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Carnival Collectibles
Buttons, bows, tinsel, and trim still fascinate Marcia, who took over and expanded the family business in 1989. She especially loves vintage millinery trim—clusters of silk, velvet, and linen flowers that graced women’s hats in the 1930s and ‘40s.

A few years ago, she heard about a family who’d bought a house in the country and discovered a barn filled with thousands of never-used millinery flowers. She bought them all and sells them today for about $3.50 to $25 each.

“Those flowers have come full circle,” Marcia says. “Before they showed up in that barn, they were in a milliner’s shop a couple blocks from here. Now, they’re back home where they belong.”

(g) Three palm-sized sprays of flowers of an imaginary variety. Often, designers would create new “species” of posies in lovely shapes and not-so-authentic colors to match the hats or ensembles of the elegant ladies who wore them. (h) A lavish spray of deep rose “buttercups” still sports the original tag from the 1930s or ‘40s. “Most vintage flowers were made from fine fabrics and tend to hold up well over time,” Marcia says. (i) “Can’t you just see this blue gardenia nestled on the brim of a straw hat?”

(j) Lilies in a color not found in nature (Seventh Avenue, maybe, but not nature). (k) A decorative burst of clover. (l) Forget-me-nots in springtime hues. (m) A box of white fabric water lilies, discovered by Marcia in an upstate New York barn. “The flowers were sewn down one at a time, to keep them crisp during shipping.”

Fill your pockets FULL OF POSIES
Resources:

Marcia Ceppos sells trims from buttons to bows at her three stores in New York’s garment district—Tinsel Trading Company, The Store Next Door, and The Store Across the Street. To learn more, visit tinseltrading.com or call (212) 730-1030.

Marcia has also written a book, Tinsel Trading Company: Beautiful Bedrooms with Ribbons and Trim (2006, Sterling/Chapelle), that shows how vintage trim can be used in the home.

“Flea markets, antique shows, and tag sales are good sources of vintage trims,” she advises.

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