Hey ... Whose got a passion ?

 After a LLllOooOnnNnGGgggggg, CCCOOOOLLLLDDDD winter ....  
no 

VerY LoNg and VeRy ColD MonTanA WinTer .. Known as the winter of 2017 ... I find myself a bit short  ... no VerRY short .... on creativity, inspiration and energy.  Essentially, I’m pretty happy just sitting here in the recliner watching hour after hour of Netflix and using my computer for an occasional game of solitaire.  

Now we’ve got Spring of 2017.   Also quite LOnG and CoLd and equally uninspiring. 

Enter Facebook and an oddball post about finding your passion.  It kind of caught my attention because actually, I don’t have a passion.   But what the heck ... I could give it a shot.

The article reports that a big percentage of us actually don’t have passion, but this can be overcome by experimenting on things.   The idea is, make a list of things that you are curious about, start playing with them, and maybe something will stick.  Then you will have a passion.

Simple enough ... Game on ....  

Here is my list:

Get back to writing my blog ~ Thank you Hank, for the encouragement!
Painting on fabric with Chalkpaint - Check .... note,  my flower tablecloth.

 




 













Make necklaces out of rocks and ribbons with the grandkids.
Lavender.  I’m going to plant a few bundles on the lot and just see what happens.
Oh, and here’s one that actually is my passion ... It’s Echo and it’s time to get my Spring on at Echo!

Stop by and lets see if we help each other gather some enthusiasm for a creative and inspired Spring. 

Life in a consignment furniture shop - Tip #2

Never Give Up!

Five Years!  Pinch me!   Today it’s been five years since I started Echo Home Furnishings.   Time and time again, I’ve asked myself ... “Is this something?”.   Time and time again I’ve heard the old adage “It takes five years to establish a business” and time and time again I wonder if I really found my special place.

Well today I can clearly answer yes, yes and yes. 

Here’s a quick recap:

year number one ....

{what we lacked in furniture, we made up for in hope and patience}

year number two ...

{a windfall!   we acquired a house full of fantastic furniture ... and our hopes soared}

year number three ...

{we moved next door ... only six inches from our old place but we hoped it would be easier for people to find us}

year number four ...

{we sold our house to buy our shop ... hoping that  downsizing was all it's cracked up to be.} 

year number five ...

{the ladybugs arrived  ... we hoped we could find good homes for all of them}

year number six ...

{looking toward the future and we are filled with even more hope!}

Never give up on your dreams ... even if you're a bird dog working in a furniture shop.  Things have a way of working out .... sometimes even better than expected!

To all our terrific consigners and customers ... THANK YOU!!

Life in a consignment furniture shop - Tip #1

old upholstery, good bones ... what to do.

I like stuff.  Especially old stuff.  But when it comes to old upholstered stuff ... well, lets just say that sometimes it is good to exercise a bit of caution.  All of this is a segway to introduce my latest and longest lasting furniture obsession ... vintage couches and chairs with fresh new upholstery and stuffing.

We take a piece with good solid bones and freshen it up.  We add new foam,stuffing and springs to make it more comfortable, we cover it with new upholstery to make it stylish and we polish out the scratches to make it shine. 

Here are a few shots of our pieces before and after their makeover.

Clean, Green and Made in the USA!

Our Better than new furniture line.   A collaboration between Echo Home Furnishings and Great Falls Upholstery.

Back in the saddle again!

Testing, testing .... one, two, three ...

Is anybody out there?

I know, I’ve been blog free for about a year now, but as I look around I have some pretty cool stuff to show so welcome back to my life in a consignment furniture shop!

For starters, here are some clever hand made in Montana items passing through my store.

                                                     
                                                    Colorful Beaded Bracelets by Little Song

                   
                                                 Hand Made Tea Towels by Claire's Cottage

                                                Some Clever, Whimsical Mosaics by Lois Warner

... and finally ... by Weathered Works

Letters ... that spell    L O V E!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

Oh Fork!

Oh Fork ! 

Oops ... excuse me.  I’m just obsessing over my new obsession ... vintage silverware.  It started with a complete set in a fetching box that jumped into my cart when I was shopping in Helena.  Thus began the hunt!  

My thinking is to start collecting single pieces of different patterns, then mix and match them up to the point where they can all co-exist on a table.  Easier said than done.   It appears there IS a science to creating multi-pattern sets that complement each other.  I am narrowing the field to florals and needlepoints to see if they can mind their table manners, then I will add new patterns one by one.  

Anyway ... if you have any strays that sprouted in your silverware drawer ... consider adding to my cause!

Lets hope for a warm and natural Summer Solstice - and a delicious Strawberry Moon.

Boxes for all occasions!

Is it just me ... or does everyone think boxes are fun?  Not just fun ... necessary.   

I mean ...  boxes, canisters, trunks ... what could be a more perfect member of the furniture family when it comes to style and functionality.  Here are five ways to put these simple pieces to work.

Use big boxes AS furniture.  Coffee tables, end tables, benches and chairs. 

In the bathroom - open top crates and tins are perfect for storing and organizing bottles.

Hang vintage glass front medicine cabinets (essentially they are boxes too) on the wall and display pretty things inside. 

One lady bought a box for a seven year old boy who was making a transition to come live with them.   He needed a special place to put his treasures.  She welcomed him with a box!

And as for me .... when my son moved into his own apartment, I carefully selected a favorite box from my shop.   I placed a little heart rock inside and  inconspicuously planted the box on a shelf in his apartment.   Now I feel like there is a little piece of me hiding in the corner watching over him, while he feels that he has a cool place to hide his, ummm ... well ... let’s just leave it at that.   We all win!

Today ... buy a box!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Fresh New Year ... Fresh New Ideas!

Welcome to our fresh, new year!

I love this time of year .... 

Out with the old, stale, un-met goals, in with the new opportunities! 

  

Out with the old crispy, crunchy christmas trees and cookies, in with the hope of a new found love of vegetables!

In with new colors, inspirations and of course ... new ideas!  I’ve got a few enterprising new ideas of my own that I’m going to be experimenting with this year.  

For starters, during the month of January, I am going to abbreviate my hours.   I’ll be open the usual 10:00 - 5:00 but my days will be Thursday through Saturday.  It takes time to find interesting stuff for all my discriminating shoppers, so I am going hunting!!   Four days a week ... nothing but furniture hunting.  No good times will be had by all (or any) this is work ... I promise!

Also, I’m working on a new concept to bring into my shop which will take some good solid thinking time, so stay tuned, and when I get all the bugs worked out, be ready to be dazzled!

Until then, create a little room in your life for the hope and joy our new year promises to bring! 

By the way ... I just brought in four truck loads of lovable new - old stuff to help you ring in your 2013.  Here is a shot of my shop as all the new pieces are being welcomed and acclimated to their new environment!