Etsy shop ON SALE

Just an FYI that my entire etsy shop is ON sale for the month of February!  10% off every listing, even new stuff I am adding.  No coupon code required!  

My first month at Fleetwood Antique Mall has been great!  I am so glad I followed my dreams!  Stop by if you are in the area!  Select furnishings are available from my online inventory but I can have anything there for you to see if you reach out in advance.  It's not too late for Valentine's Day and I made some great little sets with the Fransiscan Starburst themed pillows and a matching wooden wine tag....all wrapped in a red ribbon!  $18 each set.  

Here's a view from my Instagram feed!  Are YOU following? 

I also added more Indian Kantha Quilts...there are 4 to choose from at the shop and 1 online in the etsy shop.  I can think of many uses including picnic and festivals, draped over a chair, camp bedding or throw.  The colors are gorgeous!  Here is a peek! 

I will gladly ship any of them if interested. I also picked up an array of placemats!  They are just as awesome!  Available in sets of 2 in the etsy shop and I left a few sets of 4 in the shop.  They are awesome and reversible just like the quilts. 

Placemats!  So cute for home or glamping! 

Afew other items I added this week include awesome VW camper wood wall plaques!  We love our 89 Vanagon and love VW kitsch!  Brought these back from my wholesaler to share the love! #westylife  

And HAPPY CAMPERS LIVE HERE kitchen towels! 💗💗💗💗 

I would gladly ship any of these new items, but they are not eligible to list on etsy so please reach out if you can't get to the store and I can mail to you via PayPal invoice.   

I am meeting up in Cinnaminson, NJ this Saturday to deliver a few items.  If you are in the area and would like something reach out!!!!  

I guess that covers everything!  My  

Vibe Sunkissed fabric arrived today so will start taking apart the next Heywood Chair this week! Yea! 🎉. Hope you all have a fabulous Valentine's Day!  

Xo Malissa

The Eames chairs are in the shop.  The bases remove with a Phillips head screw driver for easy packing.  They have some issues but if you always wanted one or 2, you can score them $200 each or both for $350 at the shop! 

Don't forget the best pyrex selection in the mall!!! 

That tweed suitcase is new too!  Orange/Avocado tweed! 😍 

Coming up for air, but still adding things to the inventory.

The Christmas rush has started!  My small items are moving out the door!  Pyrex sets, holiday decor....it's going!  This is very exciting and I am still trying to get everything out the door in 24 hours or less.  I will be stressing about last minute shipments and I can tell you UPS STANDARD will get things to NYC in one day.  But do not push your luck!  I would gladly upgrade your shipping but you need to reach out to me so I can quote it for you!  Anything going by bus really needs to get out this weekend to have a chance of making it.  I can tell you my NYC bus shipment usually arrive in Port Authority the next day after I ship, but with holiday travel, we cannot assume anything at this point. 

NEWS

If you have been to any of the shops or the web site this week, you may have noticed I have commissioned a new logo! 

Also on the move is the new Chairish shop!  I am up 6 listings, approved and live!  I am hoping to reach a new market of designers and collectors and am looking forward to my first sale and going through the process.  I will be cross listing pieces in the shops and prices will vary accordingly.     

I continue to tweak things on the web page and hope everyone finds it helpful and easy to use.  There are a few things that bother me and I will continue to tweak! I am all set up for commerce and am limited in what I can have listed, so will keep the web direct deals to items that do not fit etsy's strict criteria.  I have some new vintage themed items for sale!  They will make great stocking stuffers!  Also, I picked up a fabulous set of T-Vac chairs by Ron Arad for Vitra.  Only designed in 1999, these are too new for etsy. Ron Arad is a London based Architect and Designer who has been dubbed the hottest of our modern designers.  I thought these were definitely in line with my offerings and scooped them up! Buy direct for best price! 

Set of 4 Tom Vac Chairs by Ron Arad.....SEXY!  Click to visit the listing and BUY DIRECT!

Also new this week are a SUPER set of 7 Lane Perception dining chairs!  They are an awesome Danish inspired style, but with all the great construction of American made era furniture.  The seats are very large, everything is super sturdy and these lived their whole lives to date with one family who raised 11 children!  I have update with new vinyl seats, tended to some finish issues ending with some new lacquer and glued up some weak joints.  They are ready to ship and will look great around any walnut table.  Please check out the Perception line if you are unfamiliar.  Designed by Warren Church, this line incorporates a sleek Danish style and these seats and some of the tables incorporate a floating look.  Drawer faces feature woven cane.  It truly is a nice line and is very collectable as many of the era Lane pieces are.  They are fairly easy to find and pricing is reasonable. 

Super 7 piece set of Lane Perception dining chairs restored!

Next up.....freshly picked!  Check out these cuties!  The ever popular Carter Brothers Series 200 Scoop chair and a great sturdy slat bench!  They are both in great vintage condition with appropriate wear.  Both will make a great accent to any space. 

Carter Brothers Series 200 Scoop Chair features bent ply seat.  Very low and sexy!  Awesome avocado green vinyl upholstery!

Awesome sturdy mid century slat bench!  IDing these things is near impossible.  Not marked.  MUCH sturdier than the last one I had so definitely a better brand. 

Thanks for much for signing up for my mailing list!  I appreciate you guys following along with my endeavors!  Hope you all have a fabulous holiday and please reach out if you need a last minute gift!  Don't forget the Franciscan Starburst items I have for sale right on the web site!  I do have some exciting plans for this spring and I will wait to unveil them until official.  In the mean time, your support is helping me reach my goals of saving MCM!  Have a super holiday!!!!! xo Malissa

SAVE 10% OFF ALL ETSY SHOP INVENTORY NOW THROUGH DEC 24th AT MIDNIGHT!  Use code: MERRYKITSCHMAS at checkout!  I rarely put my furnishings on sale so NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO SAVE!!!!

Adventures in Acquisition. Come along on a ROAD TRIP!

We stumbled across a shop a few years back on our way back from a VW campout in NY state.  I had a chance this spring to stop by again and realized I need to go back and save some more!  Everything needs some work and that is fine by me because I am starting to nest my winter projects!  Yesterday I embarked on a grand adventure.  Me, the kids and our 89 VW Vanagon.  My husband had a family emergency so he headed off to Pittsburgh and I was setting off alone.  I promised to not exceed 65 MPH and keep my eye on the temperature gauge.  This van can't really get to 65 MPH, by the way!  hahaBut I had many mountains to cross on this route and that can cause overheating and trouble if the van decides to malfunction. 

High on the hill overlooking the Susquehanna River on PA Rte 6.

Travelling via a 25 + year old vehicle does require avoiding the fastest way to get somewhere.  We avoid highway driving as much as possible.  So it only makes sense to take the most historically pleasing route across PA, ROUTE 6.  It runs East-West across the whole state just south of the NY border.  Meanders through small towns, up and down mountains and not only is quite scenic, there is much fun to be had shopping and eating!  We passed many antique shops, but I had one in mind to spend my money at, so did not bother stopping. 

My 2 trusty helpers were pretty decent travel buddies.  I only had to yell at them twice for beating each other in the back seat.  They have been raised in the van so it is like an extension of home to them.  They have been on some crazy long trips and camping adventures, so it was just like another day to them. 

We arrived at our destination and immediately got to talking shop with the adorable owners.  A father and son team who have many years of estate picking, sale going and show selling under their belts.  They only buy Mid Century Modern items and have a shop full of gems, if you know what you are looking at and can see past the non elegant presentation, full of dust, spider webs and issues that need to be tended to.  They always treat me fair and I can get some nice pieces for my shop.  They are in love with the history of the designers and pieces, just like me, so you can imagine how much I treasure the few hours I spend conversing with them both.  They also have the largest stash of Hey Wake I have seen and their shop is somewhat of a museum to those in the know.  Many folks came through while I was there, but I could see by the blank looks in their eyes that they were not MCM fans and had no clue what they were looking at. 

I had plenty of time to ponder items in my price range and go over a loose plan for restoration.  Talking myself up to the task perhaps, or mainly building my self esteem to know I could tackle the job, with dignity and integrity because no restoration job should be half assed.  :)  I came back around to a set of Gio Ponti Shaker Style chairs.  Gio Ponti was probably the most popular Italian modernist of the era....an architect, furniture designer and industrial designer.  His spin on the traditional ladder back chair is pretty neat.  It's exaggerated in a cartoon kind of way.  I just thrifted a smaller back Ponti chair the day before, so it quickly turned in to Ponti fest this weekend!  These chairs are dainty and light, another Shaker tradition.  They need restore work, but after my last cord restoration, I know I can do it.  :)  I got a set of 4 in chippy black lacquer....rustic and nice for those who like to mix MCM with more traditional pieces and a pair in a blond finish, which look great with the little HW cart I picked up for a friend.  He gets first dibs on them.   I have been wanting a full set of chairs in the shop because I have done well with them, so that made me happy.  These chairs definitely are not for everyone.  They are very dainty.  My almost 6' and plus size stature feels very large on them.  They would do best in a household with lighter folk and no kids or people who are rough on their furniture.  I love Danish modern, but I have Hey Wake in my dining room.....it can handle larger people just fine and it's more comfortable to me.  Just something to keep in mind when shopping.  Shipping my stuff does not allow my customers to try before they buy so I want to make it clear what thoughts I have on it, in case that helps someone make a decision!

Gio Ponti threw up in my driveway!  The chairs are very cute and the design is exaggerated and cartoony. 

So now you are wondering about those Eames chairs?  Yes, they are Herman Miller Eames shell chairs.  Structurally, they are great, on a swivel base.  They have upholstery issues so I am going to try to deal with that and bring them into a new life.  I have 3 options, try to clean up the fabric on it (I picked 2 of the cleanest) but the foam inside is degraded, paint the fabric if I can OR remove all of it and clean the glue residue and try to polish the fiberglass.  I found a blog with someone else's adventures in restoring one of these so plan to use it as a reference.  They are a great chair and actually comfy even in this degraded state.  They hug you or at least hug me because of my wide butt.  :)  The fiberglass is moss green.  I think they are pretty. 

Last but not least.  The coffee table.  Recognize it?  Yep, Paul McCobb planner group!  Such a simple design, yet oh so stunning!  The simple splayed legs scream sexy.  We discussed it in length and Tom is convinced it is an early model and that the 2 toned presentation is original.  He has found no examples of it to prove it, but he has a personal collection of McCobb and I trust his valuation.  The label residue is still on the underside over the black finish.  It has some chippy spots around the edge and some areas on the top are rubbed through the black. I have not decided how I will attack that or if I should leave it as original wear.  I do think it adds character to the piece.  I am smitten with McCobb and because he was America's designer, and massed produced, his stuff turns up.  Definitely consider adding one of his pieces to your MCM collection.   

And finally, no road trip is complete without some great eats!  There is a stretch on route 6 somewhere near Wyalusing boasting a few road side BBQ joints.  We try to hit Chris' Western Beef whenever we are travelling through.  It is a kitschy little joint and we just love it!  They close for the season sometime late September, and we have been there on their closing weekend, just barely getting through in time! 

I live for places like this!  Bring on the KITSCHY Roadside fun!

My partners had worked up an appetite!  This joint has a cool vibe, outdoor seating and decent food!  Ice cream too, but they had already had some while I was shopping so we passed on dessert.

We had a great trip!  The van behaved and I did not have to call AAA!  It was a good day.  Today I will repent and clean my garage, organize my hoard maybe work on my slat bench and keep on trucking!  CHEERS!  xo Malissa