Day 13: Vintage Holiday Market

I get weekly emails from Yelp that recommend tasty restaurants and upcoming Charlotte events. A couple weeks back I saw the Vintage Holiday Market advertised and I immediately put it on my calendar.  There is a special place in my heart for vintage goods. My Aunt Shirle and Uncle Joe have owned an antique shop for as long as I can remember. I have fond memories of helping my aunt organize her trove of treasures. She would always reward me with vintage trinkets of my choice. I usually picked out a necklace or two that had some unique pizzazz. Aunt Shirle had quite the collection of costume jewelry.

Vintage Charlotte button

The market is put together by Vintage Charlotte, tagline: “Contemporary pop up flea markets for hip charlotteans”. I love it! Brie and I got really excited for this event since we’re hosting a Rat Pack Christmas party next weekend. We wanted to find some fabulous flourishes to complete our looks.

We walked into the Fillmore at the Music Factory and the place was packed with vendors. We had to pay $5 to get in but they had free pins and gave out reusable totes to hold our purchases. There were so many adorable clothes and accouterments. My first purchase was a sweet rose ring that matches my apron for my 1950’s housewife costume. Yes, my friends and I tend to take costumes very seriously :-)

Rose ring

I bought two headbands, one for me and one had to go to my sister-in-law for her birthday. She loves putting flowers in her hair.

Flower Headband

I also found a pair of white earrings that match the white piping in my dress for the costume. This could be too much jewelry for the look but I’ll edit as necessary.

Clip-on earrings for the Rat Pack Christmas party

I bought a few other presents as well but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for any lucky viewers.

Half of the stuff at the market was probably in my mom’s closet at some point or another. There was a display of ties that could be replicated in my dad’s closet. My aunt and late grandmother definitely had versions of almost all of the jewelry on display. It was so nostalgic and comforting for me.

People used to dress with such class and elegance. Maybe these markets will help start a movement!

Vintage Charlotte: http://vintagecharlotte.wordpress.com/

Day 9: Mint Museum Uptown

A less than subtle piece hanging in the entryway

A few months back I got sucked into a Netflix black hole watching every episode available of White Collar, a show about high end white collar crimes. The show takes place in New York City and the dapper main character, Neal Caffrey, is an expert art counterfeiter and thief. I quickly got enthralled with the swagger of NYC and the elegance of art museums and their galleries. I’ve always appreciated art and would consider myself relatively artistic but I had never wanted to visit an art museum as much as I did after watching that show. There is an air of class and even romance in museums that is often lacking in the rest of our world these days.

What better place to get my museum fix than the Mint Museum in uptown! My ever-reliable friend, Petra, joined me to explore the multiple galleries that were stocked with a variety of different collections. We started on the fourth floor where we quickly checked off all of the rooms containing Victorian portraits. Does anyone else find some of those portraits a little creepy? I really do appreciate the technique it takes to create one but the look on some of their faces seems like the paintings are possessed, sort of like in Ghostbusters.

There was a series called Reflections that gave Petra the chills, similar to our burlesque outing. She scares surprisingly easily. The paintings are described as expression-filled and emotive but it kind of looks like people’s faces are melting off. To each their own.

One room had a stunning display of jewelry that was all over-sized and extremely unique. There were metals, fibers, glass and even crab claws used as materials.

I could certainly find an outfit for this!

The most memorable collection in the entire museum for me was Against The Grain: Wood In Contemporary Art, Craft, And Design. My dad is a very skilled woodworker and I never look at a knotty, turned piece of mahogany without thinking of him. There is a certain level of patience, creativity and attention to detail it takes to construct such fine woodworking. The pieces on display were absolutely stunning. (I have pictures but realized afterwards photography is not permitted)

I could go on describing every single canvas in the building but I think it’s something you should see for yourself. If nothing else, just go to experience the beautiful architecture of the building. There is no other “square” quite like this in Charlotte. The buildings surrounding the museum are all brand new and grandly designed. You won’t find any cookie cutters here.

Mint Museum Uptown: http://www.mintmuseum.org/visit/mint-museum-uptown

Day 3: FABO

FABO stands for “Fabulous Art Buying Opportunity”.

This cute little coffee shop adorns every inch of their walls with local art that is all for sale. When my friend Petra and I walked in we immediately did a loop around the place looking at every little nook and cranny of creativity.

Artwork

The most impressive section was probably the handcrafted jewelry. There were several metal trinkets lining a large display window. A little pricier than the bargains at Forever 21 but nothing beats a handmade piece of jewelry where time and innovation shine.

Jewelry display

We both noticed that the place was way too bright, not the best ambiance to cozy up with a laptop. Petra mentioned it to the girl working there and she instantly showed us the “mood lighting”. She said they keep the bright setting on so people know they are open. I can understand that since the place was completely dead on a Wednesday night. I was so surprised about that. I’m sure the Starbucks down the road was bustling but this cute local establishment who ALSO serves wine and beer was empty! They are located near Mellow Mushroom, Nolan’s Kitchen and some other small businesses on Selwyn. Location is everything and this seems like a sweet spot.

We ordered the Punta Final Malbec, Petra’s favorite, and kicked back on their comfy couches with our iPads.

Boots and wine

After two hours of discussing travel ideas, fitness regiments and boys, we were off to get sushi at Ru San’s. I’ve been to Ru San’s before but I just had to mention the excellent roll I ordered there, the Kiss of Fire. I’m not usually a huge fan of their sushi but this one had the ideal trifecta…spicy but not too spicy, crunchy and all raw fish. Simply delicious!

FABO: http://www.yelp.com/biz/fabo-charlotte (their official site is not working)

Ru San’s: http://www.rusanscharlotte.com/