Out with the Old...

Today I am kicking an old friend out of the shop. (No, it's not you. Don't be so paranoid.) In the spirit of trying to stay current, I am moving out this beautiful cupboard, to be replaced by a display piece that is a bit more streamlined. I find that the less stuff I have in here, the happier I am. Which begs the question: why am I in the retail business? I think people expect stores to be crammed wall-to-wall with items for sale, but I just can't bring myself to merchandise that way.

Anyway, goodbye to the cupboard - it will live with me for a while at home before moving on to greener pastures.


Speaking of streamlined, these new cloches I just got in are in a shape both current and timeless.


And speaking of timeless, peacocks (unless you're referring metaphorically to a real, insufferable person) will never go out of style. This is the Sycamore Hollow peacock watching over my winter window. It's sitting on the vintage mushroom-shaped wood piece that I picked up at the flea market last winter (after I paid for it of course). This piece is a bit on the weird side, and customers always ask "What do you do with that?" or "What is that for?" Why for putting a peacock on top of course! No, I don't say that. The wood piece is just for adorning your life, a bit of low-brow sculpture. Just go with it and ask yourself if it is always necessary to be so practical - rotten economy notwithstanding.

Late to the Funeral

A customer just popped in to ruin my day with the news that domino magazine has shuttered. Beyond depressing, as this is just the latest in a recent string of magazine deaths. The first and worst to come to my attention being House & Garden. The Venerable House & Garden! I should have know that newer mags would not be long for this world. Domino, however, I thought would survive through the recession, as it's point-of-view is unlike any other shelter magazine's out there. I never felt cool enough for the magazine (see previous post) but I really, really loved its DIY perspective, as it made me feel like I COULD be cool...someday. And now that day will never come. So thanks Kelly, for the bummer news about domino. Happier to hear the news from you, however - someone else who loved it - than reading a sad little post on domino's website. *sigh*

Domino Magazine: RIP

Now, onto hopefully a happier subject: projects.

Here is a photo of a recent frame I made. Kind of Asian, kind of trendy-crafty.


A recent view of the shop. Arrange, then re-arrange, then re-arrange some more! is my motto. The very happening vintage glass lamp is sold, but the glass bottles I will always have with me. Love those and can't stop carrying them, even when I'm afraid that my glass bottle market has been saturated. The shapes are very compelling.

You are here...

Karen King of Boom Studios created these lavender-filled heart sachets with vintage linens. She's a wiz, that Karen, and can whip up just about anything on her sewing machine. And not just any old anything, but items you actually want to have in your life. One-of-a-kind pillows, cards, tags, sachets, and, best of all, hats. Yes, she actually makes hats. In spite of 3 years of intense 4-H meetings culminating in supposedly wearable projects, I have yet to create anything involving sewing that anyone - even someone genetically required to love what I make (that's you Mom) - wants to possess. So Karen's talent is a wonder to me. She will have her own online shop on Etsy soon, so you will be able to access her creations directly. Until then, this amazing sachet, acquired through Sycamore Hollow, will have to tide you over.

Craftytime, Part II

I have stacks of old books that I've been using for collage projects. For those of you who think it's a desecration to dismantle old books, I would posit that I am actually aiding in a sort of reincarnation for a book that was destined only for a landfill. What could be less dignified for a book than to slowly deteriorate amidst piles of diapers and banana peels? Instead the book lives on, hopefully in your very own home, in the form of, in the case of my current project anyway, little paper hearts cut from its pages. Awwwww. That's pretty sweet.


Tiny little Heart Boxes - perfect for candy or momentos or...

Book Box, with a nice little surprise inside (see below).

Look at us! A vintage cake-topper couple, with vintage wedding bells, preserved at the moment of perfect happiness for all eternity.

Wintertime is Craftytime.

Rockport is deserted. It snows every weekend like clockwork, and I just spent the last few hours of this cold Sunday afternoon staring out the store window at a total of ten people (actually more like five - they went up the sidewalk then down, so I counted them twice) struggling along, heads lowered against the blowing snow. But you never know, I tell myself, someone may brave the weather to buy a lovely handmade paper box. Or a vintage glass float. Or a birthday card. Birthdays don't stop just because it snows outside.

Well, I've been making things lately. That is, after I spent the first week of January curled up in a ball, in my usual post-Christmas state of sedentary misery. But now we're deep into the winter, and things are picking up, creatively-speaking. Rockport is about as quiet as it is possible for a town to be and still be inhabited by human beings, so there is not much to do at the shop, besides blow the cobwebs off the counter and fondly remember when people in this town shopped locally, at least during the winter months (actually I have no memories of such a time). Winter is a good time to stock up on all the items I make for the shop and brainstorm about rearranging furniture. Yes, there are more important things to contemplate during these uncertain days, but in the wintertime, I am not so nimble, physically or mentally, and am happy to consider the right epoxy for gluing seashells, or what color to repaint my walls. I'm sure I'm not alone. Below are a few photos of some pencil box collages I've made, as well as a few wintery displays in the store. May you stay warm and un-snowed upon this January!

Stack o' pencil boxes