VINTAGE: Brushes

On Friday we drove to Ann Arbor, a big university city an hour west of Detroit to poke where we're getting married which in fact is in three weeks today, its in a sweet little district which had a very stereotypical feel of how you'd imagine America to be - with flags on the porch/front garden and a general store, among which was a little antiques store which we just had to pop into. It was filled with old advertisements, cookware, old lipstick containers, and while there was no compacts there was a gorgeous paddle silver brush. They were asking $10.60 [£6.62] for it so it would have been a crime, and a regret to have walked away without it.

The tale behind the brush is that it came from a house which was hit in a storm by a falling tree with the matching mirror splashing to pieces. Age has altered its once shiny appearance and i'm lost in a debate about attempting to return it back to that condition or to shine up the embellishments or leave it as it is. The lady who runs the shop calls herself the Button Lady of at least Michigan if not America [she can command up to $200 hourly in talks just about buttons], she was a lovely lady but she knew how to talk and to escape from the shop took at least an hour after we'd paid. She did suggest that I went full scale into compact collecting, it is something I've considered before but I wonder if its something too many people have converted already because of the ease and the cheapness they can be purchased. It's something to think about at least.