Photo A Day #14 Brooch

This is my friend Laura's very special brooch that she recently acquired in Paris. I have the whole story, so I'm going to tell you all about it! Laura is a fellow collector of beautiful things, and has a big collection of Lea Stein brooches. I'm hoping to do a little feature on her collection sometime for you!

Anyway, this particular brooch is one of Ms Stein's earliest creations, from around the late 1950's/early 1960's. It's a one-of-a-kind as well! It was discovered in a flea market in Paris, at Porte de Clignancourt, Le Puces (The Fleas). The lady who Laura bought the brooch from had a couple of years earlier been chatting to a potential customer about all the things she collected, including the Lea Stein brooches. She was telling this older lady about how amazing Ms Stein's work was and how many pieces she had collected and how beautiful they were. After several minutes of gushing about Lea Stein, the customer said, "I am her, I am Lea Stein" I think that the flea market stall holder just about fell over and was quite embarrassed by her gushing. But Lea Stein told her that it was very special to meet someone who appreciated her work so much and now they are 'homies' :)

So Laura got the very special one-of-a-kind Lea Stein brooch from a lady who actually shook hands with Lea Stein. It gives the special piece an extra piece of special-ness, a lovely memory to go along with it. I noticed Laura wearing this pretty one today and thought it HAD to be photo of the day!

I love seeing what other people collect. Are any of you guys collectors? What do you collect? I have a pretty big collection of vintage cameras and also porcelain critters, mostly salt and pepper shakers! They'll get a look in a bit later on,
Kitty. x