I am a distant cousin of Mrs. Claus....

... and I have already had inbox messages from those in the know about that asking me to pass along special wishes to her. For instance... one of the items in a photo earlier in the month on this very blog will be packed in Santa's sleigh for a lucky Bruce lady. Yep. And that's all I'm going to say about that, BUT I'll be glad to pass along your wishes to Mrs. Claus. All you have to do is let me know!

Also, I wanted to post a quick update to let you know I have new wall decor in (including this piece that we've had before) And I couldn't wait until the next newsletter went out to share this pretty bedroom in a customer's home. People often ask me what colors this piece works well with -- well, here's your answer -- anything! The walls in this room are rich chocolate brown, but I've also seen it on blue, green, and even generic beige. It's a great accent piece.

Guys .... just want to have fun

I'm always on the lookout for things that make good "guy gifts".... here are a few I've unpacked lately. Really cool "antler" lamps and these pretty (but not girly) oval leather boxes. I think the boxes would be perfect for holding the remote control, or for him to throw all that "pocket stuff" he normally throws all over the place. Keeping it contained instead of strewn everywhere!

Just Sayin'.....

Gonna be all subtle and suggest you go to www.artifactsbrucems.com and check out the sale page. That's all I'm saying. Not going to force you to go. Not going to mention it again. You didn't hear it from me. I'm being SUBTLE, I tell you!

Birds on the Brain or just Bird-Brained??

If you're talking about me the past few weeks, you'd be safe betting on the latter. :)

But, I have really enjoyed unpacking some of the little subtle birdy-themed items for the Christmas window this year. I will have some full-blown Christmasy birds to show you later, but wanted to let you see a little sneak peek of some of the other things.

Left: holder for cocktail napkins with a little bird to weight them down. Below left: A wire cookbook holder (with chains and weights to hold your cookbook open) is topped by a little birdy. Below right: One of my favorite sayings for a child's room -- "always kiss me goodnight" -- is featured on this pretty frame, along with A BIRD! :)

Holiday Open House November 4-7

Welcome to the Holiday Open House preview for loyal newsletter followers! As I said in the newsletter earlier this week, I will be posting updates here as I unpack holiday goodies, and give you updates on the new merchandise that is coming in!

Check back often and email me if you have any questions!






Left: Look at these gorgeous turquoise canisters!! I just got them in yesterday, but I've had these pretty brown vases with TURQUOISE drip design for a while now and I think the combination just POPS when they're put together! On the right: HUGE new hammered copper bowl that just arrived. Look, it takes up my whole countertop! Would be so pretty filled with holiday greenery or use it before then filled with pumpkins, gourds, fall leaves, etc.

Decorating Tips & New Customer Photos

I'm delighted to be able to share photos of some great pieces from Atifacts in the new home of a young couple! You can see full details on the Customer Photo page of the website.

There is a design tip on there that I wanted to share here, though. They selected a baker's rack with some iron scroll work for their kitchen and mimicked the ironwork with a coat rack in the entry hallway. They also carefully repeated a leaf/vine motif (without overdoing it!!) by using an accent piece with that design in the entrance and taking the motif into the great room with lamps, lamp shades, and the design of the end tables.

Sometimes in a new construction it's difficult to make them look more like a home and less like a catalog or furniture showroom. This young couple selected a somewhat "distressed" piece with a rustic crackle-finish accent table for the entrance and it sets the tone with the look of an aged, collected piece and the use of a piece with a finish like this is a great way to put a personal stamp on a new house.

They are not quite finished decorating, and I look forward to seeing more photos in the months to come. They've gone a super job so far -- go check it out for yourself here: Customer Photos

The weather is toooooo nice.....

.... and people don't come see me at Artifacts as much when the weather is nice! They're working in their yards. And if I could be doing anything I wanted to do... uh, I'd be working in *my* yard too, so I totally understand. :)

BUT to keep me from going nuts during times like these I rearrange and dust and redo and dust some more and move things and dust and when I'm finished I usually find something I forgot to dust. HA! AND I think about things I could do differently in the store.

One idea is to group furniture items by color. But I'm not sure I like that idea. As a shopper -- would I like the idea of seeing a furniture finish I like & then walking around & going, "Oh, there's another piece with that finish!" and feel like I've discovered something for myself OR would I like things just all in one place? Hmmmmmmm.... I could group funiture items by use - put all the sofa tables together, all the small cabinets together. But same question arises. Better to see it all or enjoy discovering things?

I know what *I* prefer as a shopper and a shop owner, but kind of wonder what my customers feel, so let me know either here or through email.

I also think about lines I'd like to add, and one thing someone suggested in a contest I ran a couple of years ago was a line of Mississippi pottery. I loved the idea, but I still haven't added it.
:( Now that is an item that I would group together, not spread among the other items at the store, so that means before I add it, I have to come up with a dedicated area for it! That means cleaning out a big section of the big shelves and lately I've gotten so many great vintage items and glassware and pottery, etc in that those shelves are fuller than ever!

And then there's bridal, graduation, gift registries. Is there something I could be doing different/better there? What about my sign that I used to put outside on the easel, why don't I use that anymore & where did it go? What theme is my big Christmas window going to be this year?

Seeeeeeeeeeeeee all the directions my mind goes just because the weather is tooooooo nice?? :)