About a week and a half ago, I traveled across the Blue Ridge Mountains to the quaint town of Gordonsville, Virginia, to pick up a package of scraps of quilt tops. Yes, I could have had the package shipped to me, but I wanted to meet Leney and see first-hand the beauty of her curated brick and mortar.

As I have written before, I am passionate about artisan-made, heirloom-quality goods, and when I stumbled upon the @folkling Instagram account and read the captions of the photos, I felt as though I had met a kindred spirit! Here was someone else with a similar ethos who was living out that passion! Leney offers beautiful vintage and handmade goods for sale to others, and in her own life she deliberately chooses to add beauty to the mundane tasks of life and purposes to give new life to old things, which you can read more about here: https://www.folkling.co/journal

Back in June, Folkling announced the offering of vintage t-shirts printed with the slogan: “The Future is Vintage.” In thinking about those words as I went about my own tasks, the thought struck me that if we as a society do not stop living the disposable, consumer mindset, there will be no vintage goods to pass down to future generations. When all of our furniture and clothing and other household goods come from big box stores/mega corporations where price and convenience matter more than quality and endurance, we are robbing future generations the joy of discovering and using vintage goods in their lives.

These thoughts are making more determined than ever to make changes in my own life—I want to start making more clothing for my daughters and myself. My daughters have loved wearing the old dresses and bonnets that my Grandmother made for me when I was a child, which my mom saved for me.

When I do need to buy something, I want it to be handcrafted by artisans I know or are at least located in the USA, if at all possible, unless I can find a suitable vintage good. And while I will still make a few beautiful, practical, unique items to sell, I really want to teach skills so that you can sew, knit, or crochet beautiful soft goods that will be treasured for decades or centuries to come, such as the items that were made by previous generations and are now available to buy at Folkling.

If you live in Virginia, I highly recommend visiting Folkling at the brick and mortar location. They are open from 10-6 on Fridays and Saturdays. For the address or to shop online, you can find the website here: https://www.folkling.co/

While I was inside of the store, it felt like I was in a beautiful museum, where all of the exhibits were available to purchase. Leney does such a beautiful job of curating and styling these treasures.

I wish that I could have brought these beautiful pieces home with me. The blue and white antique blouse features handmade buttonholes and hand-finished seams!

This blouse is available for sale on the Folkling website and you can see more lovely photos by clicking on the photo below.

And when my husband saw the photo below, he said, “That looks just like something you would wear!” Yes, it does.

Another thing that Leney and I share an interest in is quilts, and I immediately noticed these stacks when I went into the store.

And when I turned to walk out of the store, I noticed her amazing collection that she has stored above the door!

During my visit, I also met Owen, who was mending his jeans while we chatted. I asked if I could take a picture of the two of them together in the corner of Folkling. I had such a pleasant visit with them, and I hope to return to their store in the future. Fortunately, it is a beautiful drive through the mountains and countryside of Virginia. To read more about their story, you can click here: https://www.folkling.co/about-us

I walked out of the door carrying this adorable little package with a lovely note from Leney. Soon on the blog, I will be sharing what was in the package and how I am using what I bought.

If “The Future is Vintage” then it also follows that “Today’s Handmade is Tomorrow’s Heirloom.” Okay, so my slogan isn’t as cute or catchy, but I hope that you will agree that decisions we make today will affect the future in many ways.

"The Future is Vintage"