And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

The March has come and gone. I still feel the glow of it and am finding ways to remain involved and active on issues I care about. But day-today is beginning to resume here on the hill.

One thing I brought back with me was my cold. It was getting better when I left but two long, hard days brought it back full force. So Monday and yesterday I was absolutely worthless. I finally got dressed around noon yesterday for the first time since I got home Sinday evening, so you know! I did manage to use the down time to get some records updated and work on online selling, which went pretty well. Lots of sales packed up and ready to ship. So it wasn't all bad.

I packed only the clear stadium bag that was recommended for the march. It was a challenge to figure out how to get everything I would need in there and still not be too heavy. I needed to bring a change of clothes, toiletries, an extra sweater in case it got colder than expected, food and water for the march, and so on. I managed it and maybe learned a thing or two about packing light.

But that meant I had no suitcase, so when my sister suggested we go thrifting on Sunday, I wondered what I would do if I bought anything. No worries, my sister said, I'll lend you a carry-on suitcase! And off we went. So here's some of what I brought home, enough that when sold will cover my costs for the whole trip.

I tried hard to be careful and not buy too much but that is so hard when there are bargains to be had. I did well until I came upon two chenille bedspreads. If you haven't heard, those things are in high demand. Well, I bought them and hoped against hope that I could get them and the other things into the suitcase. Of course I couldn't! So my sweet sister is mailing those big blankets to me. There will still be plenty of room for profit even with the postage cost.

One item I picked up puzzled me. It was this individual size creamer, which looked very much like the popular Fiesta Ware by Homer Laughlin. It's only 3 inches tall, cute as a bug.

This is Cantina Ware. I looked it up to see who made it, etc. Turns out it was a Target product and Homer Laughlin took Target to court--and won--accusing them of trying to duplicate the Fiesta style and colors. That was in 1998, I believe, and it was finally settled in 2003. In between those dates Cantina Ware could not be manufactured or sold as the judge in 1998 ruled against Target. So there's not a lot of it around. Interesting story, I thought.

Homer Laughlin has sued other people for similar things and won--Williams-Sonoma was selling accessories and calling them Fiesta Favorites. HL also sued two other companies for selling knock-offs called Carnaval in 2013. I never thought about how much trouble it could be to protect something as signature as Fiesta, although I have seen quite a bit of dinnerware in the thrift stores that looks very like it. Now I know why--everyone wants to be part of success, right? But copying is apparently lucrative business for lawyers. Only one company seems to have won the case with Homer Laughlin.

What else to tell you about? Oh, my husband's latest project, refinishing this oak dresser.

It was a sad piece really. It was rickety and dark, stains on the top and old wood knobs. No mirror either. We'd had it in Marietta--we bought it on the fly to fill an empty spot and figured we'd bring it home at some point to fix it up. The point finally came! We had found a mirror and frame meanwhile, so Larry stripped the dresser, braced it, stained and waxed. We added new knobs and the mirror. I am loving it. I hope someone else will too.

So today this one goes to our Ravenswood booth, to replace this cabinet that sold on Monday.

Time to get moving! Hoping you all have the very best of days.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Transformation, or the Story of Two Chairs

They looked like this

And then like this

And today, at last they are finished and in the booth.

I have had this end result in mind since last October, I think it was, when I bought the square table. I painted it last fall but didn't like the black I used. So it sat around here getting in the way for several months until I finally got back to it and got started. I'd had the chairs a while too, just waiting for the right project.

I love the way it came together! I found the BISTRO sign at a thrift shop so it too was stashed away with this project in mind.

In January and February I painted a few accessories but still avoided starting on the table and chairs. Why? I don't know--I can be the very queen of procrastination sometimes.

But last week I was finally ready to get started and get done. Now it is all pulled together in the booth at the Riverbend Antique Mall and I just love it. And it's priced to sell too, because I want to see this in someone's home.

I also painted these two black stools with General Finishes Lamp Black, and then finished them with High Performance Top Coat just as I did the table and chairs. I love this sleek black look.

I am so happy with this, and with finally getting it all done. Now, on to that desk and that little table and the...


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Projects

We've been working hard on a wide variety of projects the past few days. The weekend brought us a break in the weather that allowed us to work outside in the afternoons and that was perfect for getting some items sanded and ready for paint or stain. Here's a few things we've been doing:

 This table is almost done. A little touch-up on the base, then wax and it will be ready for a booth--as soon as I get the two chairs painted to go with it. Haven't started on those yet, because I got sidetracked on little things like this:

The lamp was white with green bands; I found the shade on eBay and waited until I found a lamp to paint to go with it.

I've had this box for quite a while and it didn't sell. It was painted gold with flowers decaled on it. I thought maybe a white chalk paint would give it more appeal.

 It's hard to see in the photo but the top has embossed strips, very pretty.

I think I wasted my time on this. The frames on the pair were ugly. I tried white with gold glaze, distressed and waxed. Not lovin' it.

Here's a corner detail:

I painted this brass frame white; the glass was broken so this will sell as it is, as a wall accent.

The other painting in the pair. I am thinking those frames will need to be redone. What do you think?

This is another piece I've had for a long time with no sale. It was green with flowers on the drawers; I went with black and white for a more primitive look. We'll see if I guessed right.

A small rack that was pretty beat up for a new primitive look.

 Chalkboard! I'm playing with this technique, with mixed results. This one came out well. It has a silverplate frame, so it's an upscale chalkboard :)

This little desk is a "married" piece. We found the rolltop section, then added the base from a table we had that had a bad top. The pigeonholes inside the desk were missing, but we found some at an antique mall and with just a little cutting, they will fit. It also needs is for one piece of the webbing that holds the rolltop together to be repaired. I think it will be pretty cute when we're done with it. I think we've invested too much but it's neat to make something useful again.

This poor little thing was a mess! It had been in a basement and was covered with mildew and dirt. It took a lot of scrubbing to clean it up, but look at it now! I'm sealing the top today, then wax and it will be ready to go.

I love the way the top came out; I used General Finishes Java Gel Stain on the top, and GF's Antique White on the base.

Larry has put a lot of time into this medicine cabinet, stripping away years and layers of paint. It's ready to go.

Still has the original latch;  love the way it looks.

This round mirror was painted orange! Getting a new look with black.

This one is going to take me a while. I've just started priming it; Larry did some repair work on the base and I hope it will look as cool when it's finished as it does in my mind right now. Fingers crossed! I'm thinking aqua and yellow, with an ochre glaze and white wash, floral transfer on the door to give it a French country look.

One last thing is the wood chest under the medicine cabinet. Larry stripped, sanded and stained this old wood tool box to bring it back to its original look. (The chair is one of the two that will go with the table in the first picture.)

So that's what we've been up to--that and quite a few more things. It's been a busy week, but we have lots more to do to feel like we're getting ahead of the game. Right now storytelling is quiet and I can let myself sink into this work. It's amazing how relaxing I find it, and how often I find myself with a paintbrush in my hand at midnight. Working for yourself is cool, but there's no one to tell you it's quittin' time!


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Painting Projects: No. 1--The Vintage Steel Cabinet

I'm back to painting finally, now that the weather has cooled, the gardens are pretty much over and storytelling is quiet. This cabinet took a few hours yesterday:

I forgot (as usual) to take before photos. But here is the condition of the drawers. I had planned to paint the cabinet red because I thought the finish was too bad to save. But after a closer look, I got out the Barkeepers Friend and started scrubbing to see if I could clean it up.

This side was the worst. I hoped that the bad place was just dirt, but no, it was rust.

The front kickplate paint was chipped, but inside the contact paper probably saved the big storage shelf.

 The top is not porcelain, but Formica, and it looked pretty bad too.

To work! (Note to self--buy gloves next trip to town.)

And here it is, after the cleaning but before the hardware was put back on. 

More pics when it's completely finished.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

On Sundays I Paint

At least that's been the drill for the last few weeks. Yesterday I concentrated on getting these chairs redone so we can get them to a booth. Four of them took up way too much room in my living room. Larry took them apart but still they were a clanky, bulky pile.

I managed to get a photo of one of the finished chairs before Larry got them all loaded in the van. I've never worked with vinyl fabric before, and I hope I never do again. I'm not entirely happy with the way they came out, but they're done And never say never, right?

Still, I'm pleased with them overall. They'll go with a 50's dinette table Larry refurbished a while back. We've been waiting to find chairs for it; now it's ready for our Ravenswood booth.

I also got a good start on this china cabinet. It was one dull piece. The glass is gone from the door and the decorative wood trim that should have been over the glass is also gone so it will get chicken wire in the door. The drawer will have accents of the interior color too. I am loving working on this cabinet. To be so ugly, and now so pretty-an ugly duckling story for real.

A couple smaller projects also occupied us right up until it was too dark to see. I wanted this wood tray to have a more distinctive look; some flat black paint and Minwax produced just the look I wanted.

And this coat tree had Larry busy stripping the water-stained finish, sanding, re-staining and generally tightening up loose joints.

The little harp table got another coat of paint. Some wax and it will be ready to go.

It's nice to be able to work out on the deck and enjoy the glorious day while I paint. Now the van is loaded and I'm ready to add new stock to a couple booths. We were tired puppies as we sat by the firepit last night, but it was a satsfied tired.

Linking to Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House, We Call It Junkin and Green Willow Pond today.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Chair Work

That used to mean I was at my job in Charleston, stuck at my desk in an office with bars on the window and a view of only the feet of passersby. Now it has a complete different meaning. Check out what I've been doing the last few days.

All of these chairs were U_G_L_Y. They'd been shed-stored, were dirty with rotting fabrics and lots of dirt and spiders. I got them for a great price, and Larry began his theme song: "Where are you going to put them? What are you going to do with them? I can't blame him--he's usually the one figuring out how to fit stuff in our storage areas. Right now, my house looks like a used furniture store because I have several things in here that are either done and ready for a booth or are waiting for me to work on them. At least I got the ones below almost finished. I am terrible at remembering to take before photos, but perhaps my description above gives you some idea of what they looked like.

This chair was in a dark wood finish with a plastic seat. It's a folding chair, which I thought was pretty cool. I immediately saw it in some funky color--and when I found a gallon of this green half price at Wal-Mart, I knew I'd found the right color. I found the fabric for the seat at Wally World too.

I just love the way it's going to look. I just need to wax it and attach the seat and it's done.

 This next chair was also in dark wood finish, and had maroon velvet fabric on the seat, with gold tassels on the corners. I kid you not. When we removed the fabric, there was some rotting silk and nasty padding underneath, so all that had to come off too. I still have to put new padding on this one and attach the fabric, then put the seat back on. I covered the little stool with matching fabric. It, at least, is finished!

This chair had peeling dark veneer on the center panel, and LOTS of spiders. I used a heat gun to peel away the veneer, sanded it well, and went with a chalky black. I had the tapestry seat cover on hand, and I really liked the way it looked on this old timer.

Next project, as soon as I tie up the loose ends on the others, is this set of chrome chairs. They have wood-framed cane backs and padded seats that desperately need to be recovered. I'll paint the backs white, and bought red vinyl to cover the seats. These will go very well with a dinette table from the 50's that Larry fixed up.

That's what's kept me busy lately, along with booth work, getting the early garden seeds in the ground at last, and a trip to Wheeling to pick up the coolest old glider chair. I'll post pics of that soon. Another project waiting on us!

Linking to Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House, We Call It Junkin and Green Willow Pond today.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.