October’s Vintage Style Council Member of the Month is Shell from the blog Kitty and Buck! Shell is a motion graphics designer from Sydney, Australia who describes herself as “an amateur musician, photographer, dancer, traveler, baker, maker, and creator of little things!” In addition to writing about vintage clothing, style, and literally crafting a beautiful and inspired life she also runs an Etsy store with handmade goods made from recycled materials. Below is an interview we recently did with her.
In your Etsy shop you use reclaimed/rescued vintage materials, something we at Turtle Love Co. try to do whenever possible. Why do you feel it’s impoprtant to use reclaimed materials and what are the advantages of vintage materials instead of new?
Well, firstly, I hate to see good quality materials go to waste. We have such a wealth of beautiful, quality vintage stock at our fingertips, why buy something new? There is something special about vintage materials. They are often better quality, they were built to last, not as fashionable 3 month season throwaway items. From a nostalgic point of view, I love imagining the person who would’ve purchased the material, made and worn the dress, and how they felt, what it meant to them! It’s very rewarding turning something that was discarded 40 years ago into a new, functional, beautiful item.
You recently got engaged and while I know you don’t want to talk about the specific details of your ring, can you share why you love it?
Well, without going into great details, it’s a new ring made from old pieces, so I love that it’s thoughtful, has history, and has special meaning to me.
You have a lot of interesting jewelry in your collection- what got you interested in collecting jewelry and what style of jewelry is your favorite?
I really like collecting old things, so I think my favorite style of jewelry would be items from the 1920s-1940′s, though I wouldn’t call myself a serious collector! Most of my jewelry comes to me as gifts, which have been gathered over the years. My favorite pieces would probably be my bakelite cherry necklace and matching bracelet, and a sterling silver art deco necklace from Spitalfields Markets in London.
Check out Shell’s blog Kitty and Buck and you can also see the ring we named after her, our Shelly Vintage Diamond and Sapphire Wedding Ring circa 1960.