Woodsy Goes A.W.O.L.

Late yesterday our new friend Maddie came in with her Aunt and was dismayed to discover one of the Owl Salt & Pepper shakers she was coveting last week was MISSING! I couldn't really hear what was going on because I was way on the other side of the shop but I heard Claudia exclaim "I just NOTICED there was only one sitting there!"



A couple minutes later I joined them; "One of the owl salt shakers is missing? What do you think happened?" Claudia solemnly nodded her head and said she bet someone got interrupted in the middle of nipping them and only got away with one. I felt awful. To my knowledge, nothing's ever been stolen from the shop, except that one time I thought this guy stole my LP with Barry Manilow and his Beagle on the cover until I found it hiding behind something 2 weeks later. It must be all those Menacing Signs that Yard Sale Buddy gifted me with.



Anyway back to the owl, all I could think was "Who would steal an owl dressed like ELTON JOHN?!?" when a little glitter caught my eye and way down at the bottom of the shelving, there was the other owl perched in an old toy race car, like he was making a getaway!! Looks like Woodsy the Owl doesn't give a hoot after all.

Happy Easter, Bunny!

I was talking to my Mom the other night when she casually mentioned she was making Easter Dinner and she didn't suppose I'd be coming. It's kind of weird having a work schedule that's the opposite of pretty much everyone I know; so I assumed the dinner was going to be in the middle of the day, as Holiday dinners tend to be, and politely declined. Well, maybe not so politely, I may have said something like "I have to WORK, the whole world does not celebrate EASTER." One of the things that distinguishes Salvage Chic from places like Never Open Antiques is that we have regular days & hours we are open, and don't just close on a whim because it's raining or snowing or the day ends in Y. Folks do come from all over to visit - especially on the weekends. I'd hate to have someone drive down from East Overshoe and find us closed on a Sunday. But then my Mom reminded me I'd be missing out on a Serious Family Tradition... my Dad has this 79-year-old Aunt Bunny. Her real name is Beatrice, but forever she's been Bunny, she's a total hoot and a lady of that era can just get away with being called that. Anyway, we all think it's a scream that once a year we get to exclaim "Happy Easter, Bunny!" Kenny and I decided we just cannot pass up the opportunity. Have no fear, Salvage Chic will still be open Sunday from 11-5; then we'll scoot up to my Parents' House in Boston for dinner; I hope there's enough ham to go around, as my Mom has not yet been forewarned. And for those of you not named BUNNY - Happy Easter to you too!!

Jack of All Trades

So if you haven't figured it out by now, Mack of Never Open Antiques across the street recently defected to the Salvage Chic team. And since I hopefully no longer have to worry about him suing me for defamation of character, I can write about him using his real name - Jack. Poor Jack. He had a really hard time transitioning from the Land of Unsold Mahogany to the idea that Painted Furniture Sells. Chippy and Distressed are a plus, but Jack proceeded cautiously at first; he painted his items within an inch of their lives. Coat after coat of pristine paint that I'll admit looked wonderful, but all I could think was one ding on each piece was going to ruin its appeal. I mean, we sling a lot of furniture around and sometimes it's tough to navigate a piece out the door without knocking into something. So last Sunday Jack showed up announcing that he had a few new pieces to sell. I followed him out to his truck, inwardly cringing and half-tuned in to his "blahblahblah I was going to paint it... but then I thought I'd try just sanding it a little." Huh? He threw open the truck cap and I peered hesitantly in. Oh My God! I inhaled with delight. "Oh Jack! You are all grown up now, you are Distressing Furniture!!" Seriously I wanted to hug him. Then I accidentally blurted out that I was going to throw up if he had brought another piece in what I was starting to refer to as Jack Yellow. (Just ask Claudia, she's seen me 'accidentally' scuff his stuff while muttering "#!@*! Jack Yellow." Sorry Jack. You know we love having you aboard... and not just because your wife sends us cookies. Keep up the good work!!

Scoot on in to Salvage Chic this week and grab this masterpiece from The-Artist-Formerly-Known-as-Mack... I don't think it will be here long!!

Am I Blue...

Most certainly not, with the way Sales have been going at Salvage Chic! February 2009 was our Biggest Revenue Month since opening the store in Fall of 2006, and March is shaping up to top it. This week, it just so happens that a lot of the furniture IS Blue. Now before you go thinking "Oh, Someone got out Their Blue Paint this week," let me dispel a myth. We DON'T actually paint everything we sell. In fact, we paint much less of it than you'd guess. What we DO do is shop for a taste that is the Salvage Chic brand, fun furniture & accent pieces from yesteryear that have sometimes been given new life with a fresh coat of paint - just not always by us. I'd be a liar if I said we don't paint ANYTHING - especially when I'm standing there talking to you with paint in my hair. And sometimes the tell-tale smell of paint thinner is in the air, although we try to contain that to really slow days. (Oil paint gives such a more durable finish than latex!!) If you're looking to match the color of a piece you're purchasing, just ask; we might be able to help. Or, if you're looking for a Diamond in the Rough you can refinish yourself, don't be shy; we often have quite a backlog of those lurking in storage. Meanwhile, scoot in this weekend to check out all of the recent arrivals, before they disappear Into The Wild Blue Yonder!!

Dumpster Diving...

The phone rang at the shop Sunday and there was this horrible hum on the line so I could barely hear the caller but as far as I could discern it was this gentleman I had purchased some items from the day before. He had been cleaning out his late mom's house and found some more dishes that belonged to a set I bought from him and said he'd be bringing them by, then asked if I had found any cassette tapes in the boxes of loot he had dropped off. I only remembered seeing an empty cassette case, and everything I didn't want for the shop had already been sent on its way to Yard Sale Buddy's or the Dumpster; he sounded really disappointed as the tape had been a recording of his late grandmother. When I got off the phone I relayed the conversation to Claudia who recalled there definitely WAS a tape in the lot... SIGH. Off to do some Dumpster Diving! I slapped on a plastic glove and 2 seconds later I was out back frantically scanning for the 2 bags I had just thrown in that morning. Judy from the Sub Shop saw me headfirst in the Dumpster and yelled out the window, "HEY CHRIS - IF YOU ARE THAT HUNGRY, WE CAN MAKE YOU A SANDWICH!!" If only it were that easy. Finally I located one of the bags and skipped back to the shop with lettuce in my hair, proudly waving the bag. Which, of course, turned out to be the WRONG bag. Back to square one and just as I was thanking god it was not August so the garbage didn't smell TOO bad, I spied the 2nd bag and retrieved it. There, under 47 empty Dunkin' Donuts cups of Yard Sale Buddy's, I FOUND IT! Grandma's Voice, captured on tape for all time. Jack-formerly-Mack-of-Never-Open-Antiques was looking at me like I had 3 heads for going through all of these gyrations so I said pointedly "It's his GRANDMA on TAPE. I'd do the same for you." He just blinked at me, knowing full well I wouldn't. "OK you're Right... but I'd at least show you where the Dumpster was."

"If You Build It, They Will Come"

This is the little mantra I chanted in my head last Sunday after a Record-Breaking Weekend at Salvage Chic. Not that Field of Dreams and an Empty Antique Shop have much in common but it seemed like as good a time as any to channel Kevin Costner. Claudia and I were walking around surveying the wreckage, marveling at the amount of stuff we sold all weekend but slightly worried about filling the place back up. Even Jack, The-Artist-formerly-known-as-Mack-from-Never-Open-Antiques, walked in and declared "This place is EMPTY." I didn't really feel like hearing it from him so I focused on silently chanting my mantra; I did alter it a little to suit my own needs so it ended up more like "If you have an empty shop, furniture will just show up." And you know what? It did! Granted none of it just materialized out of thin air but it dang well felt like it. Stuff has a funny way of turning up at Salvage Chic just when it's needed most. So if you were in last weekend and disappointed like the woman who exclaimed "Everything I want is either SOLD or ON HOLD!", I GUARANTEE it's worth a visit to see what's new this weekend. But remember - Turnover is HIGH so visit the website first... and if there's a Have-To-Have-It item, check out our Hold Policy on the FAQs page. Happy Browsing!!

Anchorage Aweigh?

Here's one from the email files, received just last night: "hi- i found your site on the web and love some of the items. it may not be cost effective to have them shipped but i thought it was worth asking. i live in anchorage alaska. would you be willing to ship items if it were cost effective?"

I may be going out on a limb here but I'm guessing it would cost more than the actual furniture to ship it to Alaska. Especially given today's fuel costs... but part of me couldn't help but wonder how much someone would be willing to pay for delivery to Alaska; and if I could actually convince Yard Sale Buddy to hitch a trailer to his Chevy Truck and make the trek. I bet I could, if I mapped out all the Dunkin' Donuts stops on the way for him, and loaned him Duff as a sled dog. I just might throw it out there, to see if he nibbles... will Report Back later!