Latest finds and updates

Here we are in October! I am still working for the census. We are supposed to finish field operations by midnight Monday but there are also things going on behind the scenes so it’s not over until it’s over. I could be here a week or two more, or another month. It’s hard to say!

That said, I managed to pick up a really cool 1959 dining room which needs a good cleaning and a few minor issues to tend to. The maker, Hoover Chair Company of Lexington, NC, went out of business in 1968. I have a dining table which has great legs, one leaf and the table pads are in great shape, matching one piece narrow china hutch and a compact credenza. There are also 6 dining chairs, 4 armless plus 2 with arms. They need a little tending to and new seat foam and fabric would put them over the top. Will price by the piece but if you are interested in building a set, bulk pricing available. As always, if you want to DIY the repairs I can give you my best price. Here are a few pics.

As found and ready for some new seats!

Beautiful blond china cabinet with glass doors and chrome hardware. Not mInt but far from trAshed. Priced to move locally!

Side board in it’s home since 1958! Comes with good juju as it’s former owner died at the age of 106! I do sage my storage area here and there to protect you from transient energY if you are sensitive to that kind of stuff! Hey, we are in october now so spookiest time if the year!

View of table. It has awesome legs and ferrule on the bottom. One leaf and original Custom table pads includeD. Will get pics soon. Want to make a few steel plate reinforcements for the blocks the legs screw in as over time has weakened them. One already has neen repaired. If it interests you let me know and i will get on it as fast as i can. I may keep the chairs and table together as a set. I think it may make more sense.

Farmhouse simplicity! Maple end table pair. Finish is in great shape. Only needs a few touch ups.

It’s a side table...it’s a humidor…it has a mosaic tile top!

Copper lining!

3 piece bookcase set! Solid wood with rustic style. Refinish or leave as is. Nice peg legs. Pier cabinets can be arranged separately! I have a heywood set just like it and it’s fun to play with!

I am working on getting the lane rhythm chairs redone! I have 2 more seats to do then onto cleaning up the wood. I have an interested party, if she passes they will hit the open market. Using a nice cream tweeD on thr seats which looks great with the walnut wood. The Creden from this lane dining room is being delivered to manhattan tomorrow!

My couch went to the upholsterer a few weeks back!

It’s going back together! Here is a sneak peEk of the back showing my new fabric! The supports are all done and he bought me 4” foam for the seat. Cannot wait to get it into mu living room! I just got the walnut monocoat fInish and will be working on the trim.

That’s a lot of update! I am really busy and of course, the end of the census got pushed back to the 31st of October now so my lay-off may be as well. Just going to ride out the wave and try to keep up. Reach out if you need me!

XO Malissa

No Touch Pick-ups, a whole new world.

I hope this note finds you healthy and hiding out! We are sheltering in place and I have generally only been leaving home to pick up some groceries about 5 miles from home, once a week. It’s so easy to feel out of touch from the rest of the world! My husband is still working and thank God, as I may kill him if he is here all day, every day! Can anyone relate?! 😂. My kids started home school assignments and they are stressing me out a little. This is not working well for my underachiever and I am going insane micromanaging him. Successes are: I made some fantastic cookies that have been deployed to a friend’s birthday solitary celebration, we have been eating like rock stars and my husband smoked a pork butt for the most wonderful pulled pork ever, and I spent two days sewing us some masks….eventually we have to leave. Ha

My chairish shop is 100% functional and I had a chair picked up last week headed to the Midwest. I could get used to this no touch thing! I don’t have to lift a finger! My best shipper is back on the west coast taking a break so at this time, I suggest anyone needing a large piece shipped check my chairish shop for instant pricing. If you are new to chairish and make an account, you will get a $20 coupon via email that will apply toward any service fees. This market is pretty high end but know you are getting top notch service throughout. Your item is insured and handled with care. Please message or call me if you need help!
USPS/FED EX/UPS are all functional and any smaller packaged will go out promptly. If you are eyeing any smalls in my shop and want to negotiate, please shout! My goal is to eliminate my small items. Flea market season is on hold and I will be back to work for most of the summer and probably cannot manage a live show. I can do porch/driveway pick up for the locals, take PayPal for remote payment and whatever you need to feel comfortable. I think there are limited hours at the antique mall, meaning,if someone is there working, you can purchase things if you call ahead, or, I can access my inventory to retrieve items. I would gladly run out to grab something right now if need be.

Don’t forget to check out my website! I have listed a bunch of new items I have available from my wholesaler, Primitives by Kathy. All prices include shipping.

Working on getting 3 of these cute deco tables ready. Two are like this one and the other is halfmoon shaped. They all feature cobalt mirroRed glass. I took them on because i enjoyed their colorful style and deco stuff is fun.

i am currently working on a few projects and trying to add backstock to my shops. I got plenty of merchandise sitting around! Let me know if you are looking for something, I may have it! STAY SAFE my peeps!

XO MALISSA

Etsy clearance sale!

If you go see 21 bridges let me know you find it and what scene! I hope to go this weekend! 💗

I am motivated to down size my inventory as I get ready to work some full time contract work. Plus I could use some Christmas money as I don’t see me starting much before January at this point. I am slowly moving more inventory over to my SALE. I have a CLEARANCE category on Etsy and that is where you will find the markdowns. 20% off and many have free shipping. I have started featuring items in my social media and honestly, I have some cool stuff, My long term goal at this point is to downsize and get out of Smalls. I have not been to a thrift store in months and have not bought any Smalls at estate sales. I have backstock to add and will be taking things out to my space in the mall as things leave out there. If I have something not on sale and you want to negotiate, that is fine. I like bulk buys so if you want a few things that will get you a better price. I am planning to continue on with furniture and restorations but end the franticness of trying to ‘make a living’. I can’t physically process and sell what I need to do that I can make a respectable wage. Teenagers are crazy expensive. Every time I turn around my kids need hundred of dollars for this field trip or that band trip and guess what, I am only a few years away from 2 kids in college and I am starting to panic. This can not sustain our family and I need to get a real, paying job. And bonus if I can stockpile some money in a retirement fund while I am at it. So here I am, making a plan. Will see how this full time temp job goes cause if we all can handle it (including my mom who has to step up to be kid Uber after school), I may start my quest earlier than the year and a half I have given myself (kid #1 will be driving and then I am free). I love what I do. I am hoping and praying I can get a job related to what I am doing…..in some capacity. I have created a wonderful thing here and this year, I will probably beat $40,000 in sales, my biggest year yet. But it’s time to get off the hamster wheel and work for someone who values my time and compensates me for it. Self employment is not for the faint of heart or for those of us who need a steady income. It’s a constant juggling act. The good thing here is I can still operate in whatever capacity I choose! I choose to specialized in furniture restoration and will continue. I won’t care if a piece I pumped hundreds of dollars into is still waiting for a forever home in two years if I have a paycheck paying my bills. Things have changed. Etsy is far from reliable. Chairish is still growing but not as I have hoped. eBay has no respect for sellers. Making it alone is just impossible and selling local for me is not profitable. So here’s some things to tempt you. Come buy your gifts with me. I appreciate you! Check back often for updates as I may add more items as the month rolls on! Thanks as always for your support and for helping me be the best I can be! You guys trusting me to restore, source, ship and deliver your items have given me a wealth of experiences and expertise. 💗 Malissa

I am featuring sale items daily on my social media! Stay tuned for more as the days go on!

Lights, Camera, Action, my weekend on film, in the credits and providing a prop for an upcoming release.

This week was such a whirlwind! I am exhausted from selling 3 days plus a day of set up at a local event. I still have a van to unload today. Here’s a run down of my week!

Day 1 of Extravaganza: dealer day. I looked up from my table, cocked my head, smiled like a Cheshire Cat and said, “I know you!” To Mike Zohn of the smash hit ‘Oddities’ which follows his picking and selling adventures for his Manhattan shop, Obscura Antiques and Oddities along with his partner, shop mates and a cast of freaks, weirdos and performers coming in the shop looking for the strange and unusual. It truly is one show my family enjoyed together while it was on Netflix. Mike said it is currently available on Amazon for streaming and there is talk of more filming to come which is exciting! He was a super nice guy and I enjoyed our brief chat as I have seen him at a few of their Oddities shows but never approached him to chat. I made it to the black. That means I earned enough to pay off my rent for the event in accounting speak! 😂

Mike Zohn (Oddities) after i chatted with him looking for TREASURES. He Was carrying a real sweet ouIja board with him which surely was pre parker brothers.

Day 2- my favorite eats in the market, Nancy’s Mediterranean Food, sent out a wagon full of goodies to work the crowd for breakfast and I was thrilled to grab a piping hot breakfast turnover. They need to add bloody mary’s to the menu next time!

Every day i arranged DIFFERENTLY and swapped some merch. Day 2 and 3 i brought in my vintage camping delights.

I got tipped off from the gal working the gate that Carson Kressley would be here Saturday with a camera crew filming for a pilot. Well, I glanced back at the Vanagon, looked down at the rainbow striped Benetton rugby I just bought….and was like…it’s ON! I will lure him over like a moth to the flame.

My dollar clearance tarp was A huge hit! Most things i sold over the show were $5 or less. I was there to cLear out old stock but did bring a few low end Restorations to show Shoppers and the feedback i received was aMazing!

I got set up on Saturday. It was busy! I was digging through my medical boxes with an Obstetrician and his wife. He was finding some exciting obsolete items to use for teaching and educating those around on what things were used for. In the midst of this (and please note, I found a box of anal dialators in the morning and left it out on the table), Carson shows up and spots the dialators and away he goes! You could not plan this if you tried! He was totally unscripted and all events were actual. The crew would occasionally direct on where to stand or make us pose in front of the van and once I heard his gal say….ask about xxxxxx. Well if he got any other interviews as good as mine went, we are in for a fun show! This was definitely for a pilot on Discovery channel I think. No name mentioned. We will have to wait and see. I did sign the release to be on the show, Carson grabbed my card on the way out after gushing over a chair I restored. Overall, it was super fun and I hope his crew got me at a better angle that my husband did! He got a 20 sec clip I had to copy this still from! He’s fired from being my paparazzi! 🤦‍♀️

The doctor is In the blue shirt. Carson holding the anal dilator. I believe that is the technical term as well. Ha.

After an exciting Saturday ON FILM, I was excited to head back to behind the scenes. Earlier this year I offered to source a few vintage items needed for a local film project being shot right here in Reading, Berks County. Although she did not need much, the producer guided me to find some things she needed for some flash back scenes in the 80s. They were shooting over the summer and now it was time for the pre-screening. The film was readied in rough form, to be viewed by those who made this vision come to life. The actors were there, the crew and friends. So many great local businesses volunteered their spaces for on location shoots too. It truly was a community effort! The film was fantastic! I gushed when I saw the placement of the quilt I found for them, which happens to have been made by my husband’s step mother’s mom! The plot was great and the imagination even greater. From here, the film will be tweaked and finished….formatted properly, etc then entered into the film festival circuit. They estimated another local screening open to the public in about a year, then it will be available to buy or stream, however they plan to distribute it, which has not fully been determined as of yet. I will definitely keep you posted on the future of this film and am hoping to get a still shot of the quilt scene in a few weeks!

Dust Nuggets movie pre-screen at hamburg strand. Packed house of cast, crew and friends.

Credits from the film ‘Dust Nuggets’ scrolling on the big screen at the pre-screening with cast and crew.

One last thing! Last summer I sold a Lyons Industrial Tool Cart to a production filming in Philadelphia. Because I delivered the item to them, I met the gal who sourced it and a gal that worked for the facility they were using to film. The movie release got pushed back to November 22nd. She was turning my cart (with another) into a kitchen. So it will probably have a butcher block or some kind of top on it now and I will most likely have to wait until video to really ‘find it’ in the background. The movie looks great as the trailers are starting to come out. Go see 21 Bridges this fall! Shot in Philadelphia.

Looking forward to working with more film studios in the future! XO MALISSA

Take a seat. Chairs everywhere.

I have lots of new items to unveil and I am busy working on getting some ready to go.  Here is an overview of items I have in house.   

First off, there are some modern, AS IS items I am blowing out. You can pick up or arrange a meet up local to me. These are not offered online.  You must contact me directly!

Super set from ROWE FURNITURE.  2 arm chairs and matching ottoman.  Structurally superb, no rips or tears in upholstery but it will need a good cleaning.  Priced to MOVE at $100 for all 3 pieces. 

Ethan Allen reclining wingback at matching ottoman.  Very dirty with possible sun fade but appears to be structurally sound.  $50 for the set! 

Gorgeous Queen Anne bench.  Perfect in every way!  Comfy too! $75

Next up....NEW GOODS! 

i hit a local auction last weekend and to my surprise, the local dealers were not interested in the few mid century and bohemian items there!  These are trickling in to my online markets and being cleaned up and tended to.   

Blond beech Thonet 811 arm chairs.  designed by Josef Hoffmann/Josef Franck in 1930s.  This is an early set as noted by the lack of extra leg supports that were added to later models.  Beautiful hand caned seats and backs and in fantastic condition.  I will be glueing up a few wobbly front legs (reason additional supports were added) you may periodically have to repeat this as they loosen up but an ounce of prevention will keep them stellar.  They are super lightweight, simple, yet gorgeous in design. Made in Thonet’s Czechoslovakian plant, imported by US IMPORTER Stendig and stamped, stickered accordingly. You will find Thonet’s bentwood pieces in museums all over the world as Michael Thonet devised and perfected the stream bending process.  Here’s a great chance to obtain a large matched set of these great artifacts! 

A bohemian and eclectic’s dream!   

Rattan and reed chaise. This beautiful piece is from same estate (Doctor). Not sure it’s origins but design elements are very much a replica of a Thonet No. 2 chaise.  They are typically not bamboo, however and feature cane instead of woven reed.  I will continue to research but not only is it a gorgeous piece to look at, it was used inside so is in very good condition.  A few broken reeds but no missing areas. I will spend time tacking some areas with glue as that is all that needs to be done.   

Gorgeous Knoll raw saddle leather office chair. Swivels and on casters. This leather is dreamy.  I found one chair like it online but no identification help.  It is not in Knoll’s current offerings.  I have reached out to the company so let’s hope their helpfulness is better than their Human Resources since I have applied for many jobs there in the last year and only get canned denial emails. 🤦‍♀️  

Adorable oval tall table.  This may make an appearance at my booth....need to sell the Broyhill set!!!! 

I will split these chairs from the table at this point.  I am priced at $400 local pick up.  That gets you the chairs (new upholstery), table and leaf.  You can’t beat this price for Broyhill Saga!  These splat back chairs were sold with all the Broyhill premier lines and you can add on very easily.  Why am I priced so low?  I sold the credenza off quickly and made my money on this buy.  I do not have room as my storage is jammed.  This is the one set I have that I can offer to local fans and collectors at a great price! I buy to sell retail, not wholesale.  When I can offer at a great wholesale price, I want to!  This chance does not come often. That said, my online price of $600 is still great but accounts for my fees.  Shipping this complete could be a $650 price.  Still the set will be had under value if you restore the finish. It is current in well loved/rustic condition but it’s charming. The gold linen seats are new including the foam and it is ready to use.  

You can purchase this set directly at Fleetwood Antique Mall. Come prepared to transport.  Staff will help you load it. OPEN 10-6 WED - SUN 14129 Kutztown Rd, Fleetwood, PA 19522

If you are interested in just the chairs, I can bus ship them for $150 additional.  Chairs alone $400.   

I am working on the other set of chairs I have as well.  Fabricating a new support piece as the former was missing.  Will replicate the finish on the new piece and then just need to knock a few crooked legs loose and reglue them up.  The former fixer did not use clamps. 😭  They look real nice cleaned up.  I am leaving the original upholstery alone and did repair a small hole.  I think it’s nice and if you want to hire me to redo for you I would gladly do that but trying to keep the price down and I really do love the striped fabric!  So sexy! These will be priced to move!  

My husband is working on the new piece of maple that will replace a missing rung.  It’s a great match to the original wood which is probably beech. 

Lots going on as we are in the final weeks of school and will be camping in a few weeks.  If you need me please reach out! I have weekday availability for deliveries and such.  I am stocked full of some great things right now in ALL BUDGETS!!! Please refer your friends!  I will treat them like family! 🥰

Have a great week!

XO MALISSA