful with your favorite sweater or a tee shirt in the summer!

I'm cutting every vintage knife I can find to make as many lapel pins as I can for the New Jersey Flower and Garden Show in February. These pins will have greens and baby orchids or roses in them and will look wonderful on a blazer or you can pick one up to give to you mother, sister or best friend.
The show will be a breath of spring in the middle
of winter. With all of the plants and flowers for
sale and beautiful statues and fountains to put in
your yard or garden it will most certainly make us
all long for spring.