So we just moved to Austin, TX, and they have a city-wide garage sale once a month that’s a mix of piles of nappy old clothes and a sprinkling of collectors with neat little trinkets hidden amongst their old cowboy boots and postcards. Not quite Alameda, but still addictive.

This tin actually has the original tablets in it. The tin doesn’t open like you’d think- instead of just pulling the lid up like an Altoids tin, you have to push the red button on the top to pop it open. I looked like an idiot trying to pry the thing open at first. It’s a pretty clever little contraption.

What happened to companies caring more about user experience than profits? My company (YouSmellSoap.com) will always opt for lower margins and nicer packaging. Like that plug I just did?

You can buy a pack here.

Via RubyLane.

This here is a what you call a fancy schmancy find. All of these are from the same photographer’s studio, (in what I guess to be the 1800s) The Farmer Brothers in Hamilton, Ontario. vintage photo card, folks.

They would put their photos on these cards (much thicker than today’s photos), which acted as the frame and double as a trade card (aka business card). I love how over the top some of these get. I’m a girl…I like frills :)

I wonder what caused the jump from the organic, flourishy design to the much simplified, geometric style?

Image by John Rochon, via his Flikr.

Packaging work by Bessermachen.

One of my modern day heroes is Louise Fili. She’s brilliant, extremely talented, and her and her husband are so nice! My fiancé loves her husbands work, and I’m crazy about hers, so for our anniversary one year I sent them a book with a return envelope and asked them to sign it for us. I didn’t think it’d really happen. But not only did they sign it, but they gave us another book with their signatures in it as well. Who does that? So sweet :)

I first came across a shot of these Monarchs playing cards on Graphic-Exchange and had to go track them down to see the details. I’m a sucker for ornate vintage designs, and the gold on black is so sexy! You can buy a pack here.

Via Roberthuston’s Flikr

Here’s another green bean label, this time by Red Moon. This was made in the 1920s-1930s in Baltimore, Maryland. The lithographer was Simpson & Doeller. To give you a little more perspective, the label is 4.25″ x 11″. You can buy this one for your collection on Etsy.