Friday, April 23, 2010

Vision...

Piper and I celebrated last night after signing the lease with sizzling rice soup and egg roles at our fave Chinese restaurant, so naturally we charged into our fortune cookies to see if good fortune was to be had...well, this one was mine...do ya think...!

...so now visions of settings dance in my head...
These are from Sisters' Garden, but...the idea's the same...have junk will travel and we got stuff,
as we plan to tear down our gazebo and rebuild for the garden setting planned at the new shop.
Piper will be there painting all weekend while I run the store...
and we know what I'll be doing...
packing my truck!
From this point on my truck will never go there without a FULL load...

Tony, the mall manager told us
that everyone out there is very excited about us coming on board,
when you have an established biz,
word travels fast...
as a matter of fact, Piper got an email yesterday
from someone who wants to put a bakery in out there
and wondered if there was a space...

and so it begins...
new life to a dead mall
if you build it
they will come...

I feel the good vibes, how 'bout you!!!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

And so it begins...

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their comments and concerns, this is no slight of hand move for my daughter, this is her second move in ten years of owning The Shed, unlike her Mother...Where is she now Wilson...is she following her footsteps...or maybe she gets the concept of beating a dead horse...

There's a movie theater and a dance and karate studio in the mall, that were once downtown and they attract a lot of watchers.

I know all you small biz owners know what we're going through...those sleepless money worrying nights, will they come and when they do will it be enough to sustain. Those that know me, know that finding inventory has never been a problem, my shops have always been full to the brim...the question here is, is the mall ready for us two go-getters..heehee...

You do what you can with what you have and I think Piper and I are qualified...
we don't let the meanies get us down...we're gonna WOW um with our smarts and try to encourage other small biz to make the move...
too bad so many have already closed their doors for good...bummer...

who knew...

Piper told me over the phone yesterday on my way home from Sisters' that not one person walked through her doors...
gee, I wonder why...oh I know...
they have the main thoroughfare to the downtown closed for resurfacing...
for a month now...
that's progress!

See ya at the new shop friends...

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A city under a cloud...

Our fair city, once a bustling river port, is now a fading memory of it's former self...
six blocks of wonderful turn of the century architecture.
Shop after shop closes down, unable to maintain, as a city administration allows it to die.
A few years ago they took out the parking meters, BUT, the ordinance was way too vague
for ordinary humans to comprehend...
Three hour limits were set for each space, which is great for shoppers,
BUT...
it has been consumed by uncaring business owners, their employees and low-rent tenants.
Never a space left for shoppers, as every three hours you can stand in front of your empty shop and watch the dead-beats walk out and move their vehicle to another space.
It closed my shop down and many others and we all say the same thing...
PARKING!!!
Oh yeah, and a side note, there is a free parking lot one block away and a metered 10 hour parking lot a half block away...
go figure...sooooooooooooooooooooooo...

Our local mall is being renovated after years of neglect and HUGE rents and is desperately seeking tenants...so Piper and I drove out yesterday to check out the spaces available.
This space was once a restaurant and has tons of windows, right now they are covered in paper so you can't see the mess inside while it awaits someones vision to start anew.

OK, so try to envision Friends' Candle Shed opening up shop in this quaint lil' space...

This would be the mall entrance after it's door are installed again...

Black, red and white checkered tiles, hanging lights on every window, great for displays and is about the same size that we have right now.
Can you feel it yet...
We will paint the ceiling tiles black and the walls an industrial gray.
There is also a small bar sink which would be perfect for 'The Soap Bar' to set up shop, as we all know that handling fresh bars of home-brewed soaps can be messy.

We love the look of the red ceiling fans...there is an ol' timey feel to this space that would easily pull off a country look, a garden look, a french bistro and with the wall of stainless steel from the former kitchen, we could actually do an industrial look...

So whatta ya think...are we nuts(don't answer that)...
We are right near a major entrance where 'Tan World' just opened up and has tripled their biz since moving here..
A gourmet sub shop, 'Jimmy Johns' is opening across from us, and 'Berlin's Pro Shop' silk screen' is right next door...hmmmm...T-shirts...
Down the center is a clothing resale store, 'Shop to Drop' that has tripled her biz since moving out of the downtown and is opening up the space right next door too, for kids' clothes...
A Christian book/card store has moved in from the downtown...same scenario...
tripled biz.
Hazel Greens' bridal shop and alteration biz moved from the downtown 5 years ago to the mall, biz is booming and she will open a tea room next door to her store soon.

So all in all Piper and I have made a decision, something must change
and if the city won't...we must.

This means in the winter months we won't have to wait days for the streets to be plowed, all the leaves from the landscaping trees won't be blowing in the front door, PLENTY of parking right out front...

and best of all, we may see the mall-walkers back and new life set to a once packed mall...
It's a start and I think we will pull it off...

If you build it, they will come!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Tradition speaks....

When you want to walk back in time, a trip To Manley's Antiques is what the doctor orders...
however, I'd love to virtually send you there but Dave and LeeAnn are of the old school,
no computer and no cell phone, so you just have to make a trip to see this wonderful shop in Muscatine, just up the street from my daughter's shop Friends' Candle Shed.

Again, LeeAnns' displays tempt...
I went to school with these guys and been buying antiques from them for years. Dave has restored many of my own pieces and would cringe if he knew I painted them...ha!

Every display is a setting of vintage charm, perfectly restored to your dream room fancy...
LeeAnn has a way to charm each and every setting.





This is what started it all, the love of the old, rescuing from certain demise and creating a comfort zone in our own lives that reminds us of Granny and the times we call...
simpler...
though our Granny's would digress...
Granny would always say,
don't lettum kid ya...
they weren't easy or simple!!!

Visit Manley's Antiques
Muscatine, Iowa
563-264-1475

Monday, April 19, 2010

An outing for Scratchy...

For those of you that didn't know, Scratchy had knee surgery last Friday...OMG...I was alone for a whole day...I had the entire bed to myself...I kept hearing her walk into the room, I wanted to let her outside, I wanted to feed her on schedule...
BUT...
she wasn't here...!!!
You know they say when you have an amputation, you still feel the body part, like it never left...

That's how I felt...
WHERE'S SCRATCHY!!!

OK...I may be obsessing, but it sure is good to hav'er back.
She's doing great, though still walking on 3 legs, she's climbing steps and getting fed out of her chair...OK, she's a tad spoiled...
but she's my bud and you do what you do...
when you're not the alpha female!!!

Sooooo...
we went shopping and got some great stuff...
I put the word out for paned windows and doors,
I have this vision of my Rabbit Hole
and a dream of a shack in my yard made entirely out of recycled materials,
how fun would that be...
old windows and furniture and barn boards.
I want my own singing conservatory
where the wind blows through the cracks
and the knotholes and sings the song of the sirens
an ode to
where there's a will there's a way...

HEY...what a great name for the shack(solarium)...

"THERSAWILL THERSAWAY"

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Shadow Shot Sunday.....and the kitchen sink...

When you have it all
you naturally have the kitchen sink

isn't that how it goes...

well...
and maybe a toad

but what you really have is an
over-active imagination
a thrill for the ride
a never-ending
quest for the junk
and the dust of the road
you are a dealer
of antiquities and such
a collector of fine trash
a designer of domains
a dealer in strange
a picker...

so keep on reading into yesterday's post
and you'll step into the realm
of one dealer's nest
the love
and the passion of
this person's trash
and of course
the sink

what else !

Check out the others shadows over here...
and please keep reading yesterday's post to see the rest of this magical shop
and the love of the trash and the hunt
to fill this wonderful space
of an Alice in wonderland
my friend Barb Connor's place...

Cross Creek Antiques
Fairfax, Iowa

Friday, April 16, 2010

Come with me Alice...find your own rabbit hole...

Through these doors one enters a magical realm...the wonderland of Barb Connors...her magic filled rabbit hole, a constant inspiration to me...
Cross Creek Antiques and Simply Iowa, the blog...

Will you be inspired
by wispy glass beading
and statues all beckoning
and fountains all streaming
with rusted and crackled
and faded old flair
by sun drenched age'd hollows
in this moaning conservatory
of a mad hatter's lair

...be inspired
listen to the siren song

be not afraid
to follow your heart
have a tea party
with crystal
and velvet
a decorator's art

it's true what I said
this room it does sing
with the wind through the panes
it moans with a ring
of mystics and magic
and the hum of the rains
I was awed by it's foray
in a traveler's dream game


...the church of the soul...

...the gateway to Edens..

...and the mystique all around...





...find your own rabbit hole
the magic
and the mystique
of your very own Alice
your sweet soul
and your wide-eyed
inner peace...


Thanks Barb for always inspiring me to clutter my realm...!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Success..............!

Craig is beaming and reeling from packing all the goodies they found on this trip to IOWA,
boy, what a haul...!

...and let me tell ya, the van is filled all the way to the back bumper...can he pack or what!!!

I managed to find a few goodies too on the two days of junkin' we did...

...couldn't resist...

The front porch at Sisters', which is getting a fresh coat of white paint...love it, it looks so Iowa countrified...

...don't ya just love the yeller...like porch posies...

Then we ran into Anita of Iowa Junk Gypsies, what a wonderful chance encounter that was, as she's plotting her next show at Kane County...

Then it was on to Barb C's place...Simply Iowa...
there is nothing like Barb's shop, I'll do a full post on her tomorrow...

This lil' tiny sink/fountain at Sisters' had us all drooling...

...as did this fabulous chandelier...
what a wonderful few days we've had playing with our best'es buds...
as the wonder of the internet and digital cameras
brings us all together for the memories and the
folly had by all...thanks everyone!!!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

TOT's here.....



My new toy Theresa brought me from Kentucky...she knew how much I needed a more convenient method of cutting my soaps that wouldn't callous my hands...
TA DA...

A pizza cutter...how novel is that...and it really works...

THANKS TOT, you made my job so much easier!!!

OK, enough of this dribble...

WE GOTTA SHOP...later..........we're outta here!!!