Christmas Decorating Frenzy...

well, today has certainly been a new experience for me... sure, i've decorated for Christmas before, but i lived in a little house in the 'hood (so to speak). This house is blowing my mind!! and scott just sat around today snickering at me... I thought i had amassed enough garland over the years to decorate every room of a house BUT, i only got the living room and the dining room done! i have 1 swag and 2 pieces of twiggy stuff and 2 very short outdoor pieces (which worked well outside the front door last year). i still have to do something with the stair bannister and kitchen... and UGH... the outside front entrance and garage. This is when i regret not even LOOKING at christmas stuff at yard and estate sales... so here's what i got so far...

I am supporting my child's school fundraiser by buying 5 red poinsettias for the fireplace opening and i'm making four stockings out of burlap sacks saved from scott's grandparent's barn in Georgia. Hopefully have that picture by next week!

So i spent my whole day (between phone calls) working on this... i know, pitiful right? But i really did feel overwhelmed... here is the inside of the front door...

Well, i guess i'm off to see what the stores have to offer as far as outdoor garland... can't wait to show you my vintage blown plastic santa!!

Giving Thanks for all that you have!

retro in the district has gone home... we have moved from our downtown location to a "home office". not only does that give us the opportunity to still sell at booths, but it gives us the freedom to travel to craft fairs. while i'm not working, i plan on decorating the new house and sharing my ideas with readers. we have a huge mantle in the living room and the first thing i did was paint it white... 5 coats of white... it was worse than any piece of furniture i have ever done! here it is with mom's "fall" decor... simple and unfinished.

after my family Thanksgiving Dinner on Saturday, i plan to begin decorating for Christmas the "retro" way.

i also have been working in the new studio on some 5X5 canvas works for sale.

"say goodnight gracie"

i actually did see the george burns show when i was very young... and at the end his sister would always reply, "goodnight gracie". george would just smile and shake his head. The next week they would perform the show all over again. well, it has come time for retro in the district to say goodnight... but only until next time. we have decided to move the store from the district in downtown rogers to a more hip, progressive area closer to the university of arkansas. unfortunately, a future location hasn't been procured yet, so we are going to be working out of belle's plantation in Lowell and a new very awesome shop called "in retrospect" on township in fayetteville. my vision is to make retro even more cool, more vintage and more repurposed. we will miss all of our downtown friends and neighbors but as with life, the business must be nourished to grow.
So, retro will continue on in another location, the blog will continue with double the pics and you will have three opportunities to shop! check out our facebook page for new stuff still arriving (yes, daily)!

Kansas City, Missouri

Last weekend, Scott and I set out to Kansas City to pick up an antique glider we had purchased 3 weeks ago... we timed it so that we could go to their First Friday event that is held year round in the Crossroads Art District. We have a similar event in downtown Rogers on the 3rd Friday of each month, but not the size of this one in KC....oh my... I could not believe the number of people walking around... in 100 degree weather! It was from about 16th street to 20th and several blocks wide. They had bands, street vendors, art galleries and lofts open for touring... local merchants were open late for business. It was very cool. The magnitude was something I wish we could bring to downtown rogers... Then, if that wasn't enough, we went back downtown saturday morning and found a HUGE famers market in their River market district (just North of the Crossroads). There was a really good US Air Force band playing in the square and tons of fresh veggies from local farms. From there we went to pick up our purchase at a very cool and interesting antique store called River Market Antique Mall... four floors of fun... old signs, vintage furniture, architectural pieces, flea market booths, records, vintage clothes and on and on. VERY cool stuff and definately worth the trip downtown. On sundays only, there is another neat place called Cowtown which is a few blocks south of river market district in an old brick building. very vintage and very retro... think rubber chickens and vinyl records...60's furniture and decent prices. KC is pretty easy to drive, kid friendly and can be a nice getaway destination with lots to see and shop.

Summer Travel

I dont' know why we do it... plan all of our travel time in the hottest part of the year! i guess its because the work from our real jobs has leveled off and we have time on our hands (and a little money). my companion (and love of my life) scott, has gotten all of his swimming pools up and running smooth and i have designed all the wastewater systems for now, until the weather lightens up and people decide to build homes before winter sets in. it is a vicious cycle every year... but after 12 years somewhat predictable. Last year at this time, we travelled to San Antonio to visit his brother and lovely wife, then later drove (yes, drove) to Atlanta to visit more family and shop. We are waiting until September this year to make the long haul, this time driving (yes, driving) all the way to port charlotte, florida... yup... you read that right kids.... but wait, there's more... when we leave his mom's house, we are driving to atlanta to see dad and the rest of the family! I absolutely love to travel.... but i hate driving :-( even with gas prices as high as they are, it is still half the price to drive it. so, off we will go on a big adventure... and hopefully find lots of treasures along the way (the good thing about driving).

Creative Block

I'm always coming up with ideas... when I shop, in dreams, looking at magazines.... but when i actually have the time to work on new stuff... BAM! creative failure. i take pictures of lots of things so i can remember but then i get an item in the store that once belonged to something else like an old cabinet door or window and i have to create something new and fresh. i do lots of decoupage on cabinet doors and turn windows into tables. but i'm always looking for creative wow... it's what customers expect. And now I have been invited to put my art in a gallery in Eureka Springs... i am so honored just to be asked! but now desperate for ideas.... never ending vicious cycle, huh? Like Dora says,"just keep swimming..."

April Showers Bring May Sales

So, yes, I totally missed March.... not because I wasn't working... No, just the opposite.... My man and I have been working so hard we are now exhausted! One of the anomalies about being in a downtown district is when then sun shines, people come out in droves.... when it rains, I am a lonely girl all day. So the last few April days I have been rearranging the store, changing the window displays and cleaning out the back storage room... doing all the jobs I usually put off....Some new items in the store are wall murals I painted on 4'X8' sheets of plywood, a vintage chicken coop (cool for display or shelves) and a couple of stereo systems with turntables that really work!!! Ok, I got a little excited there...  every week brings more new businesses to "the District" of Downtown Rogers and it is a very exciting time. Farmer's Market begins at the end of this month and our first "Twilight Walk" which is now being called 3rd Friday is May 18th. More activities means more people and sales. Now go shop in your local downtown stores and see what cool things you can find!

Time Flies....

Amazing how fast time passes you by... it's already February!!! Now imagine 20 years passing by... actually, that is partially where we got the name Retro. I was taking the old items like furniture and lamps that i had left over from estate sales and repairing or reworking them into something new... I'm always so surprised at what people throw away! hence the saying,"other people's trash...".
the definition of "retro" is actually, "culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since become functionally the norm once again". I just love that.... it fits me perfect. They say it generally implies a vintage of at least 15-20 years. I would say that most of the items i repurpose are about that age, anything else probably has more value (antique) and I am opposed to repainting such pieces. Most items that are considered "retro" are also made from natural materials, like woods and metals.... so much furniture today is particle board (crap) that breaks easily and doesn't paint well. I often will pull over to the side of the road and go through some one's wood trash pile... i always grab wood shelves and broken chairs - if i can't fix they will be used for parts in the future! rusty metal cast offs are fun to change into home accents... My daughter and I both have old iron fence pieces for our bed headboards... looks cool and adds dimension to the decor!
So when you plan to redecorate, throw in a mix of diverse styles and vintage pieces... junky and fun spirited styles that come together to create a space that defines who you are. Your home is an escape that embraces all the diverse styles that YOU love and enjoy!