Introducing.....Tamarah from Shabby Vintage Junk Blog

Tamarah's own home....doesn't she just have a way with display....

What I LOVE about blogging is that it enables you to reach outside of your box and into other peoples lives, homes and countries, and increases your exposure to new and varied styles, topics and people.  I read and enjoy such a variety of blogs, ranging from pink and frilly to sharp and crusty.....

Today I wanted to introduce you to a fabulous blog Shabby Vintage Junk and the person behind this wonderfully quirky and always interesting blog....Tamarah.  You all know that buying salvage, vintage and shabby chic is great fun, great for the whole recycling initiative, and a super and affordable way to make your home interesting. BUT, being able to SPOT the treasure, RE-PURPOSE it and DISPLAY it, in a way that makes your home fabulous and not look like it's own flea market, is where Tamarah has a real gift.  

Look at the art of display here in this cupboard built by her husband.  Note the "gouping" of collectables...the quilts, the jars, the clocks and bowling pins....This is the secret to not getting a junky cluttered look......

I met Tamarah through her blog and was one of her first followers and have been a devoted one ever since.  Why??? because her blog is real and authentic and Tamarah has a quirky charm and and a genuine passion for old "BITS". There's no Fluff and Frou Frou here. She spends most weekends knee deep in thrift shops, flea markets and scouring in and for what she calls "HARD RUBBISH".

One of her incredible finds....I don't know how she does it...if I tried this, my guests would say..."some kid left their scooter in your living room", ....but in Tamarah's house it just works......

Every weekend, Tamarah gathers her found treasures and posts them on her blog.  This is where you can see just how good her "eye" is.  She spots interest and life in things you would never imagine bringing home...but when you see them all pulled together for her photo, they make sense and you realise what she spotted.

An example of her weekly stash...(love those cubbies)

Tamarah loves old, shabby, scruffy, antique, vintage and scrubby junk so much she is pulling together an event in August in Australia (Melbourne) modelled on the Junk Bonanza & Barn House Boys from the USA.  She is gathering 15 vendors for the Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza.  How I would love to attend, but since I am in Canada, I can't.  But it is a fabulous idea.....one I am sure many blog readers and bloggers would love to see in their neighborhood.

 This new townhouse could easily be an old vintage cottage....her decor is fun and so interesting.

Anyway, I decided to do a little intereview with Tamarah so you can get to know her better and see her gorgeous home and her "ShabbyVintageJunk" style.

Q. How did you get into junk, antiques etc.?

A.......Hmmmmmm....I found this question difficult to answer simply because it seems as if I've always loved & lived vintage so pinpointing where it all began took some thinking....!!

I remember as a child spending my Christmas holidays at my grandparents....When my Poppy went to work, Nanna & I would watch playschool & afterwards we'd 'investigate' the trunk under the bed in the sleepout where she used to store her Treasures....Used wrapping paper, empty toilet rolls, balls of wool salvaged from old jumpers, metal bottle tops from soft drinks, peanut butter & vegemite lids, buttons & the 'binders'....Perkins paste & brown string....!

This trunk was a 'making do' box & Nanna & I would while away the hours making magical things from the scraps it housed....I guess you could say it all began right there with my Nanna....Laughing & playing with simple utilitarian objects creating lasting memories out of bits of tat....!!

Q. What type of a house do you live in, and how do you make the vintage work here?

A. We bought our single story Townhouse just after it had been built 3 1/2 years ago....It's our first home & is one of four sitting at the back of the block invisible from the street....While I ADORE the privacy, the contemporary style is a definite departure for me having always dreamed of buying a red brick California Bungalow style home....!!

With one long rectangular living space, 3 x small bedrooms ALL the same size, bathroom with no external windows, tiny laundry & a single loo, I've tried to keep my look reasonably'minimal'....I borrow a little from each of my FAVE design styles - shabby chic, vintage & junk which works well with a grubby man who thinks nothing of sitting down on the lounge covered in dust & who manages to leave finger prints on everything he touches as well as two fur babies....I've given up on being able to decorate with white, relying on dark surfaces with splashes of red & green to 'hide' the reality....hahahaha....!

I trade 'accessories' in & out of each room to add layers & to change things up....Milk & soft drink bottles are used as vases....Galvanised ANYTHING, wrought iron pieces, wooden moulds etc....By rotating smaller pieces & moving them about, I can create the appearance of an ever evolving 'look' without the need to change out my bigger pieces....!

Q. Money no object, what would you be doing?

A.  Oh this is an EASY one....If we didn't have a mortgage, I would travel around the US & up into Canada during the summer months buying up all the neat junk I could at the best shows & ship back here to Australia where I would host the most jaw dropping sales ever....During our warmer months I would live & breathe hard rubbish....I would collect pieces, take them back to my warehouse where I'd be busy recreating, repurposing & reinventing....** sigh ** Yes....That's what I'd do....!

Q. What have you bought that was the "best thing or things"

A. hmmmmm....This is hard because the majority of my pieces have been found on the side of the road in the hard rubbish for FREE & funnily enough, they are the pieces I value the most....The CHEAPEST Treasure I've ever bought was my smallest Vintage Terrier in my blog header....He's a Steiff & I scored him for a dollar from a sweet US Ebay Seller who point blank refused to take any more money, advising I won him fair & square....His name (the Terrier that is) appropriately enough is 'Lucky' & I ADORE him to pieces....!!

5. You have a special event coming up. Tell us about the extravaganza.

A. I'm so excited about the upcoming Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza....It's being held at the Ashburton Scout Hall here in Melbourne on Friday 13th & Saturday 14th August....15 vendors will be putting on a show the likes of which I don't believe has been seen here before....My inspiration for this event are the Junk Bonanza & Barn House Boys shows in the US, albeit on a smaller scale however, I believe it's time to shake things up here in OZ....Personally speaking, while I LOVE a good car boot sale, trash & treasure market & swap meet, there should be more to a vintage buying experience than perusing tables of unimaginatively displayed items on a trestle table....!!

The Extravaganza will be a visual feast which I'm hoping will create a buzz in our little vintage world & create opportunities for each of the very talented vendors participating....!!

The logistics of putting this together while working full time in a high stress industry has certainly kept me on my toes however, I'm enjoying the challenge & can't wait to see all the pieces come together....I wish you could be here Chania....!!

Would you not LOVE to sit on these chairs at this table for a glass of wine?

Tamarah was into Demijohns and Carboys (doesn't that sound awful...they are those giant wine making bottles you see here) long before Pottery Barn was selling them for $229.00.

So,  please pop on over to visit Tamarah's blog.  You will be fascinated by her finds and her home.

Click here to go to Tamarah's blog.

A wee note from Tamarah...

(I agree wholeheartedly about blogging bringing together friendship and chamaraderie........)     

                                                        

"I'd like to thank you Chania for the opportunity to be featured on your LOVELY blog....When I received your email this morning I almost fell off the bed with my laptop....In all seriousness though, I would like to say how very happy I am for you to have 'found' me & for reaching out & offering your friendship & support....I see it written all the time in blogs all over the world about the camaraderie blogging offers & I can only add that it's SO true....If you are a lurker, lurk no more....Jump in with us & join the fun.....!!

                                                           Thanks so much TAMARAH