The Shabby Attic

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW ATTITUDE!! coLOr!

2012-01-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Oh my chickadees...it's been a while since I posted, but I have been soooo busy. Facebook has really launched the business forward, and i'm busy creating new goodies...here's some of what we've been up to...Shabby has gone modern as well as staying classic shabby white. We have EMBRACED color since the new year... Also we've done some more pallet fun! Man I love going to work....

2011-11-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

Well, it's time to get the Christmas stuff out and rolling at the Shabby Attic. I love and dread this time of the year. So so so much work to do to get things ready on top of the work i already have to do equals late nights and sleep deprivation. But, that's the price of self employment. My goal this year is to do a Salvage Christmas...and to do a rocking, stunning flowerbed incorporating some outrageous repurposing. We'll see if i'm up for the challenge...when I'm finished, pics will go up...in the meantime here are some new repurposed items for your enjoyment...repurposed garden benches, shelves, and chair parts...Happy Thanksgiving!

here today, gone tomorrow? no way!

2011-11-15T20:45:00.000-08:00

Ya know the great thing about using salvage, and repurposing is that there is no limit to what you can do. Almost anything can be repurposed if you just bend your mind enough and look at things in a new way. Look at an object. Forget what it was used for before. Look at it as a thing that can be used for some other purpose. Is it a drawer or a vessel for holding blankets for under a bed, or in the garden for your herbs? Is it a paint can or a light fixture? Is it a bike wheel or a pot rack? The list can go on and on. And that's why i love this business of upcycling. God bless the rethinkers. They are the innovators of our generation.

addicted to LOVE...shabby love...

2011-11-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

Salvage is my addiction. Here are some more pics of reinvented stuff. I lay awake at night thinking of all the junk in my basement that is waiting for me to reinvent it...
Here ya are...your moment of salvage chic zen.

Welcome to my Crib!!!

2011-11-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

Never met a crib I didnt like. Especially when they are at an obliging curb. I googled repurpsed cribs and found a few things that were unique, but decided to reinvent on my own terms. and here are the results...enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

More Salvage! Table tops, drawers, etc --reinvented.

2011-11-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

doors and WindoWs and BARNwood OH MY!!!

2011-11-05T16:35:00.001-07:00

I am currently OBBBBBSESSED with recycling old doors and windows...Here's what i've been up to with them....enjoy the pics!!!! Karin

The Road to Heaven is Paved With Caulk, Paint, and Friends

2011-10-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

To say that I have the greatest of friends may be a bit cliche, but it's the God's honest truth.
To say that I have had one of the toughest years of my life would also be true.
To say that as I look back over the past year that I would change very little or nothing at all for that matter, would also be true, because of the rare gift I was given of reinforcing existing frienships, revisiting old ones, and forging new friendships.
And it all caught me by surprise.
About six months ago, I had taken a serious look at folding up my lemonade stand and calling it a day. I was tired, alone, broke, and walking around in a cloud of confusion and insecurity, of a level which I had never experienced in my forty years. The shop on the corner was flagging, and so was I. So, I figured it was time for a new direction maybe. I started searching the want ads and checking career websites, hoping to maybe find the answer to my financial problems and my life dilemma.
To say that every door leading in that general direction shut, is true.
Somehow, every call I made and resume I sent, led to nowhere. And what a blessing that was. I felt like I was a bowling ball, and God was the bumpers guiding me along, keeping me from the gutters and bumping me forwards toward something. A call in my head and my heart to dig deeper and focus my energies, on the Little Store that Could...maybe that was where I was supposed to be. Maybe this little shop of hidden treasures was something different, something more than just a shop. A mission field of sorts, maybe. Something to inspire people.
And so, I started some Facebook advertising, worked my fingers to the bone day and night to create some new concepts, and thought a lot about in what direction to take this shop. And now, six months later, I'm seeing the fruit of sanding, caulking, painting, schlepping, sore muscles, aching back, and too much Starbucks. And that is maybe...just maybe--a living.
I'm not much of a dreamer. I am a pragmatist. And this shop at times, was just a means of an income. But this period of focus, has reignited the spark in me, and is catapulting me to inspire others. My new motto is "Be Inspired".
But it took the faithful words of so many friends..the late night calls, the afternoon coffees, the hot bowls of soup and tears--to really inspire ME to keep going. The hardworking hands of a friend who cleans for me at the shop without pay, the friend who takes pictures to make my junk look great not just good, the friend who was my cheerleader when I was so tired and sad. The friend who had stood exactly where I had been standing many years ago, and lived to tell me the tale of how to not just survive, but thrive....all these friends were and are, my greatest inspirations and the reason I'm still here in West Point. And so, if this shop of mine ever really takes off--I would turn to them and say, "I give the credit all to you." For any tree that grows only does so if it has roots anchored in firm ground and is warmed by the sun. Love to you all, my friends.

a lot behind me a lot ahead of me...

2011-08-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all you Shabby folk...
It's been an interesting year, to say the least. An unexpected divorce and striking out on my own into independenceland, has been the shocker of my 39th year. However, God is good, and 40 has to get better I'm sure.
I've been growing the business leaps and bounds, and have launched The Shabby Attic on Facebook, with some success! Who knew. Facebook good for business? You betcha! We'll survive this economy yet. And hope to thrive.
So what is new in Shabby hood? Just sign onto Facebook and see...follow us...The Shabby Attic now has over 700 followers...YIPPPEEE!

Art Lessons

2010-06-16T19:53:00.001-07:00

If there is one thing I keep learning over and over again, it's that every day is an opportunity to open up a new creative avenue for yourself. And to renew old ones, too. I've taken some time lately to put down the furniture painting brush and pick up my number 2 pencil, and go back to the basics of drawing. And you know what? My sketches are tighter and have more "artistry" than they have ever had before. No one was more caught off guard than me. And I had to wonder why this is. I haven't taken any new art classes in years, haven't been reading any art books or how-to tutorials either. You know what I think it is? The more creative avenues you delve into, the more you paint, or craft, or sculpt, or create something from junk, the more internal artistic layers you build. The trained eye gets better with each new creative venture, coupled with a deeper understanding of composition, light and color. The accumulation of visual knowledge and experienced hands merge on a blank sketchbook page. All of this being unconsciously done, of course, so really I just have to give Life all the credit for it. But, as an aside, today I painted the first piece of furniture I've painted in a week or so...and I think my drawing has really helped my painting. I felt bold and in control of what I was doing...how 'bout that?

workin it

2010-06-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

WELL, after coming home from a trip to the local mall, I can see why my business is sluggish. It's sluggish everywhere! And holy cow! what sales they're having. They're practically giving stuff away with clearance sales to beat all clearance sales. And so goes the way of the small business. Guess it's time to slash prices...or is it? You know I look around at my little cottage chic shop, and it dawns on me what a gem my shop is. Great low prices for items that have been refurbished with style...the work is all done for our customers. And if you're on the recession budget, then no one should look any further than our doors for bang for your buck for furniture. Made to last, and remade with style. Nuf said.

Zooey CAN'T sing

2010-05-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

okay...so, um, it's 2am and i've stopped working on those friggin "oh i'm going to work on ALLLLL these projects until they're finished!" projects. And, darnit, i'm tired. Sleep....i want sleep! But no, no sleep. Only painting. How is it possible that I can have five thousand parts to the 3 defunct paint sprayers that I have, but not the one part I need to replace the spring mechanism I just broke??? I adore paint sprayers and loathe paint sprayers. They are an ecstasy beyond milk chocolate and making whoopie when they work. But, they are like having a sadist give you a mammagram when they don't. Actually, I'd prefer to have my left boob squeezed in a vice than spend 12am to 1am trying to fix that darn sprayer. Is it clogged? Take it apart and flush it out. Nope. Reassemble. Is the little orange springy dingy inside clogged?? Take it apart. Blow air through the orange thingy holes and accidentally eat paint. Nope. *(*&^%$#@+ !! Put it back together. Is it that the paint is too thick? Take it apart and water it down. Reassemble and now it sprays...but...FOR GOODNESS SAKE! NOW IT'S ALL RUNNY AND OOZING DOWN MY NIGHTSTAND! DANGIT! And it's dripping all down my arm! Is there a dang sprayer in creation that doesn't drip! $#%@&#*)^! Damn Rachel Ashwellllllllll......urrrrrrgggggggh.
---------------
I've given up and am sitting on the couch like a amoebic lump crusty with dried white paint on my arms and legs, and I'm watching Zooey Deschanel sing in some live concert in an awesone vintage dress, shaking a tambourine. I love her. Is it just me...but, she can't sing. I lllloooove her style. But she CAN'T sing! (except for in Elf) Simon C. would definitely called her Performance "bad caberet, i'm sorry to say dahling...very pitchy at tiymes...squeeky and annoying". Squeeky and annoying...oh...like my paint sprayer!

2010-05-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

my goodness how time does fly. Due to a detour near our shop The Shabby Attic, we have been slammed with yummy customer goodness. Lots of foot traffic! Capitalism rocks my crocks. I love a good detour.
So, i've been busy churning out painted furniture pieces until I believe I may actually have more latex enamel product in my system than actual blood. but it's the price you pay for having a fabulous store.
We are packed to the drop ceiling with new goodies and furniture and so my new goal is to not buy anything new to haul into the shop, but to clean out all my projects, sitting half-done, like ignored stepchildren...strewn all around my house. In the garage are cabinet doors that cry out for creativity. In the basement are beads and old jewelry junk that need repurposing (i'm glueing them to a mannequin head...it looks cooler than it sounds). In the laundry room is an old bassinette that is awaiting transformation into a funky doggie bed. But oh where oh where to get the time? NO NEW ITEMS! that's how i'll get my little abandoned babies of projects done.

I'll post them as I get them completed! I promise!

winter blues

2010-02-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

Well, there's nothin' like being trapped under 30" of winter snow to keep you unmotivated. BUT, for us creative types, it's good to be trapped indoors with our junk projects. And why not? I've cooked everything in the fridge already and I've watched Legally Blond and the Devil Wears Prada 5000 times now. So, I'm overhauling a cedar trunk that I trash picked ages ago, and using old table legs to make new chunky shab fab candlesticks. Just what the doctor ordered for the winter blues...bring on the junk! tune in for the results!!

goodbye 2009

2010-01-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

ah...the bittersweet feelings of a new year...

now is the time to take down the lights and tree and decorations and say goodbye to 2009 and hello 2010. So strange to be in a new decade. I'm already reminiscing about this past Christmas and it was just a few days ago! well, enjoy the pics of the store and the holiday decorating we did. I just loved doing the christmas mannequins...

More Love-of-Junk Stuff

2009-12-20T20:11:00.001-08:00

more cool junk stuff

2009-12-20T20:02:00.001-08:00

uh...kinda been a little busy

2009-12-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

hello folks in Shabby land...been kinda off the radar for a bit what with trying to keep a store goin' in this recession, but now i'm back and bad!

well , good, really.

I am currently addicted to www.junkmarketstyle.com...
i cannnnnnot get enuf. Check it out if you love to make stuff with junk.

that's what i'm doin for christmas!

hope my relatives like stuff made of cool junk.
karin

upcoming event

2009-10-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

well, folks, it's that time again to do something completely different at the Shabby Attic. So, preparation for the Vintage Vanity Faire Days at the Shabby are under way. We're going to have live music, a local winery doing wine tastings, and local gourmet food on display. Sights, smells, sounds, and sales will be on the menu. THERE WILL BE A $200 RAFFLE, plus, don't let me forget to say, demos on holiday decorating. I'm scared about getting everything done in time, but excited to do something extravagant to launch into the holiday season.
VINTAGE VANITY FAIRE DAYS: SAT, NOV. 7TH AND SUN, NOV. 8TH!

2009-09-26T20:51:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been another busy couple of weeks at the store, and here we are on the precipice of Autumn. Already. So I was starting to think about holiday time already (after just one day of crisp cool Fall air) and was on Etsy.com, admiring the handiwork of so many wonderful artisans. I'm amazed daily at the talent that people have. I myself don't consider myself that talented. I get by, I admit, as someone who knows how to do a thing or two with paint and furniture. But sometimes i click on someone's site, and their work blows me away. "Now THAT is talent", is what I say to myself.

I met a woman today who makes clothing accessories out of tooled wool and recycled sweaters. Her work was so creative it made me want to cry. I felt pitifully inept in her presence. I said to myself, "SHE thought outside of the box. SHE invented something original. SHE has a point of view in her work". Have you heard this phrase before? (You have if you are a fan of Project Runway). "POINT OF VIEW". What that means is that your work has a style all it's own, one that reflects who you are as an artist. And if you are lucky, it is a body of work that no one else on the planet has ever thought of or created until now.

And then I remembered, that though this woman had a "point of view" that was individual, so did I. My work DOES stand apart from what others have done. Even when I know that others have done what I have done, and maybe even have done it better, it is still MY individuality, MY sense of personal style, that makes my work unique. And in seeing my work, maybe, just maybe, someone sees what I have done and says, "Now THAT'S talent".

Old is New or New is Old?

2009-09-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hi there shabby followers...here's a submission for our blog from a wonderful woman named Wheezy who helps me at my shop in West Point, Pa. She has a wealth of knowledge and is an invaluable asset to my store! So...shout out to Wheezy! Here's what she wrote...

Old is New or New is Old?

Okay newbies...if you are reading this blurb on the blog you must be the proud owner of a computer...I will assume the bulk of you are under the age of forty. In the "antiques" business over the past twenty five years there have been major changes. I am one of those "dinosaurs" that have been in the business for the past thirty years and I am embracing the new movement, therefore my message to you.

A little history. Thirty years ago people "collected" items...be it beer steings, mesh purses, hummels, Shelly, chintz, whatever. It was a quest to find another item to add and complete the collection. Young people today don't wish to possess the same things that grandma had-and very often those same items would not be practical in today's society. People today don't mind a flavor of the past-but wish it done in an up-to-date-fashion.

Makes me laugh...antique dealers were one of the original RECYCLERS...be it restaining, recaning, etc. With today's fashion it is usually recycled, refurbished in a "pop" color or in a shade of white with a little distressing...for us today, eye candy. As with everything over time, different is acceptable. Twenty years ago if the paint was peeling or missing the furniture was not saleable...today it is the "hot" fashion.

Twenty-five years ago I was in the quaint town of Red Bank, NJ shopping for that "vintage" piece. This piece of furniture had an original 1930's shade of green paint with a lot of "blemishes". The tag quoted the price and in it's description said "shabby chic"--this was long before Rachael...my point being "shabby chic" has been around a very long time. In fact, time for the length of skirts to go down again, no? Let me have your thoughts what direction you think home decor is leaning towards--and how the "Shabby Attic" can help you on this journey.

2009-08-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been another busy week, and I find myself stuck in the grind like everyone else, of running here and there and everywhere, running errands and doing the things to maintain my daily family life. How is it possible that I get to the end of the day and I still have a list of things to do? Talk about burning up daylight. I just sat down to take a break after making what seems to be 3 gallons of salsa from a batch of garden fresh tomatoes. Why don't I just buy the ready-made jarred stuff?? I guess it's for the same reason that I just can't bring myself to buy a factory finished piece of furniture from a furniture store. There's no challenge in it for me. I just love finding that piece of furniture, at a thrift store or auction, or CSI (curbside item) that everyone else has looked at and passed over, except me. I see the architecture of the piece, the good bones of it's make, the unusual hardware, and the solid wood casing with dovetailed drawers. I can see past the chipped veneer and the scratched initials on the top, left on it from two owners ago. And darnit, it's only $30.00...what a steal! Then I get a rush. I feel the tremble in my fingers, the hair up on the back of the neck....creativity is stirring in me and I can't wait to get the piece home and figure out how i'm going to reinvent, redesign, and recycle. And what a sense of satisfaction when it's all done. I did it. I did this. I just gave this piece another 30yrs of life. They just don't sell that in a jar.

trend follower or trend setter?

2009-08-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

I usually sit here at my computer with my four month old son on my knee, never knowing what i'm going to write about. But today, when i asked him for any suggestions, he said, "Aahhh oooh ah ooh ooh ooh." Right. Thanks AJ. That was helpful. And then I looked at the picture on the upper right corner of my blog, and admired the Periwinkle vanity with the trifold mirror. I just love this piece. I love it because it's rustic and vintage, but the color is so so fresh and different. I got this piece at auction and couldn't decide how to paint it. And then I came across some "oops" paint at the local Home Depot. These are the cast off paints that either people don't want, or the sales people make mistakes with when mixing. Oops paints are super cheap, so if you find a gallon of a color that strikes your fancy, you only spend $5 on it, rather than the expensive $15-$25 per gallon. So, I grabbed what looked like two different tones of blue and took them home where they collected dust in my garage for about 3 months. When I carted the vanity home, i couldn't bear to paint another piece in shabby white ( i do a lot of white for my store). Rummaging through my cluttered work room i saw two paint cans peaking out at me, looking abandoned and neglected. Light Bulb moment! With feverish energy I pried those cans open and started painting in the heat of the summer afternoon. Whoosh and swish, I had that piece primed and painted in an hour. and I was in love with Periwinkle. Swooning, sweeping, heavenly periwinkle. It looked so fresh and nothing like i've seen before on a piece of furniture. And I thought, this is a way to be a trendsetter. Playing around with ideas, color, objects, going out on a limb and trying anything with playfulness...never knowing what good things could come of it. I could just worship the home decor mags and copy what's in there (and sometimes I do! I have to admit it!). But I'd rather be a trendsetter, and go out there on the edge and try to get others to come with me...let's have some fun with paint today!

2009-08-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

funny thing today...I was taking a break in the shop, with AJ doing a balancing act on my left knee, when i began thumbing through a rachel ashwell book that I hadn't looked at in quite some time. Off of the page popped a photo of stacks of vintage linens. And i felt the warm fuzzy glow of how much i love them. Do people not realize that in the dark corners of their closets lay a treasure trove of one-of-a-kind pieces of art? Time worn and stained, they still stand the test of time, with their woven handiwork giving a history of a time in our country before texting, internet, and bluetooth. A simpler time when we sat in the quiet of the home and tatted, knitted, and cross stitched to pass the hours away. And what was left behind after the maker of these items had long since passed, was a legacy of the work of careful hands, the sentiment of a monogram or a stitched rose, the beauty of a woven damask table cloth, the value and sturdiness of a good piece of woven cotton. These remaining works will not be replaced once they are gone. So pull them out and show them off! In a room in our store, we have stacks of these wonderful pieces (doilies, runners, table cloths and quilts!) that are brought in by my wonderful vendor, Judy Serrao. She is the finder of these desirable items, and carefully soaks, cleans, and presses each item from hankies and doilies, to large quilts. What a treasure! Looking for a particular kind of linen? She probably has it...so contact us if you want to know about our vintage linens and how to care for them.

2009-08-18T22:36:00.001-07:00

Well Hi out there to you all! Just back from a mini vaca here, and i'm feeling refreshed and ready to roll. If you're like me, you're wondering where this summer has gone. I can't get over that i'm seeing back-to-school commercials already! it's insane. I used to laugh when my folks said that the older you get the faster time flies. Don't you just hate it when you grow up and find out they're right???

But I did take some time this summer to go to the movies with my stepdaughter. Escaping from the heat and the perpetual rain, i guess. But we went to see "Julie and Julia" and I just loved it. I'm not much of a cook, but I could relate to the theme of finding your passion in life. and I think I have found that. My passion is taking old furniture, and turning it into a thing of beauty. It does something to my soul. It's like rescuing something that has been abandoned...something that was once loved, but now is not, and has been thoughtlessly discarded. It's a thing of beauty to give new life to things with just a little hard work, love, and TLC. it's a thing worth doing. It's good to the earth, to the soul, to our recession, to our community...it's all good. Let me know...don't you just love it too??

new to the blog world

2009-08-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all of you out there..this is my new blog and i'm excited about my new adventure! I have a great shabby vintage furniture store in West Point, Pa and i'm looking forward to blogging about our passion for vintage, salvage, refurbished furniture, and all of us creative folks in the shabby world.

Keep your eyes posted for our stories!