It’s an abbreviated local trip down memory lane, dominated by Syracuse China, Harriet Tubman’s role in the Underground Railroad and some Iroquois lore. The Onondaga Historical Association is located at 321 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, New York 13202 – it is (at) the heart of downtown Syracuse.
They are currently undergoing a massive renovation so the upstairs floors are off limits. Someday I will get to play on the Magic Toy Shop set. And someday, I will have an art show here. One of these days I will explore the history of my home if there is any info to be found in their archives. And eventually, I will purchase an autographed copy of Dennis Connors’ book.
The gift shop is the current highlight of the museum. You can peruse books about the city as well as books by local authors. All things L. Frank Baum seems to be a favorite topic. There are T-shirts, posters, postcards and lots of small touristy gifts.
Shopping for Stickley furniture at Dalton’s is a lesson in the history of the early 20th century’s Arts & Crafts movement. Proprietors David Rudd and Debbie Goldwein have been in the business of selling antique/pre-loved Stickley furniture for over forty years at this establishment. Their customers include celebrities and other prominent A&C lovers nationwide (and someday, me, and maybe you!). Their business is both in person and on-line. The furniture sold at this shop is original Gustav Stickley pieces and early works by Leopold and John George Stickley, items that pre-date the Audi family’s tenure at Stickley.
Rudd is a former decades long President of the local Arts & Crafts Society and current President of the Gustav Stickley House Foundation. It was such a pleasure to chat with him as he shared the provenance of the exquisite pieces displayed in vignettes alongside pottery from the same period, accessories – candlesticks, ashtrays, and books, lamps, clocks, really everything you need to fill the living room of a Craftsman home.
Gustav Stickley owned a factory on what is currently Burnet Avenue in the Eastwood neighborhood of Syracuse, a hop, skip and jump from this fabulous antique shop located at 1931 James Street, Syracuse, New York 13206.
It is a beautiful thing to see the care that has been taken in keeping the Mission-style spirit alive. I felt like looking for a portal in the store in order to time-travel my way back to one hundred years ago, especially when I stared at that photograph of Gustav on the wall, lol, it reminded me of the movie “Somewhere in Time” with Christopher Reeve. I am in love with this period of furnishings and I am probably the only one in my family to have this passion. I didn’t grow up with it. Mom liked a French Provincial living room and Colonial-style bedroom furnishings.
Some of the pieces at Dalton’s are a better bargain than buying new and others costs tens of thousands. In addition, they have an affinity for Native American textiles and pottery, and the collection is quite impressive. It’s all for sale even though everything is museum quality. You can sit on the settles and chairs as you imagine living with them in your own home.
I took so many pictures of this chair (above) – I can’t stop thinking about it! LOVE!
Currently, there is a selection of wood-block printed designs by Rochester-based artist Laura Wilder. They are displayed beautifully in oak frames.
If you wish to luxuriate in this experience, Dalton’s is open Monday-Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Soflea is having a major garage sale today from 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Find them at 1 Sparrow Lane, Fayetteville, New York 13066.
Manny the mannequin will guide you there. It’s the first street to the right off of Maple Drive behind Talbots.
The vibe is an impressive collection of home-goods, planters, rugs, furniture and vintage clothing. You will find something to treasure whether you are a new homeowner, a college student or you know, a shopaholic.
Oh, and they take Venmo so if you are just driving by and haven’t been to the bank because of the holiday then no problem!
Sophie and Sophie will be glad to assist you/share stories of how they acquired this curated assortment of quality items. So fun!
Singer Ashley Cox of Professional Victims, Fondu and solo career fame has opened a shipping container boutique, called Black Whisker Vintage, at The Yard in Manlius, New York.
In it, along with a partner called Dave, they sell vintage items to include accessories, toys, trinkets and tchotchkes. It is curated with an upbeat and fun flair.
The store is only open on weekends, I believe, but Sunday may be the best time to go, because at 3:00 PM on Sundays, she hosts an open mike in the little stage area adjacent to the shipping container stores. So fun!
The Yard is located at 604 East Seneca Street, Manlius, New York 13104.
It is branded as an artisan collective nestled on the land once occupied by the Hale lumber yard (I wonder if they would let me metal detect it? OMG!)
Call (315) 604-8064 for more information including hours of operation.
Found in Ithaca is another fun vintage store. I follow them on Facebook. Today I finally visited the store – I drove down from Syracuse and my friend Joyce drove up from Binghamton. We met there at around noon.
It is a multi-vendor situation with about 7,000 square feet of space. So much to see.
A lot of jewelry and decor items plus furniture.
One vendor had a bunch of Mexican Milagro pieces. They are said to carry good luck/miracle energy! We loved these.
Found in Ithaca is open Wednesday- Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Location
227 Cherry St Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: 607.319.5078
If I had to pick a recurring theme in the shops, I’d go with the bird motif.
I also came across a bunch of these school bells. I wanted them all. I kept picking them up, ringing them and saying, “I wonder how many times this happens in a day?” Joyce said something like, “Probably a lot.” I guess it would get annoying pretty quickly if I had a collection of bells. Everybody and their uncle would want to ring them.
It’s always a great day when you see blue glass.
Vintage clothing and accessories? Yes and yes.
And toys.
The vendors are always on the hunt to find treasures to resell. This is definitely one of those places you must frequent. In fact, once I’d returned home, I checked their Facebook page and noticed several items I’d seen in the shop had been sold, mainly the furniture pieces.
I guess you should go in with an idea of what you are looking for then enjoy the serendipitous experience infused with nostalgia of finding it, something like it or something else that lurks in your vortex of material wants and desires. I ended up finding some leather remnants for my jewelry business. I’m not currently making bracelets and I didn’t need more supplies, but the price was right, so, yeah. You just never know what you will find. So fun!
Marketplace on James is a new store at 2802 James Street in the Eastwood section of Syracuse, New York, 13206. It is the former Tip a Few bar now transformed into an artisan gallery, a tattoo parlor and a food place.
My good friends and Eastwood residents Bob and Marie Leogrande have begun a new venture making and selling their homemade pastas and sausage rolls. They use family recipes and all natural ingredients. Everything is packaged fresh and ready to eat! The Leograndes are also available for catering private parties (big and small) and will be in the store for occasional pop-up lunches!
Picking up a few of Marlene Roeder’s Zen inspired coloring books is worth the visit to Marketplace on James. They are really lovely – everyone of all ages can enjoy them because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love coloring?
Yesterday was the grand opening of Marketplace on James complete with a visit from the mayor and media coverage. There are about fifty individual vendors represented. I believe they pay a monthly fee to house their crafts under one roof.
I was there briefly and took these snapshots. It is a bit overwhelming when you first walk in because there is so much eclectic merchandise. New folk art style paintings, antique repurposed furniture, handmade jewelry and a lot of gift-type thingys are situated on different retail fixtures and tables. There didn’t seem to be a clear view of individual areas the way the space is divided at The Shoppes at Johnny Appleseeds.
But it is whimsical and fun, if you enjoy gift shopping/browsing. This place is the brainchild of owner/operator Eileen Porto. Her mission – to bring community and small businesses together under one roof.
Marketplace will be open Monday-Wednesdays 7:00 am – 6:00 pm, Friday & Saturday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm and Sundays noon – 6:00 pm. Vendors will replenish stock periodically, so there will always be new goods to see.
The kitchen is new/updated and will have something aromatic available daily, including free samples of products from these fabulous local vendors.
There is only street parking available – no parking lot, but there are businesses on both sides of James Street in that area with parking lots – coffee shops, restaurants, hair salons, banks, etc. If you’ve never done it, you could make a day of it and explore Eastwood! There is an adorable deck around the corner to sit and have a coffee and maybe do a photo shoot by the wall mural – and an amazing plant shoppe that will make you say – this is so cool! (Or at least, it did me, lol). Enjoy!!! (for more information, call 315-928-6724) <3
The AmeriCu Arts & Crafts Festival is celebrating its 50th year in downtown Syracuse, New York. Located on the streets surrounding Columbus Circle, there are about 150 artisans and crafters represented in this three-day event. It ends around 4pm today, July 25, 2021, so there is still time to check it out!
There’s food trucks, drinks and music too. My sister and I were there for two hours yesterday. So fun!
This is a juried exhibition. Lula Castillo’s booth at the festival won an honorable mention award. Her work is incredible. She uses plants, nuts, seeds and organic dyes to create exquisite pieces of jewelry. I’ve never seen anything like this!
The colors are so vibrant and fun. I loved everything about her sustainable materials collection.
She comes to us from Long Island, New York (formerly Columbia!)
I thought Erin Primerano’s presentation of her handwoven fine art clothing was wonderful. Her tent looked like a real store! The pieces are one-of-a-kind looks, using a mix of fibers from silk to cotton, to wool and can be hand-washed.
Her company is called Haute Made and you can find her on Etsy! She lives in Syracuse, New York.
Booth A4
I met Ted Greenfield from Chittenango, New York, last week at his City Market booth. These wood charcuterie boards are gorgeous! His company is called Bayside Wood Products.
It’s always a pleasure to see the effervescent Barbara Conte-Gaugel (Syracuse, New York) and her mixed-media handbags and satchels. Everything is handmade from recycled fabrics (including leather and old flour sacks). The larger bags are among my favorites with whimsical patterns that inspire positivity. She is selling these bags at the festival but she is also a fine artist – paintings and assemblages.
Devin Mack from Baltimore, Maryland, creates these fun wire sculptures of animals. He was in the process as I photographed him, said he does not use photographs, just whimsy, and the results are stunning!
Kathleen Scranton from Coventry, Connecticut, creates vintage book purses under the logo BeeZ. She comes to us from the business and marketing world. A chance rendezvous with a library eliminating old books sparked this plan to turn their covers into handbags. Purses come with a paperback version of the book.
Michelle DaRin, Pompey, New York, is a rock star around here. Her face is on billboards, as she is currently represented by Cazenovia Jewelry! I noticed that everyone who walked by Montgomery Street was a customer, including me (I was wearing three of her bracelets!).
Michelle DaRin Jewelry is a one person operation – she is the face of the brand. She selects the stones, cuts the metal, does all the metal-smithing and strings the leather.
The look is upscale Bohemian-chic/’70s vibe meets the new millennium.
Wildflowers Armory is a co-op – artisans who share in the responsibility of selling their wares in their store in downtown Syracuse (217 S. Salina Street). Co-owner Michael Heagerty posed for a few pictures with Kathy and me. He is an amazing person who has single-handedly changed the view of the local art scene in Syracuse – a beautiful person inside and out! <3
They have a double tent set-up on Montgomery Street at the festival with an eclectic mix of items for sale.
Merchandise includes clothing (like the awesome Everson is for Lovers shirt!), soaps, notecards, crafts, and artwork.
Finally, I want my Superintendent to buy these metal bear sculptures for our school (We are the Chittenango Bears!). And I want the cardinal sculpture for my back yard.
OMG, Dale Rogers! His work is exceptional. The sculptures are crafted from stainless steel in his studio in Massachusetts.
My sister owns two businesses: Syracuse Yoga (6181 Thompson Road, Suite 803, Syracuse, New York 13206) and Soflea, a small store operating in the basement of Wildflowers (217 S. Salina Street, Syracuse, New York 13203).
Sophia Tashkovski is part of the McCarthy Mercantile. Her collection of flea-market finds and antiques includes her signature horseshoes, brass trays, statuettes and wicker baskets, as well as furniture and rugs.
Items are one-of-a-kind gems and so, there are always new finds to covet, which always makes the shopping experience a fun adventure.
Hours of operation: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday. It’s open today!!! (you’re welcome <3) Enter Wildflowers then head to the basement where the collective of shoppes is housed.
Today, after work and a five-mile Green Lakes hike, I headed over to the Sue & Leon Genet Galley at The Nancy Cantor Warehouse (350 W. Fayette Street, Syracuse, New York 13202) for the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection exhibit, Let It Snow! Keeping Warm at Syracuse University, 1870-2020.
I love the irony of this whole premise that it is cold in Syracuse in winter and I’m all hiking my head off for two hours a day thinking it’s totally warm – what’s wrong with you people? Naturally, I am also all about cashmere, fur, leather and down parkas, so this little exhibit was right up my alley. Keeping warm is my schtick. Really, it’s fashion. Fashion’s my schtick.
I frequented this gallery when it was housed in Slocum Hall back in the ’80s, so actually visiting it again, it’s kinda/sorta my old stomping grounds. I am a graduate of the Fashion Design program at Syracuse University and a really cold (minus 4 degrees) day in 1982 is referenced in the literature, which was probably a day I was walking around campus with my gigantic portfolio and paint case or a huge bag of fabric and a sewing kit (dual degree Fashion and Studio Arts) blowing around all over the place. Could this be anymore about me? LOL, sorry….
This is obviously an exhibition of outerwear spanning a century and a half. Everything on the mannequins looks stunning – well preserved and for the most part, timeless.
The show was curated by Professor Jeffrey Mayer. Kirsten Schoonmaker gave a slide presentation during the event tonight sharing her expertise on textiles, specifically a history of the fashion/costume use of wool and fur through the ages. Students in attendance were clearly enthralled by her dynamic presence. She is an Associate Professor of Fashion Design at Syracuse University, as well as the exhibit designer and collection manager.
Let It Snow! will be up through February 28, 2020. You will love it. <3
On Dec. 2, 2019, Syracuse University canceled a full day of classes for the fourth time in its 150-year history. This means that generations of students have trudged through snow, sleet, ice, and wind in order to get to class. How did they keep themselves from shivering as the daytime temperatures plunged as low as -4°F in January of 1982? Students on campus have proved that staying warm doesn’t have to mean sacrificing style. Thick fulled wool in fashionable hues has been cut and shaped to follow the silhouettes of the moment, whether it be the 1880s, the 1980s, or today. Collars and cuffs have been trimmed with insulating materials from soft fur to plushy polyester, trapping warm air around exposed skin as icy winds blow. Belts and buttons not only keep coats from flapping, but also add a touch of shape, sparkle, or contrast. Selections from the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection reveal that while faces may change, outerwear has always been a style statement on campus.
About the Sue and Leon Genet Gallery:
Based in the School of Design at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, the Sue & Leon Genet Gallery is a student-managed space hosting exhibitions from the school’s students, faculty, and alumni. Programing seeks to engage the University and downtown Syracuse community with exhibitions inspired by and related to the field of design. Public gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, noon to 5:00 pm., or by appointment. Call (315) 443-2455.
I have been manifesting money in the mail. The first time it happened – OMG, it was totally unexpected. I stumbled upon this site called Rakuten. They know you, know what you like, know where you are on-line shopping. Through emails you click their links to get to things you planned on buying with or without them, things you feel comfortable paying the price offered – and then they give you cash back. Win-win!
Check it out! Use the link above and get started. This site encompasses all shop sites – Amazon, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and many more. All types of merchandise, not just fashion.
It is amazing! <3
Tashkovski bracelet, J.Crew T-shirt, Rag & Bone patent leather skirt, Hue tights, Marc Jacobs booties
Tashkovski bracelet, BCBGMaxAzria sweater and skirt, Sorel boots
Tashkovski bracelet, Banana Republic top, BCBGMaxAzria dress, Karl Lagerfeld Paris boots
Theory cashmere sweater, BCBGMaxAzria belt and leggings, Ralph Lauren boots
BCBGMaxAzria sweater and dress, Marc Jacobs booties
Tashkovski bracelets, Theory cashmere sweater, BCBGMaxAzria silk velvet pants, Calvin Klein booties
Tashkovski bracelet, Theory sweater, Rebecca Taylor dress, Marc Jacobs booties
Free People cardigan, Rebecca Taylor silk top, BCBGMaxAzria pants, Joie sandals
