Fall Forest Life and Crafty Christmas at Farm Girl Antiques

I have some photos to share with you guys from Farm Girl Antiques! My mom and I made it there last week, so there wasn't much Halloween left. I'm going to start with the vaguely Halloween/Autumn displays and move into Christmas. I think you guys will still enjoy the Christmas antiques, because there are some unique, funky items. You might also get inspired to decorate or craft something similar. So, we're starting off with one spooky owl. Those eyes! And it's a little creepy, if realistic, to see that this owl has caught dinner. 

This owl lamp is much less menacing.🦉

The owls here... um. If you think that middle owl in the painting is sleepy, check out the owl candle at the bottom. :) Oh, I just noticed there are more owls on that sugar canister. 

I like these mushrooms. 🍄 It looks like someone rolled some birch-looking material around them. 

These little ornaments look like pumpkins to me. 

This deer area was lit up so well. As I'm looking over these photos, I'm realizing how many forest-themed displays were there. 🦌

You can see a few of the old buildings in this neighborhood from the store windows. The Farm Girl building has large storefront windows going around it. You know, the ones with plenty of space to put displays back in the day. She's filled all these little nooks and crannies with mini displays. I think some of the more interesting finds are in these areas.

Here's a view facing the back of the store. You can see the old tin ceilings being revealed. I try to imagine what it once looked like in here. 

I think every Christmas tree in there had a different shape. Many, like this one, had twisty little branches. Maybe some of you will recognize these vintage ornaments. A few of them are classics. 🌲

I was so focused on these cute pinecone critters, that I didn't even notice the book underneath them. 

I wonder what That's Why is about?

We're entering the retro pink and turquoise Christmas section here. 

I like this rainbow wreath. I wouldn't have thought of transitioning color around a wreath, but I'd like to try it. Think of all the color combinations or different shades that could go around a wreath. 

I have a feeling this doll head was part of a Halloween display before. I may even be remembering it from previous years. I'd figured it was the hat that was for sale, but now I'm not sure if this is all one piece. 

Here's a closer look at that ceiling. I wonder what the purpose of that ceramic couple is? I can tell that they held something. They look sort of St. Patrick's Day themed to me. 

This gives sort of an idea of that window space. As you can see, it's pretty roomy in there. 

The string lights add something festive. I bet this place looks interesting at night. Or it could, anyway. It's not open to the public past 4 pm. 

That glittery Santa sign is similar to the deer sign by the entrance. Now I'm wishing that I would have touched one of the signs to see what they were made of. Probably some type of cardboard. I doubt those large signs are vintage, but they have a definite vintage look. A number of items in this store are vintage-inspired crafts. I noticed that the store's name online has been changed to Farm Girl Art & Antiques, so maybe she's going more in that direction. 

I see another one of those little velvet mushrooms here. I may even like them better in pink. It's looking like she took actual pieces of birch bark to make that stand. I'd thought the stands were wrapped in some kind of birch-looking paper before. 

I like all these reflective objects together. That clear glass under the trees looks almost like rippling water. There are actually a few details I didn't notice before, like that planter behind the ornament. There are so many creative uses for containers in this store. I think every tree is standing in something unusual. 

I feel inspired by this icicle box. I'm sure we all have some sort of wood box like this around. Adding some icicles to the front of it makes a perfect container for whatever winter decorations you'd like to put inside. I see ideas like this online all the time, where someone has designed a centerpiece with candles and some sort of foliage in a box. 

Leaving Farm Girl Antiques now... This building neighbors the antique store and I'm sharing a photo of it because I thought you'd all appreciate the architecture. Look at the date up top: 1883. Someone has kept this building in great shape. I looked up "Lamers Building" and found a bit of history provided by the Grove Gallery which now operates in this building: Lamers Building History

I'd remembered taking this light fixture photo about the same time I took the above pic. I'm not seeing this fixture anywhere on the building, though. I don't get it, because the brick and trim are the same. Where is this light hiding? Maybe there was a twin building next door that I forgot about. Anyway, pretty cool ironwork! Even the lightbulb looks twisty.

We visited the Layton Fruit Market on the way back. Like a lot of places now, it was decorated with a bit of fall and a bit of Christmas. I was happy to see some painted store windows, which I haven't seen in a while. 

How cute is this ghost? 

I'm feeling inspired by those planter designs, and might try something like that with some greenery and a bow this year.

In case you missed that toothy little pumpkin in the corner. :) 

This display has been inside the store for years. I wonder how old this horse and cart are? If anyone has any ideas about this in any way, I'd like to hear them. This is an Italian grocery store, so that's a bit of a clue. I'm going to assume this is an Italian antique. 

There's a mini horse and carriage at the bottom. I'm not sure if I even noticed that little guy while in the store. 

And I can't leave out these guys. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed the virtual antiquing! Maybe you even feel inspired to put together some similar displays? I'd be interested to know if you recognize any of the antiques. 

Department Store Gothic

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I haven't had a lot of time to blog, because December was a very busy month for me. One of the things that kept me busy, was a day trip to Chicago. A week before Christmas, my Mom and I visited Chicago to see the decorations and do some shopping. It took us a little over an hour by train to get down there. We did end up finding some deals, and enjoyed looking through the Macy's Christmas window displays. There's also a nice (and quite crowded) German Christmas Market there.

Along with visiting the traditional Chicago stops, I had an unexpected treat. While walking down State Street, I saw a beautiful, ornamental, and slightly spooky building. The details on this building stopped me in my tracks. I said "What is that building!?" My Mom actually knew the name of it! It was the Carson Pirie Scott Building, which was designed by Louis Sullivan in 1899. Here are a few photos I managed to capture of its details. I say managed, because it was hard to stand still in the crowds and not get any people in my shots!

 

Be sure to click on these photos to see the details. Isn't that just breathtaking? Here's the doorway:

I had to learn more about this fantastic building, so I got to googling as soon as I got home. Of course, the building has it's own Wikipedia page: Carson Pirie Scott Building Wiki

The basic history of the building is this: The building was created for the retail firm Schlesinger & Mayer in 1899, and expanded and sold to Carson Pirie Scott in 1904. The Carson Pirie Scott company was a department store. I don't remember ever shopping there, but the store was probably a lot like Boston Store. I noticed that the Carson Pirie Scott logo looked exactly like the current Boston Store logo. (It was a Bon-Ton store like Boston Store.)

 

Anyway, the building existed as a Carson Pirie Scott department store until the year 2007.  That's the year the department store chain went out of business. It is now referred to as the Sullivan Center. The rumor online is that there will be a Target store in the building soon.

The building has a steel structure, because it was built after the Chicago Great Fire of 1871. No one wanted a flammable building after that! The gorgeous ornamental details I took photos of are bronze plated cast iron. 

Here's some trivia (from the Wiki page) for all you Horror fans:

"The Carson Pirie Scott building was briefly featured in the 1988 horror film Child's Play, as the place where Andy Barclay's mother works. Carson's signage can be found during the scene where Karen Barclay buys the Good Guy doll from the homeless peddler."

The only Chucky movie I've seen is Bride of Chucky, so I'll have to take Wiki's word on that one.

An old photo of the building gives you an idea of its size. I found this picture online and I would guess it's a postcard. Under the photo are the words, "The busiest corner in the world." It still feels that way! If you look at the photo closely, you'll see horse drawn carriages and trolleys. 

Here's one of my photos of the building in its current state:

If you've read The Devil in the White City, you're already familiar with the building's architect, Louis Sullivan:

By the way, if you haven't read that book, go and find it! It's one of my favorites. If you are into architecture, true crime, or history in general, you'll love it. You'll learn about several prominent architects, The Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and one of the most notorious serial killers in America's history. I should probably just stop writing about that book, and save the topic for an entire blog post!

This is an absolutely gorgeous video filled with samples of Sullivan's work, set to dramatic music. It's listed as a trailer, so maybe there was a TV special about Sullivan at one point.

You can see even closer details of the Carson Pirie Scott Building, by looking at photos from the recent restoration:

Restoration details

If you find yourself in Chicago, and would like to see this building, you can find it here: 1 South State Street at the corner of East Madison Street

If any of you have an architectural wonder in your area, or have run across one in your travels, I'd love to hear about it!