Vendor Profile- Lucky Lady owns a shop!

How many of us have dreamed of owning our own shop?

Quite a few I'm guessing.

Well this lady has followed her dreams and made a success of it!

If you've never been in Sweet Pickins, next time you're in the area, stop in.

It's worth the trip!

My name is Abby Nicholson and my Mama Linda Cederblom and I own and operate Sweet Pickins.



Sweet Pickins is a boutique in Hayden that has 60+ vendors of handmade, repurposed, vintage and antique items.

My mom raised me crafty and when I found myself unhappy teaching school, I decided to go into business with mom selling crafts.


We always loved vintage and antique but didn't think to mix with craft until some of our vendors came in who repurposed old and new.


We have been open for 2.5 years now, its so fun to see local talent and history come into the shop, as well as meet new faces in our community who enjoy the same thing!


There is something new on a daily basis so make sure to swing into Sweet Pickins in Hayden- 9521 N. Government Way Hayden, ID 83835

Vendor Profile- This married couple has hit the ground running!

Autumn is coming fast.

There is a distinct nip in the air.

I don't want summer to end!

Mother Nature doesn't listen to me.

The VINTAGE PICKIN FALL BARN sale is fast approaching and here is another sneak peak.

This team is comprised of a married couple.

They are new to the show and new to the business.

So new they don't have a business name yet!
They say they are open to suggestions!

Hello. We are Janae & Tim Freligh.

We don't have a business name as of yet because this whole experience is new to us and we are testing the waters so to speak.

We have 2 girls and I wanted to be able to stay home with them.
My husband is an electrician.

I wanted to find a way to bring home some income while still being at home.

We found making signs from pallets was in high demand.

Also, it gave my husband and myself a bonding experience.

We have been successful in selling signs just by posting on social media; however, we are looking forward to selling at vintage sales.

Our pricing varies anywhere from $5 to $65.

And we will be able to take cash and card payments!

Thanks
Janae

So come out and welcome these newcomers and see the rest of us.

And come away with a treasure!

These vendors are some classy gals!

This gal has come all the way from Florida to start a business here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I hope she has warm blankies and sweaters on hand!

Check out her website. I did and they will soon be a few pieces of inventory shorter!

Shh. Don't tell Hubs!



Well we are One Oak Decor.

We had the tent in front of the bush at the "Y" at the last Vintage Pickin sale!

We repurpose vintage pieces, as well as pick vintage pieces.

Jackie is my Mother in Law and we decided to go into business together.

We have a quaint little booth at Sweet Pickens (9521 N. Government Way Hayden, ID),

and a website www.oneoakdecor.com.

We only do about four shows a year locally.

Check out the website and if you have any questions, just let me know!

Thanks!
Nancy

Another vendor profile for VINTAGE PICKIN FALL BARN SALE!

This next lady has been in business for awhile.


She owned a brick and mortar but recently closed it to 'take it on the road'.

And we're glad she did!

Kathy also has an online presence on ETSY, where she has had a shop since 2009.


If I had to pick a fave from her items, it would be the cherry bunting.

So bright and cheery!

www.etsy.com/shop/aproposathome


Here is her bio.

And remember to come say hey to us the 1st weekend in October in Hayden, Idaho!



Business Name: Apropos At Home, owner, Kathy Simmons


From 2001 until 2009 I owed Apropos Paper Arts on Spokane's South Hill.

When I closed my business, I renamed my home business Apropos At Home.


I continue to do paper arts, collage, sewing, and vintage finds.

Recently I moved to Coeur d Alene and wish to continue with my small business and do shows like Vintage Pickin'.

For many years I participated in this type of show with Two Women Artists and Past Blessings Farm.

Here are a few photos of projects and similar goods that I will have at Vintage Pickin'.


Kathy Simmons
Apropos At Home
509-220-8505

Our go-to coffee gal

It's time for another vendor profile for




The VINTAGE PICKIN FALL BARN SALE

This gal serves up some of the best drinks this side of the MISSISSIPPI!



I always wanted to use that in a sentence at some point!!



She also participates in my Farmers Market and has saved us on more then one bitter cold morning!




Hi!

This is Sonja, owner/operator of Gitty-Up Go!


Espresso since 1997.


My on-wheels mobile espresso offers all the same refreshments as a standard coffee stand delivered right to your place of business or event.


My menu includes a large variety of specialty combination lattes, organic smoothies (fruit or veggie), chai, green drinks, etc., hot or iced.


Come by and receive service with a smile.


(And she does have an amazing smile).


(And energy)!

Wonder where that comes from?

Vendor Profiles for the upcoming VINTAGE PICKIN FALL BARN SHOW

As hinted at in my last post, I have been given the dubious honor of profiling some of the wonderful vendors to grace this years show.

This is such a cute family! You can tell the passion they have for this business.


I hope I can do them justice!

My name is Priscilla Kinsey and I created my home decor business, "Rusty New Home Decor".



I have an absolute love (obsession) with decorating, shopping and creating.



I have three little girls and stay home with them, but having Rusty New Home Decor has given me an outlet to do what I love over and over again!


My family puts up with all my crazy projects and messes on a daily basis and support me so wonderfully.



I have a couple of booths at Paris Antiques all year and participate in all the local and semi-distant shows during the year.
Meeting new faces and seeing my "followers" are what makes this even more fun.

I was also blessed to be asked to stage a treehouse in Coeur D' Alene on the Timberline Adventures Zip Line Property last November, which aired on the DIY Network for the show "The Treehouse Guys". It was an amazing experience to be part of and I give thanks to my little business to have had the opportunity.

I enjoy stocking up/creating unique pieces for each show's shoppers and displaying it all creatively. I'm a happy girl when I come home with very little inventory after a show, but immediately start the hoarding process for my next event.

It's a pleasure to be a part of each event I do and am grateful for all the super sweet customers I meet!

Please come out and see me at this great event!

Priscilla @ RUSTY NEW HOME DECOR

Best Intentions and a Vintage show

Wow! Over a year since I've been on here! What's going on? Well, life for starters. It can really mess up one's best intentions, right? I know, right? (Sorry. Had to inject that here as I know how the family hates when I say that!) But I am starting on here again and once again with best laid plans to be a more frequent voice to this and that, gossip, rants, fave recipes, pictures of grand-babies, (yes I have a newest and bestest one. Bad Grandma for saying that) and whatever else comes to mind. I have been given the formidable task of writing bios and posting pictures of all the vendors who will be attending the awesome vintage show "VINTAGE PICKIN". This is a twice-yearly show in Hayden, Idaho; once in the spring, and now the first weekend in October. So I have about 3 weeks to highlight 70 or so incredible vendors! They will be written about here first and then shared on various social media platforms. Facebook and their various group pages, Twitter, Instagram, and whoever and whatever other ones I can come up with! In other words, I am adamant about getting the word out! I don't have to tell all you my friends how hard we work at our craft; from drawing board to the finished product. We pour our hearts into it. We let our families go hungry. We forget to feed the dog. We stay in our pajamas all day 'cause we need one more coat of paint or the glue guns still hot. Heck, Hubs hasn't set down at the dining room table for over a year because it's either mounded up with fabrics and lace and sewing machines, or canners and jam pots stacked with canning jars and sheets of labels and 5 gallon buckets of sugar. Get the picture? I don't know all these great people personally. But we all share the same drive. And we can't quit creating. We create in our heads while driving to work. In bed our minds don't turn off. We get excited seeing something in a store and think,"I could do this but different and better!" We have scraps of paper all over our homes of hastily scribbled ideas and crude drawings or lists of things to pick up next time we're in town. So sit back and listen to these stories and have fun. These stories will be in no particular order. Just as I receive e-mails from them describing their business and life. I hope to get to all of them in time. If I don't, I apologize ahead of time. It's a daunting task to do in a short time. And I will get distracted by ideas circling round in my head. And the fact my finger is way to near the Pinterest button on the screen! I guess I will start with me. Patti's Garden Expressions Patti's Garden Expressions is a family-run farm in Newman Lake, Washington. We have been selling at local farmers markets and craft shows for almost 20 years, on Etsy since 2009, and just in the last 5 years have started doing vintage shows. I needed an outlet for all my collections and projects! Plus designing handcrafted items, sewing, and upcycling 'junk' seemed a natural way to keep the creative juices flowing while the garden was sleeping in the winter. Spokane winters seem to last forever at times! This business has also helped sustain us both emotionally and financially after a debilitating accident left my hubby disabled. I am very blessed to be including my children and grandchildren in this adventure and welcome their input and imagination. And their help! I credit my success and drive to my family. Mom was a home-ec teacher before her true calling as a mother interrupted. She always had us using our imaginations and creating something form 'found' objects and nature. And we sewed and practiced all the needle arts. Idle hands got into trouble don't you know! Nana gave me the love of gardens and beauty in nature. Her garden was my secret garden and I spent the summers there. And we were thick as thieves in her kitchen. Baking cakes, cinnamon rolls, pancakes with fresh blueberries she sent me out to pick in the outer garden. Dad was from Dutch farming stock. He knew all kinds of garden secrets of how to get things to grow no matter where you were planted. Being a chemical engineer by profession, you can imagine the lively discussions we had later in life when I became the family 'tree hugger'! He also taught me how to care for animals and how to fish and hunt. My mother-in-law was also a teacher in a former life and revived in me the art of canning. And she shared her plants with me when we bought our home. And we got her extra zucchini! And I credit my husband who tirelessly listens to my new ideas and puts up with all my messes. And puts up with the frustrations when things don't work out. And he lets me borrow his tools! I am proud to be again joining Vintage Pickin for their fall show and will be in my usual spot in the shed. Hope to see y'all! And come visit us at "VINTAGE PICKIN". And see all our hard work and dreams!

Spring Cleaning- The Tools of the Trade

It's that time of year folks! waking the greenhouse up and getting ready for another growing season! Today I want to share how I save money and re-use some of the equipment from years before. How many of you go to the garden centers and buy flats of pretty flowers or your veggie starts? And what do you do with those flats and myriad of pots from all those purchases? Throw them out, recycle them, sneak them into a neighbors yard?

Well, if you don't live close enough to me to donate them why not re-use them yourself. Just a few steps and you are ready to go. I start with first collecting all the pots and flats in various parts of the garden, shed, or wheelbarrow. I then fill a bucket, tub or whatever you have with some water and a couple of splashes of bleach. I grab a scrub brush and a chair. Throw the pots and flats in, a few at a time and let them soak or get to work. I swish them around, scrub any stubborn stains, swish again and set out somewhere clean to air dry. You are basically removing any crusty salt stains and debris, and also sanitizing against any soil bacteria or pests you don't want to pass along to new plantings.

ATTENTION!! Eye protection and rubber gloves should be worn by persons who are known to splash bleach water in their eyes or plunge their hands with cuts on them into afore mentioned bleach water! That's it. Quick and easy and your planters look like new.

I also use the leftover wash water to clean any pruning tools, shovels, saucers,etc. At this time I also sharpen any tools that need it and shove the hoes and shovels into a bucket of sand with some motor oil from the last oil change. This also cleans and keeps the rust away. I will continue other Spring activities in coming up blogs. Have fun!

Long Winter

It seems like winter is lasting forever. Granted, we have again been blessed with a mild one. More rain than snow. Not alot of the usual howling winds creating below zero wind chills. Just lots of foggy grey mornings that blend one into the other. The morning commute out to the chickens, past the pond that never really froze this year. The koi swim restlessly, in that half hibernation state. The buds are swelling in the magnolia, along the branches of the lilacs. Spring bulbs are awake and pushing up from cold but unfrozen ground.

The robins came yesterday. Flocks gathered in the cherry trees, in the windbreak trees along the property lines. Singing, calling out to each other. James said he heard the osprey yesterday. I had just commented as to when we would see them sitting on their nests at the end of our street and along the river.

The chickens look plump and healthy. They scatter in the garden, looking for plump worms and bugs in the soft dirt. Hoppy the coop bunny has picked his hen girlfriend and follows her wherever she goes. What a strange couple they make! We are getting the greenhouse ready for Spring. Already rhubarb seeds are sprouting and we are getting the benches and flats of pots out for the tomatoes and other vegetable seeds. A more cautious ordering of seeds, bulbs, and plants this year as I am not working, but I still need to keep my stock up for Farmers Market, of which I hope to add the Wednesday Market to my usual Saturday one.

I have been sending out applications for the seasons craft and vintage shows. Betsy and I have been busy scouring thrift stores for projects. Well, as best as we can since neither of us are driving and we have to rely on others who are not as welcome to the idea of spending time at the shops. the Great Cleanup has trickled down a bit from the gangbusters it was. Too many treasures unearthed in the craft room led to creating instead of cleaning! But I am proud to say I am actually getting some of the started and discarded projects finished! So in a way that is still pushing forward. As I say this I look over at my eucalyptus heart wreath that I have had for over 10 years and finally got around to adding pink rosebuds to! Better late then never, right? Dan and I are both trying to shed some additional weight brought on by our lack of being able to move around alot. It's hard when it's even a burden to walk. But hopefully the tease of sunshine and warm days will get us outdoors. I know I'm ready! Even the dogs show some extra plumpness and lethargy. This being said, I look out through the sunroom and see the sun has finally burned off the fog. It is time to go outside and do something. There are trees that need pruned. Pots and flats to collect for the greenhouse. Terrariums, fairy gardens and planters to be planted up for upcoming shows. Just get up and keep moving!

Blustery Sunday

Well, last night was windy and rainy! But awoke to blue skies and temps. in the 40's , so not all bad. Not making it out to open the chickens today tho. Water over snow = too slippery to walk on. They've got plenty of food and walking around room inside. Let them sit in the nests and lay all day! Betsy and family came over yesterday. Betsy is still recovering from ankle surgery and using crutches and a knee walker. She and Aaron spent the day brushing up on their welding skills. She got a welder for her birthday. Hubby showed them the bin racks he is making for the craft room. Hubby (Dan)installed the first set of bin racks downstairs. They are going to be great. Now I can start bringing in the bins and sorting thru them some more as I go. Projects go a lot faster and better when you know where your supplies are and can get at them quickly! He will also be making a long table against one wall that will hold all the sewing machines ( regular, serger, quilter and embroidery)along with the Silhouette machines and hookups for the laptop and printer that we will need. It is a small room and I have alot of supplies as you have seen from previous pictures. Plus I want to bring more in from other rooms. Like glass, cutters, came, patterns for the glass-work Dan does, frames, mat board and supplies for framing projects (again Dan), and the myriad cans of spray paint that now hang out in the garage. Well, I better sign off and get some work done. The playoff game between Seattle and Green Bay is short hours away. GO SEAHAWKS!!!!!