Repairing an antique chest of drawers

I really love this antique, probably Victorian, chest of drawers, despite its sad state.

Victorian chest of drawers in need of restoration

My hope is to one day being able to use it in my home – but before that, it will need at least a degree of TLC to make it functional, if not perfect. I might be in for a looong term plan…

Some time ago I made a start, by repairing one of the broken drawers: the back was partly broken and coming off, part of the sides were split and bits had come off.

The sides are being repaired – the clamps hold the parts in place while the glue sets. Note the back is still broken and the dove-tail joins are coming undone

To restore it, I used wood glue to reattach the parts that had broken off, while for the joins I opted for liquid hide glue because it’s reversible (this is what could be used for “proper’ restoration, as it can be later taken apart if needed).

This is the drawer after the repair

I’m quite pleased with the results!

Ideally, this work should be done in a garage or a workshop – that is, if you had one….

Letting it go

I’ve been steadily going through my belongings and sorting out my collections and generally “my stuff”.

This was prompted by wanting to “put some order” and moving some things into storage. I own quite a few beloved collections and finally decided to let part of these go.

Some items have been donated and others have been listed already, which feels good!

Here a few that have been or are looking for a new loving owner..

Original vintage sewing bust mannequin SUPAFIT Made in England with adjustable sizing. The vintage picture in the background is also being listed. (sold)

 

Beautiful flowerspray in white & blue jug still life composition

Lovely flowers and shades, from a Russian painter

The hues and motif is cheerful and peaceful, so I’m enjoying it on my wall until a new loving owner is found.

 

This antique 1930s British BSA bicycle has found a new home with a dad and son working on a restore project. They came all the way from a rather distant city to collect it! I would have loved to restore it, but enough time was not at hand….

After going through various thoughts and feelings, I am now ready to share the love – I will part with a sizeable part of my collections. It’s time to travel a bit lighter.

There will be:

• extensive collection of old patterns and magazines (knitting, crochet, sewing and crafts), antique cards & ephemera
• vintage jewellery
• antique books
• old items in silver and gold (flatware, home decor, table dressing, jewellery)
• vintage and antique paintings, china, tins and boxes
• quirk finds

I’m currently organising the items and this will take time. More beloved finds will be slowly listed over the coming months. It takes time to take photos and write descriptions 😉

Please get in touch should you be interested in some of these, I can provide details in advance, as well as quotes. I can ship to the UK and internationally.

My current listings can be seen here:

• My Etsy shop
• My eBay items

 

Busy times

Most of last weekend was dedicated to picking items from my vintage collection to pass on to the next vintage enthusiasts (that is, listing them for sale on my Etsy shop VforVintageLondon).

It’s always hard to part with things you picked and liked, but it’s not possible to keep it all… so let’s spread the love.

And there are more little treasures (at least to me) that have been photographed, waiting to be added…

But there’s no rest ahead!

This Saturday I’m hand delivering a thing of beauty: an old mannequin head that I sadly have to let go (sigh, my heart is aching, now I’m having second thoughts, third even, “I might change my mind”).

And Sunday I’m again at the Alternative Sale with vintage jewellery, handmade upcycled wooden boxes and quirky items (which there is no shortage of).

As a reward for my work, I ordered these old beauties…

(Can I still change my mind?)

Antiques

I’ve always had a passion for vintage and quirky items and recently it steered towards antiques.

Of the many items I acquire, a part is then let go and sold on my Etsy shop.

Apart from yarn and silver, there have been a few antique finds recently. Some of them will soon be listed on the shop, because, you know, space….

The latest trove is a vintage (possibly antique) tray with beatific cutout paper decorations and brass corner elements. I love those old papers and faces.

Then there was this beautiful antique large teapot , with its orientale feel, delicate flowers and details that are slightly in relief.

Just last night an exquisite copper and brass miniature set made in England by Peerage sold and is now ready to be shipped to Arizona.

There are still many pieces that need to be listed but as the shop is a hobby, I can’t spend long hours listing, so from time to time I get around to add some item 🙂

A few more finds that I still have to decide whether to keep…

An end, a begin… and a mistake

The Old Shale Shawl is finished and awaiting to be blocked. I promise it will happen some day!

The pattern by Amanda Clark is free and really easy to follow. I’m very happy with the finished object and it took me only 4 years… yep.

Short after the Nurmilintu Shawl was cast on, because I just couldn’t wait to try that pretty yarn. It’s Natural Dye Studio’s Dazzle, a British wool, 100% Bluefaced Leicester, in delicate shades of blues, greens and purples – very soft.

The first section before the lace is done

but obviously not everything could go well…

Sigh

See what happened?

That’s about 3/5 from the start. Mep

Whatever. It’ll get a lifeline (because this yarn is very slippery and would unravel to the next rows before I could blink) and hopefully I can recover from there. Not tonight though.

By the way, yes, I love blue and green, if you were wondering.

The weekend was overall quite productive and some tidy up was done, which leaves one with such a good feeling!

Some vintage yarn purchase also happened, because really, I need to build back some of my “collection”. And some antique silver – my new interest since I read some blog posts on silver items! Contagious. But expensive, so only done in wee bits. The best buy was a spoon with my initial engraved (well not mine originally but we share that letter), so now I feel very decadent to enjoy yoghurt with an antique silver spoon (1853) – that is when it arrives!

How was your weekend?