Who is Edith and Evelyn?

We get asked a lot, “Who is Edith and Evelyn”?

Edith is my mother.

The strongest woman I have ever known.

We didn’t have much growing up and always struggled to make ends meet.

 A stay at home mom as so many were in those years,

when my father suddenly died at the age of 51, my mother  found herself a single mother

with no work experience, and two children at home to raise.

She found work, sometimes working two jobs to provide for us.

She already knew how to be thrifty and frugal, but she turned it into an art form.

Rising early on weekends, she hit the yard sales, usually dragging me right along with her!

Edith wasn’t shy about picking up something on the side of the road out of someone’s junk pile.

 I was with her many times when she would pull up to a house on a country road and ask if she could look through the junk in their barn or field.

She rarely got turned down……so she must have been charming……. as well as thrifty!

She could turn anything into an object of beauty!

 She did it out of necessity.

I thought she did it because she was creative, artistic, and talented!

 She decorated our small home with antique furniture

that she re-finished by hand.

Twice a year she would have a big sale, selling her re-purposed wares for extra cash.

People in our home town would mark their calendars for Edith’s next sale because she had such great treasures!

I grew up with the junkin’ bug, inherited directly from my mother!

She was a DIY like no other, there was nothing that she couldn’t make, she could re-purpose anything,

and see an ugly piece of junk and know instantly what she could turn it into!

Edith was an  “American Picker” before it was cool, and a vintage retailer without even knowing it!

 I don’t go into a flea market, pick up an antique, browse an estate sale,

or pass a barn in a pasture filled with junk, that I don’t think of my mom.

 

Evelyn is my mother in law.

One of the daintiest little ladies you would ever meet…….with beautiful red hair.

She loved to be pampered, loved clothes, shoes, handbags…….and jewelry!

Especially pearls!

Evelyn loved all beautiful things and she was a collector……of …a…lot…of……stuff!

She never….ever….threw anything away!

She didn’t believe in having one of something……..she always felt multiples were much better!

 Today, she might be on that show about hoarders!

Evelyn saw the beauty in everything………..including me.

 She loved me like her own daughter and was the best mother in law a girl could ask for!

 She and my mother were complete opposites, but  hit it off immediately upon meeting the first time.

They loved to “junk” together.

I lost both Edith & Evelyn years ago, but I have felt their hands on my shoulders guiding me on this journey.

 I have a love for vintage, antiques, and home decor with a little bit of “do it yourself” thrown in.

For years I wanted to do something involving that passion, and three years ago, decided to take that leap of faith

and opened Edith and Evelyn Vintage.

I feel Edith & Evelyn with me……

guiding me……..

and cheering me on.

When I talk about Edith & Evelyn Vintage,

I catch myself using a lot of  “we” and “us“…….

that’s because Edith & Evelyn

are on this ride with me!

Edith & Evelyn Vintage is in honor of them!

“Sometimes you are delayed where you are because God knows there’s a storm where you’re headed.”

Be Grateful!

Many Blessings,

          Cindy