Happy Anniversary!

So it’s been exactly a year since I first opened my shop, though not since I’ve been selling.

I had a shop called Schaufenster before this one where I sold a little bit of vintage and a little bit of art and a little bit jewelry. That shop branched off in Curious Knopf, Schaufensterbabe and Augenblick Photo.

But then again, even this shop has changed a lot since I first opened it. Originally I intended to sell vintage buttons, hence the name Curious Knopf, Knopf being the German word for button.

I’ve gone from selling vintage clothing to vintage clothing and housewares to vintage clothing and jewelry.

I like where I am now, focusing mainly on vintage Trachten and other folkloric clothing as well as my own handmade jewelry.

To celebrate I’m offering 15% off of everything storewide until the end of March. Just apply the coupon code oneyearetsy at the time of purchase and the discount will come off automatically. Xoxo :)

Baubles for Babes

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on my blog, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. My shop has undergone a bit of a over-haul because I’ve decided to specialize more in vintage trachten clothing like sweet and sassy dirndls, as well as other folkloric clothing. The pieces I choose are always very wearable and won’t give anyone that costume-y feel. Nothing can make you feel more like a woman that a curve-hugging dirndl. What other clothing can make you into a sex bomb and a sweet innocent girl all in one stroke? But I digress. The main reason for this post is to introduce you to my ever-expanding jewelry section. So here goes:

1. Vintage Photo Jewelry

These pieces are made from high quality copies of vintage photographs out of my own collection. I have only a handful of styles right now, but will be adding a lot more soon. To take a closer look, click here.

2. Berlin Cemetery Series

I’ve always been a sucker for a “vintage” weathered graveyard. Luckily, there are two fabulous ones within walking distance of my apartment filled with rusted wrought iron fences, crumbling angels, dilapidated art deco crypts, the works. They inspired this new series of jewelry made from polymer faux clay marble I used to make an imprint of the beautiful engravings there. To take a closer look, click here.

3. Bakelite and Celluloid Jewelry

This is my “oldest” jewelry section featuring pieces made with vintage goodies like celluloid gumball charms and Bakelite. Each piece is entirely one of a kind. To take a closer look, click here.

4. Natural History Series

Minimalist series featuring pieces inspired by my frequent jaunts in the Naturkunde Museum here in Berlin. To take a closer look, click here.

5. Lace Imprint Series

Modern style meets vintage inspired. I make these simple, geometric jewelry designs out of hand-mixed polymer clay which I then imprint with vintage lace. To take a closer look please click here.

Viva la Vintage AND handmade!!

Vintage Photo Jewelry

I've been collecting vintage photographs ever since I was a teenager. I used to spend hours at this junk shop in Bancroft Avenue in Berkeley looking through the boxes of old photos they had there until one caught my attention or moved me in such a way that I couldn't leave the shop without it.

This photograph was one I bought there. It's been with me for over 16 years and has moved in and out of at least eight different apartments (before I had kids, moving was a sort of hobby of mine. I still get the itch sometimes, but our apartment is really great and it would be a shame to leave it....)

Recently I decided to start making jewelry with some of the photographs in my collection. I use a laminated high quality copy of the original photograph like this one of a sexy 60s woman. I bought a set of photographs on ebay, the other one with her in the same pose but with her button closed and the skirt down (the more modest position.) I had them nicely framed and am giving them to my husband for Christmas.

Ebay (at least in Germany) is great for vintage photographs. You can get almost everything for only a Euro, I guess because there aren't many collectors out there. I paid a little more for this set of photographs, but they still definitely weren't expensive.

I'm planning on making a lot more of this jewelry after the holidays. Some of the photographs used will be from my own family, like these of my Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam was the black sheep of my mother's very protestant German-Russian family. You can read more about him here.

Happy holidays everyone, and happy vintage hunting! :)

Chaos Ensues

Sometimes I'm not sure being a hobby photographer is actually any good for the branding business side of running my vintage shop, Curious Knopf. Most of my favorite vintage clothing shops on etsy have a simple, neutral background, usually gray or maybe white. I guess the closest I got to this kind of a feel were the original photographs I took in my stairwell. I liked them because the light was so beautiful and the gray color on the wall so warm.


But views were generally pretty low, though I don't really know why. Perhaps because all the photos were close-ups, something that can not really be changed since I work primarily with a macro lens.

I recently took some photographs in a parking lot across the street from my apartment which has this funky green wall with peeling paint. Above the green is a tacky mural of what looks like the Golden Gate Bridge, though it is probably a bridge in Istanbul that looks similar (which would make sense since this is Kreuzberg, Turkey's third largest city...)


But people kept on walking by from the Gewerbehof in the back, and although they didn't say anything, I still found it distracting and therefore not much fun. Though I had the benefit of natural light, I don't think I'll be taking photographs there again.

I've also taken lots of photographs in several of the crumbling old graveyards in my neighborhood (though, come to think of it, the last photograph is actually the outer wall of an art deco public toilet on Chamisso Platz.)



Although I like these photographs they do take a bit more "Aufwand" since I have to carry the clothing to said graveyards and said art deco public toilets...

A large majority of my photographs (both modeled and on the dress form) I've been taking between the doors of one of our front rooms, the one that serves as a library/dining room/office, better known as "the Grafen Zimmer" after my husband's particular heritage.



Not a bad background really, but a bit tricky sometimes with the placement and most definitely with the lighting.

My newest love is the light green wall of our bedroom.



Lovely color and with the added benefit that I can use one of the walls near a window.

And then, there are also the handmade jewelry photographs, most of which are definitely in the spirit of Schaufenster.


Yes, I definitely spend a lot of time on my photographs (come to think of it, quite a few of my posts here on this blog have been about them), albeit in a rather impractical way. Then again, I'm a bit of a chaotic creature myself so I guess this fits. Perhaps chaos does ensue, but chaos indeed does also rule. What can you do in the end other than just be yourself? ;)

Dirndls, Trachtenmode, Bavaria, Oh My!

One of the most amazing things about being a foreigner living abroad is how clearly you can see certain things that the native locals simply cannot. Take, for example, Trachtenmode.


Trachtenmode is the traditional costume of Bavaria and Austria, best known in its form of a dirndl and Lederhosen to the rest of the world. But there are also lots of dress that are "dinrdl light" (no apron, no frilly blouse) and adorable long country style circle skirts. At its very best, Trachtenmode is colorful, playful, feminine with just a touch of frill and often covered in Alpine flowers. It just doesn't get much cuter than that....


Yet when I show this clothing to my (German, but not Bavarian) husband he always says "No way! You can't wear that!" His cultural conditioning has just blinded him to how great they really are. Luckily there is a whole world out there with women who just might see the cuteness that I see. ;)

Shop Update: Kind of Blue

I'm not really sure why but, with the exception of navy I've just never worn much blue. Maybe I have it partly in my mind that it's a better color for the blonde and blue eyed, though a brighter blue also does look fabulous on someone darker. The good news is, if you are a fan of blue in its more royal, sky and icy shades, then I have a lot of goodies right now just for you in my shop. Bis bald! :)

Photographs Schmotographs...

Sales have continued to be pretty much non-existent at my shop this week. Although I'm pretty relaxed about it and have come to terms with the fact that it is (hopefully...) just a stroke of bad luck, I've also decided to try out some new things. I recently asked people on the forums if they prefer a dress form/mannequin or a live model for clothes and people overwhelmingly said live model (something I found kind of surprising since I definitely prefer a dress form.) A chic friend of mine has volunteered to model the size mediums next week, but I thought I'd also give it a go with the larger sizes.


Although this vintage navy blue pleated skirt with white art deco style z's is actually too small for me (as is all the clothes I model) I pull it off for the picture I think. But I guess that's the question I have: Do I just pull off the modeling or does it actually make the clothing more interesting?


Do you prefer something like this?.....


To something like this?.....


Non sequiter I know, but isn't this vintage 1960s dirndl adorable?


Anyway, in the end I'll probably just end up mixing the different type of photographs together, including those on the Berlin walls, but any critiques, personal preferences or insights would be most appreciated. :)