Some special Christmas Friends

I've been so busy lately, I barely have time to breathe!  However, I did make it to a sale today and found some pretty awesome Christmas friends.  I took them straight to the shop, and made them feel right at home.  I always have so much fun addiing "just one more thing" at Christmas!

I found these awesome, handmade Folk Art people and Angel!

And there's a story behind these wonderful, hand carved belsnickles and animals...  When I saw these at the sale today, my heart stopped because I knew who made these.  I knew because the couple was very dear to me and I had one of these precious hand carved Santas sitting in my kitchen at home.  It stays there all year long!   Clark and Ronnie Pearson carved all these beauties years and years ago.  Clark would carve and Ronnie would paint.  They were this awesome folksy couple from New England and they sold their pieces to a few "worthy" vendors, at select shows and to special friends.   Clark always had a pipe in his mouth and could talk antiques and primitives all day long.  Dear Ronnie passed away a few years ago, and Clark moved back East to be closer to his kids, which to me, makes these hand carved treasures more precious than ever and I found them today!  Of course, some of them will go straight home with me, as a fond reminder of my dear friends.

I hope you all remember to treasure those around you.  Make your memories today because who knows what tomorrow will bring.  God Bless you and I hope you have an incredible Christmas!

Not your Average Barn Sale!!

When most of us think of a barn sale, we think of old dusty barns filled with dusty, rusty treasure.  That's certainly NOT a bad thing.... but I have a friend who has a Barn Sale that is unlike anything you've ever seen!  The barn is light and bright, filled with beautiful chandeliers, some for sale, some not.  But when the doors to this barn are opened for her sale, you'll know you've found something very, very special.  The barn doesn't look like a barn at all.  It looks like the shop of your dreams, bursting with wonderful treasure nestled into every little nook and cranny.

This is her very first Christmas Sale and I absolutely can't wait to see the Holiday Magic waiting for us at the Barn!!

Be sure to visit www.frenchhenfarm.blogspot.com.  Oh yeah, and after the sale, you can come visit me!  

Finding More Goodies for the Shop!

We had a great Christmas Open House!  But one of the downsides is when all  your furniture starts selling and you have to come up with some new pieces rather quickly.  However, I happen to love shopping for new stuff, so I set off in search of a good auction!  Lucky for me I found one and here are some of the treasures I brought home.

This piece just kinda tugged at me.  It's an old shop display piece and it has Aunt Betty's Products printed across the top.  Not sure what's marked on the second shelf, but the bottom says Bakery.  I love it!

This wonderful old cupboard has green paint over old mustard paint.  I believe the cupboard itself is Walnut.  It is SO heavy, I have to say I'm tempted to  just take it home.

This little jelly cupboard is a nice size.  It's not very deep at all.  It has white paint over old green paint.  I think it could use a little TLC.  I like the red knobs!

This little table has so much charm.  It has layers of old paint and it's kinda sad that someone started to scrap the paint off the drawer and just quit.  It has old green and red paint under the black.

That's all for right now, but I'll share pics of more of the treasures later this week.  Thanks for looking!

Have you ever seen one of THESE?!

I had one of these in my shop last year for the Holidays and was hoping I'd get one this year... but couldn't be sure.  So, when I got the phone call that another was coming, I was happy beyond words!  What got me excited?  This wonderful piece of musical magic, known as a Banjo Orchestra!!  This one is a reproduction built by the D. C. Ramey Piano Company, located right here in my own town, Marysville, OH!

Here's a little bio:  The Ramey Banjo-Orchestra is a totally new orchestrion based on a similar instrument, the Banjorchestra, first introduced in 1914.   The instrument consists of piano, banjo, snare drum, tambourine, triangle, wood block, castanets, bass drum and cymbal.

Right now it's set up to play Christmas music and when it kicks in, the whole store is rockin'!  :-)

If you'd like more information on this amazing piece, go to http://www.dcramey.com/

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for the Open House.  The past two days were amazing and we really enjoyed visiting with everyone!

Almost ready for Christmas Pics

I think the shops that close down a few days before open house are smart!  You can take your time decorating and you don't have to worry about someone coming in and buying your display pieces before the open house.  However, I don't think it's fair to close down when there's no way for me to let EVERYONE know that I won't be open.  So, I'm trying to decorate while operating the shop.  It's a little slow going, but we're getting there.  Less than 12 hours to go before the OPEN HOUSE!

Redecorated the Harvest Table!

Nice old mantle with German Twig and Berry Garland

Adorable Little Blue Cupboard with snowmen and candles.

The Cottage

GoodieS!

Wonderful Early wood & iron sled on old mantle.  Also old Model T tool box w/snowmen and more!

I love, love, love this cupboard.  I've never seen anything like it.  I have the door off to the side, but when it's on, it overlaps the drawers.  I was told the door sort of locks the drawers and then there's a latch above the door to hold it in place too.  This is one of the display pieces that sold today.

Busy, busy....

I spent most of yesterday and part of today decorating the shop for Christmas.  Thank goodness I had my trusty sidekick and dear friend Marlyn helping out!  I'll try to get some pictures posted tomorrow!

The last remnants of October....

I can (and probably will) say it over and over and over again, fall is my favorite time of year.  So when the end of October comes around, it makes me a little sad.   In the shop, it's time to put away the Halloween and some of the fall stuff, to prepare for the Christmas decorations. 

I'll still have a corner or two decorated for fall and Thanksgiving, but the bittersweet beauty of all things associated with fall will soon be taken over by the more vibrant colors of Christmas, which I also love.

So, I thought I'd post just a couple more pics of the fall decorations....  Oh yeah, this wonderful early 1900's dry sink was in the window for just a day or two, but is now on lay-away, waiting to be taken home by it's new owner!

Dry sink with wooden bowls and handmade pumpkins.  The box with 8 cubbies is also gone.  I love boxes!

I love this little stool.  It's sides are covered in leather.

My little handmade pumpkin with witch's hat!

I love this table, purchased from Linda and Becky at French Hen Farm!!!  I filled up a few large canning jars with oranted putkas and I love them so much, I may need to just take a jar home.  :-)  Next time we see this table, it should be all decorated for Christmas... uh oh, there's already 2 snowmen in the pic!

Christmas Open House!

Our Christmas Open House will be Friday, November 5th and Saturday, November 6th!    I'm working hard to get the shop decorated for Christmas.  I just hate to put away my fall decorations and put out Christmas stuff before Halloween.  I think it's sad that Thanksgiving is usually just passed over as a Holiday.  I guess it's because it's harder to commercialize, so most retailers just don't bother.  Anyway, I promise to still have some Thanksgiving decorations and vignettes even after Halloween.

For the Open House we'll definitely be serving refreshments, have some door prizes, 15% discount on ALL candles, even battery operated!

I'll try to get some pictures posted as I get the shop decorated.

Amazing Primitive Artist

Well, I was just spending a few minutes browsing around "blogger" land when I happened onto someones site that was offering free goodies.  So I thought I'd sign up.  But first I poked around the site a little bit and realized that I had 'discovered' someone with a incredible talent!  You'll have to stop by Michelle Palmer's Blog and take the grand tour.  You won't be disappointed!

I love Primitives!!

Fall is my favorite time of year and I love decorating with primitives, the more rustic the better!  My house is an eclectic mix of the same sort that you see in the shop.  Most rooms have their own look, but some have a bit of everything.

Today I thought I'd take some pictures of the primtives in the shop.  I adore this old baking cupboard.   When these cupboards were first built, they were considered the epitomy of efficiency for the modern housewife.  With lots of drawers, shelves, pull-out cutting board and plenty of room to roll out pie crusts and noodles!

I have this one filled with Rose of Sharon Candles, room sprays and tarts.

And of course, my absolutely favorite, BATTERY operated candles.  No burning the house down!

This cupboard is absolutely huge.  It's actually a cupboard TOP.  Could you imagine how big it would be with it's original bottom?  It has a slightly reddish cast to the finish, which I love!

It's filled with 1824 Candles, car fresheners and beautiful Placemats and Napkins!

I'm trying to get the shop ready for our upcoming Christmas Open House.  I really don't like to put Christmas stuff out in the shop until Halloween is over.  It's always bothered me that major retail stores rush the Holidays and completely ignore Thanksgiving, which I love.  So, when the shop is finally decorated for Christmas, it will also be decorated for Thanksgiving!

Thanks for looking!

Kim

Around the shop....

I figured out how to make my blog space match my web-site.  So much to learn!  I thought I'd include a few more pictures of the shop.  As you can see, I like a lot of different styles!

How can you resist tea cups, silver plate and anything architectural?

 

I love the shop's brick walls.   they make a perfect backdrop for just about anything.



This very pretty, early wicker table is the most wonderful color!

 I fell in love with this primitive table the moment I saw it.  It would make a great little kitchen island!

So Sweet!  This adorable little dress and stand are on consignment.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Some recent pics of the shop.

Still playing around, just trying to get a feel for blogging.  Here's a couple pics of the shop.

Making the cottage look a little more "fall" like. 

Front window display with one of my home made pumpkns!

Well, here I am!

I meant to start a blog years ago, but kept putting it off.  There was always something else to do first.  But now I look around at some of my favorite shops and realize I have some catching up to do!

I have a web-site.  I've had one practically since the internet was born... ok slight exaggeration.  I could practically 'speak' html back in '98 and my friends thought I was a total computer geek.  I made my own graphics and even designed sites and graphics for friends.  But now I find myself standing toward the back of the pack in internet literacy... keeping up seems to be a full-time job.

So here I am, finally starting a blog for my shop, Uptown Antiques.  It sits right in the heart of the historic district in uptown (or downtown if you prefer) Marysville, Ohio.  The shop is a bit eclectic because I love so many styles of decorating.  There's a bit of Victorian, some shabby chic/Paris apartment, romantic country and primitives, lots of primitives.  But with every style, the one element that continues throughout the shop is a sense of femininity.  I just love being a girl!

Our family consists of me, my husband and six wonderful young men.  We have a small house in the country and try as I might to keep it feminine and clean, it always manages to slightly resemble a dorm room.  I'm sure that will change as the guys move out, but for now, my shop is my 'own little corner, in my own little room and it can be whatever I want to be."  That's a verse from a Cinderella musical when I was a little girl.

Okay, I guess that's all for now.  I'm going to try to post a few pictures of the shop and figure out how to let everyone know that I'm blogging!  Wish me luck!