Give a Hoot Owl Madness Jewelry Galore at Texas Vintage Love Them or Hate Them These Birds Are Here to Stay
Hoooooooottttddd Thought So Many Owls in Texas Vintage?
I adore Heather Lewis of Texas Vintage Things. I noticed she's sort of got this "owl thing" going on over at her Texas Vintage Etsy Shop. It jarred some memories of my childhood so I thought I'd share.
I was always scared of owls as a kid, partially because of the tales I'd heard. My great grandmother's family was from Greece, and my great grandfather's side from Italy. "Owls" have been a long subject of discussion in our family.
The Greek side of my family, had owls everywhere. Considered a good omen in times of Ancient Greece, the sight of an owl would mean battle victory. They meant strength, and so you can imagine, there were owl statues in the house, stone ornaments in the garden, owl brooches, pins, necklaces, and the "infamous macrame owls" that were holding potted plants on the veranda. I have to admit, no matter where you went there, it was creepy. The fact they could turn their head all the way around made them magical in their own right, I suppose, but still, it was strange. I also heard the story that owl eggs were said to have magical powers, so I was told if I'd ever happened across one, to covet it. (I thought to myself, whooooo the heck happens across unhatched owl eggs and how am I related to you again? )
Enter the Italian side of the family--learning from centuries of Romans who were taught to loathe them. The Owl was not only bad luck, but impending doom, and most often, death. The superstition was, someone around you was cursed to die, maybe even yourself had an owl made it's appearance to you. If it landed on your house, you were as good as dead. I suppose, over time, being that people do die, a few deaths and owl sightings together just perpetuated this superstition for generations to come. Owls were forbidden in the house growing up but luckily, not too many were hanging around the trees near my house in Baltimore. (Ironically I did find a parakeet though, had that sucker for 11 years too!)
I've always decided to take in all the information and make my own judgements on things. I suppose my love for the original Clash of the Titans movie (Harry Hamlin, oh yeahhhh) and that crazy little chatterbox mechanical owl named BuBo, taught me that owls are harmless unless you're a mouse, or one of the humans that choose to that fear them.
So, you really should stop over to Texas Vintage on Etsy and check out her owls. She also has another shop called Mattie Reid Chicago which featured handmade and upcycled jewelry. I love Heather's blogs where she interviews lot of different artists, I read the one for Texas Vintage Things and one for Mattie Reid Chicago. for both shops as well.
As for owls, you may also enjoy these Fun & Strange Owl Facts:
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| Monet Brooch in the Texas Vintage Etsy Shop, $15 |
I adore Heather Lewis of Texas Vintage Things. I noticed she's sort of got this "owl thing" going on over at her Texas Vintage Etsy Shop. It jarred some memories of my childhood so I thought I'd share.
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| Love them or hate them, they are unique and mysterious. |
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Vintage Gold Tone Hoot Owl Pendant Necklace, $40 |
The Greek side of my family, had owls everywhere. Considered a good omen in times of Ancient Greece, the sight of an owl would mean battle victory. They meant strength, and so you can imagine, there were owl statues in the house, stone ornaments in the garden, owl brooches, pins, necklaces, and the "infamous macrame owls" that were holding potted plants on the veranda. I have to admit, no matter where you went there, it was creepy. The fact they could turn their head all the way around made them magical in their own right, I suppose, but still, it was strange. I also heard the story that owl eggs were said to have magical powers, so I was told if I'd ever happened across one, to covet it. (I thought to myself, whooooo the heck happens across unhatched owl eggs and how am I related to you again? )
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| Pair of stone owl brooches, $20, a true bargain at Texas Vintage. |
Enter the Italian side of the family--learning from centuries of Romans who were taught to loathe them. The Owl was not only bad luck, but impending doom, and most often, death. The superstition was, someone around you was cursed to die, maybe even yourself had an owl made it's appearance to you. If it landed on your house, you were as good as dead. I suppose, over time, being that people do die, a few deaths and owl sightings together just perpetuated this superstition for generations to come. Owls were forbidden in the house growing up but luckily, not too many were hanging around the trees near my house in Baltimore. (Ironically I did find a parakeet though, had that sucker for 11 years too!)
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Vintage Gerrys Gold Tone Red Rhinestone Eyes Hoot Owl Brooch Pin, $15, great for January birthdays as it looks just like garnet! |
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| I own this, little owl Radio, and so far, he's harmless! |
As for owls, you may also enjoy these Fun & Strange Owl Facts:
- Searching Etsy brings up 68,000 "owl" tagged listings under all items? L@@K HERE!
- Die hard collectors call themselves, "Owlaholics". In fact, they have their own official publication you can view here explaining why people collect owls and where the people collecting originate from.
- Owl folklore is all over the web, like here.
 Buy a Tootsie Roll Owl Getup for undder $90 on Amazon. I've seen it all now! |
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- Another famous character, Woodsy Owl (Smokey the Bear's partner, and an offical government Park Service mascot) actually had a Public law called the Woodsy Owl Act passed for him in 1974 to protect his image? Imagine that! Public Law 93-318)
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| Woody gets his own public act passed, and my in laws can't afford health care.....what's up with that? |
- A high quality "Owl Mascot" costume can be yours around $1600, and make you look like a real giant owl, or you can choose a "cheesier" version HERE for under $1000. If any of you know anyone walking around in one of these things do send me a picture.
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| If you want to look like Oliver Owl , it's certainly gonna cost you. |
Love 'em or hate 'em, they are everywhere!
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