Ethiopia Interior & Furniture: vintage

Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts

Thursday, January 16, 2014

LIghts...camera...action!

There is lots happening around here... Hooper and I were asked to be a part of the first annual Habitat for Humanity Restore Restyle competition in Wilmington! We along with all the other designers below are each designing a 10x10 room with only scores from the Habitat store.
So yesterday was the promotional filming and interviews. Let me just tell you how the day began... We arrived at 9 and were filmed for about an hour running into the store. Yes, that was about 5 takes. Hooper was wearing a ~~net~~ lace shirt and the starting ribbon attached itself to her as we busted through the line. So Hooper ran into the store with a "train" attached. Very fancy... Soooo...for obvious reasons we did another take. In fact we spent an hour filming for a 60 second commercial. Felt a little less like a commercial and a little more like a documentary.

I throw my hand up in the air sometimes... They told us to act excited... That's Hooper (middle right) with both hands fully extended above her head. She's such a good actress. I am to the right of her hiding behind the lady in the vest. Oh, wait... I see my hand- I'm a good actress too- I look so excited!

Once we got into the store camera crews were interviewing people and following us around shopping. We just knew this would be our big break and yes we made our film debut! If you look closely that is Hooper's arm on the right of this shot. And I'm just to the right of her. Her lace shirt arm aired on the 6 o'clock news... We're famous!!

Did I mention we are not big on competition? While all the other designers were running around putting orange stickers on the items they wanted to use in their spaces we were stumbling around trying to find something...anything. I had picked up an acrylic shelf that was scratched and Hooper had broken out in hives and was contemplating taking a xanax.

Then it happened... we heard a rolling cart behind us and turned to see the back of a double dresser rolling by us. Hooper grabbed my arm and gasped...does that say Henredon? We raced to the piece armed with our orange sticker and slapped it on. Swoon... we were standing in front of the most gorgeous mid century double dresser complete with brass and wood knobs. We heard another cart only to see the matching nightstands rolling our way... Score. By this point other designers had discovered our finds and were milling around. Though I do not like competition I can get competitive. I asked the rolling cart guy to guard our stuff while we got more stickers. All said and done we scored several pieces of Henredon that became a game changer for our room plan.

Sometimes it pays off to hide out in the back of the store ~~in the fetal position~~. Paid off for us!We also scored this little lacquered beauty...

After the "shop" we had our interview which will be aired on the world wide web- we are international! Well, we went first and there were only 3 questions and Hooper and I did a complete roll reversal. I am normally unfazed, laid back, human xanax and Hooper is usually a nervous wreck when it comes to these things. But yesterday I was a wreck and truly on the verge of fainting right there in our interview. My hair was frizzy, I was pale and could feel and hear my heart beating. So for reassurance I look over at Hooper and what the...? Is she glowing? Did she have a blowout while we were shopping? When did hair and make up arrive? Are you kidding me? No time to panic...I have to answer the first question. I smiled, stuttered and tried my best meanwhile the camera man makes this weird face like I said something dumb. Oh no- what did I say? Oh yes.. It must of been when I said there were millions of designers here today and I was thrilled to be a part of such a talented group. Hmmm... millions or 30? Whew, my turn is over and Hooper begins to answer her question- flawlessly. Oh well.. anyhoo, it was finally over and I peeled out of the parking lot on 2 wheels while Hooper stayed behind to sign autographs.-No just kidding! Seriously, we are thrilled to be a part of such a great organization and can't wait to show you how it all unfolds!
I am more composed today and now focusing on opening The Coop tomorrow night! Don't forget to join us!...-A
The CoopOpen: Friday, January 17th5-71930B Oleander Drive
Bye, bye birdie,

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AN Habitat for Humanity, Henredon, lacquer, vintage

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Liberty and stuff for all...

Hooper and I got a little insider tip about an antiques fair last week in Liberty, N.C. With a glass half full attitude we rented a trailer with full intentions of scoring lots of loot! We are really excited about our newest undertaking (more on that later) ... excited enough to leave town at 6 a.m. for the 3 hour trip...

We arrived at 9 and started speaking.The fair had a little bit of everything but these beautifully packaged soaps caught our eye right away...looked and smelled divine!

We were there for about 10 minutes before scoring 3 of these vintage sconces. Our pile evolved from there...

I spy with my little eye the coolest chrome chair EVER... This bad boy went in the trailer and is getting a makeover as we speak!

No bottles came home with us however we were loving the purple!

While we did get lots of bar ware this silhouette set was out of our price range and probably some of the coolest bar ware we've seen...

We loved all the architectural salvage pieces...

I was diggin these iron chief bookends... enough to go back and get them but in the sea of tents I couldn't remember where they were. But not to worry...we got lots of cool stuff anyway!

We loved searching for treasures and can't wait to offer you our finds! (that's all you are getting for now...) After loading up and learning how to back up a trailer (oh dear)... we headed back sooo excited with our scores!

Stay tuned... lots of good stuff to come...
Happy Wednesday!Bye, bye birdie,

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AN antique fair, bamboo, bar ware, chrome, fretwork., Liberty, retro, sconces, vintage

Friday, September 20, 2013

Inspiration 2 hours away...

Hooper and I always talk about taking day trips. Just a little jaunt (2 hours away max) to check out shops and things we hear about. This is great in theory but sometimes hard to execute. But... yesterday, we did it. After coordinating 2 grandmothers for pick up, a sitter that ended up with 7 kids, and an uncle to grab a certain 13 year old boy from detention (it's real life around here)...We hit the road!
We ~~hopped on our private jet~~ drove to Raleigh and checked out a few places...
By accident we found 'The Find'. This shop is open very limited hours but lucky for us the owner had popped in and let us look around. We could have filled a truck with her eclectic, vintage scores. Gold dragons anyone?

Our next stop was the coolest "shop" ever... Can you guess where it is???

hello??? bamboo, lacquer, chartreuse??? yes, please!

Did you figure it out?... a garage! Yup! How smart is that? This savvy shopper styles her finds in her garage and opens once a week to her loyal followers and friends. Reminded us of our barn sale and got us thinking we might need to have another one soon.

These finials could dress up any lamp- the top ones scream Hooper, while I'd opt for the stones...

This piece came home with me... swoon... I might sell it, but for now, it is so happy next to my sofa. However, I could be convinced otherwise. Anyone have to have it???

If you live in the Raleigh area and are interested in shopping in the coolest garage ever, contact us and we will give you all the details. We are definitely inspired to try our hand at another barn sale... What do you think, should we give it a go??
Have a great weekend...Bye, bye birdie,

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AN barn sale, barware, brass, eclectic, finials, mid century, paint by numbers, road trip, The Find, vintage

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

CraigsList Round Up

When I think about the luck we've had on CraigsList, I get a little teary. Seriously, Craig has been THAT good to us. Yes, we have to search it daily and readers often ask if we have a strategy. Here's how I roll:

1. Put kids to bed

2. Have a glass of wine (or tea), but most likely wine

3. Pretend I am billing clients (because Read gets annoyed when I surf the internet during our time together. If I'm sending out bills, he's happy).

4. Hit CraigsList in Wilmington, Raleigh and Myrtle Beach (because I am willing to travel).

To save you from too much to drink or the glare of your hubby, here are this week's finds. Yes, CURRENT, AFFORDABLE listings.

Email us or comment for more info.

Remember when I found a gorgeous Chinoiserie mirror on CraigsList? Swoon.

Most of the rattan sets I have seen need work. These look perfect!

I'm racking my brain as to what client would be lucky enough to have this set. Imagine it painted in a fun color or bright white with a cool fabric on the seats. Yum. Client (whoever you are, if you think you need this LET ME KNOW).

I love this and think it would be so pretty in a space I am working on. Hoping she sees this and feels the same way. It has similar lines to antelope table bases that are all over 1st Dibs.

I seriously want this. It's $125, which means I could most likely get them down.

These are $45 for the set. Practically free, if you ask me. They need a little (ok a lot of work), but nothing you DIY'ers are afraid of.

I think I would pair this with a cream linen shade and paint the base black. At any rate, it's a foo dog lamp and it's a steal!

This would be so pretty next to a sofa -- perfect for a book or drink. Perhaps the wine I will be drinking while I am searching CraigsList?

I adore this piece. It has glass shelves and would make a perfect spot for displaying your treasures.

Hope you are making it during this short week.

Back to work/school/CraigsList...

bye bye birdie...

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AN bamboo chairs, Craiglist, etagere, lucite magazine rack, mid century modern, vintage

Friday, November 9, 2012

Blue, blue, blue...

We were taught by our mothers never to discuss money, religion, or politics in mixed company. (this sounds good if you say it in your best southern drawl). But today I am talking politics. Well, sort of. I'm talking color. Looks like 4 more years of blue! We would never weigh in on whether or not we think that's a good thing politically, however we do love the color. Blue is a design staple for us around here. Remember Hooper's client that painted her whole room Hague blue? See here.