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THE GREAT INDOORS: Meet Christine Keely of Etsy's Black Oak Vintage
Their West Philadelphia apartment is a gallery of found art, thrift store scores and family heirlooms that reflects the eclectic mix available on Black Oak Vintage.
THE GREAT INDOORS: Meet Christine Keely of Etsy's Black Oak Vintage
Reporter Meg Augustin takes you inside some of Philly's most fab dwellings to showcase our city's unique grasp on design and architecture.
When Christine Keely opened her Etsy shop, Black Oak Vintage, in 2010 she was an amateur collector 
and a budding entrepreneur. “Thrifting and antique shopping has been a hobby of mine since high school,” she says, “so [I jump at any] chance I get to make work out of something I genuinely enjoy.” Starting with a few items at craft fairs and flea markets, Christine soon realized that the online market was a bit more fitting for her vintage finds. For Christine, her shop began as a runover market from her own collection. “Buying for myself and the shop is synonymous,” she notes. Tour her home and you realize that’s an understatement. Nearly every other knick-knack sitting on an armoire or table has its picture on Etsy as well. Her partner, Adam, also has an affinity for thrift stores and flea markets and often travels with her to find new items for their home and shop. “Our home is a constant rotation of items we find,” he says. “Selling some and replacing others keeps things interesting.”
Their West Philadelphia apartment is a gallery of found art, thrift store scores and family heirlooms that reflects the eclectic mix available on Black Oak Vintage. The living room sports cream walls and a high-glossed wood floor that acts as a gallery space for Christine and Adam’s collection. One wall highlights several of Adam’s father’s paintings as well as a few of his own hovering over a found liquor cabinet and piano bench that used to be Adam’s grandmother’s. Another wall houses their record player (also from Adam’s father) and the accompanying music collection. Next to the player sits a conversation-starter from Adam’s college days — “a cigarette-covered [mannequin] head,” he laughs. “It’s really only suited to hold headphones.” More suitable is their re-appropriated kitchen light and table, the former being made of an old wagon wheel and string lights and the latter a table stenciled with a honeycomb print that’s found elsewhere throughout the kitchen. Open cabinets house a menagerie of glasses and vintage coffee mugs, above which hangs a Philadelphia park map and floral embroidery that is available in her shop.
Like the kitchen and living areas, the couple’s bedroom is a constantly changing palette of sweet finds. Their bed was a recent woodworking project made from shipping palates. “I want to get more into furniture,” Christine confesses, “to be able to pick up and make larger pieces for the shop and our home.” Her first project, the bed, has a perfectly distressed look that complements the Ikea lighting and retro alarm clock. Next to the bed, nestled between three sun-brightened windows, is a sitting area perfect for reading and afternoon naps accented with Vintage books and a glass cloche display. Christine’s desk is another amateur woodworking piece made from old barn scraps from Manayunk Timber. The desk is donned with ferns in vintage vases, antique equine photos and old Life Library books, making it a rustic, country retreat. The dresser is furnished with cut-glass candlestick holders and a vintage, tribal-looking tapestry clutch. Next to it sits a suit hanger that Adam had been pining for. “I had been talking about getting one, and the next thing you know, we found one sitting on the sidewalk!”
Luckily for fans of Christine and her home, waiting for the universe to send the perfect vintage finds isn’t necessary. Christine and Adam’s ever-looking eyes keep their home and their shop in a constant rotation of vintage bliss. For added luck, Critical Mass readers get an extra 10 percent off at Black Oak Vintage. Just use code ‘GREATINDOORS’ at checkout!
(megan.augustin@citypaper.net)
Photos by William McEwan
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