chicago

[greenoak]

just went to the chicago gift show....and cottage was huge...lots of white, lots of pastels , lots of country companies going lighter.... lots of signs... the prices seem to be going down.... i bought lots and cant wait to get it in.... some stores were buying christmas but i cant think of it now....im all about garden at this time of year...

what do you think will be hot this year?
i got wonderful custom signs with retro pictures and our lake name....
ot was wpmderful seeing other peoples displays... mine drive me nuts most of the time....
ann
www.greenoakantiques.com

[Jenny]

Ann -- it's good to know what's upcoming. It's hard to anticipate what might be in and what might be out -- there might well be a whole new upcoming trend of color or design and without knowledge aforethought my entire line might be completely off kilter. That could wreck my whole week

By signs do you mean neat little rectangles with entire sentences or phrases or something more shapely emblazoned with a single word? I have a sign idea that I'm noodling with, which may or may not make it off the drawing board. \

Does any particular color take you by surprise?

[greenoak]

the new color seemed to be the aqua blue and i liked it a lot...its supposedly hot with brown but i doubt if that will work for my area..... the signs i like are ; always kiss me goodnight, the dream, love, enjoy, i kiss better than i cook, just another day in paradise....but i wish i could find more neat shabbby signs like i see on ebay.... but cheaper....love, maybe the hokey pokey is what its all about....

i guess with brick and mortar you know your customers better.....i think it would be hard to decide what to offer without the customer in mind... it helps me a lot.....the feedback i get from my customers makes me buy certain things like for f or young mothers who like our store, like bright pastels , romantic stuff, wine stuff, baby stuff and lots of white but then another group of young women like black also , not a teddybear primitive look but a more severe clean colonial look, i sell them lots of dark signs..and tons of black furniture.....

...and for prime time women, maybe with second homes, or definitley home projects, with money, good taste, i go for neater more expensive stuff... softer pinks..they can pay for good stuff if i get it right...... some like what i really like, natural tans and wierd humor, , ancient shabby looking stuff...my favorite in that area are these big almost 3 ft hand carved angels full bodied, with beautuful painting..they might be from india, very subtle and well done.....so far from thomas kincaid or cherished moments ...i gag at resin of course....

then there are my lake customers who i think , hope will like the bright colors i picked out...flip flops , girlfriend, nice biright colors....
i read that argyle ,like the socks, design is getting big and as a hoosier im not going there... i doubt if it gets here...
they say shabby is over and i think thats not true but the word is over...its at target and walmart ...so it cant be new and exciting anymore......i know white and pale colors are still selling great here for me...things with old parts, nice chandeliers, white gardeny stuff...white furniture...
i guess we need a new word....maybe the word and concept of cottage will be as big and wide as country has been for the last 15 or 20 years...meaning a relaxed casual eclectic look.......

it stays intriguing for me thats for sure.....
ann
www.greenoakantiques.com

[Jilliebean]

Re: the aqua blue and chocolate brown. It's a really hot combination in our area.

I've also seen aqua mixed with yellow-greens like lime.

[Jenny]

Ann - thanks for filling in all the details of what's upcoming. For a while I was thinking that any day now Shabby has got to fall off the earth as fast as Earth tones disappeared in the late 70's... but it looks like shabby is still going strong. It seems to be changing and evolving a little. But this is a style that is so easy to live with and adapt. And as long as the world is under stress, the economy is in question, and technology is burying us in wires and diodes, I am thinking that a snuggly inviting interior is just what everybody ordered.

I bought my iron bed some 20 years ago and a chippy beat up farm table -- mistakenly I sold the table (what was I thinking) it would be handy and handsome to have back.

I was divorced, raising a child alone and going to college -- that bed was the only tangible talisman to suggest all really might be right with the world.

Yep, shabby has a comfy appeal -- these are good times for that.

[greenoak]

your iron bed sounds neat....and i think the look is staying, even country living and country home are showing it...the purist country fans arent too happy but thats where the mags must think the market is cause they are showing tons of lighter lay outs....... and look at broyhills painterly colors furniture line...its medium colors and beautiful and just perfect for a cottage feel....

. the old stuff has patina and thats wonderful but also its probably real wood , or actual silver , or real good iron or handmade in some wonderful way that isnt even available now... and its never particleboard... for me as a business its great to have old and to incorporate it in some things we make because it cant actuallly be roproduced in china...close maybe..like right now im wild about using old doors..nobody is going to have them at target, walmart or even the mall unless they found some store like ours....anthropoligea would have them but not your normal mall store... so using old does give you an edge as a seller , imho.... and anyone is going to love my old farm table for under $100 after seeing anthropoligeas price...
thats why we all need a good junk dealer!!!!

jenny i met another woman at home with power tools!!! scary...she gave me the recipe for those neat crown molding shelves...do you make them? think they will still sell? long and narrow..to hold a plate or pictures...
another good thing about being at the big s hows is getting the free trade mags, which cover all the areas of current retail offerrings...and they are free...
ann

[Jenny]

Ann: I took a look at Broyhill's Painter's Shed furniture -- it's even "Factory chipped"! It really is lovely -- and they wouldn't make it if they didn't expect to sell it... and I am guessing that folks willing to pay those prices aren't thinking of revamping their decor infive years...

As for making crown molding shelves, I have made them, but mostly I make what I would consider a "farm" shelf or a "shaker" shelf -- it's very plain, with very plain brackets -- the whole thing, shelf and brackets, is made from a single board. I'll add hooks and a plate channel. Adding crown molding to this is simple enough and charming, but I don't make them for my line (for my own use crown molding is an over-looked detail.)

Within a short time I expect to have a website up and some marketing materials in place -- so I am trying to keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on and figure out how to incorporate me into the mix --- like jumping into Double Dutch.

[Jilliebean]

Jenny, my mom was a craftsman power tools salesrep for 15 years until she retired. She won every award there was at Sears. Chicks can definitely keep up with the boys when it comes to power tools. More "power" to ya! (Oh that stunk.)

Jill