Thinking inside the box

If you want to start a collection of compacts then you need to have a think about how to store them. They need to be protected from potential scratching and from bright sunlight which may cause fading.

There are some lovely vintage boxes around but I decided to make my own box to store them in as I love to make things and try out new crafts. I started with a plank of wood and ended up with this:

The box measurements are:

Height: 22 cm              Width: 27 cm          Depth :22 cm

I used wood from a local DIY shop where they sell off cuts from kitchen installations, felt lining from E bay, napkins for the decoupaged lid and some wood dye, varnish, and handles from Wilko. The materials used cost approximately £10.00 to make plus a good few hours. Here's how it came together:

After carefully measuring the pieces, I clamped the plank down and used a mitre saw to cut them, I also clamped a guide on top to make sure I end up with straight lines. My cheeky cat tried to help. I’d advise to do any woodwork outside to save the mess but unfortunately for me it happened to be a rainy day.

  

I never realised the amount of preparation needed to make a box square with straight lines and no gaps. I lined up the pieces to find the best fit and shaved off some tiny slithers of wood to make sure I had straight lines. Then I measured out and marked where I needed to drill to screw the pieces together, bearing in mind the thickness of the wood. I drilled and screwed, then spent a good two hours sanding the box shape down with an electric sander.

Then it was time to stain the wood using a wood dye, I applied 3 coats of dye allowing 4 hours to dry in between each coat. After 24 hours, I then applied the varnish and had to apply four coats as the new wood was quite thirsty. Before doing this, it’s worth trying out the dye and varnish of a test piece to make sure you’re happy with the colour before you cover the box with it.

In-between coats, I also spray painted the wood lid an off white colour as i didn’t want the colour of the wood to show through my decoupage. I then decoupaged the lid using paper napkins and decoupage glue.

I used a stand so I could stain all sides without getting the dye on anything it shouldn’t.

The decoupage took over 24 hours to dry and remained tacky for another 48 hours

Once I was happy with the finish, I trimmed all the edges and patched up any rough areas. I then added handles to the sides of the box for carrying.

I lined the box interior with felt to prevent any scratching and to give a softer appearance

Then I screwed the hinges to fix the lid and viola!!

Rookie mistake

I was cleaning my compacts a couple of days ago and it seems I have a confession to make. It turns out that the rose design compact I discussed in my first buy post wasn't actually my first buy, I can't believe I'd forgotten one! So to make up for it, here is my actual first buy:

This is a Musica or Musical compact, the name changed from Musica to Musical in-between the 1950's to 1960's. If anyone can help me identify a more specific date please don't hesitate to contact me. Its not much to look at from the outside and this example is showing its age however the inside is another story.

A wind up mechanism situated to the left and the small pin next to this allows the beholder to listen to music while applying their face powder from the compartment which is held behind the inner lid on the right hand side.

It reminds me of a musical ballerina jewellery box I once had when I was little. It saddens me how much stuff we throw away (myself included) which could have been passed on or held onto. Who knows, it could become a collectable one day! 

I have a challenge for you; is anyone able to identify the song?

Why Papilio?

You may be wondering why this blog is called Papilio compacts…. well.... I have an obsession for butterflies and the most precious Stratton compact I own is.. you guessed it.. a butterfly design! I’ll be showing you this along with my other little treasures later. Papilio is Latin for the noun, butterfly, and after much deliberation I decided to go with it.

Coming soon, you can also expect to see a ‘how to’ tutorial on cleaning up your compacts where I’ll give you some tips and tricks on keeping your compacts looking sparkly new.

One day I also hope to have a go at designing my own compacts, inspired by a fellow Stratton compact collector, Vanroe, who makes and sells charming luxury compacts. Vanroe also has a very  informative blog here: https://powdercompacts.wordpress.com/ where you can learn more about compact collecting and the Vanroe range. Vanroe’s success story was a huge inspiration to me in starting my collection and to start a blog with my own brand name.

The British compact collectors society (http://www.compactcollectors.co.uk) is also a good place to start if you’re looking for information about specific compacts. There is a Q&A section available for non-members but to get the juicy stuff, you would need to join. The membership comes with a logon to their website where members can ask and help answer fellow members questions. You’ll also receive a membership pack and quarterly newsletters containing facts about vintage compacts. I have recently joined and I’m eagerly awaiting the membership pack!

There are also several books out there about compacts and vintage beauty which I’ll be posting my own reviews of soon.

Watch this space!

My first buy

This is the first vintage compact I bought…(thanks to EBay)

This is a compact made by Stratton of England and dates back to the mid 1960’s to early 1970’s. The size and inner lid design helps to identify this Stratton compact and i’m 90% certain it's one of the more popular convertibles, designed to take solid as well as loose powder. Although the measurements are very slightly out so please correct me if i’m wrong.

The inner lid is designed to hold the powder in place, and this one came complete with the sifter. A puff would then be used to prevent the powder from spilling.

I was attracted by the delicate rose design and the fact that it also came with a matching lipstick holder - which I thought was very chic. The social history of these items fascinates me; I imagine being the person receiving this as a gift back then and thinking about what it meant to them. If you’re looking at starting a collection, I would recommend starting off with the compacts that you really like the look of before researching into rarities or focusing on a particular brand or period.

I’ve decided not to collect the lipstick holders although they’re kinda cute, and even include the type of lipstick on the base. However I do like the matching sets and think these would be an asset to any collection.

After buying this compact, I realised I wanted to research and discover more designs. I found myself on Ebay  more often than not and before I knew it, I was collecting.

Stratton of England are one of the biggest manufacturers of ladies compacts and because my first buy was a Stratton, I have decided to focus my collection on these for the time being.

I am still a beginner though and I may choose to expand into other manufacturers such as Kigu further down the line.  You can find a fantastic website here: http://www.vintage-compacts.com providing extensive knowledge on the Kigu designs. I however, like a challenge and will be sharing the research I find on Stratton which, although a huge manufacturer, seem to have little information accessible online!

Getting started

Okay so first of all i'd like to explain what I'm trying to do here... I collect and research vintage Stratton powder compacts as a hobby. I'm only a beginner and have lots to learn however so far my research has been limited by the little information available online regarding this subject. I hope to share the knowledge I learn and link to the resources I find to make it a little easier for potential or existing compact collectors to find information on their beloved treasures. I also enjoy crafts and hope one day to design my own compacts for fun. This blog will be a little mixed as I'd like to share my craft projects as well as cataloguing my own compact collection and research. I'm new to blogging - in case that isn't blatantly apparent so please bear with me and do feel free to give me some feedback.

For me, here's where it all started...I first discovered vintage powder compacts while browsing on Reddit. As a complete beginner, I recommend having a browse of r/makeupaddiction and r/vintagebeauty. There are some fantastic stories of fellow Redditors finding the first compact which caught their eye. Its a great starting point to explore ideas and there are some informative tutorials which explain how to adapt vintage compacts for personal use - you can actually put your own powder in them. Some collectors like to have a collection at home and a favourite for their handbag (that'd be me!). At this point though, I hadn't intended on becoming a collector at all. I was however attracted to the beautiful designs, and the social history fascinated me. I believe age adds to the allure of these compacts tenfold, and I had to own one to see for myself!