Grandma Esther

Last weekend was the debut of the Prairie Sisters Vintage Party and everyone who went reported that it was a smashing good time.   I’m guessing that it was the memories of the simplicity of our past and of all our charming Grandmas that helped inspire such a sweet event.  

Also, last weekend my Grandma Esther passed over at the age of 95.  

As is our family tradition, tomorrow we will plant a tree and we will memorialize Grandma Esther.  

I will remember her for her strength and her drive and her resourcefulness.  For being stylish with fashionable hats beyond her time.   For being smart and determined and for leading the way as a business woman when she was handed the responsibility of a day care in the mid 40’s.  

I will remember the spritz - spritz - spritz of her perfume bottle and suddenly, the whole room was engulfed with the smell of a powdery rose garden as she sat at her vanity applying the finishing touches in her morning ritual.   Her light blue hair was perfect (well kind of), and now we were off to the garage sales, thrift stores and the Five and Dime. A typical Saturday morning in Lincoln, Nebraska with Grandma.

I will remember her fondness for ice cream, her care taking of birds and her indulgence in afternoon beauty baths.  A fresh day dress, the evening paper on the porch swing and always time for neighbors.  For decorating her oak tree with seasonal plastic ornaments back when plastic was novel. And oh yes, the candy dish was always full.   For keeping a tidy house and raising respectful children.  For drinking grandpa’s home-made beer and letting him use her washing machine to make it.   For  agreeing with me that passing second grade math and learning my multiplication tables was the hardest thing I would ever have to do and for inspiring me to use those second grade math skills to start my own consignment furniture shop.    

As my mother wrote in her anthology of Apple Street Stories regarding Grandma’s day care when a stranger entrusted her with his child for a month .... 

"On a humid April day the bearish looking stranger came back. 

Mother pushed the door open wide this time.

"Come in."

A crowd of mild mustached youngsters stared as hands gestured.  The stranger nodded his head; Mother shook hers.  No money exchanged pockets.  Trust and benevolence prevailed between my mother and a total stranger in his new world.

Charity began at home, we learned, and we watched it spread way way past our Apple Street boundaries."

This was my Grandmas super special "Tweety" phone .... now, I keep it in my shop ... just in case!

CONTEST TIME!

Happy Friday!

I’m still here!  ... But like everyone else, I’ve been busy running around just trying to keep up with summer.   One of my super summer fun things to do is garage sale-ing, and while I was out I had an idea for another super summer fun thing I love to do ... contest participation!

I’m going to combine my two fun summer things and starting on Tuesday  August 2nd,  I'm running a first annual “GARAGE SALE FIND OF THE YEAR” contest.

So how do you enter and join in all this fun?  ... It's easy.  Just follow these four steps!

 1.  E-mail me a photo of your BEST garage sale find from THIS year.  Jennifer@echoechomt.com

2.  “Like” me on my Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/missoulausedfurniture

3.  Every day next week (Tuesday through Saturday) - or  whenever the photo’s start rolling in ... I will post your photos on Facebook and it is up to the fans to like or comment on the posted entry. 

4.  On Tuesday, August 9th we'll tally all the likes and announce the winner.

The winner will receive a FABULOUS prize.  We haven’t really decided what that prize will be yet but Duncan is coming up with really good ideas every day.

GOOD LUCK!

Here it is in all it's glory -- a sneak peek at my entry for the "GARAGE SALE FIND OF THE YEAR"  contest.   And before anyone asks ... no ... this is not the fabulous prize.  My mom already took it!

Mid Centure Birthday

This week it happens ... like it or not, here it comes ... can’t stop it now, it’s here, it’s a done deal and it’s coming at me like a run-away train.

What?  What?  What?

Well ... I’ll tell you once and then we’ll let it go.

This week --- I turn “Mid-Century” ...  like a lot of my furniture.

There.  Confession made.  Nothing more needs to be said.

Except ... just one thing. 

To help me swallow my mid century pill, I found a new friend.  This Heywood - Wakefield Mid- Century Modern Rotating Coffee Table jumped in my car while I was in Helena so I took her home.   At first glance she appears a little rough around the edges.  Scratches here and there resulting from a party or two, a crayon mark on her bottom from when she babysat some naughty kids, her rotator has been over-worked and is a bit slow and her finish is dull.

She reminds me of someone ...  

For a split second, I considered giving her a facelift and selling her in my shop, but once I got her home, I decided that I liked her just the way she is.  Her classic lines are still beautiful and somehow, at this age her flaws suggest character rather than something that needs to be hidden and fixed. 

So .. lets tip a glass to mid-century and scratches and flaws and less than perfect hips and me and my new coffee table .... just the way we are!

Journey forward Jennifer Pinto and Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern Rotating Coffee Table.  The next 50 years awaits you!

Gifts!

June is just around the corner and I don’t know why,  but June makes me think of gifts.  So many birthdays, Fathers Day, Flag Day and Weddings on the docket ... it seems like a good time to put some thought into gift giving.

Unlike Christmas, special occasions like birthdays give us an opportunity that the hustle and bustle of the winter holiday does not.  It allows us the luxury of time to individually consider the recipient and ponder their perfect gift.  Sometimes a special card or bottle of wine is a superb choice, but then there are times when the gift must come from the heart. 

A friend of mine forwarded me an article full of tips from Phoebe Cates  (you may remember her from the old 80’s TV program, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”).  Apparently, after she retired from Tinseltown, she opened a little gift shop in New York City and has become well known for her ability to select that just right terrific gift for all kinds of people.

Here are some of the highlights from the article along with my own interpretation and side notes!

Phoebe:  “Gifts should be given out of a genuine desire to bring happiness and benefit the recipient ... - Don't push your own agenda - but focus on their habits and what is important in their life”.

My Interpretation:  What do you think of when you think of your person.  What do they like, what do they do and what would add a little sparkle to their day.

Phoebe:  “Be  Practical.  Many people think gifts need to be luxurious and extravagant.  Cates said practical gifts did just as well sometimes.”

My Interpretation: Don’t think you ALWAYS have to give the PERFECT gift.  That’s a lot of pressure.  If you are just stumped about what to give, consider something that is simply useful.  When I’m in that situation, I like to give lamps! They brighten up my persons day every single time!

Phoebe: “Unique gifts can be found if people think creatively about where they shop ...  “You’d be surprised how inspired you’ll be when you go into a different store than the one you normally go to for gifts.” 

 My Interpretation:  Sometimes a shiny new expensive gift isn’t the answer.  An “experienced” gift, whether it be from your own collection or a one of a kind little something that you found in the shop around the corner, (in other words ... a shop called Echo Home Furnishings) can be fresh and fun and meaningful.  

Here is a little gift for you, my friend Laura ... Happy Birthday!

CHANGE! MORPH! PAINT! ... IT’S SPRING!

For those of you who have recently buzzed through my shop ... you may have noticed the messy “workshop” I’ve carved out for myself.  Right now, it kind of resembles  cluttered and congested bric-a-brac gone wild.  But, in my mind, this space is a new division of Echo called The Paint and Lamp Making Center.

That’s right!  When Spring finally made it’s way to our corner of the planet, it worked like a decongestant in my brain and out rushed a plethora of new ideas.   This time ... my creative juices told me to paint ... so paint it is!  Some items that come through the “back door” may be subject to a little sanding, a little more scrutiny regarding their color and perhaps, a fresh coat of paint and/or a new lampshade.  (Let this be a warning -- wear good colors and a nice lampshade when you visit Echo!)

Don’t worry --- I still specialize in selling fine quality second hand home embellishments as I always have.  It’s just that now, some pieces may be morphed into an even brighter version of their former selves!  So ... swing by Echo, and if you should happen to find a little something that could use a custom paint job, my custom paint and lamp shade division is ready, willing, able, up and running and at your service!

Royal Wedding Gift Ideas at Ec

“Look look Duncan, ... someone’s coming!”

“Is that a Royal Coach I see, circling the North Reserve Business Center searching for Echo Home Furnishings?”  Duncan assumes his usual “someone’s coming position” ... curiously peeking out from the corner of my sales desk.

But of course,  Kate and William sent their people with their official Royal Wedding Gift Registry list.  I know, I know ... it seems odd to me too, that of all places they would choose my little shop for their Montana Wedding headquarters - but I guess that even Royalty is growing to appreciate the trendy, eclectic decorating style that second hand furniture offers. 

Here are a sampling of items they chose.

This chicken cutting board came all the way from their Dad, Prince Charles’s gift shop over in Highgrove.  I don’t know if it is for sentimental reasons or if they ran out of them in their own shop - but they want it back.

The glass cookie jar wedding cake.   Well ... I’ve offered and offered to all you brides out there, but now it’s on Kate’s wish list, need I say more? ... Except, I think our English Springer model is looking for an invite!

Every well appointed palace needs a little bit of rustic, so they chose one of our barbed wire “Heartware” hearts to place near the moat of their new digs.  

Of course I've decided to give them one of my handmade lamp shades, so the lighting department is already taken care of, but there’s still a little bit of time (April 29th is the big day) and plenty of gifts left on their list.  So, swing by and let Duncan and I give you a hand.  Also, this week only, I am offering free gift wrap and shipping (by ship) for the Royal occasion.

The only remaining question .... Who in the world plans their wedding on a Friday ???  Hummmmm.

Happy Royal Wedding Week!

My Latest New Hobby

Lamps, Lamps, Lamps!

I think I may have mentioned my weakness for lamps in past Friday notes.  I’ve never met a lamp I didn’t like, and there is not a homeless lamp in the county that isn’t welcome in my shop.

Our grey skies have made me crave a little fun, a little fancy, a lot of color, and a tad bit of whimsey, so I’ve taken my affection for lamps to a whole new level and added lamp SHADES to my repertoire!  I am learning to re-cover lamp shades and it seems that dotting a few of these little critters throughout my shop has brightened up the corners!  I have a new hobby and I love it!

All I needed was an investor in my lamp department, a hot line to a journeyman electrician, unlimited access to dads wood shop (screws, bolts, drills, etc for the finials), unlimited access to moms quilt room (for obvious reasons), a good Dr. (for when I have glue accidents) and off I went, into the world of manufacturing new lamp shades to dress up my old lamps.  

It seems to me that lamps are making great strides in the interior design industry.  In many circles they are the definition of functional art!   An uncommon lamp cheerfully announces the flavor of a room and it does so with a relatively small price tag and level of commitment.  Unlike the stars in the furniture world, a lamp can be changed in and out to match the times, the season and your decor.  

When I have an old (yet stylish) base, a tired shade and bunches of fresh colorful fabric, I can’t help but want to measure, cut, glue, trim, and finally, pull together an eye catching conversation piece.  In my own little way, I feel like I’m a contributer in the world of home decorating.  My lamps are vintage, they are green and most of all, they’re unique and interesting!

If you want to join this fashionable journey into the twinkling world of refurbished lamps, well, you know where to find me!

Pieces and parts - waiting to become something special!

Pieces and parts that became something special!