Ho Ho Holiday!

Wanted to shoot out a quick update to put some ideas in your head and mine! I typically throw a gift with purchase in packages that go out in the holiday season. This year, I have much less small items listed as I have moved many to my retail space at 50% off. Pretty sure most of my online customers are not even aware of my promotion and I have rarely gotten a message that they noticed. Was thinking of discontinuing the practice this year. I always send gifts to furniture buyers and that will not stop! I put lots of thought into my gifts and hope they bring a smile. I do want to travel to my wholesaler and see what they have available but making no promises. If you have received one of my holiday gifts with purchase and want to drop me a line to tell me how much you enjoyed it, I may reconsider! Ha. That said……I have been moving some large items and I do not see that stopping. I am available THIS WEEKEND for deliveries if you need something for the holiday. From an amazing set of folding chairs to a gorgeous dining table to restored chairs and a couch, I can get you hooked up and cozy before your guests arrive! Willing to travel throughout the mid Atlantic region to make it happen. As always, nominal fee for delivery based on distance/tolls. Hiring me is always cheaper than hiring a shipper and you do get better service. 🥰. Speaking of shipping, Chairish will probably be moving slow and I would not count on receiving any shipped furniture item before Christmas. Not to discourage you, but give you realistic expectations. They are offering amazing shipping rates around the country and you can get an instant price in my shop when you add the item to your cart. Please take advantage of this! Shippers are charging high rates right now because of gas and expenses. Chairish is definitely taking a beating on the shipping but it is saving you money. Until they change something, go for it! My Chairish shop will be 20% off from Nov 21st- 26th. Do not wait! You can send me an offer and claim that discount early. I will take it. Please have a look around and grab it before it’s advertised nationally. I would love to send some more of my beautiful collection out before the end of the year! I worked really hard to bring these awesome items to the market and am very proud to have a great selection. It’s the largest furniture stash I have had since I started my business 7 years ago.

This video (click below to open in browser if in email) gives a look at some awesome new gifts waiting for you in my first floor space at Fleetwood Antique Mall! Some items are also available on my website and in my Etsy shop. Grab some great gifts today! Thank you for shipping small and local! Open 10-6 WED-SUN, closed on Thanksgiving. Stay tuned to my social media for last minute sales!

I am giving thanks to all my customers and friends for supporting my business over the years! I have built up a great little side gig and I love what I do, from picking it up, cleaning it and listing to planning your shipping or bringing it to your home! It’s a process and one that I adore. I meet the best people and you all feel like family! Thank you from the bottom of my heart and enjoy your Thanksgiving! 🦃 I will shoot an update if I run any other sales before Christmas.

XO MALISSA

Scandinavian bounty, Halloween and current acquisitions.

Greetings!
For the first time in over a year I have had a bit of a break from deliveries and quick sales. I am ok with that as I was just trained for 2 new surveys and have been getting paid to work! I have, however, been adding to my inventory and helping some folks downsize their homes. I am still working to get everything listed and ready to go. I just brought home more Danish and Swedish pieces than I ever had! If you love Rosewood and Teak, I have some awesome pieces to show you! So many goodies including dining! Here’s what’s live so far. Get an instant shipping quote in my Chairish shop!

SOLD Very clean, teak dresser by Ed Secon Design Associates

SOLD….Floating credenZa wall mounts. Cane fronts, shelves oN sides, drawerS in center.

Fun teak cart that has a pivoting top to extenD the drop leaf. Gemla, Sweden

Ib kOfOd Larsen hoop dining height chair.

Gorgeous transitional long, skinny coffee table with 3 pullouts for beverageS, etc. Has some asIan elements. Beautiful inlaId top.

AB Seffle MobElfaBrik -sweden, rosEwood extenSion dining table. Includes 2 17” leaves, full set of custom table padS. Legs remove for easier transit.

SOLD AND LIVING IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON BROADWAY!!!! International designers group IMPORTED from sweden

International designers Group imported from denmark

Oak spindle chairs. Unmarked. Probably American. Super cute.

AlUminum folding chaIr set- stellar! Beautiful condition.

I SCATTERED some great halloween items around my spaces! -Upstairs at fleetwood antique mall. Lots of items 50% off in this space-look for the dots!

downstairs at fleetwood antique mAll.

Stop out and grab some goodies! I appreciate your support! XO Malissa

Insights behind the scenes.

What started out as a business based on me scurrying around to find cheap vintage inventory in thrift stores, yard sales and roadsides has literally evolved into a machine of connections, referrals and being an integral part of helping families recoup some money after the loss of a family member or clean out of a property. I love to thrift but I don’t live to do it anymore. This business consumes a lot of time quickly. Between the sourcing, cleaning and repair, photo shoots and listing and then the customer services, shipping quotes, packing and delivering. As you grow you realize that you cannot do it all. I am very grateful for the connections I made along the way! I have cut the whole looking for inventory out. I basically just review photos and show up and pick it up these days. It has been liberating especially since I do have a real paying job to deal with….and by the way, I still don’t get paid from doing this. My car is finally mine…..compliments of 5 years of hustling vintage. I am paying rent in 2 retail spaces for now but I do have goals of combining into one at some point. I do still wish my local presence would leave more of an impact of my sales, but I do better in the national market. Play bigger, win bigger I guess. I have people asking me to sell their stuff regularly now and although I never intended to do consignment or buy complete collections, I will attempt to help as budget and time allows.

I want to leave you with some thoughts of the coming months. Shippers have done a great job throughout the pandemic keeping vintage furniture moving around the country. The younger generations really appreciate vintage and that is a blessing for those of us in the business. I don’t see this slowing down yet, but I do see a hurdle or two. Shippers are dealing with high gas costs and travel expenses. I see one of my own markets low balling them. I also see shippers on to this and letting bids sit so out of desperation to get an item shipped, the price goes up benefitting the shipper. Well deserved, but now we have a situation where the middle man who arranged the shipping lost money. Sure they take a hefty cut off our sales with them so they have a buffer, but no telling how long this can sustain without some new rules. As an observer, I will sit and take this in. They are still, in most cases, charging the buyer less than I could arrange shipping for myself. Oh and by the way, they just bought a similar company in Europe and expects to open that up for us and Europeans can buy our stuff and they will ship it there. There is much to be excited about, leery of and patient for right now in this ever changing world. That said, while things are still the way I know, please check my Chairish shop first when looking to purchase a large item. I can price my network of shippers but if the price is good, I may not be able to beat it anyway. They are currently offer the best rates, in most cases and I can’t afford to pitch in to your shipping like apparently they are! Shop early if you need stuff for the holidays! Shipping large items can take up to 8 weeks! Previewing of upcoming inventory addition below! Good stuff!
XO MALISSA

Preview of some great danish i Have committed to buy and will be pIcking up early october!

Upcoming!

Quick sending out an update to let you know what I am up to. First off, I am participating in a sale next weekend on chairish. You can get an instant shipping quote and their rates are good. All of my Knoll merchandise is live now. If you follow my Chairish shop, you will be notified by email. Head over and follow along!

Thursday sept 2- Monday sept 6, save 15% at MadmodwoRldvintage

New items! I will be taking some new items from Primitives by Kathy to my retail space on Wednesday. If you are interested in anything, reach out right away and I can ship to you. Otherwise, they will be in my booth Wednesday. Excited to add Halloween! Upstairs in my space I added a bunch of smalls including vintage medical, come check them out! I have more to add this week. Here’s a look.

People Keep wanting to buy my decorations at the mall….here’s your chance! They had 2 lEft!

I will be camping this weekend so will do bare bones fielding of questions but no shipping until Tuesday. Have a great holiday and message me if you’d like to claim any of the new goodies or stop by This weekend and check them out! XO MALISSA

Fall Finds, Revisiting Bette Fast sculpture

I have been very busy bringing home new items, getting them cleaned up and ready for new homes! I have an array of kitschy things and high end stuff. This are going live on Etsy and Chairish as I go. Here’s a look!

Super 1976 Gae Aulenti design by Knoll is up for consignment. Leather upholsteRy, fabulous italian post modern design.

Iron desk, i recovered the seat in reproductiOn bark cloth, atomic design.

Mid century CONVERTIBLE couch opens flat for snoozing!

Vinyl upholstery, mid century day bed now Showing at fleetwood antique mall!

Orange vinyl and chrome lounge chair

King walnut headboard

Handsome low dresser with mirrors, walnut

Tall boy in walnut

SOLD Night stand pair in walnut

I have more coming! Working on resealing the marble top on the Platner cocktail table! We had to strip the remaining yellowed resin off first.

A heaT gun helpEd to soften the old resin sealant.

She’s a beauty!

50% off all pink dots! I PROBABLY tagged 95% of the items in mY upstairs space! Trying to move out this stuff! I have more to replace it with!

Downstairs has only a few markdowns But i am featuring some awesome itemS. Come see them!

Bette Fast revisited!

If you check a few years back in my blog updates, you will find my coverage of discovering Bette Fast, the late first wife of novelist Howard Fast. He wrote over 80 novels but he literally got himself banned from publishing (and subsequently investigated) because of his communist beliefs. His best selling novel, Spartacus, was self published due to the banning. Meanwhile, his lovely wife was an accomplished artist. In my collection, I have a pencil nude sketch, a 1960’s buxom women series painting (which Howard discusses in the Forward in the book he published regarding Bette’s work), and one of her magnificent sculptures. Having only exhibited 3 times, once in LA, once in New Canaan and once in Greenwich, most of her works are held by private collectors. This is important to note as many of them will start becoming available on the secondary market as their owners pass on and their worldly goods end up in auctions and estate sales. Bette’s work for the most part are female forms. She always was considered a feminist and her beautiful depiction of females in action is well noted. I have done varying amounts of searching for more info since I have gathered some of her works. One thing on my bucket list was to visit the only 2 sculptures she turned into statues. They are publicly available at the Temple Shalom in Greenwich, CT. Howard’s book was published in 1995, a year after his wife passed. Much has changed at the Temple Shalom since then as well, having some new structured erected. Upon checking google maps, I noticed not much of a courtyard, which is where the book said the sculptures were placed, I had a delivery in the area and wanted to find them, but was not sure if I could access them. I zoomed in my google and I had hope!!!

The image on thr right was from google maps. It sure lookS like her! Fingers were crossed! This is right off the parking lot so definitely accessible.

I pulled in and saw her! My heart fluttered as i parked my car.

From this vantage point, I looked to the left down the parking lot and saw the second sculpture.

These are some powerful sculptures. Beautiful from every angle. The maquette I own is equally as delicate. I have not figured out it’s ‘title’ and it is not shown in the book containing some of her works. I have found that the University of Pennsylvania has the ‘Howard Fast Papers’ in their archive. It includes lots of items from Howard’s book dealings, personal household items and more. I am not sure if any of Bette’s sculpture records are contained in it, but that is probably the next exploration I need to do. Lucky for me, it’s only in Philadelphia!
XO MALISSA