February Workshops

This noon I finally got around to updating my workshops for February. I posted them in the Events & Workshops tab (above) and on my website if you are interested.

Last Saturday, I taught a furniture painting/3 technique workshop to Janice, a very lovely and very creative woman. She decided to paint a shelf in Provence with the Rustic Waxed technique. I love the way the color looks with a rustic finish and the dark wax. Beautiful!

Janice loved her results, and so did I! Around 4:00 pm, closing time, I was feeling very feverish and weak. Little did I know I was consumed with this awful, torturous flu. I have honestly never, ever had a flu that was unrelenting in its grip. I have been in bed all week, still am, and tonight I still am fighting a semi-high fever. I cannot get it to go away! Just when I think I might be getting better and I go downstairs "pretending" I am well, it is within a matter of minutes I am back in bed.

Some of you may know I have three cats. They all have loved having me home. For a person who never takes a nap, they all think this is such a marvelous change in their lives. No only am I home, I am in bed constantly! They are in for a jolt when I finally get back on my feet because I am never one to sit still unless I am sitting by the fire reading a book. And then they invariably find my lap a nice place to be cozy as long as I am residing there.

This is my man, Solon, the one who has greeted and helped anyone who walked in the door all week. He has the perfect Southern hospitable manner, bar none, and patience galore. I have to thank him here in this forum because many of my customers read this blog. I had originally hoped to get to my shop no later than Wednesday, but little did I realize the fierceness of this virus. Now I am shooting for Tuesday. I hope I make it. Solon needs a break too! Thank you for all your patience in my absence.

January Whites

When I was thinking about taking the holiday decorations down and settling into the new year for the new location (which I love by the way), I was thinking about white and snow and lights reflected in that magical winter light. I grew up, for the most influential part of my childhood, in Massena, New York, a small town near the Canadian border where it could start snowing around Halloween and begin a melt down in late April. Now, living in a milder climate for the majority of my adult life, I never seem to get over the longing for this magical snowy existence and beauty.

So after I took the tree down and all the decorations, I decided a snowy existence or a semblance of one, was just what I needed for a transition from holiday to winter. This last Thursday when I was in my front room restocking paint, I heard some young boys walking home from school with a question...."why is that store all white?" I had to laugh. Well, I guess I did get my point across.

I love ambient light in a room and this was a chance to show one of my lampshades that I made and soon will be featured in a class with Annie Sloan's beautiful fabrics!

I love the store at night just when I am ready to shut off the lights and lock the door. I always leave three lamps on so people can peek in and wonder what is there on the shelves and way beyond. I think we all love to walk in our neighborhoods at night and peek into windows to see how people decorate and live their lives.

One discussion I had with my husband and a customer this last week was of past memories. We all recalled when January was a month when all of the department stores featured "white sales", and then in February there were the men's suit sales around the President's birthdays. In March everyone looked forward to appliance sales. I think these indelible memories for many much younger are long forgotten.

We are nearly to another holiday, Valentine's Day. I am hard-pressed to give up my white decor right now, but I may hang a few Valentine hearts somewhere in the shop. For now I am enjoying the imaginary beauty of snowflakes and magical light cast on snow at twilight. There really is nothing more beautiful.

January Warmth and Inspiration

There is something about January and the adjustment of being so busy in December and the holiday tempo that makes it seem a little forlorn. Leaving my grandchildren is always hard and it never seems to get any easier even as some of them are reaching their teens. It was a nice boost this year to return to my fairly new location and shop and plunge right into a workshop with inspiring and energetic women. What a fun way to begin a new year.

What I love best about workshops is the mingling of mutual passions and ideas and ways to hunt for bargains whether it be furniture or hardware. There is always someone in the group who has a secret way to find the best deal. Everyone talks about design, color, and technique in a refreshing and sharing manner. We all love paint and being creative, but we also love a chance to share and know we all belong to a mutual group that loves design and improvement and recycling neglected pieces of furniture.

After we were done painting our wood samples, we decided to try painting some metal hooks. This is what I love most about Chalk Paint™. You can paint on absolutely anything and these decorative hooks took to the paint as any refined hook would do given the same opportunity!

How about Florence with Antoinette and a little distressing and some dark wax?

And then there is the regal beauty of a Primer Red with some dark wax and a distressing.

A Fleur-de-lis with Chateau Grey, a little distressing and softening with dark wax is pure elegance.

And who does not love Provence in any form? Here it is ready to hang in the warmth of a little distressing and dark wax.

And here is Antoinette in all her beautiful subtle refinement. I love the warmth of the dark wax and a little distressing to give this piece an extra charm.

At the ending of the workshop we all shared our information on Pinterest and Facebook. There will be more pins to pin and more friends to add to all of our pages and isn't this the best way to begin a January that at the onset seems a little calm and remote from families and friends where the miles may seem a bit long. I am warming up to a wonderful year at The Purple Pear. The wind may seem cold and the temperatures chilly but there is much to warm our hearts and keep our creative pulses beating.

As the new year approaches

The Purple Pear will be closed through the holidays and will re-open on January 3rd. On January 5th I will be teaching a "Basics" workshop and there are still openings if you want to join us and get a early start on your furniture painting ideas for 2013.

I have many new ideas for the shop including new workshops with Annie Sloan's new and beautiful fabrics. We will be making lampshades as well as easy pillows with her fabrics that I have in my shop.

This is one of Annie's beautiful toiles, Normandie. Wishing you all a relaxing and safe holiday and I will see you in the new year!

Work Book Inspiration

The lights were dim, but I was waiting and ready for the launch of Annie Sloan's newest book, Work Book!

I love this little book on Doodling in French by Anna Corba's. It seemed a perfect match for Annie's book too.

We are just beginning here....

There is something about the Rococo style that captivates me. I think it is because the palette is so soft and serene.

I guess I am a little hesitant to categorize a style other than what it is, Classical, but when I look at this palette, I think immediately of something a little more complex, sophisticated, and thoughtful. I want to pick up a book and read or simply sit and think within this palette. I find it invigorating as well as introspective.

When I page through Annie's Work Book and I arrive at the page that says "Asian style" I am immediately transported to my brother's home in San Francisco which has the most wonderful collection of Asian art and furniture. These are the colors that you see when you enter his world, the colors of Imari, Chinese reds, beautiful greys and golds. It is a world that gives one balance and peace and a sense of the earth.

I have to admit, I am not one to lean toward a Modern style in furniture. However, I appreciate the artists whom I am familiar that have stimulated my thinking and allowed me to go beyond my predictable palette. Annie knows how to introduce a person to another style, another way of seeing. I love her for this. I don't want to live a warm and cozy life in my secure corner of the world. Occasionally I want to see other designs and be exposed to other ways of thinking. This is why I have had this fascination with Annie for a very long time. She is an artist who will nudge you toward another way of seeing and feeling and interpreting. And so this is why all of her books are so inspiring and prolific and perennial.

In the weeks ahead and into the new year I will be spending a little more time with her fabric and working on my new Work Book with doodles, paint swatches, magazine clippings, and my own stylistic explorations!

Annie Sloan's Work Book Launch

I am really excited about the Work Book Launch Party tomorrow night. All the Stockists in the US are going to join Annie Sloan in celebrating the publication of her newest book. She will be celebrating in her own shop in Oxford, England while we are having our own parties. This is such a fun book and one where you can actually paint swatches, draw or sketch inspiring ideas, collect fabric swatches and magazine inspiration, and share what you love on Pinterest at the same time!

Today in my shop, I spent some time painting in the swatches for the different styles that Annie has designated in this delightful, useful, and fun workbook. What I discovered as I was painting the various pages was that I was drawn to a specific palette. I love all of Annie's colors, but I have never sat down in this way and categorized them in terms of periods or style. What I was strongly drawn to was the colors of the Rococo Style. These definitely resonated with me in so many ways.

I am guessing this just might be the experience of many who buy this gem of a book and find themselves immersed in the ideas and colors and how they are represented in this unique and inspiring way. Hope you all are able to find a class close to one of the stockists in your area so everyone can participate in this fun and exciting event!

Grand Finale to Opening Week

We had the most wonderful week celebrating our grand opening after the remodel and welcoming many former and new customers.

Today was a steady stream of customers and friends stopping in to see the shop and taste some goodies and see our latest offerings in paint and merchandise.

A beautiful bouquet of flowers in hues of purple, pinks, and mauves arrived from a special friend and in-law from Illinois. What perfect colors to compliment a shop called The Purple Pear. What a sweet surprise when they were delivered the day before the party! A look into the shop from the outside....

And Carole, the owner for our building walked in carrying this beautiful bouquet of fresh poinsettias in the most beautiful basket with a wonderful bottle of red wine and a celebratory card. She is such a gem of a person and we feel so immensely fortunate to have found her and this lovely space.

People mingled and enjoyed goodies and sparkling wine. We are so happy to be where we are in our new location and we are looking forward to the next event which is the Annie Sloan Work Book Launch Party on Thursday evening!

Grand Opening Finale Saturday

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the final day of our Opening Week and we end with raffle drawings and refreshments! If you are in the Portland area, please stop by and visit our new store.