Vintage Store Score

My Vintage Store Score

My mission for the past few weeks has been to add some interesting bits and bobs to my food photography props so that I have more options when styling food shots. I have done tons of research and asked questions of fellow food bloggers to get the inside tips on creating visual interest. One of the most recent tips was to put “brown food” on a blue plate to make it pop, brilliant, but I didn’t have any blue plates. Blue plates shot to the top of the “must have” list and led me to my vintage store score.

The perfect blue milk glass plates to make “brown food” pop

Under The Toadstool is a quirky/funky vintage store in Bowmanville, Ont.  You will find buckets of old buttons next to a fox fur stole, on top of an antique sideboard that may remind you of the one your grandmother had in her dining room. Stepping into this shop is like time traveling in warp speed to many different time periods, I loved it! I think my absolute favorite part was fawning over all the gorgeous vintage dresses and linens. The attention to detail, feel of the fabric in my hand and the way these items are finished makes me wish I could take them all home. This particular green linen napkin caught my attention right away and was promptly placed in “my pile”.

Soft green embroidered linen napkin with scalloped edges.

This mini tea cup was the next item to make the cut, mostly because it was mini and had the most gorgeous purple colour on the inside of the cup. I could envision spooning a luscious, mousy dessert into it and serving it with a small silver spoon.

Staffordshire mini tea cup, numbered and stamped, must mean something but I fell in love with it just the same.

These milk glass hens were on a  little shelf quietly waiting for me to notice them. I think they will make an appearance in a rustic baked bread pic or perhaps a french cuisine inspired recipe.

Birds of a feather flock together, these milk glass hens were just to cute to leave behind.

This little gem was my lesson for the day, I was informed that it is an egg coddle. I bet you didn’t know that either……You take a fresh whole egg and break it into the coddler (see below) then screw the lid on and place in a pan of almost boiling water for about five minutes. You then have a lightly “poached” egg with out having it swimming in the water. At any rate, not sure I will be coddling my eggs but I am sure you will see this little guy again in a photo soon.

I learned that eggs like to be coddled.

The danger in shopping a vintage store for props is that you want to take it all home. Exercise caution and only bring home what you absolutely love, there will always be more treasures to find and new shops to discover. Happy Hunting!