Ecclectic estate finds, dining chair options, and a fabulous new restoration begins.

Fall is in the air!  Many folks are thinking ahead of the holiday season and are getting their homes in order.  Adding a key new piece to your space can change your look without having to redo your whole room.  I have really focused on bringing in some unique items and some design classics in the last month so have a look at all the fun chairs in my stash and see if I can help you brighten up your home!  Some new items I am not comfortable shipping, and that will be noted in the listing and I encourage you to purchase via my Chairish shop.  You can get an instant shipping quote and if you have never shopped there, reach out as I think I can send you a coupon for $20 off your first purchase.  I have priced shipping on my own and their white glove service is easily half the price of what I can get so I feel it is worth me paying more fees on the sale to provide that service to my customers.  I have 3 items still waiting to go live, but they should be there by early next week.  Chairish is not quick to turn around listings.  :) 

Iranian-American metal artist, Bijan

I was invited to a local estate to purchase some items that had to go before the sale of the home.  I found some interesting items including a fabulous acid cut metal sculpture by an Iranian/American artist called Bijan.  Think C. Jere.  I read up on the artist and for sure am keeping the piece.  I am a sucker for tree art!  I also found that the owner had a rug fetish.  I picked up a small woven wool wall hanging.  I do not intend to sell that at this time.  These kind of things I treasure!  The real nice Arthur Umanoff metal and Danish cord chairs I recently listed also came from this estate.  It has the traditional slat board seat.  From what I have found, this particular chair is a harder to find chair.  I think it is great on it's own to add some natural interest to a space but also figured folks who have a few might be looking to complete a set.  It is in great shape overall.  I do think some of the paper cord is off at the ends but I will secure the piece to itself so it stays intact.  I would not opt to rewrap as you will lose the fabulous patina and that, in my opinion, makes this chair dreamy!  I added new plastic feet caps as there were 2 whites and 2 blacks when I found it.  This chair is listed and I could bus ship countrywide.  It is not terribly fragile.  I also picked a small upholstered arm chair, similar to my orange Heywood Wakefield arm chair, that will need a total redo.  Back of the line, but will get to it at some point. 

This Arthur Umanoff chair looks as good from the back as it does from the front! 

What else I found in that musty, moldy basement was instant love and I knew I had to take her on..........a fabulous metal frame with hairpin legs MCM daybed/studio couch!  I will tell you, after an hour or so of being in that basement, there were definitely moisture issues and I am not sensitive to it myself, but I make all restoration decisions for the benefit of those who are.  With that said, this beauty is getting all new cushions.  Foam and upholstery.  I will not be doing her myself as I felt this was a great opportunity to use my beloved upholsterer in Reading and still be under budget.  Although he has not given me a firm price, he said he WILL GIVE ME A GOOD PRICE (in his thick Spanish accent).  hahaI already picked the fabric, Bentley Indigo, from Joybird and ordered it the other day.  As soon as it shows up, the cushions will be on their way to be used as a pattern.  I expect to receive the fabric next week, possibly the week after.  This couch should be ready to deliver before Thanksgiving.  Please reach out if you would be interested in welcoming her into your home!  The fabric I choose is a textured velvet so it will be nice and soft for lounging AND it is from Joybird's PET AND KID FRIENDLY choices!  I am super excited to watch this restoration come to life!  As much as my mom and I would love to have done the work ourselves, my time is needed elsewhere right now so this just happened to be a great way to support a small local business and still get the work done.  Stay tuned for updates as she moves along! 

This day bed will be totally redone in Bentley Indigo fabric from Joybird. 

1968 classic Eames for Herman Miller in fabulous Cobalt upholstery! 

Just really cleaned up the Eames set and boy am I in love with them!  I decided, to keep the price user friendly, I will be selling AS IS, with the stacking bases.  Hopefully, the buyer will decide to invest in the repro dowel bases by modernconscience.com.  They are $130 each plus $20 shipping, I do not have a special arrangement with them so me buying them for you is just limiting my potential buyers and really, you could add them one at a time as budget allows.  There are some really cool things I learned about this set.  They are dated 1968.  They are MED BLUE fiberglass which was only available to contract customers with a 200+ chair order.  I am leaving the IBM sticker on the back of the one chair it is still present on because I think where they came from is freakin awesome!  The dawn of the computer age!  IBM's nickname was BIG BLUE, so kind of cool they choose these chairs to go with their image.  They are in pretty incredible shape.  No fiberglass issues and only very minor issues in the vinyl.  A few small pin holes, but no big tears or eyesores.  Also of note, the foam is SOFT!  These are in great working order.  I have seen enough trashed shells and have a well trained eye, I can spot the listings with the upholstery issues that no one talks about.....seriously, there is a lot of crap being sold online.  I assure you these are just lovely in every way!  They are the 'scholastic' or 'wide mount' so the only option of bases is the dowel base in choice of metal and wood.  I cannot attest for other repro manufacturers as I would personally buy from the company that Herman Miller refers their customers to for vintage restoration, and that is Modern Conscience. 

If you choose to add these modern conscience dowel bases, you can choose from walnut or maple wood and chrome or black powder coat metal.  Very well made and worth the investment.

Another choice of dining chairs I have is the finally complete Broyhill Brasilia chairs.  In gorgeous walnut finish and all new foam and upholstery in Pure Water by Joybird, they are stunning.  All structural issues have been repairs and a new shellac finish added to protect the wood.  These would look great in a more traditional setting if you are not an mcm purist.  They have real tall backs and make a formal statement.  They are ready to ship or deliver.  I can pack these for bus shipping nationwide for $100 or less in most cases.  

This blue really pops!  Mix with greens, blues even yellow and golds!   

I am generally available Tues, Wed and Fri for meet ups and deliveries in the region, occasional weekends. Please reach out if you want to meet me in eastern or central PA, NJ, NE MD areas and save on shipping! ✌️

Don't forget to order your MADMODWORLDVINTAGE T SHIRTS!  This limited offer is available NOW and for the next 24 days!  Pop over and reserve a shirt or 2 while you can!  $20 plus shipping.  http://madmodworldvintage.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=e96eb7c7d54050652d89e7da9&id=8aeb144ed0&e=1907f1ceac

Thanks for listening!!!  Local peeps, stop by and shop local at Fleetwood Antique Mall!  XO Malissa

Just added!  Red vinyl Viking Artline slipper chair!  Priced at $50!  Take me home WED-SUN 10-6. 14129 Kutztown Rd, Fleetwood. 

Quick updates!

I have been totally slammed and thank you to all my wonderful customers!  I am so enjoying working with you in finding the perfect items for your home! 💗. I have a few items still in transit, but between large furniture items and lots of high end glassware and fragiles, I am happy to get your reports that things are arriving safe and you love them! 

This Saturday is Pyrex and Retro Fest in Havre De Grace, MD!  Been pricing and packing but it's going well and cannot wait!  If you are anywhere near and can come, I will assure you this event is going to be awesome!  The whole town is involved!  Please stop by and say hi!  I will have some give aways and coupons for my etsy shop good through thanksgiving.  I want you guys to think of my when you are decorating for the holidays and shopping for gifts!!!  

Please shop early!  I am still buying and trying to get new items listed to keep my shop filled with the best of MCM for the season.  I just came home with a car full of Herman Miller Eames Shells and will be reimagining them with new repro bases from Modern Conscience.  Stay tuned for some more pretties!  With that said, my Greige RAR is officially on the market.  Made between 1951-1953, this 2nd generation shell is great for any decor. If you are looking for an iconic piece that shows up in magazines and tv shows, this is it!  Find the listing in my etsy shop here : 

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/482906045/early-2nd-generation-zenith-eames-shell

Here is a look at my next projects!  

No worries dirty friends!  You will be beautiful again! 

The cobalt fiberglass (Ultramarine) with cobalt Naugahyde upholstery chairs is so stunning!  There is an IBM inventory label on one.  Their nickname is BIG BLUE, so my guess is this is possibly a custom order.  They have the scholastic mounts and stacking bases but I will be replacing with dowel bases.  I cannot wait to see them!  I will need to save up a bit to get to these but if you are interested in purchasing, I will get to it faster.  Set of 4 will be perfect at a dining table! 💗. I also got a single side chair in tan fiberglass.  Will probably do walnut dowels on this one.  Finally a black arm chair with black Naugahyde.  I could do any base on there.  Leaning toward rocker in chrome and maple, but maybe chrome Eiffle.  I would take requests and this one will go for less than the Greige as the shell is newer.  Ok maybe 70's!  😜✌🏻️

Here are the cobalt after I cleaned the dirt off.  I have more cleaning to do but boy are they lovely!!!!  

These are going to look great with maple or birch dowels on chrome wires! 

Alright, back to work for me!  Will pop up for air shortly!  Need to get the Brasilia chairs finished!  Hope to see some friends in Saturday!  Event link can be found pinned at the top of my FB PAGE: Facebook.com/madformodmalissa

xo Malissa

Projects in the works, Pyrex and Retro Fest in MD

I am in the middle of restoring the Broyhill Brasilia set of dining chairs and boy are they beauties! I love the fabric I chose with the deep walnut finish.  Two chairs are finished, 2 more need seats done and structural issues tended to.  I hope to have them finished and listed in the next week.  IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, please reach out as I can do a private listing for you.  These chairs were pretty rough when they came to me and I uncovered the original seat fabric.  They were in a less than stellar storage situation and quite frankly, they were pretty gross.  I stripped down to the plywood and replaced the foam and cotton, then covered in the beautiful PURE WATER fabric by Joybird.  It looks so pretty!  Here is a sneak peek!  

The first 2 chairs are finished!  They cleaned up very nicely!  Some more work to do on the last 2 but hopefully will have them done this week.

Next up, I also spent some time cleaning the Zenith made Eames shell chair I bought!  A little scared of the fiberglass, it really cleaned up much better than I expected!  It is such a lovely color, GREIGE.  The rocker base came from Modern Conscience and boy is it nice!  Very well made and very sturdy.  I am thrilled with it!  I am not ready to part with it just yet…..it is a nice compact size and fits in a smaller space, unlike any of the other chairs I have tried to keep and realized they were too large for my intended area!  The good news is, I am planning to visit my friends again real soon and there is another shell there I could buy so I am thinking of picking that one up to do for sale.  I will keep you guys posted,  It was black fiberglass with black vinyl upholstery.  It was in decent shape but may have some gluing to do on the upholstery.  I am really smitten with the rocker base and glad I went with the Modern Conscience piece as the black hardware just makes the piece, in my opinion!  What do you think?

PYREX AND RETRO FEST!   I will be participating in the PYREX AND RETRO FEST hosted by JoRetro Vintage Market in Havre De Grace, MD….OCTOBER 8th.  I have the flier pinned to the top of my Facebook page with the link to the event info.  Facebook.com/madformodmalissa  I hope to meet some friends at the event!  It should be a fun day and looking forward to spending the afternoon in this cute bayside town.  I plan on taking my 3 totes of pyrex items, a very cool cosco cart, and a bunch of my wholesale items like the Indian Kantha Quilts, throw rugs and kitchen towels.  If you want me to bring something for you, please shout!  I will do whatever I can to accommodate any requests.  We are expecting as many as 30 vendors and of course, JoRetro is open for shopping!  Jolene has many fun things planned and many super exciting items coming in!  There will be pyrex jewelry, stickers and more.  You should definite plan to attend!  A great day trip from DC, PA, NJ and MD.  Please look over my shops and let me know if I can bring something for you!  EVENT LINK  This is an outdoor event.  Please pack appropriately for the weather!  Food and vintage vendors galore!

Mall update:  I revamped my booth again yesterday!  The kitchen set has sold and I am putting it on the bus in the morning.  :)  Yea!  I moved in the turquoise Carsons club chair….the last piece I have from that awesome set which is in impeccable condition!  Priced at $300.  Also on display is the limed oak top side table with hairpin legs.  Its is gorgeous!  Stop by and see them!  Extravaganza is still going on tomorrow in Kutztown and always lots of yard sales in the area!  Sunday, it moves to Adamstown but we are only a 1/2 hour away with much better prices!   

Thanks for checking in!  Things have been moving fast and I am adding lots of small items to the etsy shop as fast as I can in between all of the packing and restoring I have been doing.  Shop early for the best holiday gift selections!!! And don't forget to stop by the ebay shop featuring many items from my wholesaler, Primitives by Kathy, hand selected by me to fit my eclectic shop! xo Malissa

Booth Space Ramped up for fall!

Stop by the space at the Fleetwood Antique Mall (Hours WED-SUN 10am-6pm) featuring the newly paired chrome dining set!  It is super adorable!  I spent a few hours yesterday at the mall swapping things out and adding a bunch of new and delicious items!  2 gorgeous ceramic Christmas trees that have been restored and a ready for a holiday display to call their own, retro kitchen items like a chrome cake plate and fun stacking aluminum canister set plus some linen items....the perfect holiday table cloth for that table and a great red and white gingham apron which fits my plus size!  You know and I know that plus size vintage is always a treat to find!  I also added 2 great pieces of vintage luggage!  Whether you repurpose them, display or use them as intended, I only buy this stuff if it does not stink like grandma so rest assured, their condition is usable.  If you are interested in the table set, please reach out as I would gladly deliver or meet up if you are in the region.  It is one service I offer that many others do not!  Scroll through the gallery below for a sneak peek!

I am at this point in time finding myself with a little breathing room as I just found home for MANY larger inventory items over the last few weeks.  Yea!  Organizing my garage and inventory areas so that going into the holidays and winter I am in a good place.  I have fabric on order from Joybird and will be starting to work on getting the Brasilia chair set I have ready to sell.  If you are in the market for a chair set with gorgeous turquoise seats....let me know!  I ordered PURE WATER, which will look fabulous with the deep walnut finish.  I have lots of restoration work to do on the chairs so will be getting started on that before the fabric shows up.  Do not forget that I have a trade relationship with Joybird!  I am able to buy things at a discount but would gladly be your liason if you plan to place an order with them.  The more items that I sell, the deeper discounts I can earn and I was told they can still work out the 12 months no interest financing for you if you go through me!  They just revamped their trade deal and I am doing very well on the fabric now!  They do require 5 yards minimum, so if you find yourself in need, maybe I can help you out there by buying and selling you off what you need.  Definitely keep me in mind for that.  I use lots of fabrics to recover seats so I would definitely be willing to do this. 

Looking FORWARD........I have purchased some small gifts to do a BLACK FRIDAY PROMO!  Look for an announcement via social media and blog closer to the big day.  I am excited to be able to score some goodies from my wholesaler, Primitives By Kathy, to make this happen.  I enjoy their offerings although many do not fit my business scope or price points but these gave me a great idea!  If you ever poke around on their page and see something you can't live without, please let me know as I am only an hour from their warehouse and visit every few months to buy.  I can buy anything in their catalog!  With that said, DO NOT forget I am also listing some of these items in the ebay shop!  I am having a steady stream of sales there and plan on listing more but still trying to get off new account restrictions.  I think I have 6 sales left to reach that goal.  If you are out of the area, please pop over and check out some of these great NEW WITH TAGS items that make great gifts! 

We are about a week out from the fall Antique Extravaganza that comes to Kutztown and Adamstown 3 times a year.  If you come shopping, please remember my mall is just south of Kutztown on route 222 (1/2 hour north from Adamstown and generally priced lower)!  Reach out if you need any tips on the area!  I will be glad to share my shopping spots with you.  And you can PICK UP ANY ITEM in my online inventory at the mall, please reach out a few days before you are in the area and I will make sure it is there for you.  Ideally, I would love to meet up with you if my schedule allows.  Please reach out!  I love working with my customers face to face and the mall space has really allowed me to do that!  NEW ITEMS ARE BEING LISTED ON ETSY ALMOST DAILY as I try to get through my backlog of inventory I have been collecting all summer and ramping up for the holiday season!  CHECK BACK FREQUENTLY and follow my social media!

Thanks as always, for caring about what I do and following me on this journey!  xo Malissa

Some items in the ebay shop right now.....

Shopping and something new to restore!

Fall is getting underway, even though we are still battling unbelievably hot and humid temps here in PA!  I have been finding lots of goodies and am slowly trying to get things researched, cleaned, and listed in preparation for the busy holiday season.  In the mean time, I have been packing, shipping and delivering lots of cool things for folks!  Things are on the move now so if you are keeping an eye on my something in my shop, now is the time to commit!  Some of my last few items were sold to friends and I THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support!  I can tell you I now have a forest of CERAMIC CHRISTMAS TREES in the process of being touched up and repaired.  I plan on taking a few to my booth space to sell locally, but if you are looking for one, reach out and I can send you pics of what I have.  I just love them!  They make great heirlooms to pass down as well.  I sold 3 or so last season and they really are just great to have for your holiday decorating, in small spaces or in the office! 

Great chrome kitchen set!  That is RIGHT!  I found the perfect table to go with the atomic Dixie kitchen chairs I have!  Now they make the perfect little dinette set for a retro kitchen and feature dusty blue atomic print on the chairs, grey cracked ice formica top and lots of chrome.  If you are in the market for a dining set for a smaller space, this one is adorable.  The table also features 2 end leaves that store internally on spring loaded hinges.  A little bit shabby, this set can be used in any retro kitchen area, 50s theme or even shabby chic and farmhouse.  I consider myself more of a purist, but you do not have to be to work this stuff into your home! 

Restorations coming!  I am really trying to get through and list as much as I can so it is ready for the holiday shoppers.  That also includes working through a stash of items I need to restore.  I just ordered 5 yards of PURE WATER from Joybird which I plan on using on the Broyhill Brasilia chairs I have.  They need a bunch of structural work but I want to get them listed soon as many will be looking for chairs for their holiday tables!  Turquoise and Walnut is a divine combination!  I still have more Heywood tables to do and hope my life quiets down just a little so I can get through them!  Never enough hours in the day!  I also just picked up a super fabulous Eames fiberglass shell which I have determined to be a 2nd generation Zenith in the color Greige.  I am super stoked to tackle this and have just ordered the rocker base from modernconscience.com in black powder coat finish with walnut rockers.  I cannot wait to put it together and work some magic on the fiberglass.   If this goes well, I will definitely keep my eyes peeled for more shells.  Herman Miller is not the easiest to find in our area but this chair is such an icon and it is so cool to be able to bring this back and much improved.  It originally had an X base, which is common for a Zenith production piece.  There is one tiny crack on the edge of the fiberglass so I hope to be able to reinforce it as to not deteriorate any further.  Keep your eyes on the blog as I will definitely be writing about this process.  The chair will be living with me.....at least for the time being.  It is small enough, I hope to fit it in my living room.  My house is full of projects so much more fun to come. 

I am loving the walnut legs with this GREIGE seat and cannot wait to see them in person.  Greige is a made up word, or Portmanteau.  A hybrid of Grey and Beige.  Apparently this color type is picked as THE HOT paint and decorator color for 2017!  As always, I somehow find myself on the cutting edge of design totally by accident!

Expect a total revamp of the booth space in the coming weeks.  I'd love to work the chrome table set into it for the holidays.  I also have been picking up some fun kitchen items I'd like to feature in a fun little display. 

Bruno Mankowski update.  I added one of Mr Mankowski's bronze medals to my now collection.  Is it very heavy for a little thing and just gorgeous!  I am officially a collector of his work!  This medal features Asa Gray, a botanist.  Have a look!  Thanks, as always, for giving my blog a read!  I do get feedback from my readers and I am glad you are enjoying! xo Malissa