When I opened my Etsy shop in 2009 the name 'Deer Path Vintage" came to me almost immediately.. I live in the north woods on an island off of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. From the moment I stepped foot on this island I felt a kind of enchantment that only comes from quiet solitude, fresh air, and the sights and sounds of nature's beauty.

The deer come regularly, quietly, through narrow paths their ancestors before them have cleared and kept smooth. The bucks are regal, the does are elegant, and the fawns are playful and adorable. (They WILL eat my flowers if I don't keep them behind fences. My only complaint against those beautiful creatures.)

It seems natural that my deep love for vintage goods should continue here, since they fit those categories: regal, elegant, adorable. But my home is a small cabin--something I tend to forget when I'm out finding old things I covet and just have to have. The solution, of course, is to buy them, enjoy them for a while, and then sell them at "Deer Path Vintage" so that others can enjoy them, too.

I love and collect many vintage things, but American pottery is my all-time love. The 20th Century American production potters often get short shrift because their items were manufactured in great quantities and seem ordinary to us now, but a slow, careful look at them will unveil the exquisite care and incredible beauty that went into the designs.

Many famous artists worked for American potters, including Eva Ziesel, Ben Seible, Rockwell Kent and others.

American utilitarian and art glass is pretty special, too. Makers like Blenko, Bischoff, Fenton, Stueben, Viking, Jeamette. Anchor-Hocking, Westlmoreland, could and did compete with European and Scandinavian glass makers for sheer beauty.

To keep it pragmatic, there is no more wonderful recyclable than vintage goods brought back and reused. They will never come this way again. Modern methods simply can't compare to slow-made, hand-made, hand-wrought and durable.

They are our treasures from the past. How lucky we are to still have them.