BRIMFIELD...I've been to my Mecca!

I was lucky enough to get a "free"(my credit card) airline ticket to Boston so I timed it with going to Brimfield.  My vacation is over but boy, did I have fun!

I stayed with friends and visited Newport, Rhode Island to see the summer homes of the insanely wealthy.  I ate Lobster Rolls and New England Clam Chowder.  Yummy,  I love lobster although I've been trying to go vegan  Oh well, I'm not perfect.

Next day was on to the Minuteman National Park.  We timed our tour so we got to watch and participate in several tours.  Wish I had pictures of us re-enacting our version of the militia all ready to meet the British on the road to Concord.  We were lined up and drilled by a militia park ranger.  It was hilarious, informative and fun.  Then we went on to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Louisa May Alcott, Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne to name a few.  Finally on that day we went to The Old Manse where Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne both lived.

On to Brimfield on the next day.  What a fun and hot day that was!  Brimfield is a town that has the largest flea market in New England three times a year.  I didn't buy much, just a few mementos.  The prices were comparable to the prices at shops here and the stuff was pretty much the same too.  I loved just wandering and checking out each booth.  There are hundreds of them so I didn't get to see them all.  There are several fields with 50-100 different vendors.  Different fields open on different days to keep the crowds coming.  I will try to post pictures from my phone.  I plan to return another day.

Palm Springs Vaca

I'm heading to Palm Springs with a friend for a whole month...We're driving down and going to stop in San Fran for a few days too.  I really need a break although I can't complain about the Portland weather this winter.  My roommate is going to man my Etsy shop and when I return, spring should be in full swing,  Any ideas on what to do there?  I've never been.

A Little Bit of This and That

I have no rhyme or reason to what I have in the Etsy shop.  It's a great pastime though!  Here's a few items that are coming and going in and out the door.  Visit the Etsy shop  because things are flying off the shelves and you never know what I will find next....should I post Christmas things too or wait for the season to come around again?  I have TONS of really fun and gorgeous Xmas from kitschy to Victorian.  Let me know if you think I should focus on Xmas too.

Pictures Are Tough!

So now that I'm trying to do more on Etsy I have to get real about taking close up pictures of stuff.  It's hard!  I researched the internet and finally am getting a more professional look.  I made my own light box out of 5 pieces of white foam core from the dollar tree, a gooseneck lamp and a roll of white paper. Taking the pix with my cell phone (using the "square" option) produces a much better product. Now I want to retake all the photos of my previous listings...they look gross.   Check out my latest listing and see how much better they look!  

Happy New Years....and Resolutions

I miss the blog even though I don't miss manning the shop!  My freedom is wonderful and I am truly enjoying it but I still love to shop.  Sorry, I am incurable as far as the shopping part goes.  It is a disease but I guess things could be worse.  So my New Year's resolution is to get busy with my Etsy shop.  That way, I won't get buried with stuff and I continue to shop...just not so much for the furniture but I've always loved the little stuff anyway.  This is a sampling of my "junk" that I need to start listing...I have a place in my heart for ephemera, crafty stuff, and just plane fun stuff.

And I am a nut about Pinterest so keep posted and watch me actually quit wishing and start doing things with the Pinterest ideas, for instance, my kitchen desperately needs a remodel but I want to do it on the cheap.  We will see where I go with that!

The Doors Have Closed

Sad to say but Sonya and I closed the shop at the end of September.  It was a good five year run but we wanted to reclaim our lives, spend time with family and RETIRE!  So it is, the shop is empty and the door is closed one last time. Sonya continues to have a mall space at Monticello Marketplace at 87th and SE Stark in Portland. Who knows?  Maybe we'll see you there??

Spring Cleaning Is Well On It's Way With 25% Off Ending Soon

We have done some cleaning and rearranging and it looks great.  The "garden area" is decluttered and the "living room" area is tidy. 

Monticello Spring Fever!

We are done setting up for the spring show at Monticello.  It's always so much less stressful than the Christmas show, especially when the sun is shining too!  So here's a preview of our space..

PS  The 25% off sale at the shop ends soon so get on into the store!

Happy Anniversary to Us....25% off to you!

It's our fifth anniversary and we are celebrating with a gift to you.....25% off of everything (except the Milk Paint and Jeanne d'Arc).  Come in soon before it's all gone.  We need to clear the decks so we can start the spring cleaning in our barns and garages....they are filled to the brim with stuff too.


This was opening day five years ago:

This is the after five years:  What a difference!

How To Display

Many of our customers are other vendors and even if they aren't, they want their homes to look interesting too.  People always comment on how nice the shop looks so I decided to start sharing some of the "tricks of the trade".  I love wandering around antique malls and shops but sometimes it's just plain painful to look at so here are three simple rules to follow:

1. Decorate with groupings of uneven numbers.  In the photo below we grouped the focal furniture in a set of three...the settee, the chair, and the coffee table.  Then grouped the settee with another group of three...the cat, the pillow, and the saxophone.  Even the table top is in a group of three...the coral, the cloche, and a glass inkwell (not very visible in the pix, but it is there).  Even when you dissect the display further, the chair has it's own grouping...the chair, the ottoman and the sax. 
2. Use small, medium and large or short, tall and something in between.  Don't have everything the same size or shape.  When I hang pictures I try to have a long picture, a large picture and a small picture together.  You are decorating a home not a museum, so make it  cozy, warm and inviting.
3. Group things with color.  The colors are white,  French grey, and tan in my example.  I run around the shop saying to myself, "white, French grey, tan" and look for anything in those colors.  Sometimes I even enlist the customers in the search.  It's like a scavenger hunt.  The display would look gross if I threw some red in there.

 

What's Old is New Again.....The Real Milk Paint!

We have been busy trying out different products from The Real Milk Paint.  If you saw the parlor set that has been in the shop for a while, then you are in for a shocker.  We've tried disguising and covering up the upholstery but the whole idea is to sell the stuff!  Here is a peek at the original....

The bones and upholstery were great but the pattern and colors were atrocious.  "Nothing a little paint couldn't cure" said Sonya.  What's to lose?  We would need to recover it if it was ever to sell.  So out came the brushes and the milk paint and "voilà"....

More is left to be done (i.e. waxing the wood and burnishing the fabric) but the initial results are to die for, don't you think?  How sweet it is!

A Little Birdie Told Me

Spring is coming early this year...I am sure of that because I just feel it.  This winter has been not so bad, only one week of cold weather and that was it.  For some reason I just think it will be an early spring.  I sure hope so!  In any case we are going to run with it and offer a class at the shop.  It's a repurposed book made into a sweet bird house.  Toni is a crafty crafter who is the instructor. The class will cost $25 and consists of 2 sessions on two Saturdays, February 15 and 22 at 2 pm.  Just call the shop (503-661-7359) or drop on it and we'll sign you up.  This is a sample of one of Toni's creations:

Here are some other little birdies that we have right now.  We look forward to seeing you too in the shop!

 

 

It's Showtime!

We have completed setting up for the Christmas show at Monticello Antique Marketplace in Portland, Oregon.  The show officially starts Friday, November 22.  Here is a preview of our space.

The December Issue Is Here!!

Get your copy before we run out!!! It is so beautiful and a real keeper.

Halloween!!

Boo to you!!

If It's Halloween, Can Christmas Be Far Behind?

I have always cringed when stores bring Christmas in before Thanksgiving.  Now, being a shop owner, I do understand the rush.  Christmas is what provides most small businesses enough funds to survive the rest of the year.  Although Christmas isn't in the shop yet it won't be too far off.

The new Jeanne d'Arc Living Magazine is in the shop now.  It is gorgeous!  Makes me want to sprinkle snow outside the door....here is your sneak preview.

Repeat After Me...I Will Not Hoard

Okay, so, I am going to start purging the hoard.  I am truly getting buried in stuff and with Christmas coming it is starting to bother even me!  So I will be bring more things in to the shop in the coming weeks.  Until then, I am starting to fill up our Etsy shop.  You can view our items by clicking here.

As I list I am researching and finding out lots of interesting details about things we have in the shop.  For instance, the artist who created this worked for the Saturday Evening Post.  How cute is this little puppy?

Autumn French Nordic Design

The new issue of Jeanne d'Arc Living is here. Such wonderful fall pictures that you almost forget about summer waning! Here is a sampling of what "Nordic French" design is all about.

And on a side note, I just got back from the annual trip to Reno with my sisters. It has been a family tradition for over 20 years and now includes nieces and friends...but only the girls.  I come from a family with gambling fever in our blood.  We used to have large family reunions with out of town relations since lots of cheap airfares were available to Reno from lots of towns.  One of my best memories of those days is of my dad at the blackjack table with a big grin on his face cracking up the whole table with his jokes.  I play everything but I love craps the most.  Anyway, needless to say I will return next year to visit some of my money!  It's back to the ole grindstone for me now. 

Vintage Halloween Memories

I have such wonderful memories of Halloween in the 1960s.  We used to drag out the trunk of dress up clothes.  It was full of antique bits and pieces of apparel smelling a little of moth balls. I was always a gypsy, my brother was a lady (pretty cute with a butch haircut and converse shoes).   We would be out for hours, it seemed, with our pillowcases of nickle candy bars.  I guess that's why  I love the vintage Halloween decor so much.

Milk Paint Success

I finally painted a major piece of furniture  using French Blue milk.  It is a sweet little oak buffet I found it at a barn sale.

Here is a picture of the buffet before.. That is before gluing and sanding.  I sanded the piece because the finish was coming off from having been stored in a barn for years.

This is after the first coat of milk paint which took all of 10 minutes to complete.

And here is the final result after the second coat and waxing with "Good old brown wax"  by the same company as our milk paint..The Real Milk Paint Company".  I think it turned out gorgeous and the wax gave it a nice finish while adding a lot of depth to the color.  I must say I am quite proud of myself and amazed at how easy it was.