Suitcase Saturday Score! - Victoria, Vancouver Island

A few years ago during a trip to the Northwest to attend a workshop with Nick Bantock on Salt Springs Island and Art Fest in Port Townsend, we spent a couple of days in Victoria on the southern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. We did some sightseeing, had a lovely tea and,of course, managed to get in a bit of shopping. I had to be circumspect, because the suitcases were full of art supplies for all the different workshops!

There's a wonderful little button shop on Trounce Alley.  Margot stocked up with supplies to make button stacks for shoes and I found this impressive scarab (that I used in an altered book about an early 1900's archaeologist in Northern Africa) and these great palette buttons that I put on a linen shirt as soon as we got back.

Around the corner we visited a stamp and coin dealer where I asked if they had any old torn currency - I hit the jack pot.  The proprietor brought out several vintage cigar boxes (I know!) filled with old francs, Deutsche Marks, crumpled lire, British issued war money (for use behind the front lines) and lots of other fascinating pieces.

It was a treasure trove and I felt like a kid in a candy store. 2 for a dollar, I set myself a limit of $20 and had the time of my life deciding which ones I couldn't live without.

And last, but not least, these brown loafers that I picked up in a Victoria thrift store for $6.00. My talented wife Margot of Sassy Feet worked her magic and turned them into these cool copper beauties!