The Farm Chicks – Kitschy Kitschy Coo

Did you happen to see our interview of The Farm Chicks Antique Show yesterday? Hopefully you did and made arrangements to attend, if not you’ll miss out on fabulous indie businesses like Kitschy Kitschy Coo. Come along with me today on a little interview with Kitshcy Kitschy Coo’s owner Lisa Miller Be sure to mark them down on your must see list at this year’s show.

How did you get started in making items with a vintage and retro
style?

I grew up in California, with a grandma &
aunt who sell antiques and a mom who loves thrift stores, so
I was raised with an overall appreciation for the history of domestic
arts.  While pregnant with my daughter in 2000, I wanted to capture a
feeling of warmth and history in her nursery.  The commercial baby décor
didn’t appeal to me, so my mom and I scoured antique stores and thrift stores,
trying to put together a look that fit my idea.   As a gift from my
mother-in-law in Oklahoma, I received a box filled with antique baby
vases.  The kind that people could send with little floral arrangements to
welcome the new babies.   We also used old containers of baby
powder, vintage warming dishes on shelves, our families’ silver baby cups and
spoons hung with ribbons and a TON of vintage linens.  I took an
embroidered dutch girl tea towel that my grandmother had made for me and cut
around the embroidery to make a patchwork square, with which I made a pillow for
the crib. This treasure hunt turned into a passion that wouldn’t
quit.  Long after my daughter was born, I was sketching ideas and
collecting whatever vintage baby paraphernalia I could find.

                     

What are some of your favorite vintage materials to work
with?

    When it comes to vintage materials as artistic medium,
nothing beats vintage linens.  Especially the embroidered ones!  These
little works of art took time, something housewives of yesteryear didn’t
really have a lot of to spare.  An embroidered tea towel with stains is not
trash!  Cut out the embroidery, make something beautiful out of it and let
it live on.  Next to vintage linens, I adore vintage fabrics and
trims.  Cotton today doesn’t feel nearly as soft as the old stuff. 
Giant old picture frames make amazing bulletin boards.  Also I am loving
all the paper ephemera of yesteryear.  The vintage cards and photos, the
wrapping paper, salvaged book pages, I love it all!
                   
 

    This year I have really kicked it up with the
recycled vintage linens.  There will be crib skirts, café curtains and
more!  I’ll also be selling fabrics and other sewing supplies with a
kitschy nursery twist for my fellow DIY’ers.  Plus, a very few special
Kitschy Kitschy Coo ephemera packs for paper artists, whether they scrapbook or
collage, it’s exciting to divvy up my favorite things for people to enjoy. 
And as always, I will be overflowing with fun vintage finds for a
child’s room or the child-at-heart!