I guess last weekend just wasn't enough excitement for us. We're heading out of town bright and early tomorrow morning in search of some fabulous finds. I'm up at 4:30am to be out the door by 5am and at the house of a fun friend by 5:20am. We'll fuel up at Starbucks and then hit the road for 2+ hours. Saule is at the beach this weekend, but the dedicated girl that she is, she is taking a day from her vacation to meet up with us for some treasure hunting.

Wish us luck!

xo

So, participating in the Lucketts, VA Antique Fair felt like a cross between Christmas and camp. Like Christmas, you spend a lot of money (buying a ton of product for the show), there is a lot of build up and anticipation, there are late nights a few nights before the big day, there is a huge mess to sort through AND it's a lot of fun despite all the work. It also feels like camp to me since there is a lot of bonding that happens when you are working long, hard hours with an inspiring, incredibly talented group of women. We helped each other lift an insane amount of furniture, joked with each other and laughed so hard I cried. Ate junk food and shopped together. There was already a bond between us, and that bond was further cemented with the memories we take away from Lucketts and the magnificent women that made it happen. Thanks girls for the teamwork, laughs and memories!

Here's a recap for those of you that were not able to join us (we missed you).

Here's the Saule Spielberg version if you're not into reading at the moment:

Silk&Burlap at Lucketts on YouTube

We loaded 4 box trucks, 2 pick ups, 2 SUV's and a car on Thursday.

We were able to load the stage Thursday but couldn't set up yet since it's in an old school auditorium that is a pre school today.

We were a well oiled machine working together as a team. There were 10 of us girls + these very strong men (if it hadn't been for them, I may have cried and thought twice about Lucketts next year)

The parking lot later becomes packed and chaotic as dealers from all over the U.S. pack it in with their treasures.

We were able to get into the auditorium Friday at 2pm and had to be out of there by 9pm. This picture is a little blurry since all were moving rocket fast to set up a huge amount in a very short period of time.

Trying to put all the pieces together.

Completed space.

Modern Farmhouse.

Beautiful antique pine drop leaf table paired with modern reproduction Bertoia Chairs (sold) and chippy vintage farmhouse chairs.

Antique camel back sofa with new white denim slipcover, $899.00

Metal bar table with modern Ghost stools. Table + one stool sold.

Acrylic nesting tables, sold.

Vintage egg basket with great patina.

Saturday morning before the crowds came. There was a huge line to get in at 10 am.

The crowds packed it in all day Saturday. Sunday it was pouring rain in the morning and a muddy mess, so fewer attended but we still had a steady flow of traffic.

Whew, almost done and feeling tired in the bones. Fran of &Coco, Wendy of Beans&Buttons and Saule of Silk&Burlap watching the last few items get loaded onto the truck.

As ready as we were to call it a day at this point, we still had to take what did not sell back to Chartreuse&co and unload it there. Fortunately the 4 truckloads+ we went down with was reduced down to only 2 truck loads back. Thanks to everyone who came to see us and sorry we missed those of you that shopped the barn this weekend. We appreciate your support.

xo

I had a great day today at our February Tag Sale. I won't lie, great business always makes my day, but more than anything, it's the relationships and interactions with really great people that leave lasting impressions with me. Today was no exception, I was smiling before I even hit the front doors as I ran into my good friend, Ashley in the parking lot, beating me to my own sale. Ashley is a teacher and since we were on another 2 hour delay, she decided she was going to make good use of her time (dragging 4 kids along) and high tail it to our event. Love her. Then there is Meredith, who I don't think has missed one sale and usually comes to at least 2 of our 3 days. She is our ultimate cheerleader, making us feel as though we can do no wrong. Love her too! Next I run into Marilyn who I haven't seen in a couple of months, so I was delighted to see her with her sweet little girl. Even more delighted that she brought me my favorite cookie (Rosemary Sugar Cookie) of all time from Moxie Bakery. I love that she was thinking of me and took the time to do that. Should I say it? Yes. Love her too!

Despite the lack of close parking and wet, muddy conditions, everyone seemed so happy that we were just open. I heard from many that we had so much fun stuff, they were having a hard time choosing. I heard another lady say she was escaping to the barn for an hour to decompress. It's a great community, one I enjoy being a part of.

I'm heading to an auction tomorrow, will post pics of the goodies I find. Saule will be down at the barn with Champagne and Cake Bites. Hope she saves me one. Oh, and speaking of Saule, her sofa came back from the upholsterer today & it is yummy! Nice work.

I was just sitting here thinking about how fun our job is yet how time consuming it can be, since we're fairly obsessed with it. What aspect of our obsession should we blog about next? I then thought about the support we get from our husbands to make it all happen and think they should get a little "shout out!"

Here's to our guys for watching our 3 kids (each) evenings and weekends and sometimes on lunch hours while we spend many hours at an auction, or while we're at Chartreuse/Crossroads: ticketing, cleaning, re-arranging & helping customers. Here's to them for being basketball/soccer coaches on Saturday's and then taking all 3 kids to the grocery store & the park! Here's to them for helping us haul some ridiculously heavy item out of our cars when we arrive home at 11 pm and not complaining about it. Last but not least, here's to Dan & Chris for believing in us!!

xo,

Saule & Angelique

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

We spent most of our day yesterday at an auction and are pleased with what we came home with, making the 7 hours and dirty jeans worth it. All the usual suspects were there as well as new faces, including a woman that didn't know the meaning of personal space, ugh. One nice older gentleman helped us carry a cool, old Galvanized Double Wash Tub that we will have available at Lucketts, VA in May. On the flip side of that, I busted a man helping himself to an old locker (painted a chippy seafoam green) we bought and I hadn't gotten around to loading in my car. The locker will be available at Lucketts also in May.

We also bought a Victorian Camel Back Sofa (we'll name her Sofia), with carved feet & NAILHEAD TRIM (a feature we LOVE!). It's current upholstery is a hideous green but we think it would look spectacular in a gray & ivory modern geometric. I love the contrast of traditional with modern & fresh. The fabric we're considering has a soft neutral palette and the pattern is pretty & interesting. Leave your comment to let us know your thoughts. We thought about keeping it neutral (an ivory canvas, maybe) to appeal to a larger group, but that just doesn't seem to do the lines of Sofia justice.

Some of the other great finds, to list a few:

-2 antique chandeliers, dripping with crystals

-a beautiful carved buffet

-Victorian lamp

-50's metal lawn chairs, painted a chippy gray

-silver plate trays, pitchers, etc

-kitch-y Highballs

-monogrammed (letter B) highballs with an ice bucket all in a carrying caddy

And the list goes on & on. Many of these finds will be at Chartreuse&co Feb 19-21 for our monthly Tag Sale. We're headed to another auction Saturday, will post pic's. Wish us luck!

xo,

Saule & Angelique

Top 5 Reasons to Shop Silk&Burlap Saturday 1/16/2010 at Chartreuse&co:

1.) Awesome inventory of vintage/antique furniture, accessories, decor, salvage

2.) Many items on SALE January 16

3.) New merchandise

4.) Fran, from &Coco, will be there with all her glorious bling, bling

5.) Complimentary Cake Bites from Snickety Snacks

Really, what's not to love about this set up!? Vintage+SALE+Bling+Cake Bites = Heaven! I know everyone knows vintage but if you haven't experienced Brittanie Reed's amazing cake bites, you're missing a small bite of heaven and just like Saule said in a previous post, Fran's creations are absolute "eye candy." I wear my beautiful bling-y bracelet (a gift from my very stylish friend, Saule) any chance I get and wave my arm around like a woman with a new engagement ring on her finger.

I'm looking forward to catching up with all our friends & eating Brittanie's Cake Bites (2 sounds like a perfect breakfast to compliment the Starbuck's coffee Virginia will be providing).

After our last Tag Sale, I welcomed a much needed break, and time with my family. Several weeks have passed and the time off has served me well, as I miss the excitement that leads up to one of our monthly tag sales. We are busy moving our visuals around, marketing & re-pricing. We are stacking things high & are ready to watch them fly for many items are on SALE! In addition to the sale merchandise we have many treasures that we just placed on the floor the very end of December and we’re off to another auction tonight in search of new treasures. In addition to gearing up for our January tag sale, we’re also busy living in the future, planning out our spring-summer months—I LOVE what we have on tap, more on that in a future blog.

Owning and running our own business, definitely keeps us hopping, but I relish the challenge, creativity and teamwork it has brought to my life. There never seems to be enough time in the day (Saule, reminds me of this as she dreams of one day having a staff to help us: haul furniture, paint furniture, taxes, financial planning, marketing, etc) but I’ll take this any day, as I work here from my home with my 3 year old daughter on my lap asking me to help her “fix my Barbie’s hair.” There are days I miss the staff at Pottery Barn, but I wouldn’t dream of missing the chance to “fix Barbie’s hair.” Enough blah, blah, blogging — time to start working on the February & March postcards and then pick up more kids. Will post pic’s of our auction finds tomorrow I hope.

xo,

Angelique & Saule

Happy New Year!

We did it:   we survived an event-filled holiday season and many soggy weekends at Chartreuse&co.  We are so thankful for the many delightful customers who found the barn to be a welcomed departure from the hectic mall shopping Christmas usually invites.

Over the past few months, I have fallen in love with the jewelry designs of Fran from &Coco.  She brings in so many treats to the barn every month.  I just can’t get enough of her eye candy! She made this fabulous cuff from a vintage shoe buckle (given to me as a gift by my home decor muse Angelique).  I have been wearing it any chance I can get.

(Fran’s bracelet pictured on the bottom left.)

As for new things to come…

We are excited about new things to come in 2010.  The addition of a second location at Antiques Crossroads had us busy moving furniture at the turn of the new decade.  If once a month is not enough of a Silk&Burlap fix, visit us here 7 days a week.  You may not see our faces, but we know you will find our new friend Roger and the many other staffers to be quite helpful.

All of this cold weather has had me hibernating, and the hibernating has encouraged a new January hobby…reading under several blankets.  Fashion mags, catalogs, and even a trip to the library to check out a book on french decor has my wheels spinning and my mood hopeful.  I am mad for all things Exotic & Eclectic and a new optimistic palette of colors and patterns will certainly be a focus this spring.  We are hot on the trail of many new things for Silk&Burlap, and continue to find inspiration all around.  I can never completely separate my love for fashion from my own home decor, and continue to find inspiration on the runway, especially from my favorite designers like Nanette Lepore and Badgley Mishka (the talented duo who designed my wedding dress!).

Around here, the new decade has brought a hole to my kitchen wall, new fabric possibilities for my furniture and long list of things I wish to accomplish along with a long list of things I am grateful for:

Family, a small house, longer days, spring, design that inspires, children, simple food, Chartruese&co., a busy life, and of course, Silk&Burlap.

Hunting for Vintage Furniture is a somewhat new hobby for me. I have always had a fascination with good design, from clothing to architecture, it all intrigues me. I love anything that is multi-functional, compact, or just plain smart. And of course anything just unique in it's appearance will catch my eye, and I can appreciate it for just that.

Vintage furniture fascinates me for a variety of reasons. The newest twist is that it is the "green thing to do", but before that came an appreciation for hand craftsmanship, patina, and unique items that will rarely be produced the old fashioned way in our new world economy. As I source out new items for the shop, it is a rare but exciting moment when I find Mid Century Modern pieces.
Although these hardly fall into the "I love the patina" category, and I can remember seeing these items in houses visited as child, their look is effortless, clean, and timeless. It appeals to men as much as it does to women, and there is something cool and swanky about a room that has an air of Mod about it.

We have a nice selection for Mid Century Modern Pieces in the store this month, but you never know, they may be gone tomorrow. I have yet to find their replacements, but I will continue to be madly in search of more Marvelous Mod.