Wednesday, August 4, 2010

A for Alaina


I've been wanting to start a collection of vintage storefront letters - all A's - for quite some time. I saw this oversized red A on Etsy and it got me wondering if it would be better to have one giant A, or a huge collection of them. And once I had this collection where would it go? Is it silly to just do one letter? Or is it better to make a word? Or monogram? Should I even attempt to stick to a certain color palette? Or go bananas and grab whatever I find? Ideally I'd have one giant marquee A that lights up, much like the vintage B I saw at Brimfield in Andersonville. Of course they were selling it for around $750. No thank you. And I haven't had much luck perusing eBay. So that will have to wait. What are your thoughts, my confidantes?

15 comments:

  1. I say go crazy and pick up every "A" you can. As for where you would put them...I'm at a loss. :]

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  2. I love this idea too! I have been searching for "S"'s since I got married. I wanted a bunch of different sizes and colors to hang on the wall as you enter the house. Kinda like a welcome to the "S"tanding house! It's a great idea and I think you should go for it. But I would say either scale down the size and go for tons of colors or, go big and go neutral!!!

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  3. I would pick up an electic mix of A's. You know, different sizes, colors, fonts, textures and hang them on a wall in the entryway or stand them up on a table. I can picture it now.

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  5. Hi from a fellow Syracuse design student!

    I, like you, have an A name and being that I'm a graphic designer I am obsessed with typography! I have been wanting to collect A's for a long time - I think it's more fun and interesting to have a collection of different sizes, colors, fonts, etc. I think I would hang them in an entryway or office - I would only want one large one in my bedroom (or on my door)

    Good luck in your search!


    http://dreamsandjeans.wordpress.com

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  6. Hey Alaina, I saw these on Etsy the other day http://www.etsy.com/listing/37622869/hand-made-metal-letters-12-inch?ref=sr_gallery_27&ga_search_query=metal+letters&ga_search_type=&ga_page=2&order=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title ,and you can choose the color you want. I like the idea of spelling something out, like Sixx Design did with "Desire" at the Hoboken gym they designed.

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  7. I have been wanting to do the same thing. I was thinking of doing a large F (for my last name) in the center and then surround it with smaller f's.

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  8. http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=16815151&navAction=jump&navCount=

    perhaps?

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  9. Hi Alaina! I love the idea and think it'll look fab if you pick one blank wall and fill it up with A's of all shapes, sizes and textures. I posted on something similar to this not too long ago (although it is a nursery inspiration pic, I'm sure you'll get the idea) I think picking the right wall will deem the most challenging! (How about that wall in your dining room that faces the entrance to your apartment?! Just a thought.)
    http://highheeledmomma.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-07-27T08%3A24%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=5

    -Best of luck!

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  10. I agree- variety is the spice of life! I'd collect any A that suits your fancy- it if resonates with you, the uniformity of A's would be striking no matter how different they all are!

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  11. Okay, because I love you so (I realize I don't knooooow you, but ya know... blogger love:))- I did a little research. I don't really agree with many of the other comments saying that you should collect many and fill an entire wall.

    I think in this case, less is more. 'Many' would detract from the uniqueness of that one (or those few) amazing letter, and would look 'busy' or 'scrap-bookish.'

    Here are a couple examples of ideas that I found...

    APARTMENT THERAPY~
    http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/roundup/filling-a-large-space-with-letters-099141

    REAL SIMPLE~
    http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/decorating/tips-techniques/decorate-home-letters-numbers-10000001612798/index.html

    HOUZZ~
    http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/6330/list/Literally-Literal--Using-Letters---Language-to-Decorate

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  12. Great idea. En plus 'A' is a pretty letter. I think Victoria on sfgirlbybay has a collection of 'V's.

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  13. Loooove the giant red A! Cute idea Alaina! I got a cardboard one at Papersource and decorated it, a bit five year old of me but fun none the less!

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  14. Yeah, I have to agree- perhaps not too many! And maybe stick to neutral letters, plus the one pop of color?
    I love creative headboards, like the bookshelf one at Ikea... You could create a backdrop above your bed made out of letters.

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  15. Hey from a fellow chicago blogger, I wanted to say that I really like the idea I have also been on a quest to find different letters for my wall, I have a couple of A's and S's for our family's initials. But what I really wanted to tell you is that the the randolph antique market in chicago has a lady who comes every month to sell all kinds of letters from signs - she had a bunch of light up one that were huge all the way sown to small brass ones and her prices were pretty decent. I picked up a few of the smaller ones but the 25/26 of september I think is the last weekend she's going to be there for this year.
    here is a link to my blog so you can see some of the things that she sells I took a couple of pics last time I was there.

    http://candidkoosh.blogspot.com/2010/09/antique-market-in-heart-of-chicago.html

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