Glass jars, like the beautiful apothecary variety that Jen over at at Pear Street Studios showed off yesterday, provide the perfect vessel to display almost any treasured collection. The trick is to gather similar objects -- either of shape, color, nomenclature or size -- and isolate them in the confines of a glass structure. Et vôilà! Instant collection.
Two of my favorite examples of glassed-in collections were photographed by Jim Franco for my book The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details.
This whimsical example above was discovered on the Fire Island getaway of Saltaire. Tall beer glasses, easily found at thrift shops or discount stores, are filled with multi-colored sea glass where their hues and translucence capture the eye from their perch on a screened-in back porch. You could even use dissimilar shaped glasses to create a collection, provided they don't have distracting, inharmonious embellishments.
I also adore the way that Yasmine McGrane, owner and founder of Maison Rěve in Mill Valley, California, gathered clothespins and Scrabble tiles in apothecary jars for a thoughtful display. For further appeal, she separated the French wooden clothespins from the American variety.
Just last month while visiting Yasmine at Maison Rěve in Mill Valley and celebrating the launch of The Find, I rummaged around in her workroom and snapped a photo of these wooden Lego blocks, grouped together and plopped inside what looks to me like an over sized pickle or mayonnaise jar.
For more ideas for creating eye-catching collections, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.
Collecting my own thoughts on a beach getaway myself!The Elegant Thrifter
Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!
