A Royal Birthday

Last Friday was my birthday and I was happy to celebrate it in Montreal. My sister hosted a really lovely brunch for me and I got spoiled with a few antique gifts that I thought I'd share here.

Firstly, I asked for this Air Mail envelope back in October and was delighted to receive it from my grandma. I haven't done much research on it, but it's the only black striped Air Mail I've ever seen. It's definitely from Austria but has American imagery on it.

For the Winter Solstice, I got this tin from my Aunty Annette, it's a very detailed and rare tin of George V and Queen Mary (Victoria's grandson and Elizabeth's grandparents). At the time it was the oldest in my collection. It spurred my interest a couple weeks ago to look for others from the same period.

After a not-so-subtle hint to my mother, she 'surprised' me with this little delight. It's from the Coronation of Edward VII and  Queen Alexandra in 1902 and originally held chocolates. (Edward was Victoria's son and the father of George V). Perhaps mostly strikingly, teal was a very uncommon colour on British monarch tins and the reds have held up well.

Next, I bought this one of George V and Mary for myself. I hadn't planned on it but an unknowing seller on eBay listed it for only $8 (in antique stores, this would go for about $75.) It's from 1911 and is incredible condition.

And lastly my grandmother got me this little gem (also an eBay steal) of again the Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra.  It's so tiny and precious and is my favourite of the bunch.

In between Prince William and King Edward VII, I have tins from six generations of the royal family. The only British monarch that I don't have a tin of is Queen Victoria (they're aren't any that pre-date her reign.) I was researching her  and searching for deals online when I decided to take a little break from this collection and save that last piece of the puzzle for next year. It will be something to look forward to.

You can see some of my other tins from this collection here.

A Year of Birthdays!

Last year for the 2011/12 holidays I illustrated two postcards and sent over one hundred of them to friends all over the world. I was happy to have done it but what I didn't consider was how much time it would take to collect everyone's addresses and write out dozens of personalized messages, during final exams nonetheless.

So, this year I've come up with a new way of sending a little bit of love through the mail. Instead of sending postcards for the holidays, I'm going to do birthdays! Since January 2012 I've been saving those email notifications that facebook sends out to tell you which of your friends are celebrating their birthdays that week. I've been keeping track of them in a little calendar at the back of my address book. My plan is to set some time aside every Sunday and write out postcards for upcoming birthdays.

I illustrated this card today and I plan on making a couple more birthday specific ones. I'm already a little behind on January birthdays so I have to get a batch of these printed pronto! If you'd like to receive a postcard from me and you're not sure if I have your address or not, email me at meagsfitzgerald[at]gmail.com.

April’s Showers Bring May’s Flowers

It’s true that it has been raining quite a bit here in Halifax, but I mean the title of this post a bit more metaphorically. I’ve been investing a lot of time into some endeavours that will hopefully pay off. I’ve also taken a two week vacation from the FOUND Photobooth series as I’ve been applying for grants and planning parties. Here’s what I’ve been up to…

Firstly, I’ve been taking acrobatics classes through the Halifax Circus and just love it to bits. I’m astonished at the muscle mass, flexibility and new friends I’ve gained in such a short period of time! The acrobatics, combined with doing yoga daily have revived a connection that I lost with my body during my student and traveling years. Anyway, I’ve been dedicating a lot of time to working out and soon as I master the perfect backhand-spring, I’ll post video here.

Secondly, it’s my birthday in a few days and I’ve decided to throw myself a Wes Anderson themed birthday! I’ve been sitting at my sewing machine working on my costume and some decorations. Here’s the invite I made to mimic Eric Anderson’s drawing style on the dvd cases. I’ll share some photos of the party here.

Thirdly, this past Wednesday I was running some errands and decided to pop into an intriguing antique shop I’d never been in before. I didn’t really know what I was looking for and generally speaking this is a high risk situation for me and my wallet. I got chatting with the owner about British Royal Family tins (which I collect), and she told me how the CBC had called that morning, looking to do a story on young people’s interest in the Royal Family, which she was convinced, there was none. Lone behold on my out of the shop I bump into said CBC crew and they decide to showcase me in the story. We filmed in the shop and I shared my knowledge of Royal Family memorabilia. (The expression “bull in a china shop” could just as easily be “camera guy in an antique shop”). When we finished they asked if they could come home with me to see the rest of my collection, I said yes of course and thanked a higher power for sending me the impulse to clean my bedroom that morning. Long story short, the bit will air nationally during the dinner hour and all throughout the day on the CBC 24h News Channel on Wednesday the 27th.

Lastly, my friend Becky Johnson, who is incredible in a spectrum of ways does a craft tour across North America every summer but this year her beloved car died. She is raising money so that the trip is still possible and she offers many sweet deals for your dough. The fundraiser only lasts another 5 days, visit here to learn more about it and to donate!