First, a little back history on this famous plastic. Bakelite is one of the first US manufactured early plastics. It was patented in 1907 by a Belgian chemist, Dr. Leo Hendrik Baekeland. This thermoset plastic was made with fillers which made it more durable, stronger and less expensive. It became popular due to its electrically nonconductive and heat-resistant properties. That is why it was readily used in such products as radio, televisions and telephone casings, electrical insulators, kitchenware, pipe stems, children’s toys, and of course jewelry.
Bakelite was manufactured between 1907 and 1927. The Catalin Corporation acquired the patent in 1927. It added 15 new colors and it was produced under the name “Catalin”. Catalin and Marblette are trade-names for slight variations on the original Bakelite chemical formula. All are referred to as Bakelite today. These variations were generally manufactured on the East Coast from 1929-1941. Unfortunately, by the end of the World War II, new technologies for molded plastics such as Lucite, Fiberglass, Vinyl, and Acrylic had been developed. And so Bakelite became obsolete, except in the hearts of collectors.
Any Bakelite enthusiast knows how to spot its beautiful hues! Generally it is very opaque. True Bakelite colors are normally very dark because of the fillers. Bakelite could be produced in a wide array of colors, but the most common where white, brown, green and red. Vintage Bakelite has now sense oxidized causing a more patina look that is sometimes a completely different hue than the original color. For example, white often turns to butterscotch or cream corn, light blue changes to dark green, and pink turns to orange. Prystal is completely transparent non-marbled Bakelite, produced in several colors, including green, red, pink, teal, purple and amber. The amber is often called apple juice.
Karima Perry is an expert on the subject. She is the author of Shultz Bakelite Jewelry, and Bakelite Bangles. She also has a wonderful glossary of Bakelite color names on her website, PlasticFantastic.com that can be found here.
Now that you have your Bakelite color vocabulary down you are ready to go on the hunt!
I had a lovely time in London last week visiting all the vintage stores there. It was interesting to see the English perspective on secondhand clothing as it compares to the U.S. I got to meet the shop owners and peruse their back rooms and latest arrivals. I love my job!
Traveling North the first shop you come to is One of A Kind, and that is certainly is! When you walk in you can easily get distracted by the dangling crinoline skirts and fancy frocks hanging above you head. This shop uses every square inch of its walls and ceilings to display the merchandise.
These next three shops are all right next door to one another making it very convenient to shop. Mensah is a located at 291 Portobello Rd. It is a sun filled, airy boutique with a tight selection of contemporary women’s vintage. Here you will find day looks and accessories in great condition between 30-50punds.
Jane does sell some vintage and antique dresses, but usually she copies the designs into other antique or vintage textiles, sometimes slightly adjusting the shape to better fit today’s vintage brides or Cinderellas. She also makes romantic whimsical head pieces out of vintage feathers and other old materials.
There are some people in this world who just look amazing in hats. The art of millinery is clearly not lost when you gaze out from underneath one of their creations. The craft has been handed down from generation to generation. What is unusual is when you find an artist who not only uses the millinery techniques from the past, but also uses vintage millinery materials! Angela Petraline is one such hat lover.
Fall is here my friends! Time to switch over your closet and rediscover what you already have, and what you need to make falls hottest trends. I recently wrote an article called Dressing Up Your Closet. It was all about switching over your closet, putting outfits together of things you already have, and making a list of things you need to buy to finish off those outfits so that your new look for fall is complete. Often we hold onto things because we like it, but they don’t go with anything else in out closet. By playing dress up helps us see more clearly what things work in our closets and what things don’t and need to be given away.
Bottega Veneta Black leather tote with grommets, $425 from 
Yes, my friends. It is that time of year again. The leaves are dropping along with the temperature, a signal that it is time to start switching over your closet. As daunting of a task as this can be, there are some highlights to look forward to. First, by getting rid of clothes you don’t wear anyway makes a lot more room for NEW items! (Yah! Shopping!) In addition, if you have taken care of the items that you have you should be able to make a few bucks in the process by either donating your items to charity or trying to sell them to resale shops or vintage clothing stores. (Read 
Do you fancy the elegant look of antique furniture, but can’t seem to make it fit in with the rest of your modern décor? Perhaps the answer is recovering those chairs and sofas with new fabrications. 
