Le Planning....Attention!

I have just been to market and I want to share with you what is happening. It is summer,

You have the pool, the beach, vacation....... But.....Already it is starting..........(these are shots of spring summer linens, I am saving the NEW for later posts starting with the next one.)

The FALL entertaining begins around Labor day.  That is only 8 weeks, give or take. 

So...Listen and learn......I will share my experience with you.......

Here is the heads up.... If you want to order any tabletop ie. table linens, dinnerware, flatware, stemware, you need to start considering it NOW.  In future posts I will be showing the latest and greatest in the lines we carry......  This also includes bed linens, high end xmas items, velvet pumpkins, the  LOT!

Here's the deal. If it is coming from Europe, they are all going on vacation for 3 weeks in August.... Period.

Their summer holiday.  In the manufacturing facilities there, you can't have the sewers or seamstresses going on vacation while the artisans cutting the fabric are still working.... They are all linked together... So instead of creating delays all year there is one grander one at the end of the year......Makes sense doesn't it???

Soooo, even if it is an American based company and some of their product is made in Italy, or Portugal, or France, or Spain and others they are ON HOLIDAY!!  They are all hanging out in Sardinia, or Nice,on the beach or in their family's country homes for three weeks......  

So, if you are thinking about updating that Thanksgiving or Christmas table you better consider it  NOW.

Also let me tell you this.......After the holiday, they are preparing for market in Europe the first week in Sept and getting their new collections ready.  That delays a little longer......We lost several orders of flatware because people decided they wanted to purchase 2 weeks ahead of time in December. With better tabletop, a lot of retailers are not stocking product because of the Euro against the dollar..... AND with so many custom choices available why should they? 

THIS IS CRUCIAL INFORMATION: 

 NO MATTER WHERE YOUR PRODUCT COMES FROM

A LOT OF COMPANIES ARE TELLING BUYERS THAT THEY ARE LINING UP THEIR ORDERS NOW..COMPANIES WANT TO SHIP AS SOON AS THEIR NEW PRODUCT COMES OUT IN MID SEPTEMBER....  NOTHING NEW.

 IF YOUR RETAILER KNOWS YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN A CERTAIN PRODUCT, THEN THEY CAN SPECIAL ORDER OR BUY ACCORDINGLY....

NO MATTER WHERE OR WHAT , MAKE YOUR INTERESTS AND DESIRES KNOWN TO YOUR LOCAL SHOP. IF YOU WANT  TO UPDATE OR JUST LOVE TO SEE THE NEW INTROS, I AM SURE THEY WILL BE HAPPY TO SHARE PICTURES WITH YOU OF THE LATEST AND GREATEST SO YOU CAN SHARE IN THE EXCITEMENT, AS WE HAVE WITH OUR CLIENTS. THEY ARE ALL PROVIDED WITH THE INFORMATION THEY NEED SO THEIR CHOICES ARE MET, IN TIME.

 NO WORRIES. 

HAPPY SUMMER, AND AN ENTERTAINING FALL!!!!!

( HEY I'M IN TEXAS, CUT ME SOME SLACK HERE IT'S HOT!);)

Antiquing: Throw Me a Bone!

The Round Top Antiques Fairs ( and I do mean fairs ) that occur at the end of every September and March are HUGE. Thousands of dealers...... Then throughout the summer it is hot but THE BIG RED BARN opens it's doors to give you a little taste of what is to come.....

A beautiful selection of quilts from Blue Hills Antiques.......These are the real deal.... Not knock offs.

Also from there.... And see those French chairs in the back?   Love them, they need some work but I will be doing the work because they are at the shop now waiting to go to Beadboard Rehab.

I loved the glass bottles here...

And the large Mercury glass bottles here.

Ok, now here is a lovely linen dealer but look at her body language, in the back of the picture.   She looks like the Police with her hands behind her back.  I am sure she has done many venues like this before, but  in the first hour of the show I think it would be better to "make nice" and seem more welcoming.  Also, the man in the purple shirt, probably was waiting patiently for his wife to go through another dealer's area.....

Maybe not his thing ,but he is trying....... Like a gentleman.

I loved this booth, they didn't have any business cards and I didn't want to take up too much of their time, as I think their customers should come first.   Name is Industrial  SOMETHING.  The spoons were great 2 for 5$.....

Great crystal pieces from chandeliers, people were scoopng up in their hands.... They were clean, and shiny, not with grime on them like a lot of dealers.... These people make the extra effort......

Two adorable chandelier shades from Cabin Creek Lodge Antiques.. I bought these.

They are at the shop on two vintage glass candlestick lamps........

I love bakelite... Being from California.....

.This is from Vintage Linens and Beads in Columbus, Texas.

Beautifully arranged.......

I think this is J Hill Designs, Kilgore, Texas. Not sure......I was power shopping.....

Pretty cart with fresh herbs....Reminds me of France...

I loved this stand for clothes..... They used the base from an old mannequin and

put cast iron finials on it.......From Willow Nest Farm, in Burton, Texas. 

 Linda and Ludmil Marcov do a great job.......

Fall Markets, What do you think??

Auguste Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker", My guess he is thinking about  Fall Market.

That's when it is hot as Hades here and I have to think about what I bring in the shop for FALL.

See the resemblance???????

It sounds sexy.  Going to market, whether in Paris, or Dallas or New York.....If you are working for a big company as a buyer,,, the pressure is on.....Last years figures, versus this years figures, and projected increases.......all come into consideration....  But, at the end of the day, you get the paycheck and benefits and your discount and you go home at night knowing that you met the company's criteria for buying to the best of your ability. 

It's fun spending someone elses money.

 What's worse is one criteria.....

When you have a shop of your own and you are spending YOUR OWN MONEY. 

 That scares the living daylights out of me....

So here with the AC cranked up I think about, "Hey will the Velvet Pumpkins still be hot?????"

 The answer is yes!!!!!!!!!!! I think.

How about the offerings from last year????? Did they cut the mustard?????  Should I have bought more of this and less of that????? Does the look of the shop matter when something else that seems inappropriate to me is selling like hotcakes in a big city??????? Yes.

How bout the sheep.???? People love them......I love them.  They will always be here.....

Unless our source drops them.  I think they won't......

I am thinking about cashmere...... And leather handbags, and gloves and caps......I am sweating.....

I am thinking about the new intros for the fabulous knitwear we carry....Yup, we'll have some... 

Do you think you know who comes with me when I go to market every time?????

YOU!!!!!!!  YOU are the buyer here, I always keep our customers and readers with me like a little angel on my shoulder.  The other side is the New INTRODUCTIONS that are cool or the TEMPTATION.

It is a delicate balance..... Give up something to get something else, or do you go with your gut instincts and roll the dice and hope your feeling about the fabulous thing you are buying for the shop will be appreciated by someone you have never met?

So, all you readers and bloggers, now you have influence you never imagined yould have.... and I am lucky,

 I have YOU.  I think.;)

The Perfect Match! French and Italian

Having Arte Pura at Beadboard is like having every candy color in Italian linen.  Being a relatively new company they do not make fitted sheets for American beds.  I searched for the perfect match for our fabulous Arte Pura colors.  I found it!!!!!!!!!

I found it in Anne De Solene from France.... See the similarities??????? These are their beautiful solid color percale sheets called Vexin.  They also offer delightful prints that also enhance The Arte.  And a little lesson in this post on Thread Counts.... 

 Which is all BUNK.... Yes I said it, BUNK!!!! Read on if you dare....

For example this is the Sakouna/Aiko a floral with a sophisticated beigey,mauve on one side and a coordinating peach mauve on a white field on the reverse.

This is the Polevere Old in the Arte Pura.  See the similar color..?????

Anyone that reads my blog knows I love gray.  This is Percale sheeting Evanasence in Grey from Anne De Solene.  Cherubs and urns in gray on a white field that pair perfectly with...

Arte Pura's, Narciso Bed in the Lava, and Gesso Old. 

 A surprise on the back of the sham a grey and white 1/8" inch stripe.......So, I have these in the shop and I hand it over to a customer and ask her to tell me the thread count.....600??? 800???? These feel so smooth!!!!  Nope.    Ready? 200!!!!!!!!!! 

 They feel better than my 600TC *!$!$#$$$ I have at home!

They are weightier and will feel amazingly better as you wash them... Why????? Because the threads are smooth before they are woven into the fabric........We have all been taught to believe the higher the thread count means better quality..... Sferra started that, now they have started a campaign called "LOSE COUNT" and are no longer putting thread counts on their packaging according to Home Textiles Today issue dated May 23rd.

Oh, Love the Quatre Saisons Towels.......Gorgeous!!! But back to my rampage......

Some other delectable offerings from Anne De Solene. Promise in blue....

The idea of labeling sheets with thread count was to indicate better quality in the higher TC's and therefore justify charging more....A LOT MORE....It BACKFIRED.

 The problem with the thread count was that discount stores jumped in the mix and offered ourageous TC numbers but the quality was poor..... What difference does the TC make if the thread is sub par to begin with????? Threads weren't wicked properly so hair and lint stuck like glue in the wash or they pilled. It was as if some companies were using fine raffia to weave sheets! 

 Not so with these beauties.....

Promise in Coral. They are geraniums that look like they have been watercolored....  

 The article

in Home Textiles Today said "dubious marketing claims rendered the thread count distinctions meaningless".  Now Paul Hooker, head of Sferra linens, who started touting the whole thread count thing in the first place said " we birthed it, now we're killing it" relating to thread count.....

Duetto..... Anne De Solene reversible shams with accent flange in a third color.

 So, now we have all been Duped!!!!!  Not from the companies but from the VERBAGE they created to make their products more desirable to the consumer.

Anne De Solene Numero Uno towel with matelasse border....

Husbands even bought into the thread count lingo and would ask the thread count of sheets if a couple came into the shop.

Coordinating Numero Uno pillowcase...

So where does all this leave us??? Hopefully, more informed than before, knowing that there is great bedding out there, just buy it from someone knowledgeable enough and interested enough to get the best sheets that are right for you! Preferably in a small boutique where you can get some personal attention.  We still carry 400, 500 and 600 TC sheets. But we are now explaining them differently to our customers. AND the same customers that own those are also buying Anne De Solene......in the 200 TC and loving them!

Arte Pura Linen/Organza Sorgente bed.  Wouldn't it go great with..

 Anne De Solene Promise in Coral??????? Pretty!

 Soooooo.  The experts are saying forget about the thread count, just make sure your sheets are from a manufacturer that makes quality bedding.....Make sure they feel good to the touch......Flimsy and fuzzy is not a good thing.... Open those packages up and feel them.... Oh, and sheets are much the same as good jeans.... Select them the same way....

You live in jeans, you live in sheets.......Think about it.

PC Issues from Hell

Where have I been???!!!!!!!

Yes it has been PC hell.......I am venting here, just to let you know when YOU go through it

you are NOT alone...... Started about 2 weeks ago something with the PC was just not right.....

Slower, took an age to post, and of course blogger changed their format.........Made me nuts

Then the Screen went south.... So we replaced it... OK.Done right?

Next thing, forget the flippin screen, we are getting updates from Outlook, Adobe, Windows, upload, sure! Of course we'll upload!!!!!!  Why the HELL not??!! Next the PC at work that we have loaded all of these enhancements into says "I've had enough"!  Starts to go south.  Robes is yelling "we're going to lose all the !*&$@%$$! memory!!!!!!!  I say we take to Computer Helpers here and let them take a look.  They are fantastic!!!!! Even if you live in Houston if you have PC issues take it to them!!!! Reasonable and fast!!!!!! I also didn't want to powershop a new PC.

  So off it goes, and when we get home the land line phone is not working......We have cell phones and I drop kicked the land line unit out the front door. Then the other land line phone goes south.....(it's an antique French, keeping that one) My foot still hurts, but I feel better.

So, just when we are feeling some kind of relief, after midnight we get a Trojan Virus and Robes sees it eating the hard drive on the notebook we use in the kitchen. Next morning, off it goes to, you know where Computer Helpers!!!!!!!!!

Who should be called Computer angels.......Yep all PC's are alive and well and they speeded em all up

Thanks to Harper, Josh and Jason.  You guys rock!!!!!!!!! So I needed something..... Life is to short to stress about all of this stuff as it is everchanging.......

Sooooo. About 2 years ago the light went out in the new fridge that came with the house......( why would someone buy a refrigerator named HOTpoint?!). It was a fairly new unit but the way it was designed  it was obvious the whole stupid thing would have to be dismantled to replace the lighting unit...... So, after foraging in the dark for a year and a half, I went down bought a new fridge...... Love it......The brilliant light that comes out the door is angelic......I sat in front of it and opened the door, and opened the door and opened.......I feel MUCH better!!!!!!!!.