Vintage Atelier 2013 | A Year in Review

In the month of May of this year I made a big move for Adored Vintage and that was to get myself a little vintage atelier! A vintage work studio all of my own with lots of natural light! You know, that was my FIRST and most IMPORTANT prerequisite for a work space? Lots and lots of natural light! I am crazy for spaces that are white, bright, and clean. And all the light is also most needed for all the vintage clothing I photograph for the online vintage shop! 

I've moved around the studio, not even joking, a dozen times. I'm never fully satisfied with the layout and feel I must constantly change it. Shift it. Move it around. I can't stand when spaces becomes stale and stagnant. I'm never inspired in spaces that just don't evolve and change. 

Although I've only been in this space for 8 months I am already outgrowing it. So who knows what 2014 will bring! 

So some common questions I get asked about my work studio are the following...

1.] Where did you get your vintage dress forms?

2.] How many clothing racks do you have?

3.] How do you shoot your pictures for your online store?

4.] Where did you get your racks? 

5.] Where did you buy your wooden hangers?

So answer those...

1.] My collection of vintage dress forms have been sourced from antique shops, flea markets, and a sewing supply company in downtown Los Angeles. Yes, they are expensive! I'm still on the hunt for a size 0 vintage dress form and 0/2 lingerie form. So if you know of any...let me know! Expect to pay $200-$800 for a vintage dress form.

2.] Last I counted I had 20. I constantly feel like I need more, but there's no room to put them!

3.] I shoot all my vintage clothes against an off white wall near the large windows in the studio and use only the sun as my light source. Check my blog post about How to Photograph Vintage Clothing.

4.] I got the rolling collapsible racks at store supply stores in Los Angeles called ACME Display. The white racks are from IKEA (and only $10!) While they're not racks I'd permanently have, they work well and I like how minimal they look. The industrial pipe racks my fella built for me using pipes and wood from Home Depot.

5.] I bought some of the wooden hangers from Store Supply Warehouse. Most of them I got from IKEA. I did the math on the amount I needed and IKEA hangers were a bit cheaper (I think by like 6 cents hanger) If you want hangers with notches for lingerie or pants hangers, then definitely Store Supply Warehouse!

For more photos (and a list of where I got a lot of my furniture in the studio), Apartment Therapy did a Vintage Workspace Tour of Adored Vintage this past summer!

A Shop Update Without Vintage!

Since my arrival back from the City of Roses, I have been craving more flowers in my life. As if that's really possible! But tis is! I designed a different version of business cards for the Summer. I'm rather pleased with how they turned out. I was dining at Edgefield and one of the restaurants had this gigantic gorgeous floral wreath with ribbons taller than myself! I remember it was golden with touches of pink and some dusty blue...I was smitten! At first I thought of recreating the imagery on the studio windows, but well, I haven't time for that at the moment.

Also during my trip I had come across a rather lovely small collection of vintage portraits. I didn't know who the gals were and I ended up buying them all up, but much to my sadness, they were misplaced somewhere and they did not come home to California with me. *le sigh* But, I was determined to find a photo of a young woman who embodied that same wistful look as the young lady who will be gracing our new "Thank You" cards.

Next, I was inspired by Lauren from Dear Golden to get more racks in my studio! So this morning I purchased 6 new clothing racks for the shop and plunked down a tiny investment for more wooden hangers. To stay within this month's "studio improvements" budget, I purchased the very economical MULIG clothing racks from Ikea.

The balance between getting the studio functional and also an inspirational space to work in is always going to be a welcome challenge.

I love that the Adored Vintage studio is an ongoing process and will always be in a state of progress. I don't think it will ever be "finished" or be exactly as I want it. Every month I look forward to adding new things in the studio. I'm still on a hunt for the perfect Art Deco era wardrobe, the "perfect" antiqued mirror, and a large rug for the main showroom.

And in about 3 months I'll tire of it all and will want to switch it up again. The images below is sort of the feel I want in the studio. Kind of lived in, homey. Like you're just walking into my dwelling space and it's full of awesome rad vintage clothes! The last two pictures from Fine Little Day is what convinced me to go with the MULIG clothing racks from Ikea. Cost effective, clean lines, and completely functional.

Now, I will say their weight capacity is not a whole lot, but if you're like me and don't want to pack your racks with tons of hangers, these will work for your space too. My more industrial racks will be used in the stock room now. Hooray organization!

Pretty Racks: Antique & Vintage Dresses from the 1900s to the 1940s

If you follow Adored Vintage on Instagram or fan us on Facebook then you've probably seen the flurry of vintage 1930s and vintage 1940s dresses I've been posting! (BTW, Instagram and Facebook are the FIRST places I post previews...*hint hint*) So here is a larger preview of the racks of pretty vintage and antique clothes coming to the shop in the next couple of weeks!


I hadn't realized how much I love cranberry, burgundy, and wine colors until I put these racks together. I'll always love pale pink and peach, but in the colder months I apparently gravitate towards darker versions of my favorite colors. (It only seems natural!)

You can always send me a message rodellee@adoredvintage.com if there is something that has caught your eye and you would like more information on a particular vintage garment.

And do LIKE us on Facebook to see the previews first!

Atelier | Tiffany Tuttle Los Angeles Workshop

I am always so inspired by other people's workspaces and ateliers that I decided I'm going to start posting some of the ones I find on here to share with all of you. And retail shops too. I love combining interior design, vintage, and fashion all together which is probably one of the reasons I move around my vintage work studio all the time.

Today I'm featuring shoe designer Tiffany Tuttle's workspace in downtown Los Angeles. I have to wonder how big her workspace is as most of the photos are of her mood boards (albeit they are really super cool). My own work studio for Adored Vintage is pretty small at perhaps 250sq ft. Maybe it's a bit bigger than that...but it's pretty cramped feeling sometimes.


I love the fencing mask in her atelier. It's such an odd and beautiful thing to have in a work studio. Sometimes I wonder what certain objects in workspaces mean to someone. Like, what about it inspires them to create and be productive?

Photos by: Jesse Fiorino and you can see the original post over at RACKED LA

Just Processin' Stuff

I feel like I lived 3 different lives this weekend. Past, Present, and Future. Do you ever have those weekends that go by so slowly and yet you feel like you've done so many things?

Saturday was so hot in my work studio that I pretty much just lazed about bemoaning the heat while sipping at a gigantic serving of peach and blueberry iced tea (with fresh mashed up fruit...mmmmmm) I snapped some photos here and there of the studio and when I got home to look at the photos it made me realize I'm due to upgrade my camera. *le sigh*



Woooororroroororfgghhh. That's me just shaking of stuff. New week! It's rare I'm glad it's Monday. Monday, bloody Monday.

But this Monday is bringing a lot of things to the table and just dealing with things one at a time and feeling good, well more hopeful about it.

The weekend was really balanced and I need more weekends like that. Spent some solo time, made lunch for a girlfriend and I, went on a date with the fella, Church fellowship on Sunday...upgraded to an iphone 4GS which isn't a big deal to most people, but I'm not really a techie person (in fact I didn't even have a cellphone until I was 23-24, haha) so to me, was kinda a big deal.

How was your weekend?

Vintage Workspace | When Things Get Messy

I've been wanting to change the layout of my vintage work studio for a few weeks now as the current layout just isn't conducive to the way I want the space to function.

So, on Saturday, with the help of my beau and my friend/assistant, we moved around the studio. There's still more that needs to be done... but I am the kind of gal that really loves before/after photos and tracking progress. So, here are some snaps of my vintage atelier when it's one hot mess.


I had to move all the racks out into the hallway of my studio. Luckily on Saturday I'm the only one that goes to work on my entire floor, so this wasn't a hindrance to anyone.



Moving my work table to the other side of the room and facing the windows. I'll be adding pinboards right along this wall for inspirations and what not.


A vintage mess... I have a lot of plants in the work studio (and plan on getting more) I definitely want a garden feel in this space.


And here are the strong fellas! We still need to install curtains to help protect my vintage clothes from the sun. And of course I haven't even started to organize and decorate (my favorite part!)

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I am planning on putting a little sitting area right by the window. I've always imagined I'd have a pot of tea or coffee in the morning with croissants and fruit (I do have a mini fridge and a microwave here!)

So many plans for the future... I can't help but get really excited and want to skip ahead a few steps. But there's definitely a lot of small changes happening and there's been a lot of adjusting. It's been different and nice.

More photos soon!

Vintage Atelier Inspiration | Haute Hippie

Today I had to call a showroom owner to get some marketing/merchandising advice (for my day job, not A | V) and was introduced to this brand called Haute Hippie. I think somewhere along the time of me living in LA I've heard of this brand but never really cared to look it up until today (since I had to, for research)

I saw these AWESOME photos of their stores in New York and I am totally completely in love!



This is definitely the direction I want to go in for ADORED VINTAGE when the time is right. For now, wishful thinking and dreaming...but always nice to have something to work towards and look forward to.



So on Friday I am picking up some new industrial clothing racks for my vintage atelier! I'm getting a deal on them from one of the showroom owners I know here in LA. Yippie skippie! At first I was only going to buy 1 since I only have space for 1, but I figured they're such a steal I better buy all she has!

I think over the summer I'll really put some more effort into decorating my work studio. I've been liking the layout for the most part right now, but I know there has to be a different way of placing things so the space is utilized in the best way.

Right now it's just mostly a really pretty storage room...

Vintage Atelier | Inspiration for the Studio

This past weekend I visited my friend, Richard, of A Current Affair: Vintage Marketplace at the Cooper Design Space so we could chat a bit about upcoming projects. The Cooper Design Space is home to many, many showrooms in Los Angeles and I've never really bothered to explore any of them. But on Saturday, I did, and I snapped a couple random iphone pics here and there.

And it got me to thinking about my own space... not that I'm not proud of my vintage atelier, it was even featured on Apartment Therapy: Inside the Lovely Studio of Adore(d) Vintage...



But I do want to change it up. It's becoming more and more just a storage space. And while it makes me immensely happy and feel at peace every time I go there, I just want some things to change.

Most of these are from Opening Ceremony Showroom and I do not have nearly the same amount of space...but one can dream, yes?

Vintage Wolf Dress Forms: My Undying Love

I don't know what it is about vintage Wolf dress forms, but whenever I come across one my heart starts to race. Ever on the hunt for the prized size 2 vintage dress form, I was about to call it quits when right at an opportune moment I saw one hidden in the back behind some its newer friends. I inquired of said vintage dress form in which the kind man replied:

"You don't want that one, it's used." He chuckled softly. "See it's ripped and it's so old."

Oh no, no, you don't understand," I explain, "I would rather have this old one than one of these new ones! I love these vintage dress forms!"


And 10 minutes later it was paid for and arranged for delivery. And so now, I am the very proud owner of a vintage Wolf dress form in a Junior size 10. Will I still be on the hunt for another dress form? Of course! But, three seems like a good number for now.

Isn't it weird that all my vintage dress forms are a size 10? And yet they're all completely different modern day sizes...

Vintage Atelier | A First Look Inside the Adorevintage Studio

Well, the vintage atelier is finally coming around. You can see some before photos here and some progress photos in this post. And if you follow me on Instragram (adorevintage) or Twitter (adorevintagecom) you've probably seen my mini adventures with moving stuff around and painting this place.


There's still a lot more I need to do. I just bought sheer white curtains, still need to move in my large industrial storage lockers, get another garment rack, and replace all the plastic hangers to wooden ones (I have two boxes of hangers I need to actually use!). Oh, and I have a ton of art I still need to hang up! I'm really happy with how it's coming along, but in about a month it will definitely look a little more put together! But, anyhow, for now, here is my vintage work studio! If you're in LA, I'll be taking appointment only visits on Saturdays!


Here's my building!


The studio is pretty much a square-ish box with big windows along one entire wall.


The start of my studio garden. I want to get a lot more plants in here and I need pots! I'm fortunate enough that my building is a couple blocks from the Flower Market and there are lots of garden shops close by that's pretty cheap.


Yeah, it gets kind of messy in here.











The hallway. All the walls are painted bright white. I love it!