DuVenay Does Great Vintage

Real gold and real jewels for the elegantly attired.

While there are some giftees who will only want shiny and new for the holidays, there are others who long for the elegantly preserved (and I don't mean jam). Great vintage is hard to find, and reasonably priced great vintage is rarer still.

DuVenay, a small but selective vintage store on Etsy, manages to deliver vintage for those on a budget (at least, compared to the crazy stuff in L.A., I'm talking to you, PaperBag Princess). The very classy purveyor of this store (shown as a lounging lady looking elegant and so very relaxed), has accumulated an intimate but quintessential selection. You might find a lovely black Gucci bag, or a Rudi Gernreich silk scarf, all in terrific condition. But where DuVenay really shines is in the jewelry selection. In keeping with the Toad's lower price point, there are only lower priced items here, like 1950s sterling earrings or an old yet modernist carnelian signet ring. There are other, more expensive offerings, but nothing is over a grand (a holiday miracle, really).

Pay DuVenay a visit for the vintage fan on your list. You might even pick up a bauble for yourself. At DuVenay.

Gilding the Jewelry

Behold the golden bowl.

Normally, I'm not one who spends time thinking about how to wrap gifts. I mean, I understand the idea and the romance of beautifully wrapped, gorgeous gifts under the tree, but then that lovely wrapping and ribbons are reduced to trash, unceremoniously crumpled into bags and hauled to the curb. It just doesn't seem worth the extra effort.

However, what's ideal is when the wrapping can actually be part of the gift. Say you're giving jewelry, like earrings or a ring. Why not nestle the jewels inside one of these ever so practical little wooden turquoise and golden bowls? Encase the package in cellophane, add one ribbon, and you're done. It's like two gifts in one. These little bowls could later hold rings or earrings, or be used at table to hold
coarse sea salt, or store a small amount of quarters for the meter. It's not a unitasker.

Find these bowls, just 12 bucks each, at Paragraphloop on Etsy. It'll look as impressive as a three hour Martha Stewart wrap job, but with multiple uses. And that, my friends, is really a good thing.