So Many Updates: We Moved and Business is Booming!

Our last post was August. And now it's Christmas Eve. Where has the time gone? Oh we can tell you!!

Since our last posts announcing our retail space, so much has happened.

First, we stayed busy keeping merchandise stocked at The Vintage Vine in downtown Littleton. We were really proud of our little space there and learned a lot about what customers in that area of town were looking for. We took a slightly more colorful approach with our booth.

Second, we've become a supplier to the ever-so-amazing store in Greenwood Village called Dwell. This store is one we've admired from afar for years and when they got the chance to move into a new space at double the size, the time was right to partner with the owner, Joy. The ladies that run this store are truly creative, kind and service oriented. Make sure you stop in and see what they have to offer. You'll find some of our great finds and refinished furniture mixed into the space.

Third, we decided to move our booth space to a new location. Beginning on November 2nd, we moved into a larger space at Unlisted in Centennial. We are so excited to bring you more merchandise, furniture and vintage finds in this unique store. You can find everything from pies to candles, clothing and gifts at this fun artisan mart. Make sure you venture to the back room where our booth is located in a prime corner space. AND the first Thursday of every month is Ladies Night from 5:00-8:00. Deals galore, free wine and snacks.
 

 

Our space at Unlisted in November

 

At Unlisted: Loving the painted deer head in the empty frame!

 

At Unlisted: Fantastic old pine cabinet!

 

At Unlisted: In December, Kandy brought in this remade sewing machine base

Fourth, Karli took a giant leap of faith and left her job to pursue this exciting business full time. Between the new retail space (where business is booming) and the opportunity to partner with Dwell, she decided the time was right to take her dream seriously.

 

We can't thank you all enough for your continued support of our business. We know the future is bright!!

At Unlisted during the December Ladies Night. What a blast we had seeing all our friends!

Holiday blessings and a happy New Year to all of you!
Kandy and Karli

A Paris Street Market: September 2015

We've been busy getting ready for our next trip to the "Paris Street Market" in Littleton, Colorado, on Saturday, September 5, 2015.  We'll have some fantastic finds for you in our booth!  Plan to arrive early to snatch up some wonderful painted furniture as well as unique found items that will be perfect in your home this fall.


We can't show you everything...... but, we wanted to give you a little sneak peek!



We have one dining set with 4 chairs (one captain's chair and three side chairs) painted a warm distressed gray.  They will be upholstered before we bring them.  The dining table, with two leaves, has a beautiful wood top with the legs painted in the same gray.  You'll have to wait to see the table there.

This piano bench is also painted in a warm distressed gray.  The top opens to hold sheet music or whatever you like.  The vintage 3-drawer chest has a distressed wood finish and would work great as an end table or for bedside storage.  The fun "Antique" sign and fall gourds are the finishing fall touch.

This vintage sofa table has great unique legs and is painted in a distressed gray granite finish.  It would be perfect as a sideboard in a dining area or behind a sofa, or you could even use it as a writing desk.

Here are a few primitive pieces.  The old wood chest was possibly used as a blanket chest.  It has dove-tail joinery and was put together with hand-forged square nails which date it to the 1800's.  It has been "touched on" with love and would be a perfect coffee table.  Several of the rusty found pieces include an old tin can, a rake, and some antique wood presses.  The little wood high chair is precious too.  There is nothing quite like old wood and rust to warm up a home.

And a few more fall touches just to get you in the mood.......

Hope to see you at the Market,
Kandy and Karli

How to Use Leopard in Your Home

I, come to find out, have inherited quite a few things from my Grandma Doris Lee (she's my mom's mom). From her I witnessed the joy to be found in hosting a great party. I love jewelry and glitz. I like to pour through magazines and recreate looks for myself. And I love leopard.

My grandma started wearing and decorating with leopard and has never looked back. I don't blame her. Leopard print can often times be considered a neutral!

When I saw the two great chairs (shown below) at The Vintage Vine, at an amazing price by the way, I knew a blog post was brewing.

 

 

You might be thinking to yourself...leopard doesn't fit in my decorating style. Well, I hope this proves you wrong.

Let's start small. Consider leopard pillows as an accent. Here, we're shown how leopard can add some graphical interest in a peaceful, neutral setting. Keep it simple.

Photo Courtesy of Arianna Belle

Or in this case, the pillows are in a very bright, cheery space. Somewhat industrial and vintage in nature. They provide the eye with a soft place to land amidst the shocking orange. (PS orange and leopard is one of my favorite fashion combos too!)

Photo Courtesy of Niagara Novice

Now let's move into furniture upholstered with leopard fabric. Again, starting small, this lovely little frenchy chair has been painted green and the seat has been given a fun leopard fabric. Look how this is paired with simple wood floors, a white hutch and a large print rug. This adds just the right touch of whimsy in the simple space.

Photo source unknown

Now let's get a little bigger. This is a fully upholstered chair in a preppy, feminine space. This homeowner is not afraid to have some fun with her décor and doesn't take herself too seriously. I love the orange bench, all the wood tones and the touches of black. Again, if you really look at this picture, the leopard almost recedes in the space and just reads as a neutral color in the corner of the room.

Photo Courtesy of My Domaine

Let's end this leopard party with two of my personal favorite examples. I think these are probably the most realistic ways to use leopard chairs based on how I decorate my own home and the style I know many of my friends are going for.

The first is an example of how you'd use two leopard arm chairs in a seating area in a living room. The beauty of the two chairs we have at the store right now is (besides the price!) that they are a matched set. They are begging to be used together. Imagine the space below with the second chair and perhaps a little loveseat in your front sitting room. All that white is the perfect backdrop for some really funky chairs!

Photo Courtesy of Harper's Bazaar

And finally, what if you put the two chairs in your bedroom?! Have some fun and get a painted dresser. Make the room a little bit eclectic and boho. Like I said before, the leopard and black chairs will be a neutral in the room, so you can add orange or plum or green. Go feminine with light pink. Go bold with turquoise.

Photo Courtesy of Yes Missy

I hope this provided you with some inspiration! Now seriously, go down to the store and buy those chairs before I do. I think writing this post has just about convinced me to do so.  

All the best,
Karli

Brick and Mortar

Update November 2015: We are not longer vendors at the Vintage Vine. You can find us at Unlisted: An Artisan Boutique and Market. We are thankful for our time at the Vintage Vine.

Where's your store?

Do you have a shop?

Where can I find you again?

Up until last weekend, the answer to that question was, "You can read the blog and find us at the Paris Street Market once a year."

And that was a bummer. We wanted more. We wanted the chance to build relationships with our customers and set beautiful displays and curate a set of merchandise to make people happy.

And then it happened.

They say timing is everything and they don't joke! Karli started doing research into vendors like us who had been successful at opening a retail store and she stumbled upon the website FindItOnTheVine.com. One phone call to the shop and the rest is, as you say, history.

 

The Vintage Vine is the cutest little store located in Historic Downtown Littleton. The building itself is a craftsman style home. The manager of the store and concept, Stacey, is a hard-working, kind-hearted, keen-eyed woman. Along with Stacey and seven other vendors, we now share the space---and boy what a lovely space it is!!

 

We have a portion of the back room, which we share with another absolutely lovely lady named Polly. Ironically enough, Polly and her daughter share their business as well. Could this be any more perfect?!

 

 

 

So, we hope you visit the store if you're ever in the Denver area. We hope you'll follow along on the store's Facebook page and the website to keep up to date on all that latest happenings.

We are grateful. We are excited.

And, yes, we do have a store you can visit us at!

All the best,
Karli and Kandy

Exciting Changes...

There are some very exciting things that have been happening for us this week. We CANNOT wait to share the news with all of you...

But it will have to wait until Friday!


Make sure you're following us on Facebook for up to the moment news.

You can also follow Karli on Instagram (there will be lots of food and dog photos mixed in with business too!). She's Karli Millspaugh on IG.


Talk to you all on Friday!!

A Paris Street Market: June 2015

Where does the time go? We haven't recapped the June show!!

The day started off a bit cloudy and overcast. As we were unpacking, it was actually a comfortable temperature. We had a better system for the "unload" portion this year, so it all seemed to go smoother. We were set up sooner than last year and we actually had time to take a few more pictures of the booth before shoppers came and picked their items.

We had a big white section this year. Karli had picked up this old desk earlier in the year and it served as a focal point for one section. The white and gray chairs above were the very first items to be sold (at 7:30 am---before the show even opened). We always take bets on what will go first. Neither of us guessed that one. We were happy to see them go to someone who loved them!

Along the back we placed a few more primitive and industrial item as well as the wine lamp that Dwight built. So many people stopped by to check it out.

 

The other side of the booth was filled with black furniture and some of our colorful items. This side also featured some of the kitchen items we'd been gathering.

 We took our customary selfie before the crowds got too big. It was still cloudy until about 9:00 am.

We had a steady crowd from about 8:30 until 11:00. Around 11:00 it got pretty warm, but there were dark clouds building above. Around 1:00 the rain came. So we pulled everything we could under the tent. At that point the crowds really started to dwindle.

The sun came back out at 1:30, but the crowds didn't really follow suit.

We had so much fun seeing all our customers (many repeats from last year who remembered us) and meeting new fans. While the June show wasn't as successful as last year's August show, we still had a great time!

See you again in September!!

Kandy and Karli

Shades of Gray (Painted Furniture)

Karli and I love our gray furniture and evidently so do our customers.  Every time we bring gray pieces to our shows, they seem to go early so it only makes sense that my two newest old pieces get a shade of gray as well.


The chair is vintage and really quite comfortable.  Here it is as found.  It must have been used in a library with the "book" upholstery.
                         
                                             

                                       

This walnut desk had belonged to one of Karli's friends.  It is extremely well built and sturdy.  The brass hardware is all original.  It was made by the Myrtle Desk Company in 1928.  Here are some "before" photos.

Original Brass Hardware

Dovetail Drawers

Turned Legs

After some gray paint, a completely different look.....

The chair got reupholstered with some khaki linen fabric for an "Restoration Hardware" look.  I think the desk and chair make a great pair.

Maybe I'll just keep these at my house.

Still painting,
Kandy

Wine Bottle Chandelier

ATTENTION ALL WINE LOVERS!

We are giving you a glimpse of the "Wine Bottle Chandelier" that we will be taking to the Paris Street Market this weekend, Saturday, June 6, 2015.  Hubby worked hard on this.....all I did was empty the bottles!   Oh and yes, I did scrub off the labels and paint the finished product with an Oil Rubbed Bronze finish.  I must admit that I really didn't drink all twelve bottles of wine, I had help from family and friends.

Here are pictures of the finished product.  This could be the perfect fixture over your bar area or dining room table. 

The wine bottles are all shades of green and amber.  The chandelier measures 15 inches in diameter and 33 1/2 inches in height.  It has two clear light bulbs inside the ring of bottles.  It will need to be "hard wired", so if you do not have talents in that area, you will need an electrician to assist you in hanging it.  Hubby already has orders from me and Karli but maybe this one could go home with you if you arrive at the show early enough.  If your ceilings are higher and you need one specially made for you, he could probably be persuaded.  You might even want to empty your own bottles!


We are looking forward to seeing you at the Show,
Kandy