I had good intentions of getting my patio posted today but we have had a couple of days of serious rain (which we really needed) but that doesn't make for camera fun outside so, instead today I am going to show you what we've been up to at the shop. I know shop tours aren't for everyone but this blog is almost a journal of sorts for me and it will be great to look back and see what we did design wise in the store. So those of you that follow only for furniture before and afters, there are a pile of those coming up as I finish up a few pieces of my own and custom orders. If you're here for my house, there is some of that too, lots of gardening and patio love.
If you also follow me on instagram you know that last week on Tuesday and Wednesday night Trevor and I made our little shop look like this
We made messes. We were moving in larger furniture permanent fixtures for the store and a lot of smalls got displaced in the process. We had the music blasting and our mojo working but around 12:30 both nights we got our crabby pants on and called it quits. I don't know how other people or shop owners in a creative business are like but, for me after about 5 hours straight of creativity my brain kind of fizzles and everything looks like it belongs in the dumpster to me. Nothing fits together and it all looks like a mish mash of crud. When I get to that point I know and poor Trevor knows it's time to go home and hit the hay.
But the brain fizzes eventually yielded some retail gold for me and the front of the store looks like this now.
we moved the spools into the centre of this area and away from the window. they are skinny enough to not block too much traffic but also give us 360 degrees of display space and made a perfect spot for some white and blues
the display above the pine j.r.watkins shelf was one of those things that was just looking like crud (in my head) so instead of having "to buy" items up there i replaced it with a simple line of snake plants. easy maintenance and looks organic
we also dismantled the basket wall. great concept but no one likes to shop with a basket anymore lol. they like to make piles and that is just fine but, it meant i could use this space for something else. i chose blankets. lots of blankets old and new. some great new ones have just come in. my fav is that grey and white polo one. so soft.
and our latest conquest. a gazillion pound industrial factory workbench. we picked it up and the people had it still put together so to load it into the truck it took 4 people.
smarty pants we are we unbolted the cabinets from the butcher block once we were home and it made moving it around a whole lot more convenient and much less back breaking.
there are some great neutral outdoor pillows now in stock ( i am sewing a huge pile of them today as well) including these awesome black ones. i scooped some for myself for our patio because black that will stay that black outside is just awesome in my book
as much as i love painted furniture, in a store this size with as many smalls as we have and half our stock being one of a kind vintage, when a piece of furniture sells it invokes an immediate scramble to find something to fill the space and move all the items that were on or around it. this workbench allows us to have some more permanent work space for items such as candles, and plants.
i am still painting furniture just at a better pace for me and listing on Facebook and instagram. small dressers will still grace the store but larger pieces are just too much darn work for me so I'm giving myself a bit of a break and not bringing them inside to play anymore.
we have tons of great summer shells and nautical items that are a bit more visible than they were before
i may have also redone my shelves. this end has an industrial arts green vibe that i am really digging right now. i'm sure i'll change my mind again but i am happy right this moment.
We did a lot of rearranging in the back as well but it isn't a completed project yet. Still looks good but you know I like to share when I'm done :)
Talk to you all soon,
Meg
