he is headed on a mission trip...

My 16 year old son is headed on a mission trip tomorrow morning at 4 am...gone for 12 days...I am so excited for him...a bit freaked out for me...although he has gone to various camps for a week at a time...he has never been gone this long... I am glad that I have loads of work to do while he is gone...cuz I am gonna miss that boy!
headed to work on the estate sale today...will post sneak peek number 1 tonight!
have a great day~

running moving sales and estate sales...

One of my very favorite things about my business is that I get to help people. When we get hired to do a moving/estate sale, I try to make everything look good, almost as if you walked in to a store. (of course, the prices are estate sale prices...) And we try to be as personable as possible...
we have been in Bend, Oregon, working and executing a moving sale...and now we are beginning a very large estate sale in West Linn...it will be held in July (more details to come)...so we will be super busy with the store, STARS mall space and the estate.
Why am I telling you this? My blog might just be a bit quiet the next few weeks as we are sorting and pricing...I will try to blog pics of new finds for the store...and pics of the estate. One thing that I am always asked? Do we buy things from the estate for our store? The answer to that is an emphatic NO...we don't buy unless things are there for the last day at half price. We don't make ANY bids on items...and my workers do not get to pre buy anything! they do get to shop the half price day first, but that is it~
so...with all of that said...this is an estate sale that you don't want to miss...super super fun items...lots of mid century AND antique items...
should be a blast!
more details to come...

Where bloggers create...my workshop...

all of the magic begins in this wee little house...
surrounded by my favorite vintage statuary and plantings...
with clay and tin, dirt- seeds and plants...
blooms and greens and tiny statuary...
in my tiny greenhouse...
the garden angel stands guard...
with drawers of supplies and Mike the cat giving advice...
plants in all shapes and sizes end up in my store...
in funky "junque" planters...
with a bit of vintage humor- lover frogs...vintage garden tools...
I create and sell funky garden accessories...with fallen birds nests and moss...
domes, cloches and silver...
wheel barrels and drawers and workbenches...
flower frogs, garden books and "garden hose" displays...
I will plant almost anything...tin drawers with china lovers...toolboxes with ferns...
steel and glass cabinets become displays...
even the silverplate bowls aren't safe...the ferns look a bit elegant in silver :)...
but mostly- I want you to feel as if you have walked into a garden room and can feel the dirt in your fingers and the sun on your face...and the blood pressure falls...and you are content.
it all starts in the little greenhouse in my backyard...and the finished projects end up in my store, mall space, or at garden shows...
thank you so much for Karen at mydesertcottage.blogspot.com for sponsoring this wonderful event...I look forward to checking out all the other blogs where women create- I so love the magazine "where women create"- it has become my favorite magazine of all time- and if you haven't checked it out- run and buy it- you won't be disappointed!

antiques or art? the thrill of the found object...

I am finding more and more that I find myself digging at estate and garage sales for the little things...
unusual pots or objects that I can plant in creative ways (my greenhouse is becoming more and more an "art" space)...
I hunt for anything with letters on it...for tags or collage or creative bulletin boards...
ribbon and patterns and flash cards and black & white photos...
buttons or antique papers or bits and baubles...
I am finding more and more that I am enjoying "creating" rather than selling furniture and dishes and other wonderful junque...
do you suppose that I am evolving into a (and I whisper here) more of an artist than a retailer?
I whisper the word "artist" because it never crossed my mind that I could be one...
so...
this week and next I am going to be working on a space in the store for customers to come and "create"- I have soooooooooooooooooo many bits and baubles and ephemera and frames and flashcards...(the list goes on and on...)
we'll see how it evolves...I will post pics of the creative space...
antiques or art?
hmmm...

WARNING...corny post ahead...

she is gone...margaret, my antique dress form...is now living in another place...
I know it is really, really, corny to miss my dress form, but she has been with me for years. She has modeled jewelry and aprons and Halloween outfits...she has been so many things...
I have had her for so long that I had even forgotten that I had priced her.
And a truly lovely woman came in to the store yesterday...and fell in love with her.
She now lives at her house, where she will be modeling a designer suit from the 30's.
So, now, I have sold my favorite of all dress forms...
Anyone want to sell me one?
I am lonely...

new around the store...

more rolls of wallpaper...
lots more glass...
funky fun shaped flower pots...(and wood boxes galore...)
terrariums ...
and loads more books...
hope you are all enjoying your week-end...we had our first super sunny day in Portland in just ages...and folks were out walking and stopping in the store...
what a wonderful day!

pink velvet

what is it about pink velvet? I really, really, wanted to keep them...but alas...they are for sale...they could be yours...

a new pair of lamps = store re-do

I bought a new set of lamps for the store at an estate this week-end...
my husband thinks they are horrifically gaudy...
but I had to have them...
and their shades were perfect!
so...because of the new lamps...I re-did every single display in the store!
of course, there was loads of other new fun vintage finds to work in...so it was fun to create new vignettes ...
so...gaudy or fab? sorry the photos are from a distance, but click on the pics and they will enlarge...
my vote is FAB!

in this store full of people, I feel very alone

WARNING...philosophical moment ahead...

the title of this blog was on the back of a bathroom door that I read recently...
and I wondered about the person that wrote it...
were they a worker at this big store?
were they getting a divorce?
were they new in town?
can they just not find the item that they were looking for and there were no clerks around?
or is it way more serious than that?
I often wonder about these little blurbs that are written in strange places...
and I wonder how many people feel this way?
and I vow to smile more often...for no reason and for whomever I pass...
and I wonder...will it help?