Mother will be Cook of the Week!

I couldn't resist sharing this photo RIGHT AWAY of my mother with the fridge we have at the store. She's going to be cook of the week in the CCJ next week and I made her pose for me with this 60+ year old fridge that has made the rounds in our family -- it belonged to my dad's cousin, then we had it when I was young, then it was in the utility shed with the freezers for a while, then I think my brother & sister-in-law used it, then into a shed... now at Artifacts! Think of all the good eating that has come from this baby over the years!! Not to mention the good eating that has come from Mother's handiwork!

And.... we rearranged the front room after selling the big tall hutch that has been on the far right forever as display space. It now has a new home and can live as a hutch, not a display cabinet. :) Anyway -- changed up that section and the middle room some more and made plans to PAINT the first part of next week before all the new goodies came in!!

I have some photos of new furniture that I will be uploading to the web page later tonight, and I can't wait to get the new home decor things in and get photos of them. Don't forget to check out the Bridal Selection and Housewarming updates as well!

We just got back from Tupelo Furniture Market and I have to tell you about some of the great things we ordered that will be in the store in a couple of weeks! Be watching for:

• New wall decor - some of the coolest metal things I've seen, very different
• Large planter sets - the kind like on Kathryn Mize's bridal selection, big enough for icing down drinks for your summer cookouts or tailgaiting!
• New trays and candleholders
• Beautiful new large frame mirrors (some new and some like we sold out of during the holidays -- 3x4 foot and none priced over $180!!)
• Tabletop metal pieces
• New buffet bowls - these have been hot, but I found some new and different ones!!
  

ALSO - found a great new source for affordable furniture -- bedroom suites, dinettes, and large entertainment centers like this:

at prices you are going to LOVE.... We will have one of these in the store next week and we can give you a firm price by then -- email me if you want to know the general price range -- you're going to LIKE IT!! HA!

Things in the Dream Home

I watched part of the HGTV Dream Home premier, and noticed the glass cloche on the kitchen counter that I mentioned in my last newsletter. I finally was able to get on their site & snag this photo of it. I ALSO noticed two things on the other counter that I had missed when I saw it on TV -- the large wooden bowl and the metal tray. Both of which look remarkably similar to ones we have in the store!

Gee, maybe the decorators for the Dream Home were in shopping during the holiday rush & I just didn't know it, huh? :)

I have new photos on the website on the furniture, home decor, and lighting page. Some of them are also in the post below.... THANKS!

Wood bowls, new furniture, new lamps

Well, as promised, I have photos of new goodies for you tonight! Here are the latest lamps -- these are LARGE lamps and would work well in a sunroom or den, I think. But they're not too casual to use in a living room -- very antiquey-bronze looking. and the sections that are looking a bit blue-green in this photo look like that great patina copper or bronze would get over time.

We also have in a good many new wooden bowls and trays. These bowls are larger and deeper than any we've had before and they would be gorgeous with an assortment of candles in them sitting on your coffee table or ottoman. They're also big enough to hold a nice stash of your favorite magazines....

Go to the Artifacts web page & click on FURNITURE to see the latest furniture pieces we've received.

Hope says it's time...

...for a new post. And since she bothered to leave me a comment, I will oblige!

Even though I have nothing to add right now (recovering from a day-long migraine) I will try my best to get photos of the new furniture pieces that came in & post them some time tomorrow.

In the mean time.... don't you just love pretty dinner plates?? I do -- these were inexpensive, no-name old ones but I like 'em.

Things on my list....

Okay, folks... Furniture Market in Tupelo is coming up and it won't be long until we visit our regular wholesale spots for new stock. Here are a few things on my list that we're out of (or nearly out of) and that people have asked me for. So these are things I'm looking for!

1. Wooden bowls/trays

2. More of those glass cloches/bell jar thingies

3. Corner cabinets

4. Large jewelry armoires

5. New framed prints

6. Candleholders

What do I NOT have on my list that YOU would like to see?? Email me or respond to this post!

What's New for 2009?

Ever heard the expression "everything old is new again??" Well that's what's new -- old things! I just received today one of the business magazines that I read regularly and that's what they mentioned in more than one article.

They applied it to bamboo - an old, old construction material ( how many thousands of years have the Chinese been using it to build?!?) used in new ways like fabrics and home textiles of all types. In addition to being in these textiles, bamboo will be featured on them and used as the basis for metal pieces too.


They also mentioned the fleur de lis design (pronounced: flure duh LEE) which has been around since the times of the Egyptians but is best known as a symbol of France. It is supposed to represent a stylized lily or iris, and once you start noticing it you will find it EVERYWHERE in home products. And you have to figure that something that's been in style for centuries is going to last a while in your home, right?

Another design that proves "old is new" is derived from the most ancient of all designers -- Mother Nature! One of today's hottest designers - Shelly Riehl David -- is sort of responsible for pushing this trend to a new level. She mixes hot colors, leather, wood, rich fabrics and ANIMAL PRINTS and FAUX FUR to create a look that is very "today"

Leave us a comment here or zap us an email and let us know what design trend you're noticing, or which ones you like or dislike.

Check out new photos on the web page -- new Bridal Selections, new home decor & furniture photos.