A Glamorous Bathroom !

It's been quite a while since I have posted, but I certainly have been not been a stranger to the blogosphere! I have been busy with lots of projects and ideas I can't wait to share with you!

There is so much to be inspired by out there and these incredible bathroom photos just really got my brain spinning!

You may have seen these shots floating around various blogs talking about the beautiful photography by Martin Cederblad or the creative styling of Eva Lindh...see more HERE.

Even though this bathroom is definitely contemporary, there are many glamorous vintage elements in this room as well!

So besides my own love of antiques and vintage, and the fact that I have been spending a crazy amout of time on Etsy lately, I had a brainstorm!

Could I recreate the same look in my own bathroom with all of the wonderful items available on the Etsy Vintage site?

Come with me as I travel through a few Etsy stores that have a few items that would transform any run of the mill bathroom into a luxurious bath perfect for primping and pampering!

How about a decadent pair of cottom damask bath towels? These are from Chadwick Cottage 57, and feature cascades of roses and ribbons in creamy white.

Don't forget a beautiful handtowel, too. This one is from the early 1900's and has the most elegant knotted fringe, and this entire store, Beautiful Reign is over the top eye candy!

This salmon pink nightie is just too pretty to put away in a drawer never to be seen! From the 1920-30's, the silk, bias cut gown is just covered in fine pleating and embroidery. This seller, LaBoheme, is from France...but of course!

Why stop at the feather boa when you can have the whole jacket? White marabou and fully lined, this is offered by Antoinette's Attic. Yummy!

Every glamorous girl needs a satin sleep mask! How about this one in black satin trimmed in lace and pearls from A Better Time?

Ok, ok...so these are not exactly the same sweet pink polka dot mules...but look at 'em!! These are printed pony hair Springolators from the 50's. Need I say more? They are from Pretty Kitty 13.

I loved this pink rose embroidered pillow. It's from Pink Willy 506 and has a velveteen back.

This oval hand hooked vintage rug would be perfect with it's raspberry, pink, sage and jadeite colors! Haute Country Vintage has lots of wonderful things in their shop to browse!

A bathroom like this needs lots of pretty bottles and atomizers. This crystal one from Vintage Jewels And More is embellished with a pretty rose on top and sits on an elaborate gold metal base.

I can't even imagine this room NOT having a bottle of the classic "Joy" perfume from Jean Patou Paris, can you? Vintage Items N More is worth a look.

I thought these great silverplate baskets would be the perfect thing to fill with sponges, soaps or other neccessities on the counters. Check out the collection of them from Effie Myrtles House.

Hope you enjoyed our little fun trip through some really fantastic stores and I hope you'll take the time to see what other great stuff they have to offer for your glamorous bathroom makeover!

Handmade Ribbon Collection

I wanted to share more photos of our booth in Charlotte at the Metrolina show this past weekend and show you my new favorite project. Actually this is a two part project that I just love and it attracted a lot of attention at the show. I am excited to present my first handmade ribbon collection. These ribbons are all hand stamped on ivory muslin, blue denim (yes, from recycled bluejeans...the worn fabric has a beautiful, soft texture) and burlap. I love the color and texture combination together, and all the edges are either pinked or hand fringed. Some are stamped with keys, chandeliers, birds, laurel wreaths and script. I even have one bride-to-be considering it for her wedding! I loved the idea, since she didn't want the typical satin ribbon look, and has a very Provencal sort of theme. This would be great around a gift, embellishing a floral arrangement or wreath and the little bird themes would be so sweet on an Easter basket. I even had a Grandmother purchase some for her granddaughter's hair! You can see in the photo above how I tied off a stack of old books with a piece (more about the books later, too). Although I intend to sell it in 3 yard lengths, I have been selling it by the yard so far and just snip off the desired yardage right there in the booth, and drop in a brown paper lunch sack, which is the perfect size for a small purchase.
Part two of the project are the ribbon organizers made from old sewing machine drawers. These two drawers are the prettiest shade of blue and have some decorative detail that you can't really see in the photo. I had Rory cut a slit along the side to string the ribbon through and control the unraveling, and then he made notches in both sides of the ends, placing a hand turned dowel inside with the wound ribbon. It is so great to have a handy guy around that can help me with projects!
I liked the concept of having collections to compliment each other and to make a stronger visual merchandising impact. I have lots of thoughts about where I want to take this idea from here using all kinds of fabrics, colors, textures and graphics. You know that most retailers know by June what kind of Christmas collections they will be showing, so it is certainly not too early to be thinking in those terms now if you are a crafter or artist.
I'm off to the craft room...
Lee Ann

Charlotte Show Photos

Wow! Our trip to Charlotte for the antique and collectibles show was a whirlwind of a weekend! I had hoped to be able to blog while there, but since I am so new at this the going is slow and I didn't want to take too much time away from meeting new customers and sharing our fabulous items. I think the booth looked terrific and we got so many nice compliments on it. The best part is just getting to talk (and talk and talk) to so many wonderful people. So thank you to all of you, especially Kevin for being such a great vendor neighbor, Beryl for the umbrella, ball caps, and sharing her passion and heart with me (you are one special lady!), Linda for inviting Rory and I into her beautiful home on the lake, and Grover and his cute family for just stopping by to introduce themselves (new blogging friends)! The staff and vendors at this show really seem to be like an extended family, as so many of these dealers have been coming here for years...some since the 70's! Anyway, what a difference it makes to work with such kind folks!
Hope you enjoy a few shots of our goodies! The vanity stops every girl aged 3 to 83 dead in their tracks! The drawers are padded and lined in white satin which I have filled with French lavender so that every time the drawers are opened the fragrance fills the senses even more, and the stool is covered in a yummy grey rabbit fur from a vintage coat. Every girl needs her own special spot to powder and perfume, and since this is a 3/4 size, it not only works for a young diva, it's great in a smaller guest room or even the right powder room! Can you imagine having weekend visitors to pamper with that little jewel?
The table and chairs are a set that Rory and I worked on together. This is made of English oak, but unfortunately, was not really attractive enough to refinish, so we decided to just do something over the top with this set. We started with covering the entire thing in a coat of silver (I'm sure the neighbors wondered what in the heck we were doing to that set) then light blue, then light green, squished some amber shellac in spots, while wiping or sanding between each coat. Then three coats of poly on the top for durability, and ended up with the loveliest, almost mother of pearl affect with that silver adding some wonderful sparkle through all those layers of paint. Oh, and we did the chest to match as a sideboard (that would also work in a bedroom). I love it when a plan comes together, don't you? Then to really top it off, I made small bolster pillows for each chair out of vintage silver fox. I'm telling you, this group is a pearl of a set in a sea of boring old dining rooms out there! I love that it is all solid woods, well constructed, recycled, useful and beyond beautiful!
I will share some of our other bon bons in another post. Enjoy for now!

Meet Me in Charlotte!

The French Maid is excited to announce that we will be participating once again in the Metrolina antique show in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rory and I will have lots of great new treasures to share, including these incredible wooden candlesticks that he hand turns on the lathe. These are painted in a great faux finish in shades of blue, green and turquoise for a really beautiful splash of color in your home. We also will have our fabulous mirrors, frames and windows that we are known for, as well as lots of lavender filled fur pillows from vintage coats, hand stamped ribbon, and lots of other goodies that we make from reclaimed materials and antiques. This will be our second show in Charlotte, and judging from the great response we got from our first show, even though attendance was down due to bad weather, it should be loads of fun!

If you have never been to an antiques show, or think that it's just a bunch of old musty junk from Grandma's attic, I encourage you to visit one of these shows. I am always blown away at the fabulous and diverse stuff we find when we attend. If you don't like antique furniture, then there are wonderful old books for your home library, art for your walls, sports paraphernalia for your game room and dishes for your kitchen. There are things for car enthusiasts, doll and coin collectors and don't even get me started on the jewelry! I don't think I will ever purchase another thing from the mall jewelry store again, as the show selections are one of a kind things you will never see again, and actually much more affordable prices. Linens from France, religious icons from Italy and rugs from Persia are just a few of the things that just make me crazy when I have the chance to shop around the booths! The dealers are so great, too, and are always so interesting to talk to. We love when we have a chance to chat with people about our items, especially since so many of ours have been restored, reclaimed or repurposed. I will post some photos when we are there, too, and look forward to meeting you!

The show runs from March 4th through 7th. We will be in Building A, Booths F24-25.
Hope to see you there!

Lee Ann

Glamorous London

I am constantly amazed at how many times my collections of vintage pieces or family heirlooms reappear in my daily life. I come from a long line of pack rats, so hanging on to handwritten notes from my son when he was little, old love letters, and postcards from places I've visited, is just a fact of life for me. So I had to laugh when I was playing around with the camera today, trying to set up a few shots to use for this blog, when one of my "office assistants "decided to help me out. London is such a beautiful kitty, but I had no idea what a fabulous model he was! I happened to grab a strip of rhinestones out of my jewely stash to accessorize my subject and he must have known that this was going to be a great gig on the soft fake fur and warm lights judging by the purring that was taking place! So I snapped a few quick shots, downloaded them into the computer and turned around to find him zonked out, but still draped in his divine collar! As I was telling him what a good boy he was to allow me to share his beauty with all the world, I was thinking about that collar. Way back in the dark ages of about 1970, before cell phones, blackberrys and blogs, that collar was on the most glamorous black pantsuit belonging to my Mom! I can still remember the texture of the fabric, as it was something she sewed for herself at home. My Dad was in the Air Force at the time, and we were living in Germany. I was 10 when she made it for a New Years Eve Party!
It was a very chic sleeveless tunic over bell bottom pants and that mandarin collar might as well have been made out of diamonds to me! I loved when they dressed up, and they did often. Not just for special occasions like holiday parties, but almost every Friday night brought at least a fondue buffet at someones house with us kids invited! Our family forged many friendships then, some we haven't seen since those days, but still get holiday cards and updates about their lives. I remember her friend Doreen made an outfit out of the same pattern, this time with long butterfly sleeves with braiding around the neckline...hers was made of the palest pink blush. It didn't matter that they went to the same party together...they knew how to make their own versions to reflect their own styles. I know Mom has photos of the two of them together...Mom, find me that picture!
Years later, when the pantsuit was transformed into a daytime outfit, off came the rhinestone trim, to be put into the sewing box for a few years until one day in the 80's as I was trying to recreate my own version of Yves Saint Laurent's womans tuxedo(I still love that look!) I needed something fabulous at the neckline and grabbed the strip of bling, made a choker out of it with some black satin cording in back, and off I went to party at many a club, getting loads of compliments for styling my way. I used that piece in many a fashion show I styled, both for cocktail and for a sparkling bride, again being asked by many..."Where did you get that?"
So now that I am spending my time at antique shops and shows, flea markets and the garage doing projects that don't require such formal accesssorizing, I'm thrilled to once again pull out this piece and share it with you. I encourage you to think about not only repurposing old things, but thinking of the value of them in our lives and memories.

Bon Jour!

After many years of living other peoples dreams, I've finally decided to live my own life! Too many years of the corporate retail rat race almost ate me alive until I decided to take a few risks and jump into this life with both feet and a whole lot of love and faith! Through this blog, I hope to build my business, cultivate new friendships, and make a real difference in this big, crazy word, all while letting those most precious to me know how much I love them.
I've always loved being around beautiful things. Some of my earliest memories are digging through my Grandma Sadie's (lot's more about her later...that's her picture at the top of this blog) jewelry box while she let me wear one of her old red cocktail dresses. One swish of that box-pleated skirt and I knew taffeta was for me! Although none of my family had a whole lot of money, I always knew that there was a whole world of beauty, and music, and books,and...and...and...that could take me somewhere else in my little daydreaming mind.
Afterwords, in my grown up life of dressing our towns wealthiest ladies, pageant winners, and more brides than I care to count, I realized how important creating beauty for others was to me.
I saw how the smallest detail could change how a person thought about themselves and take them to another place, just like it did for me as a child. Unfortunately, sometimes I was so busy trying to create those places for them, I was cheating myself of those moments.
Fast forward again to about three years ago when the love of my life somehow reappeared after 28 years (lot's more on that later, too) and job losses forced me to ask myself how I really wanted to live. I knew that creating bits of lovliness in our daily lives not only brings joy to others, but I knew it could also be a way to eke out a living! Could it be that I could do the things I love and pay the bills? Well, ok, sometimes that last part about the bills is still questionable, but I'm having the time of my life!
Just a few things about the products we sell...almost everything is made by us, repurposed, recyled or just "glammed" up. We hope you visit our Etsy store, and we will keep you posted on all upcoming shows we participate in. Please feel free to leave comments or email me with questions or anything you'd like to share. I look forward to hearing from you all!
I beleive every life is a novel waiting to be written and I hope you'll enjoy reading mine.