Seek and Ye Shall Find, MCM Style: How Custom Shopping Works.

A while back, one of my clients asked me to keep an eye open for a nice walnut low dresser for her.  It's been on my mind overtime I am out sourcing.  Finally, I found a fabulous piece that was in great condition and I thought she may love it.  I sent a pic, and my initial thoughts on condition which I call a once over.  Meanwhile, my brain is going crazy processing the issues and trying to determine a strategy to repair and blend in the issues.  My initial pics were in the shop it was found and of course, these items do not last long so it was imperative that I pounce on it to secure it for my client.  I am lucky that she is easily accessible and we went back and forth via text for a little bit as I answered her questions, checked the dresser for smells, drawers work, structural issues and finish issues....plus the ever important dimensions!  She quickly decided this piece was for her (and I agree, that it is a totally stellar piece!).  There was a matching dresser and night stand and for as much as we hated to leave them behind.....I saw today they were already sold so no going back!  As soon as I had her blessing, I purchased the dresser and got it home to spend the rest of the day cleaning, touching up and filling a large gash on the left front corner.  As I worked, I really fell in love with this piece!  It was totally not the average low dresser and wow was it cleaning up fabulously!  I kept her posted with pics of my progress and she is totally excited to meet it!  Delivery is this Friday and I am so excited to see it in her home.  I love to get to clients homes since most of my customers are around the country, it's not always possible.  This lovely lady has quite the eye for design and it is a treat to see my awesome finds displayed in her amazing space.  Her color choices are bold and stunning.  The home is a sprawling MCM ranch in a charming neighborhood close to where I went to college. I always enjoy the visit! 

As I finished cleaning up this piece, I was contacted by a shopper on Etsy about a pair of dressers I had listed.  She was interested in both pieces.  (Yea!  I hate separating sets!!!!)  Would I deliver to Maryland outside of Washington DC?  Sure would for these pretties!  We set the delivery up for the following day and I get them ready and packed my car. The family and I headed down and delivered these gorgeous chests and we got them all moved in.  They were perfect!  My client sent us on our way with the most delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies I ever ate!  As we talked and she said she was interested in some more dressers for the other bedroom, I showed her a pic of another set that was for sale and I just loved so much.  She loved it too!  So today I got all the specs and did my run down on condition plus checked how much dirt was really on it and how it would clean up.  Well, this set is amazing in a kitchy and fun way.  I am happy to report I will be purchasing this set and getting it ready for delivery in early July!

Seriously shopping?  I get around!  I am always out looking and some things I choose not to invest in for various reasons including size, price and budget.  If i know you are looking for something, I would totally shop for you.  My goal is to get you a great price so that I can still price the final product under street value in my markets.  This means I will purchase on your behalf, go over it with a fine tooth comb trying to clean, erase imperfections as best as I can and tend to any structural issues that it may have.  Your freshly cleaned and touched up item will be shipped or delivered with the same care I take with the inventory I invest in.  You will get my honest opinion on condition and what I think I can do to get it up to snuff. I do not buy stinky or smelly stuff!  You can trust me to shop for quality items!  In most cases, I will ask for a deposit when I make the purchase with the balance due upon shipping/delivery.  If we have worked together in the past, however, you will have my trust on this. My services are offered in good faith that you will purchase the items secured for you.  Please reach out!  I will do all I can to help you find the piece of your dreams!  Good things take time, so do not expect an instant score and especially so if you give me a very specific list!  Walnut low dresser was easier to locate than say a Broyhill Brasilia 9 drawer dresser.  So the more flexible you are, the quicker this may go. 

Stock update:

Both Frank Lloyd Wright stretched fabric frames are complete and listed.  I can make more but have 4 of the smaller 'Design 107' pattern and 3 of the larger St Marks Print pattern ready to ship! They are very simple, fabric stretched over an artists canvas.  Please see them in the etsy shop.  Reach out if you would like me to order yardage from this line for you.  Even if you only want a yard, I would split the minimum order with you as they seem to require a 2 yard purchase.  They are also selling pillows made to order.  They are not cheap, but if you are interested, please check the schumacher.com website for available prints (search Frank Lloyd Wright and they come up) and I can work up a quote for you.  All pillows are 2 sided with the print you select. Expect to pay around $200 per pillow and most are 18" square but I saw they had the velvet in 16" square, most likely because the velvet is crazy expensive.  Reach out!

We are shoving off on vacation in a few weeks.  I will be totally off the grid for most of it.  I will probably put my online shops on vacation mode so I don't have any mad shoppers.  Although I expect to get into town every few days and access wifi, I am positive we will not have internet out in the Adirondacks where we are primitive camping.  If you need something, please reach out to me before Jun 22nd.  I will most likely not be coordinating any deliveries that week either or large furniture shipments. Hit me up now if there is something you love so I can get it shipped out or delivered for you in the next week or 2.  I will be crazy packing as we will be living in our VW Vanagon for 10 days or so which takes a lot of planning!! haha  

Special thanks to Darcie and Debbie who have been the most gracious clients and I just adore working with you! xo Malissa

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! 😍 

The Saving of the Chairs, Plus New Items To Make Your Valentine Swoon.→

My mother**, the most talented seamstress ever, is getting into the meat of our projects!  She has taken apart each piece of fabric including the piping.  Using each piece as a pattern, she is starting to recreate the upholstery in our brand new glorious Vibe Aquatic fabric from Joybird. 

**Margery has been a seamstress for most of her adult life.  She learned the craft sewing her own clothes and currently has a stream of loyal clients bringing her hemming and alteration projects ranging from jeans to sequined formal wear. I encouraged her to dice up my wedding dress and have 2 gorgeous heirloom christening outfits worn by my children and hopefully the next generation.

The guts of these chairs are in great shape!  Taking these apart carefully allows the cord in the piping to be reused.  Here is the new piping!  

After pinning the piping in place on the seat edge, mom fits the new seat on the chair.  Wow! 😍

You can really soon how vibrant and beautiful this fabric is! 

Cuttings for both chairs!   The original faded cream fabric is the pattern!

I have my work to do which includes sourcing some supplies, sanding and restoring the arms and of course, reassembly!  I am just working on my year end tax stuff to stay ahead of that mess so will be getting a move on.   I have not determined my final sale price for these beauties yet but feel free to email me if you have a serious interest in them.  I will only sell them together, but do have the single chair to do later and will need more fabric so could allow buyer to choose the fabric.  I was thinking of using the Vibe Tangerine.  

MEANWHILE. 

I just added a mint set of Amish Butterprint fridgies to the shop and a nice set of Primary Fridgies. Both are ready to display.  Fresh picked, a set of 3 Daisy/Sunflower Cinderella mixing bowls that i will complete shortly.  I should be able to do well on their price.  My higher priced sets are due to higher acquisition cost and I really am not making much on them, but want to offer the best collectable pieces i can! I have priced the 2 fridge sets for credit VS cash price so save $5 if you have cash for payment.  💰 Have a look!

This pattern is quite wonderful!   I will source the missing bowl and complete the set before it heads to the shop!

The Fridgies! 😍 

Lastly, I took some pics of the Sari blankets. I can get more of these for the time being, so I will gladly ship if anyone is interested in one!  I did not measure, but they are larger than a throw, might be almost sized for twin.  Each blanket is unique.  PERFECT for picnic, beach/pool, music festival, vintage campers and VW bus fans.  Unlike traditional American quilts, these do not have a batting later between the panels.  You will find holes, patches and character in the fabric as these were all vintage dresses.  Imported from India by my wholesaler, they were hand sewn and quilted. Have a look and email if you are interested in one! $50 each plus shipping from 19522.  Available to purchase at the shop WED-SUN 10-6 fleetwoodantiquemall.com

This blanket is vibrant and colorful!  Turquoise themed on one side, orange and warm on the other.  Great home decor item! 

Blanket #2 is more neutral in browns and golds.  The fabrics are interesting.  Great for a Boho look, mixed decor and so much more! 

Thanks for following along and please invite your MCM loving friends to follow along!  Any fan of good design is a friend of mine!  Email me if I can meet you at the shop!  I will bring anything in my online inventory you'd like to see! ️xo Malissa

Fall is for camping!

As we near our heavy camping season, my family looks forward to spending many crisp weekends living in our 1989 VW Vanagon.  My kids were raised in the van and we have met some of our closest friends at VW camping events.  It is a great scene!  Vintage car owning is not for the non mechanical types, unless you have the funds to pay a garage to keep you maintained and on the road.  My husband logs many hours with repairs and maintenance for our 3rd child. 

Blue Rocks Family Campground, Lenhartsville, PA...Annual Bustoberfest VW Campout

Looking forward to hitting a popular aircooled VW event this weekend at Flanders NJ.  If all goes well (I'm fighting a bladder infection and my husband just started with a cold), I am hoping to secure a vending spot and take some of my camping and picnic items!  I also saw that my favorite VW, the THING will be the featured car of the event, which is totally awesome!  Will see how it goes and if any of you folks attend the event, please keep an eye out for us and say hi! 

Late fall camping at Tohickon Valley Campground in Bucks County, PA.

I will be working on a few items in between all of this fun so I can get them listed shortly and be ready for the fall furniture boom.  Please let me know if I can quote shipping for you or plan a delivery or meet up!  My house is full so I am not looking to add to my inventory until I move some of this awesome stuff!  xoMalissa

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