Not Just an Old Thing
In HankiesHandkisses you will find beautiful antique and vintage products such as:
- Antique wax crowns from Globes de Mariee,
- vintage millinery flowers,
- and mittens and gloves ready to use.
However when we find them, they are not in such state. They usually look so horrible that you would not even spend a second looking at them. Thanks to our experience and formation, we have learnt to see the soul of the things.
We put a lot of time, effort and expertise in each product to transform it from and old item to a treasure for our antique store.
The first step is the research. Most of the times we find our treasures in flea markets, auctions and old states, but sometimes we are just visiting a friend and see something… One never knows where our next project will be. There is not rest, we are always looking around.
Second, we choose what to restore because many old things are in so bad condition that restoration is just impossible. Sometimes we have to buy a full bunch of things, just to select one.
Then, we clean it. When decades and sometimes centuries go on, there is more than dust accumulating in many products. Insects, mold and even rodent’s drops are just some of the gifts that time gives to us.
Next step depends on what product we are working on. Sometimes we need to add new materials such as laces, or wires; sometimes we buy or use materials from other products from the same time; and sometimes we can work with the original materials.
In any case, the result is an item of the like it was in its origin. We respect the original design and try to use the same material as the first time, as silk, antique leaves, original beads… Our objective is that you can wear and feel like yours very special items from past times.
Notice that we may offer items in any of these conditions:
- new old stock,
- original condition,
- cleaned and/or restored.
We restore, but we do not do magic
Even when the items have a great looking, they never stop to be products with several decades at their backs. And we want they look old! This is a part of its charm that we will never remove (only the dust and dead spiders).
As we always say: Please, do not consider our items if you are looking for something new: these are actually something old. You cannot expect to wear 100 years-old mittens to a party without them being damage.
If you have doubts about what you could do with something, contact us, and we will do our best to give you an accurate idea. We will be pleased answering any question, sending extra pics and inform you about how to preserve and enjoy for many years your vintage flowers, wax crowns or lace mittens.
However, keep in mind that we cannot know how you will treat the product, how your body is or how the product will react to the weather in your place. We will be honest and tell you our opinion, but the final decision is only yours.
