For more than a dozen years — yikes! Can you believe it has been that long? — we have pursued this quirky passion of working with people to put together old letters in different fonts, sizes and materials to create what we call WORD ART.

Recently Jim Gruettner, co-owner with Kevin Toomajian of Marengo on Union, a popular San Francisco bar and restaurant, stopped by Timeless Treasures and began experimenting with different combinations of old sign letters.

Soon Jim explained his idea — to create the phrase WHISKEY BAR to hang at the entrance to the area where they feature fine wines and whiskeys, along with sliders and salads, in what UrbanDaddy.com calls “an outdoor oasis on Union Street.”

The vintage letters, as you can see here, add an informal but striking design detail. But to fully appreciate the inviting atmosphere, stop by for a bite or a cocktail — you’ll find Marengo at Union and Buchanan St.– and see what awaits you. If Jim or Kevin is behind the bar, be sure and compliment them on their colorful, clever word art.

Jenny Price, who works her creative magic on special requests from customers around the world who have discovered us by googling, assembled the variations for AIDAN shown below using a mix of materials, sizes, colors and type fonts.

Our method for coming up with what we call “word art” — words and phrases made up of vintage letters salvaged from discarded store signs and theater marquees– requires collaboration and a sense of fun with people who go for the look and feel of “the real deal” of found objects with a history.

Tom chose a combination of letter options, which are now enroute to Nebraska. We’re eager to see how he decides to spell out Aidan.

Last week Alice So, a San Francisco aficionado of handwritten (and decorated) correspondence, popped by and spent several minutes checking out our vintage rubber stamps. She chose a variety for her collection, including a one-of-a-kind set of vintage stamps with names of musical instruments.

Then a few days ago, we received the most amazingly clever and unique and personal package in the mail. Stunning! Colorful! Enchanting!

Words fail us, actually. See for yourself, both front and reverse of Alice’s one-of-a-kind envelope.

If you’re a scrapbooker, a collage artist or a snail mail correspondent, we invite you to stop by and see the vintage ephemera we’ve got in store for you.

Imagine how delighted your friends will be when they go to their mailbox by the front door and receive your surprise! We applaud people like Alice who make the dying art of letter writing really come alive.

We find them very appealing for another reason –they are designed and produced right here in the Bay Area. San Francisco art director and designer Christina Weber transforms a seemingly utilitarian object — the everyday dish towel — into a whimsical art textile. She collaborates with a printer in Oakland who hand silkscreens each one onto high quality linen/cotton from Poland.

Great for drying wine glasses without leaving lint and silverware minus any fingerprints, these tea towels are equally suitable for framing as a simple “pop” of subtle color in a kitchen or breakfast nook.

We are especially smitten with Christina’s play on words with the “T” for tea towel, and now have in stock the four patterns shown below, available either in pairs ($42) or as singles ($22): the Stripe Tea Towel set, shown on the left, comes in willow and mineral. The Flip Tea Towel duo comes in mineral and cinnamon. Each towel measures 18″ by 26″.

You can see Christina’s clever suggestions for using a towel to gift wrap a bottle of wine or champagne, as an oversize napkin to protect your dry-clean-only pants, to tuck into a waistband as an apron, and other details by clicking here.

The next time you’re invited for dinner or a weekend away, consider packing a pair for your host or hostess. Then when you offer to dry the dishes, you know you’re in for a treat.

As a gift for someone in a new place, or as a small wedding present for friends you want to congratulate with “a little something special”, these tea towels are easy to mail.

Take, say, the juxtaposition of a vintage fire engine and a SLOW sign.

A few days ago, as we were creating displays of new merchandise at Timeless Treasures, San Francisco, the old hook-and-ladder was placed on top of a sign laying on a table.

A bit later, someone noticed the apparent contradiction, and commented about how we can all be “so much like a fire engine, racing through life,” and the SLOW sign is a reminder to — yes –slow down.

Not terribly deep stuff perhaps, but nonetheless an interesting observation.

The antique fire truck came from the estate of a Bay Area toy collector, and the SLOW sign once was a roadside warning. Maybe one would be an appropriate gift for someone you know who has a special birthday coming up, for Dad on Father’s Day or for yourself to add a sentimental element to your decor.

She takes covers from discarded hardbound vintage books, often cast-offs from libraries or schools, and remakes them into journals and notebooks. We placed our first order just before Christmas, and customers snatched up the unique and different, as well as eco-friendly, gifts made from children’s books, cookbooks and vintage books about writing and editing .

Earlier this week we received a new collection, including titles chosen by Michelle especially for Timeless Treasures. We’re especially smitten with Margo and the Tiger, shown above, which would be a marvelous gift to commemorate the Chinese Year of the Tiger (2010), and Le Francais Vivant, a perfect place for noting details about a trip to Paris.

Each one contains 75 pages of unlined white paper and is bound together with a sturdy wire spiral. You can choose from our current selection at Timeless Treasures on Sutter Street, or see Michelle’s online store here.

These intriguing notebooks remind us of what Oscar Wilde said about journals. “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something interesting to read on the train.”

Eager to help her “long distance”, we suggested she email us when they found out the baby’s sex and chose a name for him or her.

So in August, Tara sent us the details: “Okay! I am ready to order the letters…. the name is Briley.” The color scheme for her daughter-to-be’s nursery was chosen — lime green walls, black furniture, hot pink and turquoise for accents. “No brown, no pastels,” Tara emphasized. She wanted mismatched letters, and since she planned to hang them over the baby’s crib, “I’d like them to be fairly big, but not TOO big.” And finally, she added, all the letters didn’t have to be pink, green or turquoise. “I just like the ‘junk’ look.” I can’t WAIT to see what you work up!”

With that guidance, we chose three options for BRILEY from Timeless Treasures’ current store stock, took snapshots on the sidewalk on Sutter Street for the excited mom-to-be, and awaited her decision.

As you can see, Tara chose the mix in the lowest row shown above. Briley arrived in December, and a few weeks ago her proud mama shared the photo of her snuggled in her crib beneath her name.

All we can say is, “Sleep tight, Briley!”

You can see more of Tara’s work, which she describes as a mix of photojournalism and creative portraiture, here.