thursday -canton - april 1st 2010

today would have been my dads 81st birthday - happy birthday, daddy ..he loved that his birthday was on april fools day and he loved playing tricks on people on his birthday, esp if you were a youngster ..

today was opening day at canton - sherry, rod & i came down yesterday and rod & i spent the night and got up early and finished setting the booth up .. sherry has an ear infection, so wish her a speedy recovery .. we have a new space - actually 2 spaces and that seemed to make a difference .. it was a beautiful day and the crowds were out in full force ..

here are some pics i took of the booth before the crowds ..

i dressed the chairs in a different color slipcover for each ... love it!

some of the new pillows i am making - they went over real well ...


slipcovers! i did some in almost every Easter color i could find ..


some of the signs rod has made ..

i love the moroccan flavor of this lamp ..it has the sweetest little nightlight style glow ..

bunnies, baskets and tulips .. does anything else say Easter Greetings in quite the same way?


like most everyone i run across - i too love wasp nests - just something about the construction ..

i just love my slipcovered chair .. this is only the second time i have shown it since i completed it .. so hopefully someone will love it this weekend ..

if you are in canton - stop in and see us - arbors 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

laters,
troy

canton - arbor 2 - spaces 217 & 218

i can't believe i haven't posted anything in over 2 weeks..

we leave for canton tomorrow .. we have a new space .. in Arbor 2, spaces 217 & 218 - we are in Shiloh's old space .. she will be moving across the isle to the space we were in last month ..

i will have our netbook with us during canton, so i may be posting pics here and there .. it should be a great weekend, though they are calling for a cold front to move in on saturday, which could bring some rain..

here are some pics of things we have been working on .. we will also have a lot more furniture this month as we now have the 2 spaces we have been wanting .. yeah!

love this mirror - it has a resin/plastic frame - but a great look and quite large ..

we framed up some prints in frames that rod made .. we like their look ..

sherry created this wonderfully charming bed tray - love the french look it has ..
i have a weakness for portrait plates .. and even though i rarely sell them and always price them reasonable to cheap - i continue to purchase them for resale when i see them .. go figure .. i still like the look they offer ..

rod has been busy making signs .. wait until you see some of the signs he made up for this weekend ..seriously! .. cool!

i have been busy sewing slipcovers .. sets of 4 .. and sets of 2 .. wanted a whimsical touch this month .. i am very happy with the way they turned out ..

and don't forget .. get your Easter greeting cards .. we have enlarged Victorian era Easter cards, packaged and ready for gift giving ..

we hope to see you ..

laterz,
troy, rod & sherry ..

silver sunday .. photo frames as dressing mirrors

one of the things i like to do is collect vintage styled and antique styled silverplate picture frames .. i have rod cut mirrors for the frames and then use them for dressing or vanity mirrors .. they always interest people and they have a wonderful look ..

here are some we have in the warehouse now .. mixed with some odd silverplate items .. the candlesticks are not old but have a great look ..

and since it is Silver Sunday .. i thought i would throw in a picture of some galvanized items - i love the old water jug used as a picket sign holder .. and the flower buckets are not old, but we sell them very well at $5.75 each ..

go visit Beth at Gypsy Fish Journal for more participants of Silver Sunday sponsored by Gypsy Fish Journal ..

laterz,

troy

what i did today ...

met some customers today at the warehouse and worked on a couple of projects .. let me know what you think ..

the first is a line of pillow shams i am making - they are muslin with a burlap center .. the center of this pillow has been accented with a crown .. we may be offering other designs in the future, but for now i will just be doing the crown .. i will also be doing slipcovers that compliment these pillows ..


the other project is a lampshade, inspired by the team @ Bloom & Bee Swanky .. i covered a lampshade in some gloves i found when sorting through a box of fabrics ..

i started with a plain jane shade that had a nice taper ..


i first arranged the gloves to make sure i would have enough .. and it appeared that i would ..

the finished project .. i accented the shade with a bow of vintage lace ..

i like the way it turned out .. it kind of grows on you ..


rod, sherry & i are headed up tomorrow to visit jenny with uptown country home and see her at the dallas flea and then over to anthropologie ..

a day of adventure ..

laterz,
troy

junkin thursday ..

we are as tired as this poor little rabbit looks ..
we have been working on setting our warehouse up for appointment sales - so if you are in the neighborhood, please email or call us for entrance .. we are here most every day from 11am - 4pm .. for now take a look at some pics i took this morning ..

masons ironstone .. english china.. fruit basket pattern .. so sweet ..

i can never ever resist seashells .. i have quite an accumulation of them .. i like using them in projects .. so you will always find them in the warehouse ..

lovely Easter styled setting created by Sherry .. she is such a wiz at creating and displaying ..

more lovely Easter type dishes .. love the cameoware and the homer laughlin with the pink roses ..
lots of lovely linens, quilts, chenille spreads and vintage fabrics ..

you can reach us through email or by calling our AT&T cell - 281-813-0341 .. would love to hear from you and show you around the warehouse ...

laters,
troy

pictures to share of last warrenton ..oct 2008

i was looking through some old picture files today and ran across some pics that i don't believe i have ever shared with anyone ..

as many of you know, last warrenton was a muddy mess .. rod and i took a 24 foot box truck of merchandise stuffed .. which we attempted to cram into a 30 x 15 space .. our truck got stuck in the mud in front of our tent and we were unable to totally unpack the truck .. we ended up putting as much as we could into the booth up on tables and stacking stuff on top of one another .. so after the first day of unloading in the rain and getting the van unstuck from the mud - we decided to return to waco with the stuff we were unable to unload and return the truck ..

as has been mentioned, it rained a lot that week .. everywhere in texas .. when we got back to waco and got the truck unloaded rod went to return the truck and i stayed at the warehouse .. after he had been gone for a little bit .. i looked across the sky at the setting sun and was met with the most awesome sight and had to grab my camera ..

today, i am still stunned by the beauty in these photos .. so you will know, i have not altered these photos in any way .. the sky really was that color .. like fire in the clouds ..

laterz,
troy

100th post & the importance of junk ..

i heard somewhere one time about people who give their junk importance .. i love that idea .. giving junk importance .. isn't that what we are all after .. to be important .. to matter .. so junk matters .. it holds it all together .. the junk in our lives, the junk in our homes ..

a lot of what we sell these days is stuff we convert, make or re-use .. we hadn't been selling as much of what i like to call the old stuff .. the junk ..the trinkets .. the left behinds .. the forgotten pieces of someones memories .. you know what i am talking about .. and i, having been in the business a long long time, have accumulated a lot of that stuff .. and i want to share something with you that came to me and seems to work .. work really well ..

i gave that junk some importance .. i handled each little trinket or do dad and slipped it into an appropriate size baggie with our business card .. closed up the bag with a staple .. punched a hole in the top with a hole punch .. priced the piece a small price .. lots of stuff under a buck .. most all under $3 .. (and i did most of this while watching the current season of american idol) .. then i hung it on a pegboard .. people loved it .. loved it .. i think we paid our booth rent off this junk .. which we gave importance to ..

don't forget if you are in waco and want to come shop our warehouse to give us a shout out .. we would love to show you around ..

laters,
troy

ok .. me in shorts ..

ok .. here are the pics .. here is the proof .. i actually had hoped the weather was changing for the good .. it was warmer when we left waco on friday morning .. it just got colder ..

honestly, i love wearing shorts .. i am very hot natured .. my mother was also .. i own coats and sweaters .. and i own some long pants .. but i so prefer shorts .. i just feel more comfortable in shorts ..


so canton was good .. tiring .. but seems like most any show is these days .. would really love to find a good one day show ..

we have been working the last few days on setting up the warehouse in case people want to come shop the things we have here in waco .. so if you are passing through or headed this way .. give us a shout out and we would be glad to open up for you ..

rod and i started exercising again .. i need to loose about 30 pounds .. i was weighed at the doctors office today .. 186 .. when we were fired from our jobs last august .. i weighed around 160 .. stress .. i know it is ..

i know everyone who is headed to warrenton is getting ready for it .. kind of wish i was going .. just the excitement of it .. but it has gotten too long for an old boy like to me participate ..

off to say hi to come of you ..

laters,
troy

squirrel !!! what does it mean?

i have had this squirrel for some time .. and have been meaning to list him on etsy.. he is a bank .. he has a slot on top of his head for inserting your money .. but the whole reason he has intrigued me is i keep seeing SQUIRREL!!! and wonder what does it mean .. if it is dirty .. i don't want to know .. sounds dirty .. also sounds funny ..

i think it is deb of talking trash who keeps saying SQUIRREL!! - so what does it mean? and here's mine .. and i still don't wanna know, if it's dirty ..

having a blast out here at canton today .. lots of people .. i chose to wear shorts today .. so here i am in shorts in a coat .. lol! it was warmer when we left waco this morning .. it is very chilly and wet here today ..

laterz,
troy

thursday @ canton

today was opening day at canton first monday .. our second time in arbors 2 - we are in spaces 207A & 208 in arbor 2 .. we met some wonderful people today - saw some familiar faces and made some new friends .. we found out that our blog is definitely attracting customers .. which is always nice to know .. one of our new customers is diane @ What A Find Antiques in Katy, Texas.. if you are near .. go check her out ..

so here are some pics of our booth - tomorrow i will post pics of all the cool stuff out there this weekend .. i did get out and do some shopping .. so keep an eye on our etsy shop for new listings fresh from the fields of canton ..

view to the left of the booth - revolving rack of vintage inspired plaques we make using vintage floral letters .. slipcovers and fabrics at the back of the booth .. the glass dome with the bunny underneath, under the oval table .. sold .. love it!

the left side of the booth at the front - a revolving rack of vintage inspired enlarged postcards - we make these - they are packaged with an envelope and an easel that can be attached to the back of the card - we sell them for $3.99 each .. and we have every holiday you can think of ..

the slipcovers and fabrics .. and some suitcases .. and some chenille spreads ..

to the right side of the booth - more cards - more holidays .. lampshades in the back .. loyal customer, bridgette - happy to have found us ..

always kiss me goodnight - picket signs .. we make these .. they are made using old fence pickets .. they sell for $9.95 ..each ..

baby dresses .. and baby shoes .. hang below a beautiful framed baby photo .. the baby shoes have been a big hit .. sold one pair so far ..

old coca cola crate in yellow with red lettering .. filled with shredded kraft paper and nestled with vintage bottles .. and seashells ..

vintage inspired holiday cards and vintage style paper mache bunny rabbits .. and wonderful hand made lye soaps ..

if you make it to canton .. do stop in and see us .. we love meeting new people and really enjoy it when people say they read our blog .. we heard that a lot today .. so thank you!

laters,
troy