Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Greening My Life



Living a sweet life
 . . . 
surrounding oneself with 
clean
 "happy"
thoughtful
possessions

Old items which are
 repurposed
and 
upcycled
alleviate waste
and needless
new
manufacturing.

What a simple and delightful way
to
go green.



Monday, February 27, 2012

Old Mason Jars, New Life as Decor

{Mason/Ball jars currently available at Patina!}

Old Mason jars have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity over the last few years. What our grandmothers once used for green beans and pickled okra, we now use for decoration. Put fresh flowers in a large jar on your table, or fill it with sea shells, buttons or even candles.

Joy recently shared a photo of the mason jars in her home office...


I use mine in the kitchen for sugar, flour, cocoa and other items, and in the bathroom for q-tips and cotton balls. {Yes, I am my mother's daughter!} They make everything look prettier.



Need some Mason jars for your home? Stop by Patina and choose from a wide variety that Joy has in stock. Call or email her if you're out of town; she's happy to ship to you!

~Kellie

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Beautiful Canvas Prints at Patina!

Canvas prints are all the rage right now and we have some beauties at Patina that you won't see anywhere else!

We have prints of old post cards from Paris...

1905 Sommet de la Tour Eiffel




1920 Tour Eiffel


1900 Tour Eiffel


Old Nebraska Church

{Original photography by Kevin Barnes}


Of course we have many more unique and wonderful prints  - buttons, watch faces, cameras, type writer keys and more! - available in the store so drop by and see us! If you're not nearby, you can always call or email us to see what else we have available. We do take special requests as well.




~Kellie

Monday, February 20, 2012

Smelling the Flowers



There is something that has spoken to my heart this week
about stopping to smell the flowers along the way
in 
my journey.

Perhaps it's age
or just a little nudge
from 
God,

to take a little time out
from toil
and 
relax
and
enjoy a nap
and
the snow
and
family
and
friends.




There are a lot of lessons 
to
learn
while on this
earth,

and 
appreciation for
the beauty
all
around me
is 
one I learned
a
long 
time
ago.

To stop and be kind
was another
one.

Sometimes 
need
a
reminder.

The chores will get done . . . 
or not . . . 

and
when I'm too old
to be able to walk
outside at will,
or drive to the mountains
for a random picnic,
or visit my friends,

I'd like to be able to say,
"I spent time enjoying those pleasures
whenever I could,
and 
I am glad!"









So, pick up pretty seashells
and interesting rocks
and bird feathers
and lovely leaves,

and hold your
babies
 on
 your
 lap,

and
eat all the freshly baked cookies you're offered.

Stroll through the grass
barefoot in the spring,


and make snowmen
and
 enjoy hot chocolate
 with whipped cream
when it's cold outside.


It's
good
to take time
to
smell
the flowers
along
the
way.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Singing My Song



So . . . 
I was travelling cross country on a buying trip recently,
and searching for some exciting old items that would
energize my customers when they came into the shop.

There's not a lot "new" in the antiques world . . .
(no pun intended)
but our remix of items every few years seems to keep things fresh and happening.


The decorating/antiques/home furnishing biz 
is regularly shaken up and infused with a new perspective from time to time, 
causing us all to have a desire to redecorate or re-theme our homes.

When I began in the 70's we were making our urban and suburban homes mindful of the
 wholesome, self-sustaining world of
 country living.  
We loved the look of a wooden bowl, a rolling pin, an oil lamp, a butter churn . . .




these were the tools we were drawn to 
as we honored our grandparents' pure, simple, lifestyles. 
They bespoke a work ethic born of necessity . . . 
a "get the job done with what you have"
ability.

The timeworn look and soft feel of a handcarved clothespin can still turn my head!


By the eighties, I was searching for a fresher, newer look in my shop.
I edged away from the natural oak and maple woods,
and utilitarian kitchen tools,

and 
leaned toward crisp white Victorian linens,
white ironstone,
blue and white hand thrown pottery from local mountain potters,
herbs, 




handwoven oak splint Appalachian baskets,
and what I referred to as 
"naturals"

birds nests, feathers, shells, river rocks, branches in vases . . .




There was a beauty to adding nature to the one of a kind, 
hand thrown jug or hand turned wooden bowl.
I decorated my home with old, scrubbed, Irish pine furniture 
(although no one else seemed to be buying it),
it was plentiful because it hadn't found favor with American buyers yet.

There was an essence of the simple and thoughtful accumulation of meaningful items.
Old World pine, (servants' furniture), was reminiscent of my heritage.



My favorite rugs were creamy white rag rugs made in the south of the scraps the factory workers collected from behind cotton mills.
My perception was that this recycling/upcycling of what was otherwise headed for destruction
was a smart idea.
It was what ingenious and thrifty pioneers had been doing throughout history,
and,
these scraps created a cottage industry for families 
who otherwise would have 
been hungry.

I was usually several steps outside the norm,
(read "odd" )
in my style. . . 
but these rugs became a mainstay in my business at that time.


The nineties brought my excitement with old metal bins and wire baskets
 and factory tables . . .
again,
not immediately of interest to most of my customers,
who simply didn't get it.
I had started swathing my furniture in linen and muslin,
 and cheesecloth made awesome
(cheap) curtains, when I bothered to have curtains.
I was happier draping an ancient tatted-edged table runner over a tree branch
and tucking it above a window for softness
than actually curtaining off the view.

By 2001, I was selling down in Texas at the Round Top Antiques Fair.
I was in the process of collecting furniture and architectural pieces with old white peely paint,
but I just didn't know where to find enough of it to supply the wonderful customers I was selling to.
I began collecting this genre because no one else wanted it, and it was practically free.
"Good" surfaces were expensive and in demand,
and I wasn't able to compete in that market.



So, I began painting reject and hand me down furniture
 white,
then sanding it back to look like it had been around forever.
A furniture craftsman shared that he "aged" surfaces by strapping the painted piece to the top of his car, and running it through the car wash repeatedly, until the desired patina was achieved.


My grandmother was dismayed, 
she was busy stripping paint 
off
old pieces,
liberating the original, beautiful wood
while I was busy slathering paint
 on . . .
but, each to her own.

I was set up at Round Top one spring
 when who should appear in my booth but that well known guru,
Rachael Ashwell, newly of Shabby Chic fame.
She quietly pointed to several pieces of my furniture,
smiled at me, and went on.
Her one assistant wrote a check, and the other loaded up the furniture and carted it off.
(I will probably take that to my grave as one of the highlights of my life.)

OK - Sandra Bullock also purchased an item from me,
 but it's not polite to brag!



Deep inside I have a hunger
 to continue the quest for the next fresh look.
No one knows what will rock our worlds,
but by turns we have evolved through
country, shabby chic, retro, Tuscan, 'frenchy', 
industrial and urban chic.

I'm still travelling
still searching
still longing 
for the sweet, fresh, happy look.

Still singing my song! 







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