My Today ( And how SHV began)

I'm selling at Outdoor Markets as a pop up now.

It's very hard work, physically taxing in the least.

But I am grateful that I am able to do what I love and I am constantly inspired. (read entertained)

When Savannah started high school I was ready to once again work full time outside of the house.

The economy tanked and I saw this time as an opportunity to really start my own business.

Well, in truth, I had been running my own business (selling on ebay and I built a website and sold dinnerware replacements old and new....but that's a story for another day) from home for years but I needed to get out and be with people again. 

So, I thought for quite some time about "what I wanted to be when I grew up".

If you don't already know, my job, for much of my adult life, was, as a hair stylist.

Yep it's true. for 25 plus years.

From the minute Savannah was born, I wanted out of hayrrr. (again a story for another day).

So excited to "re invent" myself.....I thought, what was it going to be.

2 choices as I saw it. 1. follow my passion to bake, put myself through culinary school to become a pastry chef (it could still happen :0p ) Or 2. Open an Antique shop.

Since I wasn't ready to leave Savannah for all the early hours I would have to put in along with the long nights, I decided to set aside the dream of pastry chef and open an Antique shop minutes from where we lived.

.7 miles...I could run it IFFF I had to.

This gave me comfort, having grown up with a single parent and having been left alone in the house
at a verrrrry early age (and having a few pretty awful things happen during that time) I refused to do the same to my daughter. I  wanted to be close....just in case.

I had been buying and selling Antique and Vintage American Pottery, China and Glass since I was about 24. I knew a bit....

So I actually took all (well most) of my collections, and opened my shop. I had some vintage furniture for my displays that I picked up "around" that I put prices on "just in case" someone wanted to buy it.

The Antique center I was in sadly, was not "happening" and after a year I realized that "just making my shop rent" was not cutting it. 

And so I found Boonton.

A shop on a main road that cost LESS than my space in the Antique center....well... slam dunk right?

Now keep in mind I had a shop full of cool furniture (un refinished) that wasn't selling.

So I started. I got a can of Benjamin Moore white and did ONE piece.

It was the first thing I moved into Boonton....and sold EVEN before I opened my doors.

I sold it online, and It was picked up.

Was I onto something??!

I knew of shops that did this, I had the inventory, so why the heck not.

So, when I first came to Boonton my shop was a mix of vintage and refinished furniture.

As time passed (over 3 years) and a few tweeks to my reinvention....I settled into

"The Art of Refinishing Furniture".

(I've loved every minute of it.)

And so it seems, many others do too..... because it has really caught on and gone mainstream.
With the introduction of Chalk paint.....painting furniture requires little talent. As a result it has become more and more difficult to make a living refinishing furniture.

 While I've since had to close my shop in Boonton,
many of my followers really only know the " painted furniture craftsman" of those days.
I'm so much more. I always was.
So, I've circled back around to my "roots" (American pottery,china and glass),
thrown furniture (as found) back into the mix
and added a bit of design and decor.

So expect more.
And be surprised.
It's my goal to get you excited about " cool vintage"
Vintage is "The Rage".
It's well made.
Well designed.
Well priced.
And above all sustainable.
Let us not forget that we are responsible, period.

My painted pieces are still available at specialty shops around NJ.
As of today you can find them at:
Greensleeves in Flemington
Greensleeves in Barnegat.
I do wholesale ( one piece or many)
So if you are interested in my line contact me.

I am still popping up at various outdoor markets during the warmer months.
I absolutely love the nomadic nature of this.
If you love SHVs style and you want me at your venue, contact me.
( and if you are looking for " where I am" on any given Saturday, contact me)

Come mid September there will be more updates.

Wow how time has passed.... (intro to "whats next")

Welllll..... Summer of 2015 is here.

Which means its been 2+ years since I closed SHV boutique.

I'd be a liar if I did not admit that my heart aches.
I miss so much about my little shop.

It was a very verrrrry rough winter.
The worst in a while.
But it's over now.
(huge, deeeep sigh)
and deeeep breath......

As you may or may not know I finally pulled the trigger on a decision that was in the making for quite some time.
Last September I downsized my entire life.
Into 500 square feet.
(no easy task)

Why???
A few reasons.
But mostly, to open myself up to the next chapters.
 
There were many days after closing SHV at 906 Main when I felt like a failure.
Ive been humbled by circumstance and the economy.
And while most might want to give up,  I'm not most.
And the real truth is I've been thru so much worse than this in my lifetime.

What's next has been the unanswered question looming around for a while.
I haven't been sure of where I want to be really.
I mean I do have a vision of what I want SHV to be going forward, Im just not so sure where it's all gonna happen.
So I wait.
"Cause if I haven't learned this lesson in my life i'd be a fool.
And the lesson is....
If I'm not sure of what to do, do nothing.

And then the craziest thing happened.......
Things started to fall into place.

There is more soooooooo much more.
and I'll share, I promise.
More often and in more detail.
But for now, that's it.

Have a super sparkly day.