Toppers Take the Cake!

We didn't want to let June slip by (though it almost has!) without a timely nod to a wonderful collectible: wedding cake toppers!
Flea Market Style's Tim Luke, who operates TreasureQuest Appraisal Group with Greg Strahm, shares these fun facts about this miniature art form!
* Toppers came about as a way to personalize a cake, providing a unifying symbol of the couple's love and commitment to each other. Luke notes the actual tradition of a wedding cake began in ancient Rome as a loaf of wheat or barley bread. The bride and groom ate a bit of it, then the groom broke the cake over the bride's head. By the 1700s, a sweet version with soft white icing became popular. "Royal Icing" has its roots in the 1840 cake of Queen Victoria, Luke said.
* More than 31,000 toppers are listed for sale on eBay, and they often populate yard sales, thrift stores and antique shops.
* Their value ranges from $50 to $120, depending on condition, materials used and the company making the items. For example, a Lladro cake topper sold on eBay for $52 while a simple plastic topper may only sell for $25. Other prices: a WWII topper with a groom in uniform sold for $100. An early bisque couple sold for $90 and a vintage chalkware duo went for $48.The bottom line?"When picking a topper, it should reflect your style and personality," Luke says. "If you like vintage, go for a vintage topper!"
* Most toppers are made of plastic or resin. Vintage toppers were made of Bisque, china, porcelain or celluloid.
* Toppers today are easily customized to resemble the people who are marrying, something that sets them apart from vintage toppers, which were generic and mass-produced. The toppers pictured are from the weddings of Luke's parents in 1962, Luke's partner Greg's parents in 1948, and from Luke and Greg's ceremony in 2009.
Luke blogs about collectibles and their value here . Be sure to check out the upcoming issue of Flea Market Style for more of his insights on memorabilia and other collectibles!

Kim

Ooh la Oops No More!

Remember that missing graph of type in the spring issue's "Shop the Paris Fleas Like a Pro" article?

Missing no more!

Demand for the spring issue of Flea Market Style was so great that Harris Publications put out a second printing, on news stands now. In doing so, the publishers restored the 27 missing words on Page11 that were inadvertently omitted due to a printing/plating error.

We let you know about the missing words in an earlier blog post, but you might want to pick up a reprint to ensure your collection includes every great word of Flea Market Style!

And speaking of that...

watch this space for information coming soon on pre-ordering your fall issue of Flea Market Style!

Kim

Behind the Scenes: Packed with Care!

Last week we shared a behind-the-scenes look at how two stories for the fall issue of Flea Market Style were put together and photographed. A lot of fun work! But "getting there" is half the fun!

Editor-in-Chief Ki Nassauer presses her far-flung network of junkers, staffers and friends into service to help create, sew and craft the projects that eventually end up as FMS how-tos!

Frequently, the person crafting the project does not live anywhere near the person styling and photographing the project.

Which brings us to...the U.S. mail.

We pack with care to send those precious projects over the miles. The contents of this box went from Minnesota to California. (This is what it looked like after it was unpacked!)

It contained four items! It won't be long before you can see them up close and in living color, fresh from the pages of Flea Market Style.

Remember this packing job. Then, once the magazine arrives, see if you can guess which of the how-to projects was packed inside!

Kim

Behind the Scenes 2: Des Moines Diary!

Hours and hours of planning go into each project story for Flea Market Style.

First we conceptualize the story, identify vintage items that are needed, sketch project ideas with measurements, shop for vintage items, send photos back and forth to confirm that we have the perfect items, build projects (a few never make the cut when we realize they aren't as easy to build as we originally thought) snap quick pics and send to the art director, wait for a suggested layout and a shot list, rummage and shop for props, which are then packed and transported to the studio. Whew! Now, multiply that by two for our recent shoot in Des Moines, Iowa!

6 PM Tuesday

Jill-of-all trades Cammie Metheny picked me up

at the Omaha, Neb., airport

and I

scrunched into her oversized SUV, luggage on my lap.

(The rest of the truck was

filled with projects and props.)

6:30 PM

Spotted an open shed alongside the airport road filled with

old crates and made a

note to stop by when we returned to the airport...

you never know; they may want

us to take a few off their hands.

9 PM

Arrived at the hotel in Grimes, Iowa, ravenous and pooped.

Grabbed a late dinner and stayed up late

catching up on Cammie's latest junking adventures.

8 AM Wednesday

Arrived at Sandy Soria's farm to find a tree in the driveway.

Cammie laughed when I said, "Do you think the two of us

can move it?"

No chance.

What was I thinking?

Unloaded, and cleared out an area in Sandy's beautiful

natural-light chicken house.

Art Director extraordinaire, Stacey Willey,

arrived and we talked

through all of the projects

and made a prop list.

1 PM

Headed to West Des Moines to pick up props, including paints,

flowers and food. Cammie laughed as we filled our basket at Trader

Joe's

with the perfect color cheeses, natural packaging and cute soda bottles.

She admitted it was the first time she had shopped for groceries

without caring about what they taste like

or whether everyone in her family would like them!

8 PM

Still shopping for props at Hobby Lobby

when they closed the store. Done!

Late dinner again!

6 AM Thursday

Rise and shine! Yuk! It is 4 AM in California

and I hadn't gotten used to the time change.

8 AM

Unloaded props and started painting and finishing up

miscellaneous projects.

(Snacked on some of the cute food we bought.)

8:30 AM

Photographer Adam Albright and Stacey arrive and we quickly

start shooting. (Adam shot the men's shirt

and mirror stories for the last issue. He was

happy not to see any more mirrors

for this shoot!)

Lots to do in two days!

1 PM

Break for lunch al fresco

at the picnic table.

2 PM

Learn Adam's trick...He tapes coins together

and marks them to act as risers when he needs just a little lift

or leveling on an item in the shot.

7 PM

Leave for the hotel after getting next day's projects ready

to shoot.

Ran across a trailer with an amazing carnival game on it close

to the hotel.

Cammie slammed on her brakes and we investigated.

The owner came out when he saw us snooping around and

as hard

as Cammie tried...he wouldn't sell.

8 PM

Late dinner...again!

8 AM Friday

Last day of shoot and Adam rocked!

We were on a roll!

6 PM

Packed up truck, threw away garbage and hugged

everyone.

(Cammie insisted she keep the flowers and grabbed them

out of the garbage.)

Great shoot!

7 PM

Not-so-late dinner, for a change!

Next morning

Back to airport.

Tried to stop at the place with the crates, but the door was closed.

Cammie vows to try to go back soon.

No lines at airport security. Yeah!

Can't wait to share these two stories in the magazine.

It won't be long now!

Cammie photographed for the blog on this shoot

and didn't get in any pictures...but she was there,

trust me!

Ki

The Patch salutes FMS Sew Pro Polacek!

It's nice to be noticed!

We couldn't be prouder that stitching maven Nancy Polacek -- whose work has figured prominently in some of Flea Market Style mag's most fetching features -- is the subject of a nice writeup on her sewing proclivities!

AOL's hyper-local online news service highlighted Nancy and her work here in today's Southwest Minneapolis Patch.

Vintage textiles are Nancy's metier; she sewed the pillow, above, from remnants of cool retro drapery panels found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena!

Want to see more?

Be sure to check out the September issue of Flea Market Style, where Nancy's stylish stitching is central to two stories in progress so far!

Kim