Southwestern Winds

I tried to blog here about a week ago, concerning the Olympics, but I had some issues with the graphics and ended up giving up on that idea.

Anyway, a week has passed, the Olympics are coming to an end, and I'm now blogging here again, this time about a different topic.  I recently took a road trip to the US desert.  July, in New Mexico, to be specific. I stopped and took pictures of some abandoned buildings that used to be part of the town of Cuervo, New Mexico. Here is one of them!

It occurred to me that the Southwestern desert is becoming a big trend in fashion and design this year.  In any case, it seems the desert influence is best used in subtle touches for maximum effect.  For instance, touches of stamped silver, turquoise, aged wood, sandy colored rope textures, leather, adobe, and Indian blanket motifs are very popular in clothing this year.

I decided to make a collection over on Artfire today to celebrate the Southwest.  Unfortunately, I can only link to it here, instead of showing the pictures, because it, too, is affected by a graphics issue. Not all of the pictures show when I try to display it here. I hope you'll get curious enough to follow the link and congratulate the sellers featured there. They have worked hard and deserve some support.

Southwestern Brown Scarf

I have a few Southwestern things over in my Etsy store, but only a few, and they are going fast.  I've not been able to keep anything with these motifs very long over there!  I have made the captions on these images clickable, in case you would like to learn more about these items.

The scarves, like this one, are perennial best sellers.  This one happens to be washable (for those who think vintage always means dry cleaning), and it's in the long, rectangular shape that is so popular these days.

I also found these interesting cups or mugs while hunting for vintage treasures.  I was intrigued by their unusual shapes, particularly the handles.  I did some research on the maple leaf mark on the bottom, and figured out they were actually cups from the "Mojave" pattern from Maple Leaf Pottery of Illinois (a division of Western Stoneware out of Monmouth, Illinois).  These cups date to the mid to late 60s, just judging by the mark and what I could learn of the pattern.  Very cool, huh?

Mojave Pattern Cups

Have you ever been to the Southwest?  What is your favorite part of the setting?  I think my favorite desert landscape includes mesas and a sunset.