Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Into a warehouse and back in time

Happy October everyone! I hope your month is off to a good start. Well, I have something pretty cool to share with you. I have a feeling you guys like old buildings and old objects, so I think you're going to dig this.


This past weekend my mom and I went out to visit a couple places for Open Doors Milwaukee. This is a weekend event where different buildings and businesses open to the public and let people explore. This time we went to a place called Relic Vintage Rentals.

This business will rent vintage items for you to use for parties, photoshoots, etc. I thought you'd appreciate their autumn tablescape. Isn't that a creative use of doilies?


So, Relics is in an old warehouse that you would never guess is being used for this purpose from the outside. The building was built in 1892 and the stairs reflect this. Can't you just imagine decades of feet going up these stairs from the way they're worn down?


For me, this was a trip down memory lane because I used to frequent places like this 10, 20 years ago. Milwaukee used to be filled with old places like this that were filled with antiques. These places were walking that creepy line, and heck, some of them crossed right over it. I really miss that.

Anyway, upstairs and into the shadows...


I cropped into the pic above to show what's going on with the mirrors. I love the reflection in the darkness.


A lighter look:


So at the end of that dark hall was this sort of autumn-inspired vintage room.



If you were in here at night, I bet this would catch you off guard.



I would guess these candleholders were once in a church.


I bet you've never seen a lamp like this! I wonder what this would look like lit up? Those oval shapes were maybe a dark red, purple, or magenta.


There were so many glasses, goblets, vases, etc. Someone working here said that they frequent a lot of estate sales to get items and I believe it. If you've been to estate sales you know that they're never short on glassware, candleholders, dishes, and picture frames.


Vintage crates and advertising:


"Hard to beat" I liked this one best.



OK, so if I thought this was real I wouldn't have taken a picture of it. "Real" as in used. It does look old, but in a prop way or like something a magician would use. I was joking that I better not see anything spooky coming out of this coffin when I looked at the picture larger!


This is the sort of thing I used to see a lot of in the downtown antique shops: old architectural elements. One of these posts still has the address number on it.


I was briefly spooked when I looked at this photo larger on my computer. See why? Then I realized, much as I tried not to be in this photo, that's me. 😁 Still, it's a little spooky without my eyes showing.




I really liked these chairs. If you were having some kind of Rococo, Marie Antoinette party, wouldn't these be great?


This chair looks like it has something to say.


Just to give you an idea of the space:



Time to go back down...


This is what the wall looked like on the way down. Don't those old industrial details look neat with the lights?


And here's the outside. See, you'd never guess what's inside!


I hope you guys enjoyed this virtual visit to Relics. I know you'd enjoy exploring it in person. If you'd like to visit their web site, here it is:

relicsvintagerentals.com

Maybe you'll even recognize a few items from my photos?

2 comments:

  1. What a cool store concept! I hope their business model makes it.

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    1. Lady M ~ Yeah! I wish them the best too. They've been in business for eight years and in that building for six. While this type of business is new to me, it turns out that there are businesses like this all over the U.S. I was surprised to find that out while searching for information about this one.

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