abode ami - your passport to savings!

while shopping at abode you will be pleasantly surprised to receive an abode ami card.  each purchase is added and when you have spent $100 you will receive $10 off your next purchase, STOP THE PRESSES, THAT'S FREE MONEY! 

Huddle with your mama

we met some lovely ladies who write the blog the mother huddle filled with common sense about mothering and making life marvelous!  Check out their words of wisdom.

great to meet you ladies!

fun funky and functional and new!

just a taste of what's in store for you at abode!

Tis the season . . .

market season!  we just can't wait to see you at our outdoor flea market on April 17th . . .

we have vendors lining up to bring the most awesome wares ever.  we'll be posting pictures periodically to tantalize and tempt.

consider being a vendor - it's only $20 per market

stay tuned!

a time for reflection

nothing freshens up a room like a mirror!  properly placed the reflective properties can add light and luster to any space.  just in time to welcome spring - most mirrors are 20% off (30% off for blog followers) at abode!  our mirrors range from $10 to $150.  pop down and grab one or two, you'll be glad you did!

My inspirations

For someone so young, Jordan is a complex mix of dream and drama!  She creates the most beautiful jewelry pieces from forgotten bits and then weaves a small tale about the conception of the piece.  Her talent in writing is only rivaled by her flair for glamour and grace.

Here is a peek into her world:

I love junk and antiques and I make jewelry on my other shop at opulentoddities I love weird and unusual things. Or over the top gaudy things. Anything connected to a memory. Anything from a gold bridge that has fallen out, lorgnettes, rhinestone ANYTHING, hardware, clock pieces, doll parts, feathers, hair, lockets, pretty much anything I can put on a necklace, I'll do it. Anyway, I been buying out estates and junk lots and I just had so much junk and I tried flea marketing, but a lot of it I thought other artists like me could use, and I know better than to throw anything out. So I opened my second shop etsy, Decadence and Decay. And honestly, the stuff in my decadenceanddecay shop isn't even the best junk I have. I keep the best of the junk to use in my jewelry.


Hahah, I CANNOT think of anything else to write right now. Anything you can think of, please ask me!

Check her out on etsy and see if she inspires you in the same fashion!

LoVe To SEw? LIVe to GLue?

This week is for you! 20% (30% for blog followers) off all sewing items and collage bits and bobs (old game pieces, maps, pictures, buttons, music sheets and the list goes on . . .).  Ignite the spark!

cLicKERs

you've seen (and heard) those tin alligator clickers but I was enchanted to find these springy birdie clickers.  mama and daddy feeding their babies sounds like fun in the easter basket to me!

Intrigue

One of the most fascinating things for me are skeleton keys.  They appeal on so many levels, what kind of door did they open, where did that door lead, who lived there, who handled that key, was it ever lost and if so, what then?

They add an element of mystery to a piece of jewelry or altered art and I am ever attracted to them.  They are a work of art, coming in many sizes and shapes.  What do you like about skeleton keys?

fUn

I adore Saturdays at the shop!  I feel a sense of adventure wondering what the day will hold . . . interesting customers, old friends, cool stuff, creative employees . . . the possibilities are endless!

I felt a little mischevious crafting the display yesterday but you have to admit it was fun.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

wE mUsT bE CrazY!

Buy one fabulous item and get another (your choice) of equal or lesser value for 1/2 off all this week!

Where have all the fLowERs gone?

 gone to abode for 20% off!  (30% if you follow this blog)

the earth LauGHs in flowers

and so shall you this week at abode!  take 20% off all things flowered.  take 30% if you are a follower of this blog

Valentines is near and we rose to the occasion!! 

LOve iS In tHe AIr

My brain knows that it is only the first week of February but my heart sings for SPRING!!

Nothing says happiness like a new old bike . . .

Check these out, they won't last long

go RED or go HOME!

Take 20% off all things red this week and if you follow this blog take an additional 10% off!

My inspirations

Salvage Nation
This is another of my favorite etsy sellers - she has the best stuff and she is a basket of fun!
Only my father understood my drive as a young child to clean out the bottom drawer of everyone's dresser and store the treasures I would find in brown grocery bags. I had fourteen aunts and uncles who were more than happy to see me visit and do my cleaning. I am certain of this, because one Christmas, Dad gave me a card table and told me that I should use that instead of his metal t.v. trays when I had my "little sales" in the front yard.


While other kids were watching Saturday morning cartoons, I was out front flagging down the neighbors to show them my latest finds. I just couldn't help myself, it's as though being a "junker" is part of my DNA.

It's the thrill of the hunt, the joy of the find that has put me in the business of antiques and collectibles. Also, paying for two girls to go to college , spurred me to learn about on-line venues, I began 12 years ago on ebay.

I'm not a purist, only selling one genre, but I'm all over the place, as I truly do love all things old. Now that is saying something as I am approaching sixty, so most folks would consider me pretty vintage, myself ! My kitchen bowls are old pyrex, I've burned up three Sunbeam mixers, green, pink and blue and our kitchen silverware was is a 1945 "everyday" set. The clean lines, the simplicity, the aura of the pieces simply inspire me each day.

" The Merm" as I call her in my mind ask me how I find stuff. I share my strategy with just about anyone who will listen. I'm not your typical shopper, I call myself a finder.

I start in the garage at estate sales, always do. People put some of the oldest and most valuable items out in the garage. I have some amazing choir charms in the shop right now from a high school choir contest. I know how hard kids work, practice and even pray to win one of those medals. I had to have them and watch them be turned into pieces of jewelry, small works of art, just like the kids.

In my tour of the outer regions of an estate sale, I find the boxes of paper, the tons of magazines, that no one wants to go through one sheet at a time. I am currently listing it bit by bit as I read it, let it air and get it ready to go. Very soon, I will be listing a letter from Joe McCarthey (it's how he signed it) but you know him as Senator Josephy McCarthey.

Once I finish in the garage, I'll go into the house and I start at the very back and work my way forward. Once again, people tend to put the most interesting pieces into boxes, under tables, even in little grab bags.

Never be afraid to ask, especially if you don't see what you are looking for when shopping. I see a house with a sewing machine but no fabric or buttons, that is odd. "Do you have any fabric or buttons?" Usually I get the answer, oh gosh, we have boxes full but didn't think anyone would want them. "I do, I really do."

Be open and honest with everyone, tell them what you plan to do with the items. Some people think if you say you collect or sale or whatever, the price will go up. I find by telling people I sale items to artist and collectors, they remember me, call me and tell me what they will have at their next sale, next estate or in their booth. It's nice being the first to know.

Living on a farm, I know the value of reduce, reuse, recycle, it's been a part of me for so long, that I even scoffed when in the early 80's it became the thing to do. I didn't realize it was something people had to learn. Now I am just completely in awe of up-cycled art and jewelry. At antique shows or flea markets, I'm constantly taking my friend by the hand and saying, "see, look, it's steampunk, can you believe that wall hanging was once a yearbook and two magazines." Altered art literally makes me weak in the knees. I love paper and the beauty of its blends, what is being done in altered art and collages is just breathtaking. Don't even get me started on the darling greeting cards everyone is creating. I wish I had that eye, that talent.

Ephemera is my weakness, I keep way more than I could ever sell. I have authentic Victorian paper in the etsy shop right now and I have a hard time believing I ever found it. Paper when properly stored can last three lifetimes, as these pieces prove it. I just see that young girl standing at the dance waiting for her program card to fill up with suitors names wanting a turn at a whirl on the floor.

Currently, I am on a numbers and letter kick, it's the journalism major in me. I had to actually melt the lead, pour the letters, create the letterpress and then print the items when I took my college printing classes. I have filled the shop with letterpress, but also letters and numbers in all sorts of mediums. I'm staying busy filling special request for Christmas, names, phrases, addresses.

It never seems like work and I meet the most wonderful people. I enjoy doing antique shows, going to flea markets and creating the on-line shop. When it becomes a chore or it doesn't bring happiness, I'll stop. I don't foresee that ever happening.

I only sell what I love, just in case one day I have to live with it !


Bonus : shop with me and mention "the merm" in the conversation to seller, and I'll refund 15% of the purchase price ! or send a convo and tell me you are Abode and I'll make a special listing with a reduced price.. only thing excluded are the items in the sale section.

BLoG fOLLoWerS wIN tHiS wEEk aT aBoDE

follow this blog and receive 30% off an item of your choice this week - it's kinda like having your own fabulous wheel of prizes!

photo courtesy of Junk Market Style

The Love Christmas

A child I know called Valentines, "the love Christmas".  I have always loved that idea because Christmas is such a rush of excitement and emotion.  I love Valentines and I hope you do too!

LOvE Me TeNDer

For those of you who know me - you know that I waited 48 years to find the love of my life!  Venkat and I married in June of 2008.  He is an excellent husband and works hard to make my life easier everyday.

Every morning he runs outside and scrapes the snow/ice from the windows of my car (even if he is in his coat and a bath towel - oo la la!) - that is a HUGE sacrifice for him - he is south Indian and craves the hot weather.

SaLvAGE anGeL

are you a fan of Junk Market style? do you dream in rust? This is the perfect sale for you! take 20% off all things salvage