pickin' and grinnin'- this week's awesome finds include longwy and blenko!

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be rough, so I will not be headed out to any sales to find more awesome finds... not that I left anything on the table. My faves this week include...

Lovely French faience, or majolica, pitcher pretty shades of green with that characteristic slightly runny look.
This piece will be headed to Hanna Antiques on Monday.  

Fantastic little Longwy dish from the 1920's. I love this scarab-type pattern! 

I cannot resist some Blenko owls! This rich amber color looks great with old books.

Set of 7 Laurel Burch plates- I love the colors and patterns, even though I am not much for cats.

Antiquing in the ATL- 24 hours in Atlanta, shopping and sampling

This weekend was the monthly antique extravaganza called Scott's Antique Market, or just Scott's in the antique and design circles.

 It is everything from new handmade furniture to 17th century furniture, new clothes from old doilies to old furs, thoughtfully curated booths of antiques, to piled tables of treasures and stuff.

Possibly treasure filled, piled up tables... or it could just be a pile.

Lovely beach-y or lake-ish booth!

loads of great mirrors and painting inviting you to dig through them.

I resisted the siren song of bead tables... it was hard. And found some amazing tables.

Pair of brass and marble tables made from antique fire screens- would be great with a low armed sofa! 

Handmade rusty patina iron with a stone top- one of a kind at it's best!

This guy is just waiting for the right top! It could be stone or barn wood! Great as a console or bar!

This is more of a desk, but with the top down, it would be a lovely table and it was a steal! Too bad the car was full.

Lovely Bernhardt chrome end tables. I would tale out the inside glass shelf and add a dog bed! 

I love this little table! I think it is made from some New Orleans corn iron fencing.

Real Steampunk! This old table was originally used for laundry and had a crank for adjusting the height!

Not technically a table, but I love stacked trunks and suitcases as a storage table!

After 5 hours of walking Scott's I headed for Food Truck Friday in Duluth, GA, North of Atlanta. There was some great options, but I wanted to sit down to eat. So my sister and I went to her face Caribbean/ Cuban restaurant, Armando's, for Picadillo and Carnitas.

Then to Food Truck Friday for Dessert. I had a creole praline and my sister decided to walk to Crave pies for a larger selection of pies!

My last photo of the night was the cute window display of the store next door.

Makes you want to go to a party in a tutu!

Next day was using my Scott's finds to style the kitchen I just finished in Atlanta... but that another post! Here's a preview!

The perfect French kitchen chairs

I am on the hunt for the perfect kitchen table chairs for my sister. She wants French-y looking. I'm thinking vintage, to which she thinks... and I quote... "I don't like smelly antiques." Though she did not say that about this exact project, but I am trying to prevent hearing that again.

So, I have been shopping, at an antique store, for awesome french inspired chairs. Here's some I found at Hanna Antiques in Birmingham this weekend. Not a "smelly" one is sight!

This gold shield-back chair is very sweet. I ike the hint of grey in the carving.

This set of four is not classically French. But they are dainty in a French way.

Aahhh, not here is the classic French countryside kitchen chair. These are my picks!

These I could not resist. They were originally 1970's faux bamboo brown. The owner had them sprayed and voila!
Great navy chairs.

Pick's this weekend- early weekend shopping

I hit an early tag sale today and found some winners! I am in the process of researching and deciding where I will sell the items- Online or locally. Here are some of my early finds.

Vintage Gustavsberg Argenta vases available HERE.

Adorable brass rabbit!

I love this "Hostess Set" of fruit forks that display in a pineapple base.

I cannot pass up an inlay box!

Fantastic handpainted T & V France large trinket lidded box. From Limoges around 1880's to 1907, I cannot find a comp on this box. I'm holding it until I can. Dutch schooner scene on a "powder box" seems to be quite rare.

Antique rug shopping- Heriz rugs are where it's at!

Today I was at Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta doing vintage and antique rug shopping. I found a ton of beauties and learn a great deal from the sellers. I have to remember that the folks selling antiques are not just trying to "sell" me the piece, but they are helping me to make an educated purchase. I should get this since I sell vintage and antiques, too. And, I want my customers to be excited about the item and the cool things that I know about it. But, it feels different on the receiving end. (another educational moment) However, I learned a great deal from the rug merchants I worked with and I look forward to doing business with them again.

 Heriz rugs were mainly what I was looking for for my client. They are typically a busy pattern with a center medallion and generous borders.

Heriz is actually a place in Iran... maybe we should go back a little further in your history lesson. These types of rugs are called Persian rugs and Persia is an older name for Iran. You will remember the regional name from your ancient Greek and Roman history lessons. It is north of the Persian Gulf. Heriz is an area in the Northwestern corner of Iran near the Caspian Sea.

So, back to the current time. Persian rugs are typically named for the city, or regions, that they were made in, since the resident rug weavers in each city developed the city style. Heriz, Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Qum, etc. are all cities in Iran and names of Persian rugs. Each with distinct looks... well, they look distinct once you really start looking. At first, they are all red rugs with lots of pattern.

Heriz rugs are know for being durable and long lasting... like lasting-generations long lasting! Their durability is from the high quality of the wool from the sheep in the area. The naturally high levels of copper in the water produce very good and durable wool.

They are typically brick red to light red with blues a little greens, and ivory.

On the back of the rug, you can see the weft and it should look irregular. To me, it looks like the slubs in silk dupioni.

According to one of the rug merchants that I spoke with, Persian rugs have a further style breakdown that are classified, basically, by the colors that are popular in the regions that they are expected to be sold in. Persian rugs can be further classified as Persian Persian rugs and these have a more monochromatic color palette, they are the least expensive. Persian European rugs typically have light blues, creams and gold added to the monochromatic palette. Persian American rugs have many colors in them and are the most expensive.

This is the one I brought back to Birmingham. A beauty from the 1930's, I love the William Morris type colors in the rug! 

A different rug merchant reminded me about embargo's on Persian rugs. His vintage rugs were purchased pre-embargo. The current rug embargo started in the Fall of 2010 and allows no rugs to be brought into the US from Iran, though you are free to buy and sell the ones currently in the US. The previous embargo (1986-1999) was a bit looser. So, vintage Persian rugs, made in Iran, are a bit rarer than Persian rugs that are made to look the same but are made in and coming out of Asia. And I dare say, they are higher quality and will last longer.

Other things to note about vintage rugs in the variation in colors. These rugs are typically vegetable dyed. You will need to inform your professional rug cleaner that they are vegetable dyed. They will probably recognize this, but better safe than sorry.

Vegetable dying produces a beautiful variation in tones of the same color. You can see it in the dark banding on this rug. It goes from dark navy to black to a black brown. This variation gives the rug a desirable softness that is often mimicked in newer rugs, but never can attain the look of the real McCoy.

Lastly, you will need these few tips for maintaining your rug. Get a good carpet pad. I mean a good one, not from the hardware store, from a rug store. It will make the rug last longer. If the rug is in a sunny spot, turn it every couple of years. And, get it professionally cleaned by your local "Oriental" rug dealer, not a professional carpet shampoo-er. The folks at the rug store clean them by hand with brushes and a special soap. Steaming and chemicals can damage the wool and shorten the life of your rug.

Most importantly, enjoy the amazing, dedicated handwork that went into producing your vintage rugs. The original sale of your rug might have feed a family for a year! It is important work and deserves respect.

Painted Chandelier- sprayed to coordinate DIY

The latest issue of Country Living features a home with the very hot trend of blue and white. In the bedroom, designer Emily Henderson sprayed a floral chandelier to a solid blue which completely updated the look of the piece. I would not recommend doing this to a chandelier of any value, or one who's fortune could change. But, a chipping, dented, chandelier that might have a bit of rust, perfect!  And, I have a collection of chandeliers for you to choose from, all are available from Hanna Antiques at a reasonable price!

Note the "bright idea" from Country Living May 2014

Now, DIY it! Good spray paint, something to hang it from outside, and some paper covering the candles and sockets and you are ready to go!

Here are some lamps for you to head over to Hanna's and pick up for your project.

I think all of these are under $200 many closer to $100! Head down to Hanna's and in the words of Jack Horkhiemer "keep looking up!"

New items in the shop. Great ideas for Mother's Day!

With the sale of some great items, it was time to re-arrange, add, and spruce-up! I've been adding tea cups and saucers, sweet little porcelain bowls, and leaded crystal bowls. More items arriving daily!

Great items for Mother's day!

New in the shop

It has been a while since I have posted a "new in the shop"... which might mean I have been remiss in updating the store. I have been working on the concept of a wreath of silver platters for a while. With questions like, do I weld them together, epoxy them, make them in sections, how do I make sure they hang correctly... etc. However, with the slat walls at Hanna Antiques, the problem is solved.

Here's the latest updates!

 Umm, ignore my purse and tote bag!

You've come a long way baby- I finally feel full

I have worked on the transition from one antique store to another on the other side of town for the last two weeks and I finally feel "full" in the new space and the old is closed. I have taken pictures each day I go in to see the progress and to feel that there has been progress.

From day one to yesterday, here's how far I've come along in the space.

A few items, a little on the walls, and an open box started the first day.

Second visit brought lots of chairs, new clear shelves for my cameras and some more suitcases. And reminders from the staff at Hanna's that I "still have some space".

Phase three- I'm moved out on one space and can pick and choose my favorite items for the space... which means the house looks like an antique store... and not in a good way.

Phase three brought more tables and some styling opportunities to the space.
Yes, that 20% off is still available through the end of the month

In phase three, I created an "office space" on one end of the booth with my desk and awesome chairs serving as "guest chairs- perhaps I am missing Corporate America a little. However, this also brought the barrister bookcase for display for my bookend collection and a space for a fantastic hand cut lead crystal lamp.