Moving forward!

I am so excited to announce that I have just been approved for Retail/Trade pricing at Joybird and will be able to acquiring their fabulous upholstery fabrics for my projects at a discounted rate.  This is always exciting for someone in my position as obtaining quality materials is never cheap and this will help me keep my prices as low as possible!  I look forward to moving forward with the Hey Wake chairs!!! 

In other news, I am SERIOUSLY considering going into a small booth space.  Frankly, my furniture is taking over my home and we'd like to do some renovations in our unfinished lower level which will not get done if I store my stuff there.  SO, I am looking and researching local haunts for the perfect spot in terms of rent, fees and hopefully no required work time, not that I don't want to help, but with a job of my own and 2 very active kiddos, my time is very limited and I would rather spend my free hours working on my projects!  I will keep you all updated as I start committing and moving forward with that! 

Thanks for your support and if there is anything I can do for you, please reach out!  I am still adding things to the shop for the holiday shopping season so check in often when you are getting ready for the holidays!  Lots of nice furnishings available including a beautiful set of Stakmore folding dining chairs.  They are so sturdy, you could use them all the time or store away until family comes to visit.  You will love that they are so beautiful and comfy for a temporary seating option!  Plus, the former owner had no children and they are MINT like they just were bought!  Stakmore was made in NY and the folding mechanism used in their folding chairs were patented in the 20's or 30's!  Pretty cool!  Stakmore made it until about 2012 were they were bought by another company.  Also notice the Cosco 'kids table' as I like to call it!  Folding card table with 4 matching gate leg folding chairs.  A HOLIDAY GO TO!  Snap these up now in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I will deliver if you are in the eastern PA area or message me to quote your shipping via Greyhound.  I will pack for you and get them to the bus no extra charge, you pay only exact shipping costs.  xoMalissa

Heywood Wakefield HEAVEN.

If you know me or have poked around a little, you will see I am an avid collector of Heywood Wakefield blond furniture.  I have been collecting for a few years and have quite a bit of things.  Some in original condition and others I bring back from the dead.  Last weekend I found a great estate sale locally with a house full of it!  It worked out that the sale started on Friday, which was my day off!  I had a pet emergency first and arrived a few minutes late to the sale, but to my surprise, the rainy day had kept many away and the few other dealers and pickers milling around just were not interested in the furniture.  I quickly realized my meager budget would not allow me to purchase much, so I decided these 2 chairs were priced decent for me to restore and hopefully be able to cover my expenses.  I left with them!

Rare enough to find an upholstered piece of HW...a pair is just HEAVENLY!  The one on the right seems to have been a doggie's friend and has more damage than the other.  Legs need tightening, wood tended to and doggie issues erased, but these are going to clean up fabulous!

I was happy with my purchase but knowing the rest of it was sitting there an not knowing if someone would take it in, was killing me.  I went on with my business and headed to NJ to spend Sat with a friend helping him clean and wax his new set of HW dining furniture.  He did good, got a great deal and we will need to do some restore work over time, but it is usable and looks great in his space!  The last day of the sale was Sunday, so I planned on hitting it on my way home to see what was left.  I got there with 20 min to spare.....and to my surprise....EVERYTHING was still there!  There were some great casework items in excellent condition and I know how hard they are to find reasonable.  I decided before I got there that if the Tambour Utility Case was there I should get it.  VERY RARE and a brand new one that is being made by the new regime goes for $1200.   I was able to save $75 per piece and then negotiated another $50 off my take.  Here is what I got!

My inventory is so happy spreading out on the new bookcases!  The corner case was my holy grail of attainable pieces and you never find them in what I call 'attainable' pricing.  I think I love them so much because they remind me of school libraries.  Totally modular, Hey Wake's casework is by far exceptional, in my opinion.  Shelves are on pins and fully adjustable.

This tambour door case features one adjustable shelf.  It was not on my holy grail list as it just is not something you find easily or cheaply.  I was over the moon to find this and I paid a mere $250 for it!  It is in impeccable condition!  Tambour is not something I want to take on for refinishing....it is a total pain in the ass!  ;)

Aren't they beauties!?  Great thing about being a legit dealer is I get to write this stuff off for my office!  YEA!  I will have a single straight bookcase for sale I no longer need.  Will keep the one that aged with this set and sell off my other one.  If you are interested let me know.  I have offered it up to a friend first so will wait to see what he wants before I list it.  Oh and as for the chairs?  I'm thinking one of these hues....but leaning towards the blue in the back.  Will be consulting with my mom tonight!  Master sewer and patternmaker, I think we can handle these!  So excited!  Will also be using these Joybird fabrics at $30/yd.  So price point for these babies is going to be a bit high, but I want to do them justice!  The one has some wood damage due to a suspected small dog using it.  The arm is a bit damaged, but nothing horrible and I can totally restore it.  Not sure what the insides look like until I take the upholstery off so hoping the foam, springs and guts are decent.  Will see you can follow along as I go!  I am so excited and hope to get rolling on them shortly!

I am thinking the blue in the back!!!!  Let's see what mom thinks tonight! 

Just a note that I expect this month will be busy.  I have been shipping stuff every few days and people have been inquiring for quotes.  I always try to get things back to you very quickly but swim season started up so I am dealing with weeknight practices.  You will hear from me with an estimated time frame I can get your info to you!  Thank you for your support!  xo Malissa

Mid Century China

Steubenville Pottery "Fairlane".  This is probably the largest set I have right now.  I also added the tea pot and butter dish which is not pictured. Steuebenville is MOST famous for their Russel Wright designed line of china which is totally fab and highly collectable. I have found one piece of it, the base to a covered dish, which is chipped, but I have kept it for research purposes!

I have a thing for vintage china.  I do not keep any for myself since I have a full service for 12 of Princess House I bought in the mid 90's and also a full set of Longaberger Pottery I bought a bit later when we were building our home.  Since I invested so much into it, I prefer to keep it, for now.  I try to find interested patterns that have a nice selection of serving pieces and extras to help get people started collecting, add to an already started collection or just to get in the hands of someone who can appreciate it.  Just know I spend hours packing this stuff for safe shipping!  I am sure I end up not making much money on it, but I really just want it to be loved and enjoyed!  If you are closer to PA, I can do better on the shipping.  West Coasters, for me, is not very economical!  In many cases, a large set will be packed in 5 or more boxes.  I have found flat rate is ineffective for china packing and prefer to use the larger boxes.  I buy peanuts, wrap each piece in newspaper and bubbles and separate with cardboard and even wrap pieces with cardboard if there are handles and spouts I need to protect.  I would gladly delivery in our area to avoid shipping these beauties!  I do stress out while they are in transit!  I must say, however, no china shipment has gone awry for me and this includes 24 pcs of stemware and 2 very large sets of 40-57 pcs.  I want to show you some of the items I have available currently, as this site tends to focus on my furnishings, but I do enjoy sourcing much more!

The items above are "BLUE HEAVEN" by Canonsburg Pottery.  There is another famous Blue Heaven pattern by Royal China, which is also atomic and darling, but this one steals my heart.  Canonsburg is pretty interesting in that it was produced on a site that was formerly a Uranium Refinery in Western PA.  That said, legend states that Canonsburg Pottery pieces will set off a Geiger Counter and is radioactive.  Love the handles on the cream and sugar!  Very dainty and who can resist the aqua swirls and atomic stars!  This set was split to someone who needed the other items I had.  What remains is perfect for tea time.  Please consider adding these to your set or starting a set with these awesome pieces!

Taylor Smith & Taylor, Ever Yours "Arabesque"

I suspect this pattern is not too common so I snapped these up for someone to collect.  There are some wonky off center decals, but for someone looking for these pieces, they will be happy to find them.  I suspect this will not be easy to add to, so if you are looking for something readily found, this may not be a good choice. 

Taylor Smith & Taylor "Pebbleford" designed by John Gilkes.  Not only are the shapes awesome, the daisy lids seem to be harder to find than the solids!  These could have been a grocery store promo where you could earn pieces with what you spent on groceries.  Mine are yellow, but there are also mint green, light blue and pink pieces available. 

Taylor Smith & Taylor "Spencerian Scroll" also by John Gilkes.  I suspect this is a hard one to find also....so I scooped it up.  Nice collection includes salt pepper, cream, sugar and gravy boat. 

Homer Laughlin "Skytone".  These cames in solids and decorated pieces.  This is only one of the decorations available.  What I love about Skytone is that they used blue clay!  One of my plates is chipped along the edge and you can see that the clay is solid blue!  I just think they are awesome.  HL is still in business today making a lot of dishes for restaurants.  Their mid century pieces were definitely the cream of the crop and are very collectable today!  Homer Laughlin is also responsible for FIESTA WARE, you may have heard of it.  :)

Please have a look in the shop at all the partial sets and pieces I have available.  It may inspire you to fall in love with vintage china!  I have them in the VINTAGE CHINA section!  https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadModWorldVintage?section_id=15411857&ref=shopsection_leftnav_4

Hope you enjoyed learning about these awesome makers and sets!

Fall is for camping!

As we near our heavy camping season, my family looks forward to spending many crisp weekends living in our 1989 VW Vanagon.  My kids were raised in the van and we have met some of our closest friends at VW camping events.  It is a great scene!  Vintage car owning is not for the non mechanical types, unless you have the funds to pay a garage to keep you maintained and on the road.  My husband logs many hours with repairs and maintenance for our 3rd child. 

Blue Rocks Family Campground, Lenhartsville, PA...Annual Bustoberfest VW Campout

Looking forward to hitting a popular aircooled VW event this weekend at Flanders NJ.  If all goes well (I'm fighting a bladder infection and my husband just started with a cold), I am hoping to secure a vending spot and take some of my camping and picnic items!  I also saw that my favorite VW, the THING will be the featured car of the event, which is totally awesome!  Will see how it goes and if any of you folks attend the event, please keep an eye out for us and say hi! 

Late fall camping at Tohickon Valley Campground in Bucks County, PA.

I will be working on a few items in between all of this fun so I can get them listed shortly and be ready for the fall furniture boom.  Please let me know if I can quote shipping for you or plan a delivery or meet up!  My house is full so I am not looking to add to my inventory until I move some of this awesome stuff!  xoMalissa