Muse News

This past weekend we acquired a well taken care of collection of Maple and French Provincial style furniture. The pieces were treasured by their owner and we want to find appreciative homes for them.

There are quite a few pieces now lining the hallways of our house and we are trying to decide which pieces to start working on first. We are choosing color palletes, fabric swatches and browsing inspiration photos. 

But, before we go any further we wanted to show you the pieces and gather some input/opinions. 

We also wanted to give the opportunity to any collectors to purchase any of the pieces as they are currently. 

Please browse the photos below and if you would like to share your opinion we would be more than happy to hear what you think!

Should we paint every piece or just leave their original Canadian design? What color? Where might you use a particular piece in your home? 

This fabric is in like new condition, a stunning Egyptian blue. But do we paint the wood or leave as is???

A great storage piece with one divided drawer and one extra large drawer and louvered doors, perhaps painted a white for a baby's room with a changing pad on top? or maybe a charcoal or black and then re-purposed as a bar?

The three pieces above have been placed all together but can be separated. The piece in the middle is actually a room divider with doors on either side.

Both of the lamps above are in excellent working condition.

This rocker and ottoman is very comfy!

 

Western themed boys room perhaps?

Testing paint colors.

A suite of French Provincial bedroom furniture consisting of 5 pieces.

 

So please feel free to leave any input, and share this post with your family and friends.

If you would like any more info about any of the pieces, we would be happy to share what we know.

Thanks for reading and viewing!

-Amanda and Liz

The Thrill of the Hunt

 

Most of the silver plate flatware that we use in our creations is hunted at thrift shops, garage sales, on Craigslist and on Ebay. We find pieces in varying conditions. Some pieces are absolutely stunning and appear to have never been used while others look like they have spent a lifetime outdoors.  We do not discriminate when collecting. We know that no matter what the condition we will be able to find a way to re-envision the piece into something that will bring joy to its future owner.

 The pieces in these photos were given to me by my friend Ian at Dunbar Disposal. All of these pieces were picked up by Ian during some junk removal jobs. He saved them from ending up in the landfill and passed them along for "...and then again" to re-purpose.

 

The details in some of these pieces are stunning. The large spoon with the shell motif is from 1896 by Rogers & Hamilton. It is a Berry Spoon in the Raphael pattern.  The souvenir spoon from 1909, is sterling and depicts the Church of St. Mary The Virgin at Oxford University.

This pile of flatware pictured above is a 4 piece dinner service plus a couple of extras. I polished one spoon in the middle to show how well some of the silver cleans up. This particular pattern is Arcadia aka Margate 1938 by Simeon L. & George H. Rogers Company.

Identifying the manufacturers and patterns of the silverware is part of the fun as well. I have a few websites that I refer to regularly as they have great photos, with full descriptions of origin and date. The character and sense of mystery that accompanies every piece we find really brings them to life. I often wonder who they belonged to, and how and when were they used? They certainly carry a timeless beauty.

-Amanda

For Your Viewing Pleasure.

Here are some more photos of our booth and re-envisioned items for purchase from Re-Fresh Market on April 27th in Squamish, BC.

Again, we want to thank the event organizers, Shannon and Rachel. Job well done ladies.

We also want to thank all the market goers, the great vendors we met and our awesome helpers Bobbi, Jenna and Shawn.

See you at Déja Vu Vintage Market on July 6th at the Wellbrook Winery.

-Amanda  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sneak Peek

If you follow us over on Facebook you have may have already seen our announcement that we will be part of The Refresh Market in Squamish on Saturday, April 27th. The market will take place from 11:00am to 4:00pm at The West Coast Railway Heritage Park in the roundhouse. I took a look at pictures of the venue and it looks awesome. Lots of natural light and open space.

We are really looking forward to the market and have been busy pulling the 'look' of our booth together and working on some new decor and jewellery designs.

Without giving too much away, the photos below give a taste of what the mood of our display will entail. We have focused on the renewal and transformation of Spring.

 We're pulling together elements of raw beauty found in nature with the elegant refinement of silver, crystal and pretty fabrics.

 

 

 

 

We are so looking forward to meeting the event organizers Shannon and Rachel, and all the other vendors as well.  

Hope you can make it to Squamish too!

-Amanda 

Arm Candy

Happy sunny Sunday!

For those of us here on the 'Wet Coast' it feels like it has been a long time since we have been able to catch this much Vitamin D!

In anticipation of Spring and more lovely weather to come, we thought we would preview our new Arm Candy.

 

 



 

We recently redesigned our silver flatware bracelets. We were previously using various chains with the flatware, but have now switched to an assortment of beautiful semi-precious stones. The stones bring life, drama and colour to the silver piece. The bracelets also have a more universal fit as the flatware piece of the bracelet has been shortened to sit on the top of the wrist like an ID bracelet. The bracelets are then finished with a handmade hook and eye clasp.

 

As we are fans of the layered look, we also made gemstone chip elastic bracelets to coordinate with the silver and gemstone bracelet.

 

The semi-precious gemstones in these pictures include amazonite, rhodonite, fluorite, cherry quartz, crystal quartz, rose quartz, labradorite, new jade and fancy jasper.

 

 

 

 We have also created a selection of earrings made from silverplated flatware ends. 

 

For those of you interested, these items won't be making it to our Etsy shoppe yet...we are hoping to revamp the whole shoppe in May. We will keep you posted on an upcoming spring market where all of our new items will make their debut. In the meantime if you are interested in purchasing any of the bracelets please contact us through our email or our Facebook page.

 

-Amanda



Inspiration

Happy February!

 

So glad that we are one month closer to spring! I am ready for longer days, vitamin D and the cherry blossoms that line our street. January has felt much too long!

 

Yesterday my mom and I went to Vancouver in search of inspiration for new designs for spring. We started at our favourite bead warehouse where we picked out some great gemstones, crystals and findings.

 

 

 

 

The stones above are New Jade, Amazonite, Fancy Jasper, Goldstone and Rose Quartz. They will be used in a new bracelet design and maybe for napkin rings.

 

 

 

 

I absolutely love the sparkle of these Swarovski crystals. They look so great in this seashell. It reminds me of a nebula and the stars.

 

 

These Crazy Lace Agate beads are beautiful and pick up so many tones. Hmmm what to make with them?

 

 

 

Our second stop was Heather Ross natural eclectic. It had been almost a year since we were last in her beautiful shop. A wonderfully curated collection of vintage finds, home decor and Heather's art and photography, it is an inspiring place to visit.

 

I picked up the seashell and the clay bowl in her shop and will be using them to display and photograph jewellery. I had my eye on many other items and will be making my way back again soon.

 

 

We had a tasty coffee break at Beaucoup Bakery and Café  located in the same converted building at Fir and 6th. The pain au chocolat was irresistible. In addition to the food, I loved the simple yet sophisticated decor of the café, including the dreamy paint colour and vintage chandelier in the bathroom (!).  I often envisage a peaceful, vintage glam space in my home, but with two energetic little boys it isn`t really in the cards right now...Oh well, a perfect excuse for another french inspired coffee and pastry.

 

 

My final acquisition of the day was this awesome array of silverplate items to add to my collection. I love the detail on the tray. Still not sure what I want to do with it...

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

- Amanda