I Just Want to Light You Up

"I just want to light you up, Light you up like a fire, I just want to turn you on, Turn you on and take you higher"... Shawn Mullins

Now Shawn meant a different kind of light you up but I just couldn't resist using that chorus for a blog on chandeliers... I'm always happy to do a shout out for a local guy who has "done good"... Really nice guy, met him on one of my flights but I digress...  Can we talk lighting???

Atlanta is all about subdivisions. These have three or four models and 400 copies.  Each builder has their standard and upgraded features but rarely do they upgrade lighting.  Additionally, most will not put special pieces in for you.  I've had two homes built here in the past 20 years.  One lower budget and one that made me scream "TARA!" Both left me to change light fixtures as I found the time and money to do so.  Lighting can make or break the ambiance of a room.  The rooms in our house that don't require ceiling fans, all have vintage lighting to go with the other vintage decor.  Like other aged pieces it shows our personality instead of the builders designers who I never met.

I have an obsession with chandelier crystals.  I grab them whenever I see them in sales.  All shapes, colors and sizes - the only common denominator is that they are old.  I don't do new crystals.  They're made cheaper.  I love the old ones that have been taken off old broken down chandeliers and pieced out.  I used to grab them from Bandit's Down Under when Lakewood was still around.  Dave would be upgrading old beauties and I'd come clean him out of his stock.  Miss his little store in Lakewood.  Ran into him recently at Scotts and asked him where Bandit (his dog) was... His response "On the mantle waiting for me"...  Funny guy!!!  When Lakewood closed that was an end of an era for alot of us for sure...   Anyway, I keep the crystals I find in a box for future projects.  They glam candlesticks and chandeliers up with vintage beauty in no time.

A girlfriend just moved.  We went over to her house to see what she needed to downsize and she pulled these two chandeliers out of her basement.  The heavy metal one had an ugly three armed yellow globed piece hanging in it, but I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it... and when she handed me the vintage brass one... my heart started to sing...  "Yes puhlease!!! I'll take both of those babies!!!"  I had visions of where they'd hang in our booth... and pulled up pictures of my visions for the restoration to show to Bill.

Bill's job this time was to clean up the chandeliers and rewire them.  When he started on the brass piece he pointed out that the brass was too damaged to make it look right.  We decided that he should paint it a dark rubbed bronze color.  It totally brought out the design and made it pop.  We went looking for the piece to go into the heavy iron piece and couldn't find one the right size that called my name.  I figured that job would be shelved for a bit... until I went into our master bath to get ready the next day.  I turned around and saw it...  You see years ago when I bought this house new, since the builders wouldn't change the spec, I had my father (this is BB... Before Bill... my dad LOVES Bill) change out the canned lighting over my master bathtub and hung a small crystal chandelier I found at an online garage sale.  From boring to PRINCESS in an easy upgrade.  Over the years I felt that the chandelier could have been bigger but I haven't bothered to change it out... that morning I grabbed my tape measure and went running into our workshop...  "Honey!!! I've got the piece for the heavy iron chandelier!!!"


"Where?"

"In our master bath!  It'll fit.  You don't mind taking it down do you?  We can find one we like better at Lowe's or somewhere else this weekend."

"(grumble) It'll work.  Ok."

I've told you my hub is ever suffering... he loves doing projects but let me tell you what he HATES doing... changing light fixtures.  :)  Did I mention he loves me?  I'm grateful for that... he'd kill me otherwise... 

As he worked his magic in the workshop, I poured a glass of wine and sat down to work mine with the crystals on the newly painted brass chandelier.  I hung upwards of 200 crystals on that piece.  It started off lightweight and now that puppy is about 40 pounds of bling.  About halfway done I realized I had a problem.  Other dealers, you'll feel my pain here... I fell in love.  When you're a dealer, nothing other than family items are sacred.  Your decor rotates as you bring in pieces to up-cycle.  Some just can't leave home when you're done.  I finished that piece and told my husband...  "Good news and bad news... Good news... you don't have to go light shopping with me for our new bathroom piece... the bad news is we've only got one chandelier for the booth... I want to keep this one."

"So when we move, we'll take out all the antique chandeliers in the house and change them out?"

"Yup."

"Ok.  That'll look pretty upstairs."  Then he hung it for me today with my help.  OMG that thing is HEAVY... but its beautiful... see?!?  He'll totally want to kill me the first time he stands up from taking a bath and hits his head... but I'll remind him again how beautiful it is and how much I love him for hanging it... and he'll grumble again but not kill me... again...

Back to the other chandelier, which we WILL sell... The two irons were different colors so Bill had to paint them to match.  He's rewired the piece, and the crystals have been rehung.  It's a glorious juxtaposition of bling and metal.  Masculine and feminine.  We think you'll love it as much as we do.  It will be put in the booth this week.

It's a glorious fall day but we hope you will find us at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta.  Crow on Broad Street.  Come out and see us soon!

This is the Beauty of the Vintage Lifestyle...

This is the beauty of the vintage lifestyle... old things come with old stories, and your story just becomes the latest chapter.

I read this line in one of the many vintage magazines I grab as I'm running through the store.  I thought.. EXACTLY!!!  I love that I'm recycling, saving, up-cycling or simply just using something someone's Grandmother put in the cabinet for "special occasions"... With the exception of my Spode Christmas Rose (not the tree, never the tree... too mainstream for me) china, I use everything I have daily.  Nothing is so special that it's only saved for those one or two lifetime special moments.  I love that most of what you see in my home is something you'd never find in Ikea, Hobby Lobby or Target.  As I've said many times before, I don't get caught up in trends. 

Christmas is one of those seasons that you can walk into my home and see exactly how un-trendy I am.  I have two large Christmas trees and a myriad of smaller trees around my home.  Each tree has a theme, and the themes are filled in all vintage ornaments.  My small bird tree in my foyer... my blown glass lady figurines that I've collected since I was a child are in my living room tree... Disney ornaments (also from my childhood) grace my family room tree along with blown glass Santas.  All the tree toppers are 50's glass beauties. 

Now don't get me wrong, if you're one of those bow and feather Christmas tree people... I think they're gorgeous... they are just not me... because again, a feather doesn't hold my memories like a glass ornament from the past.  Each Christmas season I tend to buy one or two new ornaments that fit into my theme.  I've done this since I was a teenager so that today each piece has a memory for me.  I think that's why I love vintage shiny brights... they are memories from my youth.    I smile at the lanterns, bells and pine cones... and can't resist buying them.  Every Christmas in our booth I have a tree that is filled with these for sale.... and another tree that has some sort of theme.  This year the theme tree will be covered in 50s plastic Santa head light cover ornaments and white birds.  The red and white pops on the green tree.

We'll be totally gutting our booth for the holidays... to bring our house to yours...  along with the two trees you'll find vintage ruby red and green compotes and other glass ware... green depression glass candlesticks... green metal stars... deer figurines... holiday postcards... green french seltzer bottles... barnwood candlelabras and many more vintage lovelies.

I'm also excited to be finally cleaning up this beautiful baby and bringing it in for the holiday season... I think it'll fit in perfectly next to the vintage trees.  I finally talked my husband into letting me sell it.  We've been holding on to it for the past year thinking "what if we get our dream home 3-4 years from now..." and fighting the need for space in our workshop...  we'll probably hate ourselves for selling it... so once we've got it cleaned up and in our booth... if it's something you've dreamed of having, grab it quick because we're still in love with it...

That's a quick peek into whats coming to our store the first week of November.  As always come see us at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta.  Crow on Broad Street.  There's 71 days til Christmas... once Halloween is over it's GAME ON!

Waste not want not

"There must be a reason why some people can afford to live
well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things that we could use"... Mother Teresa

It's been a while since we've been in our workshop and even longer since I've been able to sit down and write about our adventures.  Both Bill and I disappear with our careers every summer... and maybe for a trip or two on a rare day off...  we are both thrilled to be winding down and back for the fall/winter to do this hobby/passion that we love.  

Bill and I look for different things when we're out junking.  We'll walk in opposite directions through the same places and meet back up with each other with items that the other person didn't see.  Together though, our visions match and blend nicely.  Over the next couple of days we'll blog about what we're planning for our holiday extravaganza next month... but today I want to talk about reclamation at it's finest.

We are certified barnwood and stone junkies.  We drive by a property being torn down and we pull over faster than when we have flashing red lights behind us... we grab every item that can be recycled that can fit in or on top of my Jeep.  Bought that Jeep before Bill because I come from a long line of Jeep lovers... but I tell you, since Bill, I can say that Jeep was probably one of the best purchases I have made in the past 10 years.  It's the little engine that could and we've have loaded it down beyond imagination at times.  We have a beautiful stack stone wall all around our garden from the fireplaces that have been torn down near us and a garage full of different timbers that are just waiting for the right project - like the sideboard wine bar currently in our booth.

When Bill works on a large scale project he doesn't toss any scraps from it.  He's got a large can filled with pieces of wood.  Sometime last year when I was watching my Master Mudgie in all his glory in our shop, I stared at those lovely chunky bits and an idea started to form in my head.  Bill has a love hate relationship with those moments... because it means more projects for him... and they usually start with a "could you do this to that"... and they finish with him seeing my vision and hitting it out of the ballpark.

This one evening, I saw the scraps of barnwood and thought of all the sugar molds new and old that are out there in shops and asked if he could drill holes the size of votive holders.  I had a bunch of glass holders left from our wedding... and I grabbed a few to show him what I was talking about.  His response was "Yes, of course, and would they sell?"  Then he made a few to try out in the store.  They quickly flew off the shelves.  I recently bought a large lot of silvery glass votive holders to make these pieces more "holiday festive"... and my sweet husband decided that I needed one for my birthday... so he made a custom piece with birds "two crows" for us... he's currently making a bunch for the booth for the holidays, and another custom piece for a special event coming up that I'm not talking about further in case that person reads this...  

I love that we found a way to not waste these pieces... and a niche that no one else is currently doing... it's a twist on the sugar molds that everyone went gaga over the past 10 years... and trust, each one of these pieces were from a building torn down in GA.  How cool is that for local history lovers?  Why fill landfills with trash when you can make a treasured piece as gorgeous as these?

While we are using ours on our breakfast table, we did take it outside last night for a romantic dinner on the patio... fireplace roaring (we LOVE fall), and candles glowing...  I am in love!!!

You can find these in our booth currently.  We're adding more in the next couple of days.  They have 2 to 4 holes and fit anywhere from corner tables to coffee tables to mantles to dining tables.  Imagine throwing small pumpkins and leaves around it for the fall and then greenery, vintage shiny brites (coming soon also to our booth) and berries for the holidays.

As always you can find us at The Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta.  Crow on Broad Street.  Come check us out between the 5th and 9th of November.  We'll be revamping our booth for Christmas and the Holiday Extravaganza on November 9th.  Until then, enjoy your fall, football and fun times on your patio... it's bbq season y'all!!!  With love from our home to yours... 

When a Step Stool is Handy, Everything Else is

I was born in the right generation personality wise.  I could never have survived any earlier in the 1900s...  I'm too strong willed, too forthcoming with truths you might not want to hear... and if I had to dress to make dinner or bring my husband a drink while he sat reading a newspaper... my mind would explode.  POOF... there goes Heather.

My furniture reflects my love of artistry... the carved woods of the Victorian era....  the heavy cut glass... the crystals that shine sparkles across the room... I'm not a mid century girl at all... except for one true weakness.  Step stools.  I don't know what it is but I simply can not pass up a Cosco step stool that needs TLC.  They hearken back to a day when gramma sat at the counter top peeling apples and then pulled the stool out to get the pie tin from the top of the cabinet...  they're useful today and just bring sooo many of us back to that kitchen scene.

Cosco, like many other companies of it's time, spent the early 1940's as a supplier in the war efforts.  After World War II Cosco introduced the first full line of all-metal household stools, and later in 1960 celebrated its 25th anniversary as the largest manufacturer of step stools.  These beauties came in 12 models and "5 gay colors" - red, turquoise, pink, brown and yellow... later green was added to the mix.


"When a step stool is handy everything else is"...  They were safe for all your climbing tasks and comfortable for all your sitting tasks.. you could even take it out of the kitchen and use it to sit on while ironing your laundry... check out all the vintage ads I found for these... of course they were looking for a comfortable seat... their feet were KILLING them wearing pumps all day...

Bless their hearts... To the women in my family before me... I salute you.  I have all the modern conveniences and still can't keep up with y'all in heels.

Back to modern times... I really can't pass up stools, and one of my picker friends knows this, so when he sent me this picture I called him foul names... and my husband groaned.  We all knew there wasn't a question of whether or not I'd grab them... ALL of them...  (sorry Gimli... I shouldn't have sworn... love that you know my taste TOO well)...

Like most Augusts, Bill and I have been out of town the whole month.  It's the busiest times in both of our careers.  We actually had the last week free though, so we (he) decided to tackle a "quick" project.  We discussed the different things in our garage and chose the lovely yellow "swing away" step stool.  There were a few layers of remuddling on that baby... with house paint (nononononono!!!!)... Bill removed it all and started from scratch and his final project is one of true beauty.  Will look fabulous in any kitchen, basement or man cave....

As always my hubby has outdone himself...  His next project will be the model 4a step stool to the left of the yellow one in the picture.  We're also talking about the far left stools...  these were more industrial and we're tempted to add barn wood to them... Keep watching for more updates... It's always exciting to see how our brainstorming turns out.

I'll be visiting the booth mid week (after Irma leaves), and will be dropping off this red and black beauty then...  Come see us at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta... we're on Broad St... you can't miss us.

Stay dry y'all!!!

Evolution to Beauty

It's been a moment since we've last written or updated our booth.  Bill and I both work more during the summer so it's hard to find time to play in our workshop and chronicle the up-cycled evolution of a piece of furniture.  We're both home for a WHOLE week and trying to get a bunch done before we disappear again until September.  Yesterday we brought a few new pieces into the store.  My mother, who is in town, went shopping while we decorated.  This morning, as I was looking at the pictures I took, I decided to talk about the evolution of two new pieces in the shop.  I couldn't choose just one.  :)

Last year we got married in our backyard surrounded by those we love and all things vintagy and fabulous...  Bill made this gorgeous archway out of barn wood and two old doors to give people a focal point to walk through to get to the venue .  When we took it down sometime later the next week we deconstructed the piece knowing we'd reuse the parts for other purposes in the future.  We already used one of the doors, and this week we brought in the second door... as a hall tree with a barn wood seat.  It's a beautiful piece and know that when you buy it, you've got old wood... an old door that has history in someone's home... that also was the beginning to our married life together...  The joys, the trials and tribulations this door could tell you about if it could talk.

This week we actually had time to go to some estate sales.  I ran off to one with mom as Bill worked in the workshop polishing up a few pieces... He kissed me goodbye and as he always does when I'm junking admonished "Don't buy anything big, I've got enough projects..."

"Yes honey... I'm just looking for smalls for the holidays..." and I really was... and actually pretty much kept to true to my word this time... a miracle... Bill should by a lottery ticket...  but I did find a fabulous piece that I couldn't resist... and I had to torture him on the way home... "Honey make room for a desk in the garage..."

"You're kidding me right?"

"Nope."

"How big is it???" Can you see his eyes rolling and smoke coming out of his ears here???

"It's for a really big person"...

Imagine his relief when he saw it WAS for a really big... little person... and when I started the project all by myself...  I couldn't resist this adorable 1940s folding table and chair... I saw bright colors and chalk top and knew it could be beautiful... of course my hub finished the project as I kept wandering doing other things with my mom and the kids...  and it did come out spectacular!  I love the robins egg blue.  It'll fit for boys or girls... and since it folds away, it would be great for parents or grandparents.  :)

I'll end today's blog with a picture of our new favorite piece of furniture in the shop.  A gorgeous walnut bankers desk.  When you slide the top back, the bottom slides forward and exposes a newly re-felted desktop and unlocks the top drawers.  We disabled the function for the bottom drawers as I figured if you're going to use it as a desk, you probably want to easily open those drawers without having to constantly unlock them.  Novelty is cute for the top... but in my eyes, a pain for day to day use on the bottom.  :)  

Come check out all our pieces at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta... We're the Crows on Broad Street.  You can't miss us when you walk in... and while you do, check out the other dealers in the shop.  There really is an amazing amount of talent there.

It's Not Hobby Lobby

I want to start off today's blog with a sincere thank you.  I can not express how much it means to us that our family and friends support us in this venture.  Nor can I thank enough those customers who come in and buy our lovingly purchased, cleaned, rehabbed and up-cycled pieces.  It reaffirms that we are doing something right.  That others see the life left in vintage items and will love and cherish them as much as we did when we picked them.  Bill and I don't buy anything that we wouldn't put in our home.  In fact it's a struggle to put our finished product into our jeep and bring it to the store... because we have soooo much of our hearts in these.  (It's also a struggle to get some of the items past my mother who will scoop much of what I grab up if I let her...  I've learned to show her small things only... because getting the larger things to California can be challenging.)

Every time something larger sells, I reconfigure the layout of the booth.  I find themes/vignettes and end up spending hours there instead of the 15 minutes I'd given self to add a few smalls and fluff it.  Today was one of those days.  We now have a travel corner.  Trunks, suitcases and valise's...  my love for these makes complete sense, since travel is what I do for a living.  I LOVE finding the old bag tags on pieces... our newest trunk has a Delta tag... I think the green trunk has an Eastern tag...  I know whatever tag that one has is a long gone airline... On our shelves in the main area of our booth we have an old medallion tag for Delta, along with airline shot glasses... and one of my favorites is the airplane slippers... check them out, they're right next to the blue enamel pitcher on the bench.  That's when the skies were much more luxurious for sure.

I also have a weakness for hand painted china.  I have zero talent in drawing and painting, thus I appreciate the efforts women put into these pieces long before I was born.  China painting was a 'respectable hobby' for women from 1880-1920.  Some painted pieces for fun, others to make pin money.  Some items were displayed and other items used, like the set of 6 individual salt cellars seen in the picture to the right.  I'm going to veer right off subject here for a moment... and talk about how much time these women took in setting the perfect table... today we tell the kids to grab a plate and a napkin and eat... then, you had your own salt cellar, cups and silver for each type of food or drink might be served... crystal and silver knife rests...  etc... we're losing this art in our age of computers and smart phones...

Returning to the subject... everything that could be painted was... tea strainers... jewelry boxes, hat pin holders, salt shakers, bells, and sugar shakers to name a few.  Each painstakingly done with exquisite perfection.  It's hard for me to pick and choose when I find a sale full of these beautiful pieces of art.

We do have some newer decorative bits... I kinda like fun fillers and couldn't resist the feather balls at an estate sale recently.  I tried to grab just a couple, and ended up with them all... along with some hand painted balls from Africa, that I threw in with my hand carved gourds from Kenya.  They called to me and I hope they'll call your name too...

I usually blog around a project, so I'll throw in a quick one for the piece I put in the booth today.  It was a drop leaf table but it was pretty banged up and had some broken pieces on the leaves.  My husband and I both thought the legs were sexy though so we grabbed it from a friend.  We had planned to attach it to a door for a hall tree but as we got it apart we both agreed that it needed to just be reinvented into a hall table.  All the wood on the table is original.  My very talented hubby took the three pieces from the table top and grabbed the one piece still in good condition.  He cut it down to fit the legs attached it to the top and re stained the entire piece.  One of it's side drawers was missing a knob so we put on vintage looking glass knobs.  The piece came out gorgeous!!!  It's perfect for your foyer or den... or even possibly as a small desk in a teenagers room for their laptop.

I'll end this as I started this with a thank you again...  from our house to yours... happy junking and safe summer travels...

Salisbury Cathedral pitcher