Letters Archives - Vintage Matters

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Paul Cody

It’s Spring

It’s Spring!

Today is officially the first day of Spring and the new season is upon us and we look forward to longer days and sunnier times ahead – no mention of the “C” word here..!

We cannot wait to get out into our garden again and get planting, with the help of our pooch, Bailey, the boxer.

We wanted to share some of our vintage outdoor pieces that are now online, allowing you to get creative with different shapes, form and colour.

Have a look below and let us know what you think!

This vintage 3 tier etagere was sourced from France and is the perfect way to add a bit of dramatic effect to your outdoor space.

Add vintage terracotta pots filled with Spring bulbs, herbs and decorative vintage pieces, like this old watering can.

These vintage wooden moulds were once used in India to make clay bricks!

We love the fact that today, they can be repurposed and used as a planter on a windowsill to grow herbs, or bulbs.

Apart from growing herbs, March is the time to start sewing seeds to grow flowers and vegetables, if you have the space. The Unconventional Gardener blog, shares with you what can be sewn this month.

Vintage watering cans look great nestled among bushes or pots as decorative pieces, but are practical and functional too.

Find one with the rose still attached, so that you can give your plants a fine spray of water, without damaging them.

We love finding products that can be repurposed!

This vintage cast iron cattle water drinker is perfect for small Spring bulbs and makes for an interesting talking point in your outdoor space.

Get inspired with a number of Spring garden container ideas here

This vintage basket was originally used to pick olives and now is the perfect container for growing herbs.

The air slats around the basket allowed the olives to breathe and now, once planted, will allow water to drain away.

This piece would be a great for the urban gardener!

Growing herbs is easy and fun and they are packed with flavour to add to your cooking. Check out the 10 best herbs to grow in containers here.

Here is another example of adding a bit of theatre to an outdoor space, with this vintage corner plantstand.

Get creative with your planting, pots and decorative items to add height and drama to a corner of your outdoor space.

Get your guide to the perfect Spring garden here.

Sadly, we have had to cancel our Spring pop up event in a railway arch in Camberwell, but hope to have another, just as soon as we can.

Please join our mailing list to find out when and where the next one will be.

We would love to get your feedback – please drop us a line or comment at the end of this blog and share with any friends or family who may be into vintage. Thank you!

Keep well and stay safe.

Happy planting!

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Paul Cody

Vintage Matters Updates

At Vintage Matters, we have been working hard to update the website, which is now cleaner and easier to navigate and you can now browse and shop by category too. We hope you like it!

We have been out in the markets stocking up on new pieces of furniture, accessories and letters, so please have a browse and let us know what you think.

We now have one of the largest online collections in the UK, of reclaimed letters and letter lights salvaged from shop fronts and pubs, with over 150 letters and a further 80+ which are still in the process of being cleaned, photographed or reconditioned with LED’s.

If you are looking for a specific letter that you cannot find online, then drop us an email and we can send you a link to view all the other letters not yet online.

The past few months we have been working closely with an interior architect company to source these Mid Century furniture pieces for a West End financial company, which are now in situ and look fantastic!

If you are working on a commercial project and need vintage furniture and accessories, then we would be very happy to help source them for you. Please drop us an email.

We have had several pop up events this year, back at West Elm on Tottenham Court Road, but also at their two newer stores in Kingston and at Westfield, White City. We have also popped up at The Bentall Centre, the East London Furniture Flea at Bethnal Green and more recently, a stall at the Camberwell Fair.

In June, we were very happy to relocate our storage facility to part of a railway arch right next to where we live, where we are now able to do our photoshoots too. We will be holding a pop up event in the arch in October, to which you are more than welcome. More to follow on this closer to the time.

Future pop up dates:

28th-30th September – West Elm, Kingston

12th-14th October – West Elm, Tottenham Court Road, London

27th-28th October – Vintage Matters, Camberwell

We would love to hear your feedback on the website and what you like (or not!) or what we can improve. Simply add your comments at the bottom of the blog.

Thank you!

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Paul Cody

Reclaimed Letters | Competition | London | Vintage Matters

WIN A RECLAIMED VINTAGE LETTER!

As I am sure you all aware we have a thing for letters!

We personally, have been collecting vintage, reclaimed and salvaged letters ourselves for years and then we started reconditioning them to sell at Vintage Matters. As I’m sure you can imagine our collection just keeps growing, as we can’t resist a bit of beautiful or unusual type.

We source our letters globally, which gives us a fantastic variety – from illuminated to non-illuminated and in a variety of materials, from metal to wood to resin.

Like so many of our products we wonder what life they had previously and how they were used – most are reclaimed from shop fronts, pubs, railways and demolished buildings.

We love to know the provenance of our letters – some you instantly recognise like the red T.G.I Friday ones above and some stunning Mercedes Benz letters that have just come in.

Sometimes we just hit a blank though, like we did when we found a number of blue and yellow letters at a market – then in a light bulb moment, realised they were from Blockbuster Video stores!

We still have some of these letters available at www.vintagematters.co.uk/letters/

Mostly we have our letters for purely decorative purposes, lovingly scattered around our home, but they can also be used for branding or signage in bars, cafes, pubs, retail stores, offices etc., both inside and out, to make a real statement.

The image below shows a mix of vintage letters and letter lights that we sprayed red, for a commercial project, showing the company’s name in their reception area.

Some of our favourite reclaimed letters we stock are these amazing large illuminated ones that we get from the US – everything just seems bigger and bolder from there!

When they arrive though, they certainly need some serious tender love and care. Most of them would have been exterior signage, so have been out in the elements for most of their lives, which gives them great character and also means they need some work before we can get them online.

When they arrive with us, the first job is taking them apart and giving them a good clean. Even though we are aware they have been used outside, we are still amazed by the amount of dirt and tumble weed that has collected inside – maybe they were formally lighting up the strip in Vegas?!

When we open the channel letters for cleaning, we strip out all the old glass neon tubes and wiring, which is not a particularly fun job, but very necessary.

In order to return them to their former glory and for them to be electrically safe, we recondition them with new LED’s and a UK 3-pin plug.

This has taken a certain amount of practice to get the lighting correct and also takes a fair amount of patience, fixing the LED’s around all the serifs and bends that our letters tend to have. Once we have wired them up and checked we have a good even glow, they are ready for photography, though sometimes we have to cut new light omitting acrylic fronts, if they have too many marks or cracks and replace any trims that are too worn.

It’s always a fine balance with vintage pieces, just how many character marks we allow before replacing or cleaning it up. We one have one simple rule or question that we ask ourselves – would we be happy buying that piece and having it in our house? If the answer is “yes”, then it is good to photograph and get online to find a new home.

Our letters look fantastic hung on a wall or on a book shelf and make for an amazing personal gift for someone, or start collecting your initials.

We have a huge amount of reclaimed and salvaged letters that are coming online so keep a look out, or contact [email protected] if you are looking for a specific letter.

This week sees the start of a competition, in collaboration with our friends at Warehouse Home, where you can win one of our salvaged letters*, simply by logging on to Twitter, retweeting the competition and following both @mywarehousehome and @vintagematters for a chance to win a letter of your choice that we have online.

You can also follow us on Instagram as @vintagemattersuk or our new feed, which is for fans of fonts and typography, where we have branded ourselves @thelettermenuk !

Good luck in the competition!

* the competition is to win one of our salvaged letters from a shop front or pub and does not include our letter lights

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Paul Cody

Gifts for Him

GIFTS FOR HIM

Hello!

We hope you are having a good Sunday and enjoying the amazing Winter sunshine we have today!

If you are looking for a unique gift for that special man in your life, then have a look at some of our favourite ideas below.

Large Vintage Silverplate Cocktail Shaker

We have a great selection of vintage silverplate barware, like this handsome cocktail shaker, originally from the USA.

£140

For the intrepid traveller, what about this giant vintage wall map of Europe, which is a real statement piece and sure to be a conversation starter in any room or office?

Made in Germany in the 1960’s, this original geographical vintage wall map, at over 2 metres high, is printed on high quality paper and then backed with canvas.

We have other vintage wall maps of Africa, India, South America and the Middle East available.

£240

This would make a fantastic gift for the man in your life – a classic vintage Jielde desk lamp, from the 1950’s where it was used in a factory as a work lamp.

The Jielde lamp is an iconic French industrial piece.

£420

How about a really thoughtful, personal gift, with one of our vintage initials or letter lights?

These reclaimed letters have been salvaged from shop fronts and pubs from across the globe.

Prices range from £20 – £180 dependent on the size

Milton Brooke Extra Large Mortar & Pestle

The only mortar & pestle you will ever need!

Made in Stoke on Trent, by Milton Brook who were established over 150 years ago, this vitrified porcelain mortar & pestle, with a handy pour spout, is incredibly strong, with a very dense structural base for easy crushing and grinding of herbs and spices, to extract maximum flavour.

This high quality mortar & pestle has been used for decades by professional chefs and home cooks alike.

£16 (small) £29 (extra large)

These unique framed vintage prints of boxwood rules are taken from the I & D Smallwood Ruler Catalogue, circa 1912 and mounted on acid-free board, with a simple wooden black frame.

Only £60

Vintage American Fire Extinguisher Brass

This one-off, vintage American fire extinguisher is made from highly polished solid copper and features a brass plate around the exterior with instructions engraved on and was likely to have been made in 1930’s – 1940’s.

£240

Our vintage silverplate champagne cooler featuring the classic gadroon edging pattern, is perfect for chilling bottles of Champagne or wine this holiday season.

£120

We hope you have enjoyed looking at our “Gifts for Him” selection!

We will have a number of unique, one-off gifts at our next pop up event at West Elm, Tottenham Court Road, London, from Friday 16th through Sunday 18th, if you want to come and have a look in person.

Happy Christmas shopping!

www.vintagematters.co.uk

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Paul Cody

Gifts for Her

GIFTS FOR HER

Here are our top favourite gift ideas for that special female in your life, whether it be your Mum, Grandma, Daughter, Sister, Cousin, Aunt, Neice or your BFF!

Great value at only £20, these amazing scented candles are hand made in the UK, using the finest ingredients and have a long burn time of 40 hours.

Choose from one of three fragrances:

No. 1 Green Fig – No. 2 Green Tea & Passion Fruit – No. 3 Pomegranate

These vintage pickling jars from Eastern Europe make fantastic indoor terrariums, when planted up, or they could be used as a pillar candle holder also.

Available in 3 sizes – pricing from £30

This simple but striking, copper frames with an aged finish, have been hand-welded by skilled artisans in India.

These frames with a glass front and back, are perfect for displaying photographs, drawings, or mementos and are available in three sizes.

Create an original gift, with a keepsake or memento of something that you have done together!

Great pricing on our frames from only £14

How about a really thoughtful, personal gift, with one of our vintage initials or letter lights?

These reclaimed letters have been salvaged from shop fronts and pubs from across the globe.

Prices range from £20 – £180 dependent on the size

Our vintage oversized green glass bottles, originally used for fermenting wine or apple juice are hugely popular.

They make a stunning decorative piece in a room, either empty, or with a single stem of foliage in, to create a real impact.

Prices from £65

These glass and copper keepsake boxes, are hand-crafted and each piece is individually welded together.

These practical and stylish decorative storage boxes, can be used to hold a variety of small items, from stationary items in the office, to jewellery, keepsakes and momentos.

Prices start from only £18

Our ceramic white Gluggle Jug, was originally made back in the 1870’s!

When filled with liquid, air is trapped in the fish’s tail and as the liquid is poured out again, the air is gradually released and produces a surprisingly loud gurgling or ‘gluggling’ sound, which makes for a great conversation piece at the dinner table or at parties.

This versatile ceramic white Gluggle Jug can be used for water or wine, to hold utensils, or as a vase.

£29

Our vintage silverplate candlesticks and candelabra would make a lovely gift for someone who loves to entertain.

At Vintage Matters, we like to mix different styles and sizes of candle holders together, to form an interesting, eclectic collection!

Prices from only £28

We hope that this has inspired you to think of something a little unusual, whilst looking for that “Gift for Her”.

Don’t worry – “Gifts for Him” will be out this Sunday!

For those of you who may be in London next week, we will be back at West Elm on Tottenham Court Road for another pop up event, from Friday 16th through Sunday 18th, where we will have a number of unique gifts available to buy.

Happy Christmas shopping!

www.vintagematters.co.uk

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Paul Cody

Christmas Shopping at Vintage Matters

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AT VINTAGE MATTERS

December 1st has now passed, so it is officially time to start your Christmas shopping!

We would like to share with you our latest unique, one-off vintage pieces that we have found at the various antique markets, along with some new homeware, which would make ideal Christmas gifts.

Here is a view of part of our new homepage, featuring a wide selection of our vintage gifts, to whet your appetite…

We recently changed the layout of our website, making it easier to browse and shop.

All our latest finds are now featured on our homepage, or you can view through four categories:

We have hundreds of gift ideas online and hope that you can find that unique, personal gift for your family and friends.

For those of you who may be in London later in December, we will be back at West Elm on Tottenham Court Road for another pop up event, from Friday 16th through Sunday 18th.

Happy Christmas shopping!

www.vintagematters.co.uk

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Paul Cody

Vintage Matters – One Year On!

VINTAGE MATTERS – ONE YEAR ON!

Here we are – October 2016 – one year on from our online launch and first pop up at West Elm, London!

What an amazing year it has been and we thought we would share some of the many highlights.

We have travelled far and wide searching for unique pieces to bring to your home or workplace and met many amazing people along the way, who are all as passionate about vintage, as we are.

West Elm have kindly hosted 5 pop up events for us, which have been extremely successful, giving us great brand exposure on Tottenham Court Road in London and we now have customers returning to see what new finds we have.

Among the many pieces we have sold there, one was a scientific instrument that a gentleman bought to train his performing fleas on…

And just last week, someone bought a lovely cast iron window mirror for the garden, solely for the use by William – the pet peacock!

We are back at West Elm for a Christmas pop up event, 16th -18th December.

Our vintage letters and letter lights continue to be hugely popular, as people really connect with them. We have over 100 letters in stock and more on the way.

If you are after a specific letter, drop us an email at [email protected] and we can send images, costs and dimensions of those that are currently being reconditioned, that are not yet online.

www.vintagematters/co.uk/letters

Vintage Matters has been featured in The Metro, Warehouse Home, Reclaim Magazine and in various blogs.

In April 2016, we were delighted to have our home featured in “25 Beautiful Homes”, which has become an ever evolving showcase of product for Vintage Matters.

You can read the article via the following link: www.vintagematters.co.uk/blog

We have been active in the commercial sector too, including a brief to supply vintage pieces of furniture and accessories to a new office in Old Street, London, which resulted in a great feature in INEX Magazine.

Furniture and accessories have been supplied to prestigious brands like Le Labo Fragrances , Shinola through Michael Veal Design and Hawksmoor Restaurant, as well as a number of props for the current TV show,”Taskmaster“.

We have been busy posting and tweeting on various social media channels and now have over 700 followers on Instagram and over 500 on Twitter, along with a growing presence on Facebook, Pinterest and G+

Our mailing list is growing rapidly too and you can sign up quickly and easily on our home page.

Currently, we are searching for a retail space in South East London, to open our first store which we are very excited about and we are out in the markets sourcing some special pieces for Christmas.

We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all our customers and followers for your support and we look forward to an exciting year ahead!

[email protected]

www.vintagematters.co.uk