People ask me all the time how I choose what to buy for my store. There are always
certain pieces that sell well for me: cupboards, tables, daybeds and interesting
accessories. But why this old wooden industrial drum?
People ask me all the time how I choose what to buy for my store. There are always
certain pieces that sell well for me: cupboards, tables, daybeds and interesting
accessories. But why this old wooden industrial drum?
I could have more chickens!
.
.
But, best of all, paintings by my friend and the greatest living artist,
Jennifer Lanne (JenniferLanne.com). This 6 foot x 6 foot depiction
of country life is the way we would all like it to be. As much as I would
like to keep it for myself, I have it on 1st Dibs for all the world to see.
(1stdibs.com > click “Hudson” in the “Cities” column on the right >
type “Stephanie Lloyd” in “keyword search” on left.
But, what is going on here? Where are these barnyard friends going by the light of the
moon? Are they off to a seaside vacation? A night on the town? They say every picture
tells a story but this one, delightfully, leaves me with many questions left unanswered.
.
On Saturday Ken and I had the extreme pleasure of attending Hudson’s Winter Walk.
We started the night in the same way we start everything we do in Hudson, with
something delicious from chef extraordinaire Chris Hebert, whose cafe is right in the
back of the Hudson Supermarket where we have our antique show space. Next, with
the idea of walking off some of our desert, seeing the sights and, for me, the chance
to get some photos, we headed out into the street just in time for the most charming
handmade parade.
Music was everywhere.
We wondered how those musicians performing outside could make their fingers
work on this 30 degree night.
You know what else was everywhere? Dogs!
Hudson is a dog-loving town and there were almost as many bowls of water on
the sidewalks outside of shops as there were tasty people treats inside.
Move over Amsterdam! We’ve got the windows!
The hula-hooper, belly dancers, balloon-twisting clown and ballerina worked it
without a break and drew admiring crowds all night.
Windows, fine…..
funky…..
and Dickensian.
But, what happened here? The bad monkey wrecks the joint and then just sits there
contemplating a piece of broken crystal while in the background, a bird, obviously
an accomplice, flies around doing who knows what on the carpet. I just love this
totally unexpected Christmas crisis window.
Below:
Our first stop was at 3Fourty Seven. As soon as you see The Chandelier, you know that
these people are not afraid to say who they are. Housed in a big old garage, this place has
Bold! written all over it.
They just opened, but with their ecclectic mix of modern, factory, textiles and oddball
artwork that just works, I know they will be enjoying a long, successful run.
They are a super-friendly group of architects, set designers and style-makers. Check
them out at 347 Warren Street. 518-291-4780.
www.3FourtySeven.com. info@3FourtySeven.com.
Below:
Next, we headed into Hudson Home. Again, we were met by friendly smiles and given a
tour of the beautiful shop with its stylish, comfortable-looking furnishings, plush bedding
and unusual accouterments.
And, again, dogs! I wasn’t kidding when I said Hudson is a dog town. A dramatic orange
room sports a few dozen photos of white-framed white dogs and the theme of orange
and dogs is carried out on the table of Christmas decorations and in the two
Chi Chi Chi Chia-looking poodles in the front window.
Be sure to ask about the unusual modern fireplace and the checkerboard rug.
It is no surprise that Hudson Home just had a nice blurb in Vogue. 356 Warren Street.
518-822-8120. www.hudson-home.com. richard@hudson-home.com.
Below:
And then there’s Kosa! The home of organic, recycled, green, indie clothing and jewelry.
Even when time is not on our side, my friends and I stop here. I go straight to the
legwarmers, fingerless gloves, spats and skirts all made from vintage sweaters by
Oh Deer.
My friends, all artists, like the indie clothing and would love the coat being modelled
by the accommodating customer below. I hope she bought it because it looked pretty
great on her. 502 Warren Street. 528-828-6620. www.kosa-co.net.
Below:
Hudson and Mark Wasserback. Mark Wasserback and Hudson. These names are
synonymous. Mark’s Antiques has been around for as long as I can remember and,
luckily, some things just never change. The inventory is crazy, edgy and heaped to
the rafters in any old higgledy-piggledy way. But don’t be fooled. This stuff is
fast-moving and it’s not the kind of place where you should say “I’ll think about it”
and then wander off to lunch.
The photo on the right (above) is of a section of a fabulous 8′ x 5′ table top that Mark
had made from metal printer’s plates.
So many disparate things to see, like the wooden Madonna, above, and the
aluminum light fixture, below.
Below, a divine blue-gray tack cupboard that I really love. Apparently,
and for reasons not understood by either Mark or me, alfalfa was placed in
the top part of the cupboard. Something to do with cleaning the tack. I did
go home…happy!…with the factory board in the photo on the right, below.
Mark’s factory presentation of party snacks induced me to step away from my
no-sugar routine long enough to enjoy one or two cookies. 612 Warren Street.
528-701-5382. wass1@nycap.rr.com.
But, there’s more! At the back of Mark’s store, steps, like a stairway to heaven,
lead to another of Hudson’s long-standing gems: Larry’s Back Room.
Chock full of treasures, some traditional
period pieces, some not traditional at all, you’d need some time to poke around
in here.
I spotted a pair of tall silver factory molds that, to me, are just begging to
be wine tasting tables. Larry’s walls are lined with collections, backed with
burlap, interestingly mounted and accurately labelled.
612 Warren Street. 528-248-2643. Lforman1@nycap.rr.com.
At this point, Ken, who had been really patient while I took almost 300 photos and
talked a blue streak, looked like he was getting weary.
So we headed back to the Hudson Supermarket…..
to check up on our space….
straighten the grain sacks…
and the mountain of lavender bags…
and the big pile of pagent wings I brought in to sell…
and to watch the fireworks that call an end to a very happy night.
Ok, so we’re driving along and we see this thing (below) on the side of the road. Knowing
it will make an incredible table base, we pull over and we buy it. The guy says “I’ll get my
fork lift and put it on your trailer.”
So, what is it about machinery that attracts guys like a magnet and causes them to stand
around watching as if Something Really Amazing were going to happen ?
Not that I’m complaining. It would have been way less than amazing to load it ourselves.
It’s the same thing with cars.
I guess there’s just something about the power of an engine and its ability to make things
happen that draws those fellas in and keeps them looking instead of, like me, saying
“uh huh” as I walk on by.
Over the weekend, we happened upon a small antique car show which we couldn’t just
pass by. We used to have some of our own, a ’60 Studebaker, like the one below, and a
’50 Hudson, so it is always fun to stop and admire someone else’s dreamy wheels while
we point to the ones we’d like to drive someday when, once again, we have free time.
One of the cars was a beautiful Buick with a rumble seat, very much like one owned
by a beau of my mother’s in the 30s. It was a gift from his father but, not being the
convertible he wanted, he took it to a garage and had the top cut right off. Inclement
weather? No problem! A bunch of umbrellas, conveniently stored under the seat, did
the trick back in those days of raccoon coats, bathtub gin and boola boola.
One day the Buick boy came to see my mother and said “We have to get married!”
It turned out that his family, long-time residents of an old stone house in Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey, were actually Canadian citizens and, in those days just before
our entrance into World War Two, were about to be deported. My mother, always
accommodating and caring about others, ran upstairs and packed a bag and off they
went to find a justice of the peace. Somewhere along the way, my mother realized
that it would never work and called the whole thing off. So, they went to the movies
to see “Bringing Up Baby” instead. I don’t know what happened to that boy and his
family, but I always loved this story of choosing movies over marriage.
Shortly after this, my mother met a real man! With a real convertible (top and all).
And, a real citizen, too! There he is, my father, the one on the left with the pipe,
high hair and his pals by his side. Below, with his dog… who could
resist such a cool guy?
He showed up at a party at my grandparent’s house in 1941. It was love at first sight.
They eloped (what else?…it’s a family tradition) before he went to France with the
army.
Cars have always played such a huge part in all of our lives; I guess they always will.
Here I am (below), sitting on the back of another convertible in 1950, next to my
always-glamorous mother.
Snooks is at the wheel, looking like a Bazaar magazine cover girl in her chic scarf,
sunglasses and, of course, the ever-present cig. She sucked in her cheeks to get
the high cheekbones that everyone wanted. Below, my mother (center), and her
beautiful sisters, Liz (again with the cig) on the left and Florence on the right, reading
Bazaar. Check out the cover. See what I mean about Snooks?
Then and now. Our love affairs with fashion, the automobile and love itself are ones
that never let us down.
Then …………………………………………………..and now!
Riding along in the middle of nowhere through central New York’s Leatherstocking
district looking for antiques, we spotted an old milk truck grill languishing in the
weeds on the side of a fabricator’s shop. We love old cars as much as old anything
else so, of course, we u-turned and headed back to see if it was for sale.
The owner was not only willing but was ready and able……
ready to cut out the radiator and other unwanted (by us) parts. And able to roll out
some stories about cars in particular and life in general.
The grill now graces the wall of our barn reminding us of antique cars we have owned
and loved but don’t have time for right now and how lucky we are to come across
these treasures…the stuff and the stories… that make life so much fun.