Treasures - Guest Post from Karuski

Thursday, June 10, 2010

I am so pleased to have Minna from Karuski as my guest blogger today! I've gotten to know Minna a bit through our blogs and really admire her shop & fabulous work.  She kindly agreed to share a bit about her charming fabric finds...I'm so intrigued by her reclaimed treasures- particularly because she unearths amazing prints & partly because she's in Finland...a world away from me.  Welcome Minna!

First of all, thanks Allisa for asking me to contribute to your lovely blog!


I'm sure many of you share a passion for sweet fabrics, so do I. I also love recycling, thrift stores and flea markets and I use mainly reclaimed fabrics on Karuski. The best thing about visiting a second hand store is that you never really know what kind of treasures you will find each time. I usually don't return home with empty hands. On the other hand I need to go there with an open mind and without expectations. It's all about happy surprises and joy of discovery!

I thought I would share a few things I found on my treasure hunt last week. These serve as good examples what can be found at second hand stores in Finland. Enjoy!

An entrance to a flea market (loppis in Swedish, kirppis in Finnish) I visit regularly.



Lovely floral and botanical prints.



Two on the left are vintage bed sheets, one on the right has served as a curtain.



Plain beige and black fabrics are 2-4 yards each, pale pink roses on white is a pillow case, mustard leaves print has been either a curtain or a table cloth, gray squares are napkins. Cute vintage shank buttons are leather and fabric covered.



This curtain came in double quantity. Another one has now found its place by my studio's window. This piece I could use for a pillow cover, for instance.




Besides fabrics I was lucky to score this fabulous rack. It will be handy at craft fairs holding small purses or even jewelry.


I normally look for fabrics, trims and other sewing supplies but there is always so much variety from clothing to furniture, lamps, table ware and home deco items + everything in between. These places in my area have very modest prices too. Or what do you say about a vintage curtain with a lovely print for approximately $3.00?

What's the best find your have made at your local flea or elsewhere? We would love to hear, please share!

8 comments :

Marci Girl said...

Wow, that wire rack is great, I can imagine it filled with spools of thread, scraps and all sorts of sewing goodies! Neat!

Patty said...

My best friend is a farmers wife and loves cows....like in fabric, ornaments, cookie jars, etc. My DH and I were going to flee markets and found a stool, about counter high, that was covered in black & white cow fabric, it had a braided rope tail, and a set of plastic udders underneath it! We were on vacation at the time, but had to buy it for her. So every night we had to unpack the car to get to the suitcases and rearrainge so we could get the cow stool to fit back in the car. She laughed so hard when I gave it to her. It was worth all the trouble to get it home.

DeerLola said...

oh wow, such great finds !! I love the mustard leaves fabric and you lucky girl, finding that fabulous rack !!!

prettylittlethieves said...

thank you for sharing your flea market finds. i love to see what people find especially at flea markets in other countries. my best flea market finds have been original artwork.

baahar said...

Love the pics !! Especially the entrance of the flea market looks beautiful :)

Wonderful post. Thanks for sharing :)

karuski said...

Marci,
Thanks for a suggestion, I might use the wire rack to store something like that in my studio!

Patty,
What a fun story, I bet your friend loved the stool a lot!

Prettylittlethieves & baahar,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the pics and the story!

Allisa, thanks again for this chance to share a bit of my life. I loved being here:)

xx
minna

karuski said...

Oh, and thanks for DeerLola for a sweet comment as well! Didn't mean to dismiss it :)

xx
minna

Greet said...

ooh , I so love the colorcombo's you made with the fabrics!
I am very curious to see what you make out of it!