The one where I change the hours

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:00:45 +0000

I am blessed with this view.

Happy New Year!!!

January was long and tough, I lost my sweet kitty Felina, moved into the cutest house on the lake, and so much more I won’t even get into. Good things

After much thought and feedback from my wonderful customers, I am excited to take an extra day from the shop hours. I say excited because I will have so much more time to shop for the shop, get creative and make art, meet with clients, price things for sale, repaint and rearrange the shop, have a life, etc. I could hire someone to cover Tuesdays, but that’s the day I will most likely be here working on making the shop look better for you, and working on design jobs. I would love to hire someone to cover Sundays, but I am really not good at delegating or depending on someone else and besides, I’d feel terrible making someone work every single Sunday. SO, new shop hours are Wednesday through Saturday 11-5:30. If you can’t come during those hours and need a fix, I am happy to meet you by appointment, and by chance. Check the front door, if it’s unlocked you’re welcome to come in and shop.

Now that I live in this wonderful house with a huge yard on the lake, a whole new world has opened up! I’m thinking of it as a sort of extension of the shop. I can have fabulous customer appreciation parties, craft workshops, and make it a venue for others. It’s such a beautiful place to be (of course much of this town is), it just seems wrong to keep it all to myself.

2012 is the year of even more positive changes for me and Saffron and Genevieve. I hope for you it is the year of everything your heart desires.

~ Scarlett

The Happy Holidays!

admin — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:14:51 +0000

I hope you’re enjoying them so far. Here in Santa Cruz it’s been summer-like. I love it but am eager to wear my rain boots! It’s been a low key but lovely shopping season in the shop, where of course I have the Christmas music on, but I’ve only set up a gorgeous noble fir, lit and burlapped it, and called it Christmas. I love the simplicity. Oh, I also wrapped some spanish moss around my taxidermy molds, and my gazelle has a sort of evergreen hat Cheers to doing the holidays your way!

French Chandelier,1940, all original crystals

The holiday front window...

Picking ladder headboard, vintage army cot

Laura Zindel and Juliska ceramics

New pillows and local nests in old cigar boxes

awesome new pillows, letterpress note cards

gorgeous jewelry

Merry Christmas!

The one with late shopping and where I have three holiday parties!

admin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:54:21 +0000

Rather than just one holiday party, I’ve decided to have three! The first 3 Thursdays in December are late shopping with a trunk show and a theme sale. Refreshments will be served, and of course the festive music will be playing, come in from 6-9pm and get your holiday spirit on!

December 1 Shannon from By Nieves, my favorite local bath line. Nieves was here last year and collected quite a following! There will be free samples, advice, and all bath products and candles will be 20% off that night only!

December 8 Nancy of Huit Huit Scarves will be here with a full selection of her lovely fine wool scarves. That night all scarves and paper products will be 20% off!

December 15 is JEWELRY night! I just discovered Ingrid Browning and am so excited to have her work here. Alice Riordan will be here with a great selection of one of a kind estate jewelry in every price range. Jewelry will be 20% off that night (with the exception of trunk show pieces)

Stay tuned for more additions, and always check here for up to the minute info.

Happy Holidays!

~ Scarlett

The one where it’s been a little crazy here

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:09:49 +0000

10" metal marquee letters, $22 each, can ship!

These letters are jumbled like my brain, but I’m working on sticking to one task at a time. I hope you’re having a great fall so far!

I’m sorry, there have been craft classes that fill up on facebook and from my email list before I get to post them here. They have been great. Here’s a link to the newest, on November 30.

I’ve been so blessed to have the nicest, easiest, wonderful and fun design clients this year. I’m such a control freak and its too late to assemble a team like other designers have so it’s all on me, and that’s how I like it, mostly. I work organically, so the process is working great for me and them. I feel a bit as if I’m being pulled in two directions, keeping busy on jobs and keeping the shop looking good and my regular customers happy. Many of them are happy, because most of the stuff I brought back from Texas (oh yeah, I went to Texas and bought a ton of great stuff, best trip yet) is already in their homes. I do have the shop fully stocked for the holidays, with new items coming in all of the time. I’ve posted a virtual pinboard of many ideas for you here on Pinterest. There’s my quick post, all I have time for today, stay tuned for holiday soirees, trunk shows and more! Of course, Facebook is super easy to update, so you always know what’s happening here there.

Scarlett

The one about the Goat Hill Fair this weekend

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:32:20 +0000

My view this weekend

There’s a new show in town and it’s going to be fabulous! About 50 vendors; antique dealers, artisans, estate jewelry, plus a band and delicious food will descend upon a goat farm in the Santa Cruz mountains this Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 11-4. The weather promises to be warm and lovely, and the scenery will be gorgeous. Check out Goat Hill Fair for all of the info. I’m bringing some very different merchandise for me, and I’ve been working on some fun projects to share with you there as well. You’ll find me in the orchard, spread out with no walls to keep me in Saturday morning is expected to be the busiest time, so come prepared to enjoy the scene and find some wonderful goodies!

Oh, while I am there I can’t be here in the shop, special hours this week are noon-4 Thursday through Saturday.

I hope to see you!

The one about the SIX year anniversary celebration

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:42:10 +0000

Yep, it’s been SIX years, time for a party! (And a sale!!!) The shop and I have gone through many changes, but I have found my voice, my style and my stance. I couldn’t have done it without your patronage and encouragement, let’s celebrate!

Thursday, September 8 at 6pm, come celebrate with me and all of your likeminded new friends! I’m so happy you’re still here with me after six wonderful (and trying) years! I’ll have libations and a veritable feast for you, along with great music. The sale is the following Friday and Saturday but this night I just want to have fun with all of you. I’ll even throw in a raffle or two or three! You’ll also get first dibs on great new merch, so SAVE THAT DATE!

On Friday and Saturday, the 9^th and 10^th of September, everything in the shop will be from 10-50% off! I only have a sale once a year and this is it! Stock up on your favorite candles, journals, and more at a discount. I don’t have sales because I need to purge inventory, I have them to thank you

Thank you!

Scarlett

The one where I have a therapy session in my head and share it with you.

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:35:48 +0000

It started in my late teens, when I saw someone else wearing a necklace I had on, purchased at a department store. The next time I was in that store, I studied the jewelry and thought I could do better, and it would be one of a kind. I taught myself how to bead and design. That is how fernkeeley jewelry designs started a few years later, and I did a pretty decent business making custom pieces for friends and family, and soon after to people I met who loved what I was wearing.

~This is where my need for having one of a kind things came from.

I haven’t ever really wanted what others had, the trends, at least not since junior high. I admit that I was a big shopper throughout my twenties, loving the mall and racking up my credit cards. I lived and worked in Los Gatos, where shopping was a way of life. After a few visits to see a good friend in Los Angeles and checking out the stores there, they began to blur together, they all sold the same things, felt the same, something clicked off inside me and I started to hate shopping. I was over it, and really over trends. If a bunch of people like something, a style, a brand, a fabric pattern, I’m over it.

~This is why I hate to sell things that you might see somewhere else.

When I moved to Santa Cruz things really began to change. I know normal people like to shop, because they buy from me and other stores in town, thank goodness. After nine years, I really, really hate to shop. If I had time to be pioneer woman and never set foot in a store again I probably would. I support my fellow shop owners, when I do shop it’s definitely local. I’m doing a pretty good job of avoiding big cities and anywhere there might be parking issues. Some people thrive on the energy of a city, for me they suck at my life and soul. My culture is eating blackberries off a bush, talking with you, good music, hanging out with family and friends, and reading loads of books on any subject that interests me. Oh, and I can see real culture (arts and such) on the internet

~This I can’t explain, other than hey, I’m just a country girl.

Mind you, I LOVE to shop for my store, and I LOVE my store. I am happy to run up to the San Francisco Design Center, get what I need and drive straight home. I am thrilled to be able to shop for antiques in the pastures of Texas. I also LOVE you all that love my store. Making my customers and interior design clients happy is what I live for, it keeps me going.

~This is why my shop is like a home, and you feel so welcome and inspired there. (I hope)

I do have a point here. I have always and always will sell what I love, and nothing I don’t. I promise you, I know what sells. I read the blogs, I see people going gaga over things that yes, if I did not know they were mass produced in China and India I would think were fabulous as well. But I do, and I can’t get past that. I like to know the artist. It’s getting worse and worse, my snobbery, I can’t help it! There are companies I could order from and have my shop looking beautiful at all times and I would probably make loads of money. Actually, I have ordered things from these places because I know that my customers would like them and could be perfectly happy using them in their homes, but if you know me you know what happens with that stuff. It goes straight into the half off section. Boxes from China do not have good juju for me. I feel like that idiot/brilliant garage band that refuses to sell out therefore nobody ever gets to hear them except their friends, but times are different now. The garage band can make a youtube video and go viral. I can continue here on my blog, on facebook, and in person to gather a great following of people who like to have things nobody else has, love my taste and appreciate knowing where their useful or beautiful home wares, lotions, etc., come from. Please understand that I am NOT judging you for buying or anyone who sells what I can’t. Everyone needs to make a living and you do what you have to do, some of you reading this might only have a Walmart to shop at, you might have more important things to think about. Believe me, I am not judging. Please continue to shop in my store even if you don’t care about these things, I’ll still love you! I know I have issues, in twenty years it’s certainly possible I may be a hermit, living off grid with only an internet connection and a herd of cats NOT judging you guys either!

Just like I want to know where my food comes from, I want to know who poured my candles, cast my rings, made my dress or handbag, and I want to know the artist who made my dishes. If I can’t have that, because our planet is not that small yet, at least I can know who works directly with the people who make the dishes, who picked this antique chest of drawers from a barn in Nebraska.

Here is a list of artisans that I have personally met or spoken to, many are good friends, and I am proud to carry their products:

Tricia Rose – Rough Linen in San Rafael

Laura Zindel ceramics in Vermont

James and Jacque of old soul studios in Northern Ca

Maurice Connolly Northern Ca

Cheryl Schulke from Houston Texas

Maggie McKay of tomgirl west Santa Cruz

bora rings Brooklyn, NY

Dea Keeton Santa Cruz

Naomi Campos, yedomi jewelry, Portland

Katie McCann, beetle blossom in Berkeley

Kim at Austin Press

by nieves, Berkeley

Julie Munnerlyn Santa Cruz

Josh at Best Slipcover company

Mabel Chong, San Francisco

Cordelia at Sweet Petula, Seattle

Corinda LeClair, Seattle

Michael of Mill Valley candles

Michelle Stitz

Gina of Flock Home

George San Francisco

Delta Farrington, I buy all of my original antique engravings from her

And of course my local antique dealers and workrooms!

I know the reps for these companies, I know who the owners are and trust that the manufacturing is fair trade, the ingredients are natural and that they make as small a footprint as possible:

Archipelago

olivina napa valley

maura peters candles

juliska ceramics

tokyo milk

dash and albert

huit huit

Sweet Bella

As I write this I’m making a vow to you, I will continue to only buy what I love, and to never ever buy anything that I have my doubts about its provenance. It needs to be special, well made, and beautiful or useful, as William Morris said. When I buy, especially antiques but also when I am looking at a product and talking about it with its producer or representative of, I get a feeling, good or bad. This is why I have a guaranteed good juju sign. Y’all might think I’m crazy but I can’t help myself. It’s the way I feel, and the only way I can run my business.

Scarlett

The one where I feel like talking about competition

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:52:12 +0000

It’s on my mind this morning, so I thought I would talk a bit about competition in business. I’m all for it, we absolutely need it. I sometimes get the feeling that others don’t feel the same way. When I walk into another shop, whether locally or elsewhere, I am doing many things:

I am not a spy, and I am not checking out what lines you carry so I can carry them too, I am not stealing your design ideas or thinking “I can make this”. On the contrary, I want my shop to look as different as possible from other shops, and I don’t want to sell the same lines as the shop down the street. I respect your art and creativity and your right to earn a living.

I do go in to other shops for inspiration, mostly in the form of “wow, this is good, I really need to spend some more time on my displays, that I will create in my own style”.

The main reason I go in is for my customers. I am sure you do, as I do, get customers that are looking for a specific piece. If I see that piece at another shop and send them your way it’s a great thing for everyone. I send my customers to other shops all of the time, and they remain loyal to mine. They appreciate that I just want to help them find what they are looking for. If they discover a great new shop in the process I’m happy.

Another thing that I do to encourage competition is to council other shop owners. I’m not saying I’m an expert, but I will give you any information that I have learned to help you open up or just go further in your own business. I’m an open book, I have strong beliefs in how we as women should act towards other women business owners, their customers and their vendors. This is a hard but endlessly rewarding, if not terribly profitable career, and many of us are single and don’t come from a mountain of money I love my “sisters in business” (brothers too!) and I want us all to be terribly successful and happy, don’t sweat the small stuff, and embrace the competition. If I may be cheesy for a moment:

There was a time,

oh, when they used to say

that behind ev’ry great man,

there had to be a great woman.

In these times of change,

you know that it’s no longer true.

So we’re comin’ out of the kitchen,

’cause there’s something we forgot to say to you.

We say, Sisters are doin’ it for themselves,

standin’ on their own two feet

and ringin’ on their own bells.

Sisters are doin’ it

for themselves.

That’s right. Thanks for reading.

The Odd Volumes of Ruby B., an installation by Jody Alexander

admin — Thu, 05 May 2011 22:07:56 +0000

The artist in her studio.

The Odd Volumes of Ruby B.

Ruby's room.

All images here taken by Ron Jones

It was only one year ago that I heard about the awesomeness that is Jody Alexander. Michelle Stitz was preparing for her show here at the shop and r.r.jones was taking pictures for her. We got to talking and he told me to look up Jody’s website. I swear to you it changed my life. I had lived in Santa Cruz for 8 years at that point and had managed to pretty much stay out of the art scene (not much of an art scene in Los Gatos, where I came from). I knew nothing. Words can not explain how moved I am by Jody’s work, and continue to be stunned by the amount of talent there is in this town.

Biography of Ruby B.

Ruby B. spent the majority of her life living in a single room in a residency hotel. During the day she worked as a secretary, typically took the long way home finding treasures along the way, and spent her evenings using others words, pictures and objects to tell her stories.

She was an armchair philosopher as she commented on life, love, laughter and loss in her copious volumes – for Ruby had removed herself from the kind of life that produced the aforementioned experiences. She left her husband and small children when she found herself in a life that she was simply incapable of living. Ruby made a choice and then she had to live with it, or perhaps it wasn’t a choice at all but something she had to do.

Ruby has labeled each volume with an odd number hence the title attributed to her life’s work that was only discovered upon her death.

Events

On Friday, May 13 Jody will be here to talk about Ruby and show you her volumes in detail. She will be signing books, she was one of the artists included in the new book from Lark Books/Sterling Publishing: Masters-Book Art , and each book will come with a bookmark made by Ruby. Yes, that’s Ruby B. on the cover! Go Ruby! Tea and toast will be served.

Sunday, May 22 from 1-4pm Jody will teach a class called “the Altered Page – Found Words” Click here for more details and to sign up.

See you soon!

~Scarlett

Texas, Spring 2011

admin — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 22:40:49 +0000

So, I made a last minute run to the antique fair in Texas and this time Michelle Stitz came with me. Every time is unique and a different experience, this time we ended up at a cozy cottage a pond. We both found some great stuff and it just arrived yesterday, pics posted soon on my other blog here. We also did a fun photo shoot on our very own dock. Enjoy the photos, more on Facebook, of course!

morning view

rabbit on the road

An unusual moment of relaxation while Michelle paddles the paddleboat around the pond.

Yep, I go all the way to Texas to find things like this.

Corn cob risers, I've never seen them, had to have them.

Fenceposts, screw into ground and run rope through, beautiful!

the most amazing nest

It was a cold night for a photo shoot in our Victorian nighties, but we did get some great shots.

Our little cabin from down the road.

On the porch before prom...

In the Junk Gypsies outhouse/photo booth. Cute!