Autumn Decorating

There is a promise 

of 

autumn

 in the air, 

and

 that always nudges me into a

 fresh decorating mode . . . 

gathering and collecting

 and filling jars and cloches with the

 small items

 from around the house.

I have filled one tall apothecary jar with acorns,

one with tiny, antique, white ironstone doll size tea sets & dishes,

one with small, leather, pocket-size bibles and prayer books from the 1700's and 1800's.

Mellow wood bowls now cradle creamy stacks of linen napkins,

dried artichokes or fragrant bundles of cinnamon sticks.

I love

incorporating seasonal bittersweet and shocks of wheat or hops.

Crockery is back out on the counter, filled with wooden implements, prized for their timeworn patina.

Silver cutlery is on display . . . 

(as I anticipate serving some of the delightful fall pies and cobblers with steaming cups of coffee.)

Both of our shops, 

Dwell Antiques & Home 

and

 Patina Antiques & Home

are freshening and ripening with the bounty of the harvest season.

There are antlers and dough bowls, bread boards and baskets, dried hydrangeas and pumpkins appearing every day . . .

and

in the twinkling of an eye

you'll find both shops been fully transformed into a wonderland of autumn splendor!

This is the time when we polish up our reserves of silver plate

 trays and urns and flatware. 

The 1800's ironstone and transferware appears in stacks

with 

pitchers filled with autumn stems.

Botanicals, gourds, copperware and huge wooden bowls will come in and disappear quickly.

Our displays are so much fun to create

but we are delighted and thankful when they're plundered by excited customers

who 

choose their favorite items to cart home.

Designers came in yesterday and turned the shop topy-turvy as they extricated a truckload of freshly displayed items.  While we're honored to see them fly out, there is a momentary catching of the breath when we say goodbye to those precious antiques

so recently scored!

These are precious days, near the end of summer, a fresh awakening of the senses . . .

an opportunity for a fresh palette . . .

a time to 

be

THANKFUL

Come visit us in the South Denver neighborhood of Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Dwell Antiques & Home 5910 S. University Blvd. Greenwood Village, CO. 80121

303-795-3454  Monday - Saturday 10-5,  Sundays by chance or appointment.

How Do You Choose Those Beloved Items?

Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I have 

two 

little antique shops here in

 Denver Colorado

which

I manage to do because I have a partner at

 PATINA ANTIQUES & HOME

Deb Platt

and

two partners at

Dwell Antiques & Home

Melanie Everhart and Kellie Sloan Brown.

Not to mention several excellent friends who manage to keep me rolling in a million ways!

(You know who you are)

We partners have individual styles and preferences and life experiences and dreams and goals

but

all in all we have a common desire to enjoy retailing our favorite things in the two shops.

I believe the visitors to our two shops are able to discover a variety of treasures,

old and new

that spark their interest

and get them 

excited

We love to share with you when it comes to the

 stories and provenance

 we've learned about an object.

We are forthright in revealing the age of a treasure

the general location where it was found

whether it was 

handcrafted 

or 

mass produced

and

all that we can surmise about the object

from our years of life experience and study.

As shoppers, most of us purchase items based on a quick emotional tug.

We see something that appeals to some inner desire or memory.

"I want to be an organized person and this will help me."

"Oh ... my granny had one of those and it reminds me of those sweet times at her house!"

"That color makes me feel happy - and I want that 'pick me up'."

The items I personally buy for resale in my shops are 

often chosen

because of my own reflex emotional response to them.

There are those that tug at my heart and make me want to know their story,

there are those whose patina cries out to be touched, like a mellow old wooden bowl.

There are those whose color is particularly enchanting, with layers of age-old paint colors revealed.

There are those that someone has listed on our "wish lists".

Once in a while I'm the only one who sees beauty in a find.

That sweet little treasure might sit there for way too long, 

and I find myself doubting my ability.

Then, along comes the soulmate who reaches out and strokes that lil treasure

 and sighs

 and knows exactly what I saw in it.

Yes!

When you stop in, whether it's in our brick and mortar shops or our Etsy shop,

we hope you'll connect with us.

That's what makes it all worthwhile!

www.dwellantiques.com

www.antiquesbyjoy.blogspot.com

Transformation at Patina: Part 1

Late Thursday afternoon we began the daunting (but exciting!) task of completely re-doing Joy's half of the store at Patina.

Have you ever had an amazing, brilliant, wonderful idea that didn't quite work out? Well that was pretty much how the paint job went. Joy envisioned a wall that looked as if it had been painted a dozen times over a hundred year period, with layers peeling off and various colors and textures showing through. Beautiful, right?

We started by adding gray ("squirrel" was the name) over the original taupe and Joy tried her hand and blending it all together, but it was looking a little too sponge painted.

So a brown color was added on top of that...

...and more mixing ensued.

 

 But after many patient attempts and advice from a few late-afternoon customers,

 the wall was painted "squirrel..."

 ...then distressed with sandpaper and wallpaper brushes.

By the end of the night, we realized not much of the wall was left showing anyway, so I think the right decision was made. I absolutely love the color!

Have you been into Patina to see it yet? What did you think? Big difference, right!?

(More to follow on the transformation!)

~Kellie

Who's In The Know? Test

Just checking to see who's reading:

Check out my Facebook page

'Antiques by Joy'

to find out about

today's

offer 

at 

PATINA

ANTIQUES

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you in on the scoop?

It's Our Birthday at Patina Antiques & Home!

New lines, new artists, new merchandise. What could be better? A birthday party sale!

{View ad online | Join our email list}

New Artist at Patina Antiques

There are some exciting new items in the shop for Spring!

We have an assortment of
 eggs, birds, nests and botanicals

 printed on linen fabric

and

they 

are
 spectacular!

Denver artist

Judy Climer

is

working her magic

and 

you can be among the first to see it

at

PATINA

ANTIQUES

Enhance your home.

Drop in!

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

It Was Lovely!

The Christmas Open House at

 PATINA ANTIQUES

went off without a hitch

and 

for two glorious days

our precious customers streamed in and enjoyed the

holiday cheer!

They found vintage and antique Christmas treasures

as well as

fresh delights to adorn their trees

their mantles

and their packages!

Mercury glass, glitter, greenery, holly berries,

handmade stockings

garlands, lace, crystal,

 and 

pearly, wiry,

 rusty, peely paint,

leathery,

chippy,

silvery

little treats

were chosen,

wrapped,

and whisked away!

There was ironstone and silverplate

French feedsack and warm, mellow treen

chosen with care

to grace holiday tables

and fill boxes under the tree.

Galvanized tin pots

and

stone urns will hold fir trees.

There was champagne

and chocolates

and ginger snaps

and candy canes

and visions of sugar plums

dancing in our heads 

There were many hugs and smiles
 and the days were surely blessed
and I'm thankful
and content
and pleased!

Spending time with the folks
who truly appreciate and enjoy the beautiful things
that I love,
makes my heart happy!

There will be lots of pretties coming in each day,
carefully chosen to excite and deight,

so please come visit
and
enjoy the season!

That Time of Year

In independent retail businesses, 

particularly the small business owned and operated by one person,

the Christmas season is the

 "make it, or break it" 

time of the year.

We work tremendously hard for 10 months, 

and then in the 2 months prior to Christmas, 

we can do the same amount of sales we did in the previous 10.

Knowing this to be true,

these two months become very significant to our well being.

Did I say, "very significant"?

Okay, truthfully, these two months are way too important.

They can be stressful and frustrating and difficult and back breaking.

They can make you lose sleep and work in your shop till midnight, only to drive 20 miles home in a blowing, blinding snow storm, sleep a few hours and go out and scrape the 7" of snow off your car, drive back to work, and do it all over again.

They can disrupt your sleep, your attitude, your appetite and your general ability to communicate with others without taking a bite out of them.

No one moves fast enough, cares enough, has the sense of your need to complete a task,

or apparently any idea of the urgency with which you seemingly must live through these weeks.

The world should be in "fast forward" with you

but

t h e y 

a r e 

i n

s   l   o   w

m    o    t    i    o    n

Okay . . .

I'm a crazy woman when it comes to my 

"one woman show"

of holiday retail.

The shop must be turned inside out

redecorated

holiday-ized

and

it should

(in my mind)

be found to be one of the very nicest and most loved shopping spots in

the front range.

Now,

appearing in 

Victoria Magazine 

last winter certainly raised the bar.

Winning

  5280 Magazine's

Editor's Choice Award as

Top of the Town

in

 Home Accessories category

two successive years,

added to my stress to impress.

Winning 

Esprit 'd Noel's 

Christmas House Tour

to benefit Children's Hospital,

and appearing in 

Colorado Homes and Lifestyle

this month

was another beautiful compliment for

 PATINA ANTIQUES.

It also adds the challenge of surpassing last year's grandeur

 when we decorate for the tour

THIS YEAR

and try to do everything with a fresh new eye

to captivate our customers' imagination.

When the magazine spread appears on the news stand

the week of your annual

CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE,

(to which you've invited several thousand of your best customers,

 friends, family, competiton and hottest critics),

you can begin to tremble and shake

with the need to keep

 "out doing"

 what you've done in the past.

Your dreams and conversation can be peppered with phrases like, 

"over the top" and "outside the box" and "killer"

 and well . . . 

you get my drift . . .

But,

this year

I'm taking it a little easy.

I'm trusting that what I can do will be accomplished,

and what I can't do - only I will know about.

That there really is no amount of stress and frustration that can improve

 who I am

or

what I do.

I'll say my prayers and do my best

 and count on my creativity and my blessings

 to spring from God.

I will plan my work

and

work my plan

and ask that it's blessed.

Perhaps this is a sign of age - (hopefully maturity)?

I will take time for my friends

have a cup of coffee

smile at strangers

return my shopping cart

have my grandchildren spend the night 

take donuts to the guys at Grease Monkey

leave a gift on my neighbors doorstep

bake cookies

have a Christmas party

and

 trust! 

TOP OF THE TOWN - 5280 MAGAZINE AWARD

Each year, 

5280 Magazine

 holds a competition to determine which Denver businesses are ranked

  the best in their categories.  

Patina Antiques and Home

is entered in the Home Furnishings category, 

because we sell both antique and new items.  

We are proud to announce that

  we have won

the

People's Choice Award 

as

 The Best

 in our retail category

AGAIN!!

Thank you to everyone who voted for our little shop!!!

It's rewarding to be recognized for our dedication to meeting the needs of our customers,

for our hard work,

friendliness, product knowledge,

and for our commitment to excellence in the home furnishings field!

(Not to mention,

we're just plain fun!)

Stuff!

Beautiful day at Patina

French dresser 

arrived

Lovely customers

finding

just the

thing they were

looking for

What a pleasure it is to converse with

folks who love to treasure hunt!

There's a kinship among those who seek the unique and unusual

and surround themselves with

  repurposed

items!

A delightful gray- blue highboy went home with a sweet bevelled mirror . . . 

what a room they'll make together.

Lamps and rugs and books and tables and planters and frames and cozy chairs,

OH MY!

A fantastic European wooden,

  rolling bakery display cart

arrived this afternoon!

It won't last for long . . . 

it's perfect for display

for storage and organization

for books or art supplies . . . 

And so much more ....

Benches and display steps and chairs and little tables and chalkboards

and silver and birds nests and twine and ironstone

and lamps and baskets . . .