Yesterday I was wandering about an op-shop (thrift store) near our house, when I spotted these lovely old bottles peeking out from a corner. I’m not 100% convinced that they are genuine (the labels are in such good condition they look like someone has made them recently and stuck them on), but they are so cute that for just a few dollars, I didn’t really mind. I plan to use them as vases. I think they will look very sweet holding big bunches of lavender from our little garden.

I have a thing for old bottles. I love the cute graphics on the vintage labels and I find the glass bottles themselves incredibly beautiful. I grew up on a farm and when I was little there was an ancient corrugated iron water tank in one of our paddocks. The tank was filled to the brim with wonderful old bottles that some previous residents, long ago, had collected. I never understood why someone would keep their bottles in an old tank, but on recollection, maybe it was because they burnt their rubbish and the glass bottles weren’t flammable? For whatever reason they collected them all, I was always grateful they did. One of the sides of the tank was completely rusted out and the bottles spilled onto the ground. We weren’t meant to go near them (incase there were snakes, spiders and broken glass hiding inside) but my brother and I often snuck off to the bottle dump and rumaged for treasures. My favourites were the tiny bottles that once would have held medicine. I had a secret little collection of them.

Sadly, my childhood collection is long gone now, but these bottles remind me of many hours in the sunshine with my brother, collecting dusty glass treasures and tucking them away in secret hiding places. It’s a happy thing to be reminded of and maybe, just maybe, these pretties will be the beginning of a whole new collection.

Katie x