around the store....salvage...

good news ...jon is all better....he doesnt look too good but hes definitely on the mend....and back to work.....
here he is unloading one truck into another truck....






SALVAGE COMES AND GOES AROUND HERE.........we make so many different things and each is really one of a kind since it starts with a vintage element.....
OUR THINGS END UP IN ADVENTUROUS HOMES ALL AROUND HERE BUT ALSO GO OUT TO TEXAS AND GEORGIA AND ???? OTHER EXOTIC PLACES WHEN THE DEALERS COME AND BUY FROM US....

we are here in corn country and have handy men who can do stuff.... and we have the old parts.....i think all that helps makes us and the midwest probably the cheapest place in the country to buy..... here, our big counters are around 300 to 400.....in a bigger fancier place they would probably be 7 or 800.....

NOW IN ,,, in salvage, rehabbed, re purposed.....

• 
  lots of buffets 150 to 350$, from elegant fancy black to beautiful romantic shabby white...


• lots of counters/cashwraps,/islands/bars....lots of variety right now from huge to only 4 ft.... 250 to 500$


• big cottage frenchy or shabby display cabinets...7 ft tall..4 ft wide...great for stores or foyers.....3 to 400$


• fun door shelves...140 to 200$


• shutter shelves 150 to 200$ nice big ones over 6 ft tall and narrow...


• plus we have lots of great vintage parts....cheap....and you can DO YOUR OWN THING...

the week in review

a little girl was in with her grandma....
....]
and the grandma said , you have to be good in here....then the little girl said i know...and pointed up to our big 6 ft sign, which is for sale and up on the wall....... saying be nice or leave

my friend the librarian..


we took a nice long ride, all on backroads, to our mall booth in nappanee.... and she was asking me about some business thing...i said its probably boring to you...and she said , no im a librairian ..nothing is boring ...

we have had a great week....
nice weather finally and lots of people thru the store..a good week except jon is still sick..... ... monday we are getting our last big load of garden iron.... the guy calls me from texas or mexico and tells me what hes seeing and i buy on the phone,,, no catalogs with this connection....

,
dang dang..... 2 people have been calling me all week about something coming up on the truck....and he just called and his truck is broken down in missiouri...... so if youre reading this.... i wont be getting your balls or butterflies tomorrow..... sorry sorry sorry....

jon

jon and lisa

timmy and noah , the well ones...

jons home sick with 2 sick kids and a sick wife....its a real bad flue i guess........
i fixed them dinner tonight..... and tried to help.....back to the dr tomorrow....

AROUND THE STORE

ANOTHER NICE BIG CHICAGO CABINET ...under 8 ft tall

our recycled roosters... 50$ TO 200$

a nice big mirror....great for a dress shop... or a big room....

our idea for a plasma tv...plenty of room ....its big, over 5 ft wide...

one of our cupboards in red.. WE HAVE LOTS OF OTHERS IN DARK AND LIGHT...THIS ONE 230$

cute little guys for your garden ...the gnomes


this is from 3 old chairs..... great with our tables.... but can be a regular bench too...



one of our counters...OR TV STANDS OR ???? OR WHATEVER YOU WANT...this one has a heavy milk glass top....and lots of 100 yr old parts...

AROUND THE sTORE TODAY......

ALSO IN RIGHT NOW....

• 8 oak mantles
• 4 church pews
• 4 harvest tables...amish made
• 5 more chicago cupboards
• oak sideboard
• 8 counter/islands/bars....from our old parts..
• lots more

lots of new in the key west room..... tubes, signs, some beachy cupboards....

BIG WEEK COMING UP...

this week we should be getting a huge order of garden stuff.... balls, stakes, statues,,, hooks brackets ... and another big load of garden iron from my arkansas buddy either this week or next...he calls me from the big iron yards down in texas and mexico and tells me ,in words, what hes looking at...i know his girl...his worker...and if i hesitate he says she said that looks like ann or that i would like it...and thats good becsue shes been here and does know what i like.... and notices more than her boss.....i have promised some things he said he would bring up here...so i hope he does it...

... its so nice to be outside and working in the garden iron....cant wait to plant the planters!!!

the flow of customers this week was nice.......one bought 10 of our biggest trellises for his new roses, one used our birdcage in her easter sermon....one bought white plates for the stained glass gazebo her dh is building her....one griped because we didnt have anything for her...... she comes every week....several brought friends, 2 are planning wonderful new spaces..one said he was reinventing himself..like it was a grand experiment...........some of our signs are going to a new bar....
it was a nice week.... some sun and more people....even some big wholesale...
and the good thing carol, our full time part timer is back from her winter stay in key west and will be at her station at the counter....mon tues and wednesdays anyway....

GARDEN PARTY ...


coming soon... our GARDEN PARTY IS COMING UP AT THE END OF MAY....memorial day weekend... so the planning is starting.... first we have to get the postcards ordered and designed..... and the email written....so everybody who has signed up with us will get notified.....also im picking out a nice FREEBIE FOR EVERYBODY..... i wonder if they would like a birdhouse or a packet of plants? we arent going to have as many plants this year.....im hoping another big load of garden iron comes this week...i have some great stuff ordered ...like another gazebo....and big balls.....
its usually a great weekend.....and hopefully worth the trip for everybody....

our NEW WEBSITE.... COMING SOON ..WITH VINTAGE ALTERED ART AND STEAMPUNK SUPPLIES...PLUS LOTS OF OTHER STUFF....... ITS IN THE WORKS AND WILL BE CALLED MAGPIEMARKET... WE GET SO MUCH THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR ARTISTS MAKING NEAT GOTHIC ROBOTS OR STEAMPUNK JEWELRY OR VINTAGE COLLAGE AND SCRAPBOOKKING ....IT WILL BE A LOT LIKE OUR ETSY http://www.gypsymarket.etsy.com/ i just bought a bunch more watch dials and licence plates for it...also available at the store... it Will MOSTLY be vintage trash to treasure on line.... and mostly little parts....but also knobs and wood appliques ...OLD BEADS AND BUTTONS....
jons wife is doing it...SHE IS OUR WEBMISTRESS....

lost this year

• countryhome

• mary englebrites home companion,
• shabby chic , the brand.....
• and their 5000$ couches...we still love shabby chic

the idea....the idea of making and using the old in modern beautiful ways...

see a good article here.. http://www.salon.com/news/brand_graveyard/feature/2009/04/23/shabby_chic/

• LOTS AND LOTS of small stores....all over the country stores are closing.... support your favorites!!! we all need indie retail..it would be so boring with just dollar stores and walmart and the big chains......explore....

salvage

heres what we have for salvage...for all the people who come here to do their own thing....

corbels

plinths

windows

shutters

porch parts

barn relics

hooks and corners

old doors

licience plates

tin..new and old

hardware

wood appliques

and best of all a big awning and rough room full of furniture you wouldnt feel bad tearing apart....

JUST HEARING ABOUT ALL THE customers PROJECTS IS SO INTERESTING ...AND WE LOVE TO SEE their PICTURES...
i hear a lot about headboards, bathrooms...tv stands... and big wild porch and garden projects....

coming soon!!!

heres my garden from last may.... i just cant wait....its still cold and dreary and almost all brown and grey here...the garden today looks bare and cold and impossible..... i am so ready for spring!!!

this year i hope to leave the store a bit earlier everyday and get out there more.....at our other house the customers would go into the garden a lot...id see them sitting by the pond or just checking everything out.....and that was so nice.....its jons house now...and a playground......this garden is about 10 yrs old...and more formal....it started in our field...

somehow in spring everything seems possible i always lay out more than i could possibly get done.....we built a huge real pergola at the back of this, but never made any design or use of it.... now full of weeds and honeysuckle..... the whole garden is way over 100 ft long and that wide too.... kind of crazy....im going to have to go for more ground cover...its laid out in a big +....with 2 side gardens.......

so far, i have been rearranging and digging into my lovely compost...and trying not to decapitate the lilies...and just seeing whats coming up...

if you see me at the store with dirty nails....realize that i tried to clean up...but...i go out every morning before work... ...

greenoak at 30

hard to believe but we are in year 31.... in the same place with 2 of the same buildings.....
and one great big new one...or it used to be new i should say.....
we have a lot to be thankful for....especially our customers....who keep us going ....
and we are all thankful for the dear departed who saved and took care of all this stuff

when we started the key was DO YOUR OWN THING, back then it meant make your enviornment a way that made you happy...as much as you could...a lot of decorating rules flew out the window...... our customers put manure spreaders in their yards for flowers, they brought barn relics in the house..... they turned quilts into pillows... etc etc. for us it meant make a business where we could do our thing and not be in someone elses big system...

and now we are still doing our own thing and still getting fun , adventurous OUTSIDE THE BOX, some very outside the box buyers...

NOW we have added lots of new names.....shabby, green,steampunk, foo foo, VINTAGE INDIE or indie shopping...... and it fits us like a glove... we have kept to our roots....outside the box and privately owned open to about anything vintage and interesting.....
just dont expect us to twitter or myspace.....not yet anyway.

our customers always know they arent in a hallmark!!!

white eye candy and tours

here are some of the places ive seen lately out blog hopping...... if you like our white section and our archetectural things you will love these sites...so many good ideas...and great imagination....

one is about texas shows....dont they look great!!!

this blog http://cottagegardens-theresa-smith.blogspot.com/

and this one http://euroantiquemarket.blogspot.com/

and this one http://shabbychicblog.com/

and here http://peacockparkdesign.blogspot.com/

enjoy...