Vintage Furniture and My Man!

If it wasn’t for my darling husband’s passion for furniture shopping, 

for searching, scouring and finagling, 

for all the hours on craigslist and the down-and-out thrift stores in the slums of Phoenix he frequents, 

the garage sales and estate sales he ventures out to, 

my days of restocking my shops with vintage dressers, mid-century desks and French chairs might be coming to an end, but . . . it appears the counselor likes the hunt.  Typical man!

Does anyone out there see running a booth at an antique mall as masculine.  It really is.  With all the moving, lifting and heavy work this type of job requires, my manly man does almost everything and I do next to nothing but say “Ewe, this dresser needs to be painted gray.”  With a misaligned floor dolly that moves like a squeaky grocery cart, this man moves 100 pound pieces of furniture about as easy as I carry in a bag of groceries.

Like this piece.  It's a hefty 12-drawer solid-wood dresser.  He will move this with the ease of toddler pulling a wagon I tell you.

The only time we ever fight, with the passion and determination of two polar opposites is when we try to move a piece of furniture together.  16 years of marriage and I finally know how to push his buttons.

What I’ve learned about my man:

1)    do not offer suggestions, directions or warnings when driving.  The stereo-typical joke about men and driving is alive and well.

2)    do not try to convince him something is dark navy when he thinks it’s black.  It will not work.

3)    he is perfectly capable of moving various types of large furniture without your help.  I think it makes him feel like He-Man.

With his manly attitude, it seems he’s really turned this little hobby of mine into something more.  I like to restore furniture while I paint and hum the latest uplifting song on KLove. 

Here's one of my latest favorite songs from FOR KING AND COUNTRY:

The counselor does nothing in this business passively.  He stay abreast with restocking and what paint colors we need.  I really like him.  He’s done good.

Here are our latest creations:

SOLD 

SOLD

SOLD

It seems I like the creative part of this business and the counselor likes everything else.  Way to go, babe!

And a few little things?

I'm in love with this chalkboard I made with an antique silver platter.

And this jar with a chalkboard lid.

And a few Fall decorations.

Vintage shutters

More candlesticks! This one stands about 2 feet tall.

I remember my grandma had little frames like these.  I found a bunch of them and painted them heirloom white, which is an antique white.

I don't sell everything I make.  I painted the lids of these little Mason jars to make a candlestick display.  I shared these with Mayer's and Reef's teachers at parent/teacher conference.

If you want to check out any of my shabby pieces, I'm at Merchant Square in Chandler, booth #73 or Antique Plaza in Mesa, booth #52.

Linking up to:

The Broken Hinge Blessing

Last weekend, I finished a few more chalkboards.  This one is my favorite!

And painted a beautiful dresser to take down to Merchant Square.  

What a beauty!

I also painted a folding closet door to used as a backdrop for hanging all sorts of trash, 

a vintage garden rack for display 

and all sorts of trashy things.

I started to pull out the massive dresser from my truck when pop – the cabinet door hinge just broke in half. 

The dresser was literally halfway out of my truck, somewhat teeter between me and the large appliance wagon.  I wasn’t sure what to do when the gentleman helping me suggested we bring the dresser in anyway.  “You can run to Home Depot, buy a new hinge and I’ll help you put it on.”

We took the dresser into the shop and placed it in my booth (#73).  

The new trash I brought in was not priced and everything was a bit disheveled, but I ran out looking for the hinge.  Before I knew it, it was past 5:00.  Merchant Square was closed. 

The following day was Saturday and Merchant Square had scheduled an event called “Let’s Make A Deal.’  The event invited all merchants to man their booth for the day so customers could meet the artist.  Because my Saturday’s are pretty hectic here at the house, I hadn’t planned on attending the event, but with a broken cabinet door and all sorts of unpriced inventory, I knew I needed to get down there.

Saturday at 7:00am, the doors opened just for vendors.  I was able to meet some amazing people.  I’m telling you, there is so much talent inside that store.  The creativity is addictive. 

Well, the hinge I had purchased at Home Depot didn't fit the cabinet from the dresser, so I was out the door again, running to Ace, then a custom cabinet shop.  Finally, I made it back to Merchant Square right at 9:00am.  The shop opened for customers and I finished up pricing this and that when I a woman with the sweetest smile approached me.  She introduced herself and we became instant friends.  

Deb has been a follower of My Dear Trash, plus a member of ANWA (American Night Writers Association), a writing group I’ve been a member of for years.  We hugged and laughed, realizing we know so many of the same people, but what fed my soul was Deb encouraged me to keep writing, complimented me on my blog and shared sunshine in the form of true friendship.  She is amazing.  When she left I wondered “What if I hadn’t been here to meet her?” 

The event at Merchant Square was so much fun.  I spoke with all sorts of wonderful customers who had questions about decorating, painting furniture and the fun of this vintage craze that seems to be taking over the world.  Later, I walked from booth to booth meeting even more vendors – all because of a broken hinge.

P.S., I’m still looking for a matching hinge so wish me luck.