The White Rabbit

Atlanta Market Trip January 2012

2012-01-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

Customers always get so excited when I post pictures from inside market so I made sure to take some photos with my phone while we were there. The major home and gift markets happen in January and July and our favorite is in Atlanta. We've been to Dallas, Chicago, and Kansas City too but they just don't seem to have as many vendors as Atlanta.
Our trip started with a long line for cabs at the airport!

When you arrive at market, you have to register and get a badge because only people who own or buy for stores can be in the buildings.

You have to plan really, really well at market because it is 3 buildings and 6 million square feet! There are hundreds of vendors that sell everything from rugs to candles to furniture to jewelry. You can't take anything with you (except in a special cash and carry section) because the purpose of market is to order for future seasons. We order all of our Christmas in January and Spring in July.

The permanent showrooms are kind of set up like a store. You go around with a sales rep and tell them what you want and how many to ship. Then you give them a shipping date. Here are pics of a very garden, farmhouse inspired showroom called Park Hill.

We ordered the mirror below and some of the boxwood wreaths. The lamps were too expensive.

We ordered this cool clothing rack. It was super expensive but it will be a great display!! It's an investment or at least that's what we told ourselves as we were ordering it...

We also got a couple of these dress form lamps.

This showroom also had a section of holiday things. Very natural and pretty!

We found several good lamps in some of the showrooms. Here are a few that we ordered.

The chandelier above is a mini version of one we've had before.

Some of the permanent showrooms do really cool and interesting things with their displays. This one caught my eye. It's a bunch of chandelier ceiling covers made into a lighting feature behind their counter. I need to post this on our Pinterest page!

Another permanent showroom had silly things displayed around their merchandise like this fuzzy chair. Emily decided to stop and give the rooster a kiss!

Our favorite showroom is Creative Co-Op. They just always seem to have lots of things that we love. It's always crowded too! Here are some photos inside.

We ordered the table above even though it was a little pricey. When you see it in person though, the colors and the finish are so nice looking that we thought it was worth the price.

Got some great curtain panels.

Ordered this cute clock on a stand.

We tried on some silly holiday headbands.

We ordered the New York and Chicago versions of this wall canvas map.

We ordered this tree to hang jewerly from.

We had this burlap ribbon and people kept asking to buy it so we ordered more.

Another favorite permanent room has mostly holiday items. They do a great job of displaying them with vintage things!

This place has some of the coolest Halloween stuff I've seen!

In the Bethany Lowe showroom, we decided to do a whole paper theme for our Christmas display in 2012 that will be similar to this look. We found things in other companies that go with the theme too!

The garland above was designed by Wendy Addison and will go perfectly with the paper theme!

In the temporary areas, we found two new lines of candles and lotions. Aren't they cute?!

This is what the temporary booth areas look like.

These are usually smaller companies that only set up during the week of market. I didn't get any more pictures because they're really strict about photos.

Market was a lot of work and a lot of fun. We're excited to be back so we can start getting deliveries of some of the things we ordered for right now! I'll post pics on Facebook of new stuff as it comes in so keep checking back! See ya!

An Essay For My Mom-by Lindsay

2011-10-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

    About two years ago, one of our wholesale vendors announced an essay contest. The requirements were simply to describe why you should win $1,000 of their merchandise and a day of the owners of the company setting up a display in your store.

    My first thoughts upon reading about the contest were that I'd never win. I was sure there would be hundreds of entries and mine wouldn't even be read. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that we have an incredible story. We have been through a lot to get to where we are now and I felt that if anything, for my mom, I needed to put our journey on paper. I needed to write our story, not just for the contest but for us.
    This was my entry:
______________________________________________________________________
Certain lucky people find one true passion in life that drives them in everything they do. My mom, Angie, has always had a passion for hunting for the unusual, mixing old and new in her decorating, and making the spaces around her feel warm and comfortable. She has focused this passion into a store that means absolutely everything to her. For this reason, 2008 was the toughest year of her life and one that left me feeling completely helpless to make it better for her.

    In April of last year, a routine mammogram revealed that my mom had ductal carcinoma in her right breast. I remember sitting with her in the office looking directly into the face of our doctor as the words came out of her mouth. It didn't feel real. I was devastated and panicked but my mom was angry. The first thing she said to the doctor was, "Well, I don't have time for this. I own a store!"

   Despite her hesitation to leave the store for a while, she was immediately thrust into a painful mastectomy and later, a reconstruction that was done incorrectly and subsequently re-reconstructed, causing much physical discomfort and lots of time away from her dreams at our shop. I was working as much as I could to hold things together for her, but in reality, there just wasn't much I could do. I came home from the store every night to find her lying in bed covered in decorating magazines and books, drawing ideas, and talking about getting back to work. She got better and better each day, and finally, when the time had almost come for her to get back to her life and the store she loved, it happened...

    On Sunday morning, September 15th, we received a frantic call from our landlord. It had been raining all night from the storms that came with hurricane Ike. A creek near our store had been completely overwhelmed and had flooded the entire neighborhood.    We didn't even know there was a creek anywhere near our store. We had never even heard of that area flooding in the past. Our landlord didn't know whether our store had been affected, but he wanted us to go see what had happened.

    My mom insisted that she ride with my dad and me to see the devastation despite the fact that she still had drains form surgery. We thought, maybe it's just a couple of inches. Maybe the water didn't come up far enough to do any damage. It couldn't have.

    I will never forget the sight that came upon us after reaching the top of the hill that overlooked our store. The area was filled with police and fire trucks. The street was closed because the water was so high that it was impassible. People were being rescued by boat out of the building next to ours.

After explaining several times to officers that we owned a store on the street, we made our way on foot to the front of our building. It was there that we stood, silent and motionless for a very long time, literally watching mud and debris flowing out of our once beautiful home away from home. My mom started to cry and I realized that she hadn't cried once throughout her diagnosis or treatments. Standing there, seeing all of our vintage furniture knocked over from the force of the water and all of our little display items floating in brown, smelly floodwater was just too much for her. She was grieving the loss of so many things in that moment and my dad and I felt completely helpless.

    We spent several weeks cleaning up the mess that was left behind, documenting the damages, and worrying about all the money we would owe. We had gotten our holiday merchandise on terms from our vendors which means that you pay for it after you've sold it. Unfortunately, our storage shelving had all collapsed into the water and destroyed every last piece of it. We were given temporary hope when FEMA declared the site a national disaster area, but quickly found out that the only aid we'd be offered was a loan requiring my parent's house as collateral.

    My mom and I have come a long way since that September morning. We have moved into a new building and are still slowly recovering from the devastating financial and emotional impact of last year. Our customers are thrilled that we didn't give up after cancer and a flood and they couldn't be more supportive. We have been so lucky that our new location is working out and we are busier than ever. Best of all though, my mom is healthy and cancer free.

    After everything that she has been through, I think my mom deserves to win this contest because she has been so determined to keep doing what she loves. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she has picked right up where she left off. Two thousand eight was a tough year for her and although I felt helpless throughout her struggles, I want to do everything I can to make 2009 a new start for her. She loves the vintage, natural look of Park Hill's collection and absolutely raved about the showroom in Atlanta. It would be so wonderful to win this opportunity for her because it would be a way for me to start her new year with some good news and give her a little help in getting back to doing what she loves and was absolutely meant to do.
____________________________________________________________________________

    I got a call from the owner of the company that was holding the contest the next day. He told me, while getting choked up on his words, that they were coming to St. Louis. He said that he completely related to the passion that my mom has for all things vintage and cannot imagine being taken away from what he was meant to do for any amount of time.
    I will never forget being able to tell my mom that I'd won an essay contest on behalf of her. I know it was just a contest, but for us, it really did represent a new start. It all seems like a blur now, but every once in a while, I get to reminisce about the time we were visited by the sweetest owners of one of our wholesale companies and given a whole display of their amazing merchandise. It really was a wonderful start to 2009.

July Buying Trip to the Atlanta Mart Part 3

2011-07-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize that these blogs about Atlanta aren't very orgazized. I took about 150 photos and can't remember what happened in what order. It was all such a blur! Below is some jewelry we got in the cash and carry building.

Another jewelry booth where we had to stop was Jill Schwartz. Her stuff is sooooo cool and we ordere some to sell for Christmas. Below is her setup which was so quirky and fun and vintage.

We also got to meet her! She wrote up our order and helped us pick out some great pieces.

Us with the one and only Jill Schwartz!!!

And as if we weren't already excited about meeting one of our favorite artists, we were shocked to see Wendy Addison standing in the Tinsel Trading area. Yipee, we've been ordering her glass glitter and paper goodies for years now and finally got to meet her!

Did you know that she's from Missouri? She was very sweet and we placed an order for some of her creations.

Next, we got a couple of wrappy style bracelets. These are really popular right now. Expect to see lots of them!

I want to copy the banner idea below. They literally took some string, cut out triangles from old paper, and folded the edge over and stapled it. Easy!!!

some handmade frames we ordered

Not all of market is work. There are lots of parties, coctails,and celebrations going on.

A lot of showrooms have beer, soda and wine sitting out. We hardly paid for any food either because there were so many snacks and desserts out.

Some of the showrooms have some "interesting" merchandise...

Can't wait to steal this idea and wrap ribbon around old suitcases.

This pic below is what the aisles in the "high design" temporaries look like. This is where Cody Foster and Jill Schwartz are set up.

One evening, we went to Jalapeno Charlie's and sat on the patio upstairs. The street that the mart is on is very busy and we had a great time people watching.

One of the showrooms is set up like a cute little candy store. They put the merchandise in cases that would normally have cakes and pies and the walls are pink. It's so cute!

That's most of my pictures. I hope they give you an idea what it's like to go to market. People are always so interested in what goes on in this magical place! It was a lot of work, but we ordered the coolest stuff. I think this is the most excited we've been about what we ordered in a long time. It will come in at all different times but if you want to know when anything specific is coming, just give me a call or email! Thanks for reading! -Lindsay

July Buying Trip to the Atlanta Mart Part 2

2011-07-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm back to uploading photos. I don't know why but it seems like the blog doesn't like my IPhone. Also, I had to let the Fedex guy into the back door so he could deliver CHRISTMAS merchandise. Can you believe it?! We already have shelves full in the basement that are tagged and ready to go.

Anyway, back to our trip! So, every night, we sat and planned our next day. You have to be really organized and know what you're doing at market. We like to go to dinner and figure out our plan of attack at the end of each day. Here's my mom studying the guide.

On day 2, we had an appointment in the Midwest/CBK showroom (you might have heard them called Seasons of Cannon Falls) They had some cool displays and we got some fun cake stands and chandeliers.

Next, we headed over to one of our pillow vendors and picked out some fun designs. We literally pulled them off of shelves and made a pile of what we liked. The rep thought we were crazy I bet!

We just happened by a place with this pearl chandelier and had to have it!!! In my mom's words, it's "stinkin' cute!"

Another place had these fun velvet and paper banners that say, "wish", "dream" and "love" They also had these party hats and wings.

Made of wood and hangs on the wall. Aren't they cool?

We came across a cool line of jewelry made with old parts and it has lots of fleur de lis and crosses. We had a specific customer in mind for a lot of it. Isn't it fabulous? I made my mom put it on so we could get a good picture.

One of the days, (theyre all mixed up in my head now) we spent in the area called "Children's World" We found a fabulous new line of baby blankets and bibs

Can you believe how cute the patterns are? They're so soft!

We thought this set would be a great Christening gift

Next, we placed an order for some diaper bags that we think are to-die-for. They're really expensive (Like in the $300 range) but so amazing! My mom said she would have had 7 kids just to justify getting it.

We've been looking for cute gifty items for baby and found these little gift crates. They come with a book, a teether, a finger puppet and little cloth. You can read the book and use the finger puppet to make it come to life. I think these will be $39.

Then we found some super soft swaddling blankets. They also make a great gift!

Ok so I'm getting tired again. I'll have to take a rest and do a part 3 of this blog!

July Buying Trip to the Atlanta Mart Part 1

2011-07-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Every January and July, we go on buying trips to order our new accessories and gift items for the store. The marts we go to are only for people with stores and you have to wear a badge at all times to get in. We just got back from Atlanta and wanted to share our pictures form the adventure. We usually bring a team of friends or employees, but this time, it was just my mom and I (Lindsay).

Angie in the Bethany Lowe Showroom

We spent 6 days in Atlanta where there are 3 huge buildings full of showrooms. Some of the showrooms have cool, vintage inspired decor, some are ultra modern, some have only lamps, some are always there and some are only there twice a year for the big markets. There is so much to see that we didn't see everything in 6 ten hour days!

Bethany Lowe Spring 2012 Collections.

Every showroom has a minimum order amount. Most are between $500 and $1,000 and you have to make sure that you see enough things to be able to meet the minimum.

Got these cute paper hangers for next spring.

We have so many customers that get excited about this designer, Leesa Daley's, pieces. This is the Spring 2012 collection

Here's Angie making decisions. Every item has minimum quantities so sometimes, we really want to order something, but you have to get like 24 of them and we have to pass on it. It's so hard!!!

Every showroom has reps that take orders and they get commission based on how much you spend. You can usually ask them what has been selling really well, what kind of special deals are being offered, and get their opinion about what to choose.

Ordered great garden inspired things for next Spring.

We saw a ton of hearts at market. Is that going to be a new trend??

Below are pictures from one of our favorite showrooms ever. They always have great things at affordable prices. We ordered $8,000 in goodies here!

Ordered this cool jar and then saw it in another showroom for twice the price. Whew! Lucky us!

Got one of these cabinets with the clock.

We got some of these cool rugs with script and old looking maps on them. Ordered lots of chandeliers, picture frames, mirrors, mercury glass, and lots more. It took us about two hours to get through this showroom.

After this huge order, we headed down the hall to Peacock Park, a fun vintage, french wholesaler.

Look how cool their window was!

I can't even begin to describe how confusing this place is if you haven't been here before.

This is what the hallways look like in the permanent showroom areas.

Ordered some awesome paperweights for Christmas gifts. I really liked the peacock one.

Some of the showrooms do such a good job of luring you in with cool displays in the entrance! We just had to go in after seeing this mossy elephant.

We were glad we did go in because they had great chandeliers!

Getting a little frustrated with how slow my photos are loading so I'll post part 2 soon...

My Trip to the Texas Flea Markets

2011-04-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing for years about the annual flea market and antique show in Texas. I've always wanted to go, but the opportunity never really presented itself until a few months ago when a sweet customer of ours offered us a place to stay during the show. It was an offer I couldn't refuse and before I knew it, I had a person to drive with and I was ready to go.

My friend Tracie and I left early Friday morning in the sleet, snow, and cold. We were Texas bound and wondered what kind of trip we might have with the roads so slushy. But, after a short time on the road the skies cleared and the temperature warmed up. You might say we were a bit excited to get to Texas and planned to drive the 800 miles in one day.

We saw the coolest giraffe statue in Oklahoma.

We reached our destination about 10 pm. It was just light enough we could make out hundreds of tents and tons of antiques and junk for as far as we could see. We both squeeled with delight! We saw old doors, iron beds, dressers, tables, chandeliers, etc. just sitting next to the road for buyers.

The ladies we were staying with had to meet us in town to take us to the farm that we would call home for the next week. It was very dark and we really did not know where we were going or what the house looked like until the next morning. The house was clean with one bedroom and one bath, a kitchen and a family room with a sofa bed that Tracie and I shared. But for $30/night we didn't complain. It is difficult to get a place to stay for the flea market and we were very close to the road that held all of the vendors.

This is the little ranch where we stayed.

When I went outside the 1st morning I noticed it was really warm! I loved it. I also noticed we were really staying on an actual farm with cows, and a pig, and pastures. It was really fun to wake up to the sound of the mooing and oinking.

This guy was not happy we were looking at him and he started butting the wire fence with his "long horns".

So now that we see where we are staying, we are on our way to town. We would be seeing the tents for the first time in the daylight. With a short trip to town we are in Warrenton, Texas where lots of dealers have set up to sell anything and everything!

These tents go on and on literally for miles!

I love my shopping cart!!

Sweet Pea Bedding! Such beautiful bedding and great displays. Very high end but so fine. I would love to carry her line but she does not allow for enough markup for a small store like mine.

I also love Carolyn Westbrook who had a fun small 2 room cottage full of her lucious ruffled bedding and decor. If you have not purchased her book- "The French Inspired Home" you must buy it NOW!! You will not be disappointed!

You never know what you might see next!

During the week we spent in Texas there is a special show at Marburger Farm where the higher end designers set up to display their wares. The displays were fantastic and the prices very high! But we came away with so many ideas it was well worth the $20 early entrance fee.

One of my favorite looks was Robin Brown's from Magnolia Pearl. She has a line of clothing that is linen and ruffled and very romantic. Also very high end. Her displays are wonderful as seen here with the doves inside the wire dress. She had huge flowers made out of paper that were so fun.

We stopped for a break and had margaritas on the deck of a little cabin. Doesn't Tracie look happy? Notice the short sleeve tee? It was so nice and warm!!

Just getting started on describing the trip. I have lots more photos and I'll post them soon. To be continued....

-Angie

Our Photo Shoot With Lauri Baker

2011-02-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

So, I have to say that when you own a store, certain people over the years come into your life and make a big impact. It is one reason that we love owning The White Rabbit. One of those special people that we have met through the store is Lauri Baker, an artist, photographer, and all around good person.

Somehow, we were lucky enough to get to work with Lauri and set up a photo shoot with her. We met, right at sunset, in Forest Park and trekked through tall grass to find the perfect spot. We couldn't believe how pretty the park was at sunset. It was like seeing Forest Park for the first time. It was magical.

We didn't know what to expect or how the photos would turn out (I think everyone thinks they'll hate photos of themselves!), but I think they speak for themselves. Lauri Baker has a way of making the camera really "see" you, not as an image, but as a person.

I think this is my favorite!

This was just a funny moment, but we love how it turned out.

We cannot even begin to express how much we love these images. She actually made us look good, lol! If you want to check out Lauri's work, visit http://www.lauribakerphotography.com/

Talk to you soon,

-Angie and Lindsay

Our Trip to the Merchandise Mart in Atlanta

2011-01-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

We just got back from our annual January trip to Atlanta to order for Fall and Winter of 2011. We brought our employee, Emily Murphy Saksa, and our friend, Susan Medart who makes Knollwood Lane products for our store, to help us order. Our flight left at 6:30 a.m. and it was actually 2 days later than we had originally planned to leave because of the ice in Atlanta. The photos are on my IPhone so the quality isn't perfect, but bringing a huge camera just wasn't practical.

Angie and Susan on the plane. We were so tired at 6:30 a.m. but excited!

When we got to Atlanta, we dropped our luggage at the Twelve Hotel and took a cab straight to market.

Angie and Susan in the cab. We actually made friends with one driver and we called him every time we needed a ride.

When we actually got out on the roads, we realized just how unprepared Atlanta was for the ice storm they had just gotten. The streets were filled with things like sand and kitty litter. Nothing was plowed or salted. It was kind of a mess!

This is what the streets looked like!

The first thing we did was to go to our favorite showroom, Creative Co-Op. It was pretty crowded but we still got to work with our favorite rep, Harriet, and we met the owner and chatted with him for a while.

Angie looking at all the fun, french merchandise. It was really overwhelming!

Angie and Susan taking a rest on a sofa in the showroom.

We ordered the mirror in this picture.

After we ordered the "everyday" items in this showroom, we looked at some of their Christmas stuff.

Some vintage looking Christmas stuff we ordered in Creative Co-Op

On the same floor is another of our favorites, Peacock Park. I didn't get any good pictures because you're not allowed to take photos in most of the showrooms, but I snuck a few.

An overall picture of people shopping.

A cool dress form and some french stuff.

We visited a few more showrooms the first day and then went back to the hotel and got room service and made plans for the second day. We were all so exhausted from getting up at 4:40 to catch the plane so we went to bed really early.

The second day, we split into two groups so we could cover more ground. Emily and I went to lots of showrooms that were filled with Christmas and Halloween. The first was Bethany Lowe, one of our favorites.

A shelf of Halloween at Bethany Lowe.

We ordered some cute headbands and hats for Halloween.

I asked Emily to model one of the headbands and she struck a pose.

I tried on a skull hat.

We ordered some cute, vintage looking things like the pumpkin lantern below.

This lantern comes with a light inside.

The Bethany Lowe Christmas area. We ordered lots of glittery, amazing stuff designed by our favorite designers. It was really fun to see all the 2011 designs.

The next showroom was ESC. We get most of our cute bunnies, snowmen, and angels from ESC.

Some fun snowmen and a burlap banner we ordered.

A bunny snowman

A display in the showroom that had lots of queens and angels.

A queen I ordered for Christmas.

Some more fun snowmen I ordered

A fun glittery sleigh that says, "Winter Magic"

After Emily and I ordered at ESC, we went to Midwest/Seasons of Cannon Falls to get our Wendy Addison goodies and other designers. I didn't take a lot of pictures because it was unbelievably busy and really overwhelming.

We're having an aqua themed Christmas section for 2011 and got a lot of it here.

A Wendy Addison display. My mom wanted the burlap chair but it wasn't for sale.

The second day was coming to an end, but we had one more showroom. This is the place where we get our belsnickle santas.

We also ordered the cutest Halloween stuff including the tablecover below and the lace covered pumpkin sitting on it.

It comes with the black tulle attached! So cute!

A fun standup raven that has a note that says, "Nevermore"

At the end of the second day, we had dinner in the lobby of our hotel. Emily ordered a bleu cheese olive martini and was disappointed to find that instead of stuffing the whole olive, the just put the cheese in the opening of the olive.

A sad martini.

We shared desserts and scraped the plates clean...

A molten chocolate cake we devoured.

After a couple of cocktails, we all went up to the room and got plenty of sleep so we could have the energy for another 10 hour day of ordering.

Day three was probably my favorite day because we got to meet Cody Foster!!! He's been one of our favorite designers for a long time. Remember the cool, mercury glass whale ornaments we had this past year? And the really elaborate paperpulp houses? He designed those! Here's a picture of me and my mom with Cody Foster.

We felt like we were meeting a celebrity!

After placing a huge order in Cody Foster's showroom, we looked around at other booths in the High Design section. Here's a picture of the aisles.

Another thing we found in the high design area was Jill Schwartz jewerly. We've had a few of her pieces before and they sold, so we decided to re-order. Here are a few examples of her work.

After ordering the cool jewelry, we witnessed something really strange...suddenly a band started playing and weird people started dancing. I snapped a few pictures but still have no idea who they were or why they suddenly started playing. It's so strange!

They had weird costumes and puppets!

They were marching so it got a little blurry.

The band was really loud, so we moved on to other showrooms. I didn't get any more pictures that day. I kept forgetting to take them because we were so excited about the things we were ordering!

Day four included a couple of places with cool french furniture and accessories.

This is the showroom where we get our cool canvas bags. We re-ordered all sized of them.

We ordered mercury glass here and those cool panels hanging in the background.

Here are pics from Blue Ocean Traders, a place with old items that can be ordered.

You can see Susan in the background looking around.

A fantastic chair with a burlap back.

We had been looking for a good place for pillows that were reasonably priced the whole market, and finally found them! Below are some examples of the pillows we got. We felt really bad for the rep in the showroom because we kept throwing pillows around and changing our minds.

Some of the pillows we ordered.

This is my very favorite picture from the trip!

Our last stop for the day was K&K where we got some great holiday goodies.

A cool striped wall.

A tree that was all done up for Christmas.

Halloween wall decor

The fourth day was really productive and with only one left, we had some margaritas at a Mexican restaurant and called it a night.

The last day of market was a lot of fun! We got to hang out in the cash and carry section. There were strict rules against taking pictures here so I only got a photo afterwards of some of the rings we got.

Our very last stop was in the booth of Glenda Gies handbags. I have wanted a Glenda Gies bag for years now and we finally ordered some. They're not inexpensive but they're soooo special that we thought maybe we'd carry a couple and see how people respond to them. And if they don't sell, we can always take them home! :)

I didn't get any photos there, but found some online to give examples.

One of my favorite bags ever!

I'm pretty sure we ordered this exact bag.

Overall, this was a great buying trip for The White Rabbit. We can't wait for our customers to see the great stuff we ordered. It will be coming in gradually. It's so hard to wait for all of it, but we have to follow the budget! I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip. Please come in and see the new stuff because some of it will be in the store soon!

Getting ready for market in Atlanta

2011-01-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

To market, to market we go!!! We can not even begin to explain how excited we are for market this year. We have never been more experienced, more confidant, more organized, or more ready for our buying trip.

For those of you not familiar with market, just imagine several huge buildings filled with showrooms that contain everything you could possibly order for a store. Everyone who owns a store (a store that carries "new" inventory anyway) goes to one of a few of these to order products. We have been to Dallas, Atlanta, Kansas City, and Chicago and have found Atlanta to be the best in terms of selection. There are 6 million square feet of showrooms. Some are boring and cheesy and some are the most glorious experience ever!

What we do at market, basically, is that we look at all the merchandise that will be available for 2011 and some of 2012 and tell the sales reps what we would like to order. We have to decide things like whether to get 6 of the cute lamps we like or 24 and get a lower price. It's really hard! Then we tell the sales rep when we would like the merchandise shipped to our store. It's really frustrating because you want everything all at once because you're so excited about it, but have to spread out your ship dates to keep the budget in check. Lindsay is in charge of the budget....always...

The reason we are so prepared this year is that we have made "mood boards" that tell us what we want for different sections of the store. I think we got the idea from one of the fashion reality shows. We watch waaaaay too much of those shows! We basically started by cutting out pictures of things in magazines (and I mean we have hundreds of magazines) that we love. Then we looked through them and tried to find common themes between some of the images. It became clear that while everything was sort of vintage inspired, some of the things we liked were really "cottag-ey" and others were more "French-ey" and others more "european Rustic-ey". We separated the different areas and took a really fun trip to Anatols in Brentwood to look for fabric that could go with each section. I gathered a few paint sample cards and voila! a mood board was born.

The cottage area will have blues and greens and creams. It will have starfish and shells and an overall casual feel. This area is fun and bright with clean lines. Nothing sophisticated or "rich" looking. Just a casual, no-fuss, family feeling.

Here's the Glamorous area below. This is Lindsay's creation. She wants a little more drama in the store. This area is all about velvet, silk, pattern and gold, gold, gold. Not yucky, shiny gold; the good kind of gold that looks old and rich. We're going to experiment with some sheer gold washes on painted furniture too like the blue cabinet pictured below. Ooh can't wait!

Below is the area we like to describe as Rustic European. It will have tan linen, burlap, faded writing details, old suitcases, branches, watch faces, and darker colors in general. Angie has always kind of had an affinity toward things that look like they're falling apart and those things fit right in with this look.

Above is an area really similar to the Rustic European area but a little more clean lined. We will probably mix these two looks because they're not much different.

Below is the feminine area. This has more traditional shabby chic elements to it. It will have cream linen, white denim, floral fabrics and lots of white, cream, pink, and aqua. The furniture is the white, shabby type that we have always offered.

Each of these boards is about 3 feet by 2 feet so we've just taken pictures of them with our iphones (The photos shown are actually taken with an iphone) so that while we're ordering, we can reference them. This way, we won't end up with a bunch of merchandise that doesn't fit into any area of the store.

I hope you enjoyed peeking at our mood boards! I will take pictures during market and blog about it when we get back. See you soon!

Filming for Great Day Saint Louis

2011-01-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

So exciting! This is Lindsay here telling everybody about our fun day. We were lucky enough to be asked to do a spot for Great Day St. Louis and we filmed it today. I can't be on camera because I stutter and sweat and sound like an idiot, so I volunteered my mom (Angie) to do a demonstration on camera. Tee hee, sorry mom!

Great Day suggested that we show how to use chalkboard paint to make a framed chalkboard. My mom prepared yesterday by painting a frame and cutting boards to paint today. We gathered brads and a tack hammer to show how to put the board into the frame and set up a little area in the store to film.

Today at about 2:00, they put a microphone on my mom and she painted and talked like a pro. I couldn't believe how natural she sounded. She did such a good job! They filmed her painting a small table too.

Here are our supplies and the frames we painted.

Here's Angie holding up the chalkboard paint.

This is my favorite picture. None of the pics turned out very clear or bright but her pose is really cute and her chalkboard says, "The White Rabbit."

The camera man looks like he is doing something really important too.

The camera man is giving a big smile!

Here is Angie talking about priming the table so the paint will stick.

We had so much fun doing this segment and we hope lots of people will watch it! They haven't let us know when it will air yet, but they're thinking about a week from now. I will post the day as soon as I know it. -Lindsay

Setting Up For Christmas 2010

2010-11-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's super early, but we've been very busy decorating for Christmas. This year, we decided on a few themed areas including the "Snowy White" area, the "French Christmas" area, the "Silver, Glitzy" area, the "I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas" area, and the "Retro Christmas" area. We've been having a hard time getting each area to look complete because a lot of the wholesalers didn't have the majority of their inventory available. Has anyone else noticed this problem? It's like everything we order is backordered and not available for months. We had a diagram all drawn up with our plans and had to figure everything out all over again. Ah well, just another day at the Rabbit. :)

The traditional, more natural area above has pine garland that you would swear is real. I've even seen customers smell it to see if it's real. I giggle a little to myself each time. :)

The area above is our White Christmas area. It's the first one we put together. My mom, Aimee, Emily and I stayed late one evening and climbed around in the window giggling and hanging lights and garland and trying to figure out how to put together that darn vintage tree. Each branch has to be hooked into the center and we couldn't figure out what went where. We learned that Emily is an obsessive fluffer and the branches and ornaments have to be spaced just right or she's not happy! We also discovered that some stuffing we use for cushions works perfectly as fake snow in the window. It was a fun evening and Aimees husband even brought us funnel cake from the carnival down the street.

Above is the silver area. Isn't the flocked tree gorgeous??? We found it in Atlanta and spent more on it than we would normally spend for a wholesale tree but it is just wonderful. They flocked it in clumps like real snow. We put it on top of a coffee table to make it as tall as the ceiling. It gives it a little more drama. Also, we didn't have a good tree topper so I hung a Wendy Addison glass gliter chandelier above it to look like a star. We also wrapped some fake presents in old typing paper to make it more cheery.

This is the pink area (above) Emily spent a lot of time making this area near the baby section her own. It's hard to see in the photo, but she put a garland on the tree and then wrapped tulle around it to give it more depth. It looks so cute. We hung a pink chandelier in the window and put a chippy, pink glider in front. We also had a small vintage pink door that is displaying some items. Lots of people have commented on Emily's garland creation above the large cabinet in the baby area. She clipped birds and hung little pink chandelier ornaments from it. It's fabulous.

See the big santa in the back? He was my grandma's and every time I see him, I think of her and how magical she made our Christmas every year. We miss her a lot, especially during the holidays because my grandma pretty much made everything special, from the cooking to the decorating.

We made our beachy area look festive this year too! Above, we hung an old locker basket and put a little lighted house in it and a starfish ornament hanging from it. It's really fun to mix old and new.

This tree was my creation. It has ornaments made of shells, mermaids, ornaments filled with sand, and blue ribbon. It looked a little sparse so I bunched up some blue tissue paper and made little rosettes sticking out of the sides. I also wrapped little fake presents and put them underneath. This was a fun area to create.

Still to come is the retro area. We didn't have enough room for it because our Halloween area took up so much room. It's going to be a silly 60's area with felted deer and plastic garland and handmade ornaments. Can't wait.

Next blog will be all about the little things, especially gifts!

New for Christmas

2010-10-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

These are some photos of items that we have for Christmas! The store is full right now! Enjoy!

Angel box

Angel

Santa by Nicole Sayre

Snowman

Christmas pennant garland

Pink clip on bird ornament

Pink Christmas cottage

pink bottlebrush trees

Reindeer longalls for the baby boy area

Reindeer jumper for the baby area

Silhouette ornaments

White deer

Fun key ornaments!

Dome Ornament

A poodle box from Cody Foster

Finger Puppets from Sweden

Thanks for looking! I'll post some pics from setting the store up for Christmas soon!

Our Trip to the Atlanta Mart

2010-07-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

We're back! My mom and I just got back from the Merchandise Mart in Atlanta. We brought our friend Susan and my boyfriend, Chris, to help us make decisions about what to order for this year's holiday gift items, next year's spring and Valentine's Day merchandise, and of course to look for new lines to carry.

Here's a picture of my mom and Susan waiting for the shuttle in the airport parking lot. Notice my mom's new animal print luggage. She was so excited about it!

This was taken at like 5:30 am

Our plane ride was nice and smooth. It left right on time and as my mom always describes the excitement, we had a "tickle" in our tummies. See how happy she looks?

Sipping a smoothie

After dropping our luggage at our hotel, The Twelve (which ended up being really nice, except for the lack of service and the condom wrapper we found on our floor), we went straight to the mart. I headed with my boyfriend for the permanent decor showrooms while my mom and Susan went to the gift building.

First, I visited one of my favorite showrooms, KD Vintage. I ordered a fabulous collection of beach themed Christmas items. (Most of our Christmas was ordered in January, but I added a few must-haves)

This is a picture of the overall showroom: Looks fun right? Don't worry, I ordered a lot!

They use vintage furniture to display just like us!

Next, it was off to another favorite permanent showroom, Bethany Lowe. To my delight, Bethany herself took my order. She was really sweet and her daughter was helping out too. I am kicking myself for not asking for a picture of her. What was I thinking? Here's her showroom:

The entrance to Bethany Lowe Designs

A spring Display

After placing the Valentine's Day 2011 and Spring 2011 orders, we headed to ESC for more vintage inspired goodies. The showroom isn't quite as creative as some of the others, but the products are wonderful and the prices are even better.

The entrance to ESC

SPRING!

Here are some little princesses I ordered for the baby area of our store. They have little crowns and signs with glass glitter. I think they will be great gifts.

Princesses

I ordered Valentine's Day here too. Last year, our V-Day selection was disappointing, so I made special effort this year to get the good stuff.

Valentine's at ESC

Bunnies galore

Several showrooms and hours later, the market was closing and we met up with my mom and Susan and went back to the hotel. We spent the evening planning our second day and talking excitedly about all the things we'd found and ordered. I spent a lot of time entering orders into my budget and calculating cash flow so we would know what could ship and when for our new orders. The view from our hotel was spectacular.

View from the Twelve Hotel

The next morning, we all focused more on gift items in the permanent showrooms. I found a new line of french soaps that were reasonably priced that could easily be picked up for a little gift.

New french soaps

The four of us met up and came across some huge chocolate bars in beautiful, vintage packaging that we HAD to have for the store. Some say Happy Birthday, some will be for Halloween, some Christmas. Cute huh?

Chocolate bars coming in September

My mom and Susan found these glitter chandelier silhouettes that actually light up and hang from the ceiling for the kids section of the store. They were really reasonable too. I think they will be around $85. We got them in pink, white, and aqua.

See the light in the center? I would have loved one of these as a little girl.

One of the gift items for the holidays were these cute, vintage packaged "Grow Your Own" kits. We got the Chrsitmas tree, Amaryllis, peppermint, and Lavender kits. Here's what the packages look like:

Little kits would make a fun gift

We spent the rest of the day ordering many new things including lots of jewelry. My boyfriend was such a good sport! He didn't complain the entire time even though he really wasn't interested! He's a keeper!

Chris, my patient boyfriend and me in front of a showroom.

By the end of the second day, we were exhausted. However, the real excitement started on the third day when the temporaries opened, so we got a little boost. Just to give you an idea, here's the view from the top of the building.

See the clear glass elevators on the right?

Here's the view from inside the glass elevator:

There are a lot of floors filled with booths

We were too overwhelmed to take any more pictures of the temporary booths. The reps are literally trying to get you to stop in their booth and yelling out to you or demonstrating products. It's fun but stressful. We ordered lots of jewelry and a few baby things in this area.

On the last day of our trip, we made our way to the cash and carry section. This is where, instead of writing orders, you can grab what you want and take it with you. It was crazy! People get really pushy and desperate when they think someone else is going to grab what they want! We actually got yelled at for taking pictures but here are the ones we got.

People shopping in cash and carry

more people shopping

The booth where we spent the most time

A bracelet we grabbed

By the end of the last day, and after a delayed flight and broken down van, we were exhausted. However, I think it was our most productive trip to market ever and we had a lot of fun. It's the first time we've taken the time to document the trip, so we hope you've enjoyed reading about it. Now all we have to do is wait for everything that we ordered....

An Interview with Artist, Designer, and Mom, Susan Medart

2010-07-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

I've often remarked that The White Rabbit wouldn't be The White Rabbit without our favorite local designer, Susan Medart of Knollwood Lane. My mom and I have gotten to know this creative St. Louis native as a friend as well as business connection, and want our blog readers to get to know her too. We treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at Cardwells the other night while we interviewed her. I'm not going to lie; it was a great excuse to have a glass of wine and giggle for several hours, but we stuck to the task at hand and got some great answers to our questions

Susan's handmade notecards

LM-How did you get started creating handmade goods?

SM-I would literally wake up in the middle of the night with ideas of things I wanted to make. I started out making for friends and gradually began doing trunk shows with decoupaged goods. At the time, my kids were younger and it was taking too much time away from them, so I stopped doing the trunk shows and started looking for a store to carry my creations.

Handmade baby onesies

LM- Why did you pick The White Rabbit to carry Knollwood Lane?

SM- The second I walked in, I liked it. It had the vintage inspired look that would work perfectly with my vintage images. There was a bucket with an image in the baby section, and I looked at the price and thought, "I could make that cheaper for them." And that was the beginning.

Knollwood Lane hand towels

LM-How old are your kids now?

SM- My oldest, Griffin is 17, Mason is 15 and my daughter Hayden is 12. They're very supportive now that they're older.

New handmade jewelry by Susan

LM-Is your husband supportive of your business?

SM-He is a very patient person. We've been married 20 years and he still buys my ink, replaces my paper supply, and changes the light bulbs in my studio.

Adorable hair clips for little ones

LM-So how did you come up with the name Knollwood Lane?

SM- Knollwood Lodge is a peaceful, private, secluded lodge on a lake in Wisconsin that's been in my family for many years and it's on Knollwood Lane. It's a magical place full of antiques that inspires me.

Knollwood Lodge in Wisconsin

LM- What else inspires you?

SM- I love Country Living. Sometimes it's just an image that inspires me. I'll see something and think, what can I do with that? Sometimes a place can inspire me. Like, when I go to Florida, I want to make all kinds of beach inspired things.

LM- Do you have a favorite creation?

SM- I think my suitcases are my favorite. They are all of my favorite things: Simple, cute and old fashioned.

My favorite images are the brown puppy because I love dogs, the leaping lamb because it's sweet, and the Boston Terrier because it makes me laugh.

One of Susan's little suitcases

LM-My mom and I are a little obsessed with your workshop. Can you describe it for our readers?

SM-We put an addition on the house specifically for my workshop. It has a large table in the middle for messy creating and around the outside is the "stuff." I basically filled antique vases and found objects (from her travels in Wisconsin and The White Rabbit of course) with things like ribbon, paper, glitter and fabric scraps. There is also a computer filled with vintage images that I use on almost all of my art.

Here are some pictures of the workshop so you can see for yourself how fun it looks!

LM- What is your dream for the future of Knollwood Lane?

SM- I want to do it until it's a job.

We hope you stop in to see Susan's newest projects in the store soon! She brings her new creations to The White Rabbit almost weekly. She also loves custom orders and welcomes a challenge. We also plan to do a trunk show for Christmas, so stay tuned for the date! -Angie and Lindsay

Tried a New Painting Technique

2010-06-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I realize I can't take credit for this one. I actually saw this on the blog by the lady that designed our rabbit logo. Her name is Donna Courtney and her business is called The Decorated house. Here is her blog tutorial that I followed to make this mirror look like it's been oxidized.

I left more of the blue than she did because my mom liked it just how it was, but Donna brushed some silver and gold on the outside which looks great too. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out! -Lindsay

Gypsy Caravan: The Good, the Bad and the Sweaty

2010-06-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Every year we debate about setting up for Gypsy Caravan, a flea market in St. Louis. It's held annually on Memorial Day, rain or shine, and we decided to take the risk this year and get a booth. It's been a week since the event, and there were a lot of great things about it, and a lot of not so great things. Here's a breakdown of the reasons.

The Pros:

1. We got to see lots of awesome local artists and store owners.

Adonna and Jan from Old Barn Rescue Co. We sell their cool, handmade signs and windows in our store.

My mom, Angie, with Sue Lombardo, owner of Recycled Rose, a wonderful gardeny, vintage shop.

2. We had a lot of fun setting up a pretty booth

(Aimee and Susan trying to figure out where to keep our purses)

(T-Shirts designed by Susan from Knollwood Lane hung on our tent posts)

(I think Aimee is setting up jewelry)

(We put these wonderful teal chairs in the front of the booth. They both sold.)

(More Knollwood Lane onesies, totes, and towels)

3. We got to see lots of our favorite customers and meet some new ones.

(People shopping in our booth)

(We got pretty busy right around 9:00)

(There were 2 levels and as you can see, both were pretty packed)

4. We had fun joking around with each other

(My mom and Aimee setting up jewelry and probably laughing the entire time)

5. We got interviewed by Heidi Glaus on Channel 5-Watch the story. She was so nice and does a great job of making people feel comfortable on camera.

While the event was mostly fun, there were a couple of cons:

1. THE HEAT! It was so humid and sunny and our booth was on an asphalt parking lot. We were sweating like pigs all day!

(This is me, Lindsay, with a cold towel on my head and a snowcone, trying to cool off. Susan saved the day by bringing towels that had been in the freezer. I don't think I would have made it without them)

2. We were a little disappointed with the quality of the goods being sold. I know, it sounds kind of mean, but a lot of the booths were kinda junky or overpriced. Every year, people talk about how great Gypsy Caravan used to be when it was downtown and I think we have to agree.

Overall, we're glad we went, but not sure if we'll do it again. It's a lot of work!

Have any stories from Gypsy Caravan? Please leave a comment and share your experiences!

Out Junking All Weekend

2010-05-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

My mom and I agree that the best thing about summer is the never ending amount of garage sales, estate sales, and flea markets. This weekend was no exception. Along with the warm weather came lots of opportunities for finding goodies. We really get a thrill out of hunting for anything chippy and worn. We can spot a dresser with a bad finish and good "bones" from a mile away and we seem to have a radar that detects old, ornate frames that can be painted. I have actually seen my mom run past people toward something she's spotted ahead. Here are a few of the fun finds her and I wrestled out of other shoppers' hands this weekend.

We aren't 100% sure what this cool machine is, but I overheard a lady saying she thought it was used for calculating payroll. When you press any of the buttons, the total at the bottom changes. I tend to be more fascinated by this type of item than my mom. I like old buttons and labels and I'm really attracted to black and white vintage things. I would put this in my house as a piece of art, just because it's neat.

This is an old garden statue of a girl holding her skirt. It has the original paint and she is perfectly weathered and worn. I thought she was the sweetest thing when I picked her up and I knew we had to have her for the store. I'm pretty sure she's concrete because she's pretty heavy. I put her in the baby section and she's holding one of our little barrette sets.

I think my favorite find of the weekend is a collection of over 200 old photos. I'm so intrigued by the clothes, the furniture, and the look of the people in the past.

Are you seeing what I'm seeing??? I couldn't believe it when I pulled this out of the pile. He has to be like 10 or 12 years old. It's so weird!

These two are just cute.

A fun old rocker with white paint and a little green showing through on the edges. It would be to-die-for on an old wrap around porch!

This little old table has a towel bar that slides out of the side. It has the original paint so it's perfectly shabby.

This headboard is going to be awesome once we paint it. Knowing us, it will probably be white.

Some fun vintage purses and a hand mirror. The blue bag says, "Made in Italy" inside.

A pink wire dress form. So cute!

This table had ugly 60's knobs and I replaced them with glass and gave it a whole new look.

This half table was already pink when we found it. Woo hoo!

Can't decide whether to do this one white or black. Hmmm....

This old box with drawers could be used in so many ways. I think I'll have to paint it because the yucky stuff on the front isn't coming off. We use Windex to clean everything and it almost always works. (A little tip though, don't use the Powerized Windex because it has bleach in it and it will leave spots. Learned that one the hard way!)

Super cute baby booties, a lampshade with pink ribbon around it, and a baby image. Another lady had the round baby picture in her hand and I kept thinking, "put it down, put it down, put it down," and she did! I snatched it up right away for our baby section.

And last but not least:

I'm already collecting the charming retro Christmas goodies for a display I'm envisioning for Christmas. Yes, that's right, us retailers have to think about the holidays when everyone else is thinking about relaxing in the sun. It's really fun though because I think our customers are going to love it!

Well, those were just a few of our finds this weekend. There are more pieces of furniture that need to be painted like a coffee table on wheels, a gorgeous sofa table, and lots of mirrors and frames. Next weekend, we're setting up a booth at Gypsy Caravan, a huge flea market at The University of Missouri St. Louis. Maybe you can stop by and have your own junking weekend! See you there and pictures of the event will be posted soon after. Can't wait! -Lindsay

Christmas Sale in Progress!!

2009-12-18T16:31:00.000-08:00

All of our Christmas merchandise is 30% off this weekend.

We still have alot of really fun, beautiful decor and gifts available.

The sale will be December 19th & 20th (Saturday 10-5 & Sunday 11-4)

Hope to see you!!

OPEN HOUSE FUN

2009-12-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a fun weekend. It was great to see so many of our super customers and friends. Thanks so much for loving our store as much as we do. We went through a lot of champagne and cookies and 3 lucky customers won some prizes in our drawing.
We go to the Atlanta Market in January to buy merchandise for the year. We will update you with the trends in decorating for 2010. We don't always follow trends, but sometimes we can incorporate them in a small way to stay fresh.
We have been so blessed to have several local designers keep our store full of their unique items. Susan Medart, Knollwood Lane, keeps us supplied with her "Vintage Inspired" baby onesies, tees, and suitcases, plus aprons, cards, and ladies tees, all with a sense of humor Susan supplies. Diane Martin, Diane Martin Designs, is responsible for her fantastic frames with large bows which coordinate with beautiful papers she uses on the front of the frames. Jan and Adonna, Old Barn Rescue, create fun art from old door panels, windows, hardware, etc. adding fun quotes or words on some of the pieces. Our newest addition, Phyllis Eckoff, Iron Wings, creates one of a kind jewelry using vintage watch parts, dominoes and other interesting finds.
We are also very pleased to have a new part time employee, Aimee Gronborg, who many of you have had a chance to meet. She works full time for Barnes-Jewish during the week and has a teenage daughter and 18 month old son that keep her very busy. We wish she could work at the shop every day!! She is very smart and funny and is one of the best employees we have had. She will only be at the shop on the weekends through the holidays. Did we mention she has a super, master carpenter husband, Martin? He has crafted the "cubbie" you will see filled with Knollwood Lane baby goodies, and headboards made out of old doors. Maybe our dream of The White Rabbit Cottage Furniture Collection will actually come true!
Stay tuned as we add pictures and links to the blog.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR OPEN HOUSE

DECEMBER 4TH-6TH

FRIDAY-SUNDAY 10-6

LOTS OF FOOD, DRINKS, FUN, & A SALE

15% OFF THE ENTIRE STORE

SNOWY SALE!!

2009-11-05T05:18:00.000-08:00

The White Rabbit will have a sale this weekend-

Friday-Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m, November 6th, 7th, & 8th.

20% Off Storewide

Get a start on your Christmas gift shopping & decorating for the holidays. We have a great selection of trees, ornaments, and decorative accessories including your favorites like: Bethany Lowe, Cody Foster, and K.D. Vintage. We have lots of fun jewelry and baby gifts too.

Hope to see you!!

Back From Atlanta

2009-07-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the Atlanta Mart, an exhausting week of walking for miles and miles to find great new merchandise for the shop. I wasn't going to go to market again until January, but when Jennifer from Dazzle Boutique called and asked me to share the drive and a room with her I could not resist. Besides, we could really use some gift items for Christmas to add to the mix. I found plenty of fun things I think customers will love, and Jennifer and I enjoyed our evenings looking at catalogs and sharing new companies we found.
One new vendor had the coolest shabby, french stuff. I ordered tons of things from her. Also ordered some new jewelry lines and some great handbags. Things should start arriving next week.
I ran into Debbie from The Curious Sofa in a showroom. I would love to see her shop in Kansas City someday, it looks like my favorite decorating styles.
Next weekend we're having a sale with Tiger Lily and Dazzle right next door to The White Rabbit. They are bringing loads of merchandise that will be reduced by as much as 75%. The sale will be Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 11-4. Don't miss it!

Welcome To Our New Blog

2009-06-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it has been 8 months since the flood in September and one year (June 10th) since my mastectomy. Time sure flies when you are trying to survive disasters.
I have been given an all clear from the breast cancer and the flood turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to my daughter & I. Our new store is 3500 sq ft and has room to grow. We have more parking and better visibility from the street. Some of our customers have decided they liked the old store better, but in time the new one should be more cozy and vintage feeling.
We were so lucky to have stumbled onto Sara Duckett, (Sadie Olive), who put together our awesome new website and blog. Donna Courtney, from The Decorated House, drew our new rabbit logo which is the same shape as the old rabbit, but has more charming detail. Both Sara and Donna are featured in the May/June/July 2009 issue of Artful Blogging.
Lindsay and I are planning to start a "Ladie's Night Out" shopping event. Stay tuned for the details coming soon. We are looking forward to seeing you all this summer. We will be bringing Daisy with us to the shop now that the new floors are down. (I should probably say a big "Thank You Honey!" to my husband, Brad, who installed our floor along with Lindsay. His knees are not good to begin with, but he did the job well.
Gotta go, dinner time!