~ savannah antiques ~

I don't claim to be an expert in the Savannah vintage/antique scene (because I've only been there twice and only been to three shops total), but from my experience, little that it may be, Savannah is a vintage-lover's dream.  Last weekend I visited Alex Raskin Antiques, the Wright Antique Mall, and Southern Charm Antiques, and today I'm going to do my best to describe each as accurately and fairly as I can.

Alex Raskin Antiques:
Last year when I was in Savannah, we went into Alex Raskin's store (the basement of a large house) and snooped around for an hour or so.  Little did we know that we had only seen one out of four stories - so when we went back this time, we climbed every staircase (even though I had to be nudged up the final one thanks to a mild case of vertigo), peaked into every room, and heard every floor board creak as we cautiously passed over them.

The house itself was built in the 1850s - it's a beautiful representation of its era, complete with exposed beams and peeling paint.  Some might cringe at its slightly-dilapidated state and yearn to restore it to its original glory, but I strongly feel that it should be left alone to sag and creak as much as its 165 year old self wants to.  In some rooms, you can clearly see the passing of time and fading of styles by counting the layers of wallpaper that are peeling off the wall and will eventually flake to the floor.  The carpet has years worth of dust settled into it, the railings on the staircases are well-worn, and the house itself has clearly been well-loved by every generation of occupants, past and present.  To cover and sand and strip and paint would be disrespectful to the house's spirit (if you believe in that kind of thing, which I do).

      

      

Wright Antique Mall: 

I have a shocking number of photos of the Wright Antique Mall - zero, in fact.  Probably because I was way too excited to find several racks of vintage clothing, and boxes and boxes of new old stock hairnets, hair pins, and stockings (in my size!!!), from the 40s and 50s.  I already regret not buying more of the stockings (the opposite of buyer's remorse), but I did stock up on hairnets and postcards, so that kind of makes up for it.

Southern Charm Antiques:

Within fifteen minutes of getting into town, we found a parking place, ran into Southern Charm Antiques, and ran out with an amazing 30s hat, all before the meter ran out of time.  So, mission accomplished.

Southern Charm Antiques was cram-packed with vintage clothing, vintage jewelry, vintage shoes, vintage hats, furniture, dishes and silverware, grandfather clocks, and a plethora of odds and ends.  I easily could have spent two hours sitting on the floor, rifling through the stacks of magazines and brochures.

In between the shopping and snooping, we attended my best friend's graduation from SCAD (yay!!!), I got to walk in her senior fashion show, and we moseyed through blocks and blocks of beautiful parks and historical houses.  I miss it already.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ scad day ~

Today I got to see the Savannah College of Art and Design, and let me tell you, there was a lot to see!  Since the campus is pretty much in the heart of downtown Savannah, touring the campus was basically getting a historical education as well.  Not only does this college offer many interesting majors, but everyone I spoke to was nice, informative, passionate about what they're doing, and reassured me that my life goals are not impossible - something that was very refreshing!

The photography building was incredible - super sleek and modern with amazing resources (large format printers, a HUGE darkroom, and students can rent the highest quality equipment!)

{I fell in love with this camera!}

I didn't get many pictures in the production design building, but believe me when I say it was AMAZING.

And look who I found in one of costume studios!

I also got to go on a tour with my friend Alex, who is an evening wear designer at SCAD - I've modeled for her several times and her designs are spectacular!  Remember her name because I know she's gonna make it big!

After exploring around, mommy and I grabbed lunch from the SCAD International Festival in Forsyth Park.

 

My interests have kind of shifted through the years.  Just a few years ago I was seriously considering fashion or costume design, when I was really little I wanted to be a doctor, but now I've decided on photography and production design.  Since I'm completely fascinated with historical costumes and their use in film and television, I figure why not combine the two, and that seems to fall in the broad category of production design and (possibly) art history.  So for now, I'm exploring all of my options and remaining open to anything that interests me!

Thank you so much to my wonderful mommy for being just as excited and interested in the campus as I was (and bearing with me through 6 hours of exploring darkrooms, massive costume rooms, walking blocks and blocks, and talking to an incredibly attractive admissions advisor)!  Today would have been really super weird if you hadn't been there.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ savannah ~

Tonight I'm blogging from my hotel room in Savannah, GA!  After two failed previous attempts to make it up here, we finally packed up the car, made a picnic, charged the camera battery, and made the drive.

It was cloudy this morning but the sun finally broke through at lunch time.

After we checked into the hotel and rested up a bit, we explored the downtown area and found many beautiful things...

The first stop?  Savannah Bee Company!

Then we found a really neat little shop, but I didn't catch the name.  I'll try to find it tomorrow!

We spent the rest of the day exploring and then met up with one of my best friends for dinner!

Tomorrow I get up bright and early to explore the Savannah College of Art and Design!  I'll post more pictures later...

xoxo,
Eliza