Spent the day getting grubby, searching for great finds at an estate sale today and I feel just great about it! The 1st part of the morning I was ping-ponging myself between two auctioneers, afraid I was going to miss some of the items I was stalking. I managed to get all I had set out to, with the exception of a few great pieces that far exceeded my price expectations. Saule the Savior showed up just in time to help haul it all home. A few of the items (a super-cool picnic table/benches from a Munich Beer Garden—I just LOVE it—it's orange painted wood & has collapsible metal legs) will go into storage until maybe May & some items are part of our stash for the Lucketts Annual Fair and a truckload went down to the barn today.

After we finished loading & unloading from the estate sale & then from storage, we headed down to the barn to start the visual transformation for the February 2010 Tag Sale. After a brief, muddy,4-wheel-drive not working, stuck-in-the-mud experience, we got even dirtier tearing our space apart and drilling holes in the old barn ceiling. I'm really excited about how fresh the floor will look this month: many new vintage items, a slew of new custom throw pillows all coordinated with a Modern Global aesthetic which is very hot right now in the decorating world. We're pulling this look off with our usual assortment of great vintage/antique finds in rich woods and adding in crisp white painted furniture. Our new pillows have some really cool graphics (black & white Buddha, rice bag graphics, blue & orange elephants to list a few) and we're having some custom made in a black & white Ikat fabric that adds a modern yet global graphic to ground some of the fabulous, saturated color.

Some lovely accessories to round out our visuals came from the estate sale today: a set of Indonesian brass bowls (so pretty) and an antique wall hanging from an Ivory Coast African tribe. We still have many hours of work to do to turn our visuals into reality but we're off to a good start. Yes, today we spent many hours on our feet, getting dirty and lifting furniture but all in all I would say it was a rather satisfying day.

xo,

Saule & Angelique

I LOVE, love, love going to auctions/estate sales! I even love driving to them, anticipating what great treasures are there waiting for me to find. I love finding things from an era gone by, touching pieces from a simpler time. It's so fun to see so many old things from different time periods: I love the fussiness of Victorian paired with primitive farmhouse. It's really just record of the way we've lived.

Last nights auction was packed with all the usual characters. At 1st I thought it would be a bust since most things were going for way too much money and the competition was fierce—-January has been an auction drought. Despite what I thought, we drove away with a truck full of finds that will fit perfectly with what we have in store for the upcoming months. My favorite item is an antique setee, upholstered in an intriguing saffron jacquard fabric, which we think will be so funky/pretty with the black ikat, pink/black damask and graphic throw pillows from Rhadi.

Looks like January's auction drought may be lessening as I just found another auction to hit next week. Wish us luck:-)!!

Silk&Burlap kicked off the holiday season in style with our holiday pre-sale party, complete with good friends/customers, Chartinis, twinkle lights & candle light. We had a terrific weekend, it seems everyone is feeling festive. Many dining tables, buffets, china cabinets were walking out the door this weekend as customers are planning to entertain/dine in style! To complete or enhance the dining experience we had some fabulous vintage finds go fast, such as 2 glass turkey compotes, a gorgeous candelabra (my personal fav, found by Saule) and punch cups used as votive holders. I am very excited for our upcoming sale this weekend since I will be bringing in even more vintage treasures. I am hitting auctions Wed, Thur & Sat morning before work. If you were at the barn on Friday then you may have missed some of the great finds Saule picked up at an auction last Saturday. The beautiful dresser/server sold 5 minutes after it was placed on our floor but she also found an incredible, rare steamer trunk, complete with the drawers & original hangers inside. I'd love to place that next to the door before my next trip, telling my husband I only have 1 bag!! Hope to be blogging about all the great treasures I find at the upcoming auctions. Will post pics too in a day or so.
xo,
Angelique