My work is on Apartment Therapy today! Can you believe it? I can’t. Oh my gosh! Seriously, this is so exciting! Remember the custom work I did on the card catalog turned dresser for a nursery. Well, Sophie’s nursery is featured on Apartment Therapy.
Gorgeous finished baby dresser!
I am having a Vintage Furniture Market! I can’t wait. My friend, Chams of La Parisienne, and I are having a small pop-up market. We both specialize in vintage furniture, I refinish it and she paints it with Ce Ce Caldwell paint. We have similar taste and a lot of our pieces complement each other nicely. We want to give you all the opportunity to see our pieces in person and right here in Madison. We hope that a lot of people will come and check it out…and maybe, just maybe you will find some things you love!
When: Saturday, August 9, 2014 9am-2pm
Where: 2402 Westbrook Lane, Madison WI
We hope to see you there!
Congratulations Amanda & Karl on your brand new baby girl! It’s not every day that my work coincides with a client bringing a new life into the world, but when it does, it’s a pretty groovy thing. Getting ready for the arrival of their little bundle, Amanda & Karl prepared an adorable, tranquil space for the baby. The one thing that still needed some finishing touches before the big day, was the baby’s dresser. Amanda & Karl had found a retired card catalog from UW Madison’s Memorial Library. This piece is gorgeous; clean lines, great color, and years of wear that have only added to its charm. The only trouble was that this particular unit was a center piece in a bank of catalogs, which meant that the ends were completely unfinished. Amanda and I discussed her ideas for the piece, and we mulled over some possibilities. Amanda settled on a plan to cap the ends of the card catalog like the ends of an antique dresser. I won’t bore you with details, but the design entails putting a thin plywood finish behind border pieces that frame the end of the piece. Going into this project, I was thinking that I might have gotten in over my head. This was going to require all of my skills as a carpentress, plus a few more that I would pick up along the way. From finding and sourcing the right wood, to matching stains, to piecing it all together miles from my workshop comfort zone, this project was a labor of love. I was happy to get the chance to challenge myself to do something I haven’t done before. I was proud that the card catalog came out as well as it did, and that Amanda and Karl were happy with what we came up with. My plan for this business has always been to take on commissioned work, and that is starting to look like a reality now. So, congrats to you both. Enjoy every moment with your lovely daughter, cherish her, shower her in kisses, and sleep every chance you get! And to you, little baby girl; take it easy on your parents, and if they find you an antique writing desk some day that just needs a little fixing up, have them give me a call : )
BEFORE!
AFTER!
You might wonder what’s been going on around here. I haven’t had much time to post anything since life is just a bit busy.
After wrapping up the end of the school year craziness, we headed out to South Dakota for a much needed family vacation! We don’t take a vacation every year so we were definitely looking forward to this. We headed west, all 5 of us crammed into the RAV-4 with our camping gear and busy bags for the long days ahead. Since we weren’t in a hurry to get there and we wanted the kids to love it, we planned many stops along the way and took our time. It was so lovely knowing our only goal along the way was to hit our next campground before dark. That meant we could stop for any reason to take in the sites or just get out and stretch. We had a great time except for the first day, which went badly. I think it was a mix of all of us getting used to our cramped quarters, capped off by the worst campground ever. After lots of complaining and grumpiness from all the kids we drove into our campsite and through a swarm of mosquitoes. Then we stepped out of the car and into the humidity to find our site surrounded by a thicket of poison ivy! Had I not convinced my husband that the trip would get better I was sure he was going to turn us around and drive us back home. After that day everything got better. The kids got used to the tiny car and we were all generally in much better moods. We all got the hang of keeping busy on the road. The boys made so many bracelets it was crazy. The whole trip turned out to be awesome. We camped all the way out to South Dakota and the kids loved it. Their only goal was to see a buffalo and we saw a huge herd of buffalo. It was a great trip and a great way for us to kick off our summer.
When we arrived home I set to work on a commissioned project, which I just finished; expect to see it on the blog later this week.
We are also replacing the siding on our house. When I say we I mean, my husband, father-in-law and I. We are the ultimate DIYers and even though it is exhausting, it is also extremely gratifying to take on a job this big.
Between the siding, the business, and the kids, there isn’t a lot of time to blog. I will keep trying to squeeze it in and can’t wait to show you my latest project….it is awesome! Stay tuned.
It was a gorgeous day! The sun was shining and it was just beautiful out. Some good friends and family stopped by. My booth looked amazing! I had so many comments on how beautiful everything was. I even got some old guy credit about the quality of my refinishing work. I deeply respect old guy cred because they generally pay attention to quality, which is of the utmost importance to me. I got a lot of compliments for the work I do. I also didn’t get anyone that was taken aback by my prices, since it was my first show I just had no idea if I was priced right. Unfortunately, I was hoping to sell at least 3 pieces of furniture and I only sold 1. I sold quite a few smaller items though and had a good time.
I am glad I did the market. It got me out there and moved me from someone who refinishes furniture to a vendor. My portfolio will continue to grow and when I do another show I will have a better idea of what to expect. I am not an “in your face” kind of person so the “show” aspect was harder for me. I got some great advice from a friend who has been doing shows for a while, I just need to put it to better use next time. I used to do theater so maybe I should treat my shows like a performance. The better the performance the better the sales. Hmmm….only time will tell. For now, I will add inventory to my etsy shop and figure out my next sale. I have friends begging me to do a show in Madison, so I have put that on the list of things to find.
My ever talented sister came to the show so these pictures are compliments of Christy Tyler Photography. Oh and my hubby was my trusty sidekick!
Happy Mother’s Day to all you momma’s out there! I have to give a huge thanks to my mom! She is an amazing and very talented woman and seamstress. She is also extremely modest. Since I didn’t have time to make a banner for the market myself, I did the only thing I would ever do, I asked my mom. I literally gave her a picture and color story and away she went. She is so awesome. I knew it would turn out great and it did. Check it out. Isn’t it awesome! It really made my booth stand out. Thanks Mom!
Amazing banner made by my very talented mom!
Only 1 more day until my big premiere! I can’t even believe that Market Day is finally here. Zoinks! I am beyond excited. I can’t wait to set up my booth and share all my finds with you. I hope my tents go up okay I didn’t get the time to test them….oops! I am beyond excited and think it will be a great time for all. I hear there are 30+ vendors, which means there will be a ton of variety! I hope to see you all there. Here is a sneak peek of my furniture. I have oodles of other items as well including one-of-a-kind throw pillows. See you tomorrow!
I have another before and after for you today! Do you remember my Learning Curves post? If not you should check it out. This chair was always beautiful but now she is modern too. She would make a great addition to your home!
Here she is before!
Here she is after! Isn’t she stunning! You can pick her up at my upcoming market in just 8 days! (Photos courtesy of Christy Tyler Photography)
Yay! I am so excited to share with you a big reveal. It is finally time for a before & after post! Skinny Minnie is one of the pieces I picked up this fall. I found this adorable gem at an estate sale. She got her nickname for her thin legs! As you can see from the photos she was missing a drawer. I figured I could retrofit a new drawer and it totally worked! I love this table. She would make a great entryway or side table. She is so pretty! Instead of going on and on I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
Skinny Minnie before.
Skinny Minnie after! (photos taken courtesy of Christy Tyler Photography) Thanks sis!
Skiny Minnie
Beautiful legs!
Drawer detail
Gorgeous grain!
Oh, and this beauty can be yours at my upcoming market!
I realize as the sale approaches that I have no idea what I might need to run a sale. I need to compile a list of “must haves for sale day” and gather all those items. The one thing I know I will need is somewhere to stash money during the sale. I figure it will be a more stylish version of the waitressing apron I wore waiting tables in college.
I had no specific ideas for this apron but it was in the back of my mind on our adventure to Chicago. The only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted it to be a repurposed item. We tossed around ideas of all kinds of items I could repurpose, but my favorite was a vintage kitchen apron. We saw a few aprons in Chicago but in the end didn’t get anything because I didn’t find anything that was really me. I wanted something that screamed “JENN!!” when you saw it. Then I remembered an awesome golden mustard apron I had hidden away in my closet. I LOVE that apron but let’s be serious, I never use it! It has been in that closet forever. It is an awesome apron and has these great flower cutouts.
Off I went to pinterest to see what inspiration I would find. I had a very elaborate plan to create multi-tiered pockets. Honestly, that would have taken me too much time, time that I should be spending on more important things. So, I decided to keep it really simple. The apron was so long that I could fold it up to create a kangaroo pouch. Then I simply added 2 more vertical stitches to create 3 large pockets. It took me literally 15 minutes to create and is completely adorable! Check it out below!
Before!
After! SO CUTE!
Love the flower detail!
Rosewood & Brass Restorations 