Archives

by Stephanie

Crazy Wonderful

Beyond fabulous, this ziggedy-zaggedy house in the Catskills…

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A silo, pretty in pink polka dots…

IMG_6860A stupendous folksy-painted staircase…

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An iron step, declaring that a good time should be had by all who climb…

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Wooly sheep, grazing in lush, tall green grass…

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And, one more, snoozing in front of a nicely-carved gravestone…

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An artist-friend’s back porch…

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A collection of re-purposed industrial washtubs-turned benches, dressed in grain sacks and down, waiting to go to

The Hudson Mercantile…

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A pile of cool stuff from a picker’s yard…

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Sleeping Willie, looking like a little bat-cat…

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The world is just chock full of wonderful things.  Sometimes they are disguised, mixed among the ridiculous

and weird.  Sometimes they actually ARE the ridiculous and weird. It is just a matter of perspective and

expectation and the willingness to see.

 

by Stephanie

Favorite Things

I’ve told this story before: I said “that’s my favorite thing” so often that, one day, a friend said
“oh, Steph, EVERYTHING is your favorite thing!”  I guess it is so: I like a lot. So here are a few
of them:
Glass girls…
A grey cupboard full of white stuff. May I have that back, please?
1930s homemade tinfoil birds, glittered for the Christmas tree…..
Pretty clock faces…..
Old homespun linen, gathered in the corner of a daybed cushion…..
Tiny leather diaries, meticulously documenting one man’s life through the 1930 and 40s……
Leather books, old European paintings and (always) sheep…..
A country store counter-turned-sideboard full of things that I love…..
A barn vent, stunning with its remnants of white paint…..
A hand painted (by me) trunk and a spotted tin horse…..
Letters made of mirrors on a shocking blue board…..
A zinc architectural piece, the best one I’ve ever had…..
A navy blue basket full of navy and cream coverlets…..
A wooden processional piece from the flea market in Tongeren, Belgium…..
A pot metal bird…..
A navy corner cupboard with a hoop skirt form as a wreath…..
More leather books and European paintings…..
Which is the best? Could I ever pick just one? Some of the items in these photos were sold at
The Hudson Mercantile but  I still think of them lovingly from time to time. Most, though,
I have kept. As my eye sweeps back over these pictures, I know my friend was right. Everything
IS my favorite.
by Stephanie

Just Perfect

I like things to be in order. Dramatic is good, chaotic is not. This counter is symmetrical:

drawers, doors, drawers. On top are display cases, one, two, three. Behind are factory

molds, all in a row and just the width of the counter. Nice!

A row of French baskets on a bench…

Verticals and horizontals in perfect harmony…
Straight farm-implement shelves displaying license plate frames: one on one,
no more, no less.
But, wait! What’s this? What happened to symmetry? Harmony? Everything in its
place?
I guess a laughing friend, keeping warm under a grain sack at an early morning
flea market is as perfect as it gets.
—
All but my cozy friend were in The Hudson Mercantile.
by Stephanie

Strong Bodies

It is obvious to me, as I watch Ken and Tom load this very heavy, 11 foot long
country store counter, that they must have eaten their Wonder Bread.  Because,
as we all know, Wonder Bread Builds Strong Bodies 8 Ways.
I was thrilled to get this fabulous counter because of  its hand-painted advertising.
We will probably make 2 four foot counters and one 3 footer. Or something like that.
Unless a customer wants it long.  Maybe I’ll put half  in the Hudson Supermarket and
keep the other half.  Here I go again, planning to keep my inventory.  But, when will I
ever see another one of these again? Sheesh.
It is difficult for most antique dealers, at least the ones who purchase only what they
love, to part with any of it. Especially the special things, the one of a kind items, the
pieces that you will never forget.  Most have lists in their minds of the things they
wish they kept.  Many of us constantly switch this piece for that one in our houses.
But in the end, it is a business, a livelihood and, sadly, we can’t keep it all.  But why
not just this one counter??????

 

by Stephanie

What’s In Bournebrook ?

This 10′ work table (below) is among my top ten favorite factory pieces of all time.  It once

had straight legs.  Someone didn’t like it that way and cut them off.   I love the odd 

arangement of criss-cross legs and supports and the curved drawer fronts.

Mountains of old string-tied book remnants grace an otherwise-empty spot.

An 1800s French horse stall window hangs (crookedly, I see) over a counry store counter. 

As usual, grain sacks and grain sack upholstered furniture take pride of place. The old

rippled glass of the display case is so pretty that anything looks good inside it.

Jennifer Lanne’s paintings make everything look better, too!  See more of her paintings at

www.jenniferlanne.com .

 

Is it a cupboard or a big easel ?

So much stuff, so little room.

   

Walking sideways is always a must.

Visit Bournebrook  in Troy, New York or at www.bournebrook.com .

by Stephanie

It’s Big

–We were wandering around some country roads in Vermont looking for interesting stuff

to buy.  A sign that proclaimed “Big Furniture Sale” caught our attention and we took the

required left-hand turn.

–Not knowing how old the sign was (the sale could have been three weeks ago ’cause who

takes signs down anymore?) and not knowing how old the furniture was (a herculon sofa?

a pressed-board dresser? a Philadelphia highboy?) was never an issue. The word on the sign

that made us act was “Big!”  It’s not that we don’t care for medium-sized things. We just

really love the large, the heavy, the outrageous. We mostly sell industrial furniture, the kind

of things that have to be loaded onto our truck with a fork lift. We’re always hoping for a 16′

table, a country store counter, an architectural wonder.

We followed the signs down a long driveway.  And then we saw it. It was big alright!  And it

was metal (another favorite). It was so wonderful that we thought that the man running the

sale would never be planning to part with such a treasure.  Amazingly, though, he would and

 did part with it….. this huge, fabulous nautical float, the float of all floats.