Work Book Launch Party!

I am so excited about Annie Sloan's newest book!! I am hosting a launch party at my new location on NE Glisan Street in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, December 13 from 6:30 - 8:00 PM. We will paint swatches, jot down design ideas, cut fabric swatches and magazine clippings. This latest book is sure to bring you lots of inspiration as well as remind you of all your ideas that you might explore in the middle of the night. It will be a keeper of dreams and doodles. What fun!

Getting close.....

It is a funny thing, but when one is on a road trip and you start seeing colors, you realize twenty nine colors have been prevalent in your life on a daily basis, and you start to search for objects that reflect a certain hue. This must be Florence, the color that is. Or it could be Provence. I had been seeing Chalk Paint™ decorative paint by Annie Sloan everywhere and then when the driving was more bland or the colors more subtle I would still be combining colors or mixing them to create new ones.

The gradation of color in this wall along the highway in Wyoming caught my eye because of the softer tones in Annie's palette that are similar to Old Ochre, Country Grey, Versailles, and Cream. In the middle section, I even see CoCo and French Linen. The color at the top of this wall would be a great one to mix, but right off hand I would need to figure this out. I am guessing a little Scandinavian Pink added to one of the colors above with a mixture of another. The mind never stops thinking about Annie Sloan's beautiful palette.

The drive West from St Louis was long at times but also enjoyable. I can't recall sitting so much since I became a Stockist so it was a little hard to be patient at times and not be doing something every minute. Once we were home and had unloaded the car, I felt I was off and running and have not stopped except to sleep at night. I am narrowing my search down for a retail space and feel I am getting close.

In the interim, I have been taking calls and delivering product. As a reminder for those that use the Quick and Easy Paint Transformations book by Annie Sloan, please remember some of these colors are no longer current. It is best to go to my website Purple Pear Shop to view the 29 colors that are available in the current palette in the U.S. I will keep you posted on my new retail location!

Henry meets The Purple Pear

Well today was my final day at this location for The Purple Pear. We are off now to new adventures, looks, and fun! But today was the day I unexpectedly realized I needed a soothing presence......Henry!!!

This day began as usual. I hurried through coffee, emails, shower, loading of the car, including Henry who had an appointment at the vet for his final booster for feline leukemia. Oh I forgot. I also went to my storage unit to pick up paint before the vet. It is the constant ritual of planning too much and running out of time. So guess what? Henry had to go to my store because I did not have time to take him home and get there to open by 11:00 AM.

First of all, you have to understand that Henry is the newest addition to my cat family, and he is an absolute love. He is the easiest, most uncomplicated cat that has passed my way, and I knew he would adapt immediately to The Purple Pear. He decided he looked particularly debonair against a backdrop of CoCo. Bless his heart. He knows fine colors and the best Chalk Paint™ colors when he see them.

I worried about him being bored, but he immediately nestled against Gina Brown's beautiful pillows because he knows they are all about beauty and love!

And of course I panicked when I realized I was taking him to my shop, and he did not have his own commode. I figured a solution quickly with some cat litter and a shipping box. It was perfect.

Henry finally decided that I was not entertaining him enough so he settled in and nestled against Gina's fine pillows.

Then Henry was pushed and shoved into this completely unattractive carrier and crammed into a car that was already full to the brim!

But he was promised a little compensation... no more retail time for the moment, a treat, and some catnip, and a time to be the Henry that he is....loving, silly, unpredictable, and lots of company on a final day that called for a celebration and a respectful good bye. We will be keeping you posted on our newest and most exciting location so please keep us close. We are almost there. And who knows, Henry might be the gentleman that periodically greets you at the door!

Changes Ahead

A special announcement...... I will not be moving into Madison Park with Randy. We mutually decided the space would most likely be too small for my workshops plus all my inventory. So I am on the search for a new location. I will let you know soon what the address will be when I find the perfect roomy space I need!

I have been sorting through the collections I have wondering which ones I will sell and which pieces I will keep. When I go to textile shows they call these white pieces of clothing "Victorian Whites" and I am drawn to these gems like a magnet. If I had to explain the reason for this, it would be impossible as it is such an empowering instinct for me.

Such sweet images.....and the hours and skill of handwork absolutely mind boggling.

I intend to bring a lot of these into my new location. I will keep you posted on my new address somewhere around the beginning of September. I will be selling my things on my website and out of my home for a few weeks, maybe less. Please stay tuned!

Deconstruction

This use to be my next door neighbor's house. It was built in the twenties with lots of charm, beautiful windows and a tile roof on a corner lot. It had been in the family from the very beginning until they decided to sell it to a developer who is basically dismantling it (slowly hand-bulldozing it) and reconstructing a new home with a second story and a large upscale master bedroom. They have installed a chain link fence around the property with a plastic covering so no one can see how they are destroying history. (I was able to sneak in and take some photos). Am I sentimental? Yes. But I know who lived in that home, the pattern of their lives, the way they parked their cars everyday of the year, the decorations that displayed every Halloween and Christmas. I have felt such sadness over the whole process. And what is the purpose of this demolition? There is no amount of enlightening that will ease my remorse. This was the upstairs bedroom, the one that will be transformed into a "master suite". Call me old fashioned, but I am a preservationist when it comes to history and architecture and roots. And so here I am in my shop taking a new piece trying to make it look authentically "old", and the whole time I am waxing and distressing I am mulling over the fact that what I am creating is being destroyed right next to my home. I am creating old, and they are dismantling it. Is it a personal preference or is it simply greed and profit on their part? In a neighborhood with character, style, and architectural dictates, why would someone want to come in and build a home that only insults the grace of its surroundings? Looking down and through is my idea of vision. We need to see something that speaks to us. When I paint a piece of furniture, it sometimes takes me awhile to really see a piece. I might paint it one color and then go back later and do another color. Yet, I think ultimately the design and the shape and the various ideas will suddenly come forth, and you will know, without explanation, why you choose to do what seems authentic and fitting, and it becomes an integrated decision. A piece is born through your dreams, remembrances, and your unique design vision. It is really not complicated if you trust your instincts. Repair what needs to be fixed. (I love this part.) Choose the color that speaks to you (and you must trust that it will and does). Then choose the color and vision that gives you that sense of certainty. Florence is one that is beginning to haunt my dreams.....I trust it will find its place.

A Lighter Heart

Last weekend on my two days off, Sunday and Monday, I piled all my furniture in the middle of my store and started to paint every wall a new and cleaner color for spring and summer.

It is funny, but ever since I became a Stockist for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I have wanted to go home every night and change every room in my house. I am starting with my shop.

I think one of the most difficult things is deciding on what color to paint a piece of furniture. I have to live with it for a few days and feel the whole gestalt of it before I decide. I am not always right, but most of the time I am feeling a certain mood for the color as you can see in this cabinet. I am going to store lots of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and wax in there as well as brushes and Crackleur and gilding wax.

What seemed to be missing all winter in my shop was a little extra sparkle. I had lights in the window, but on the other wall opposite, it seemed a little dull and boring.

I have tried for the longest time to not bring anything too feminine or romantic into the space, and then one day I just woke up and asked myself why I was not defining this huge part of myself, a hopeless romantic and feminine person. I am giving into the feeling and I love it!

Sometimes you simply have to indulge your senses.

I have lots of new products coming into the shop including furniture hardware and other embellishments.

I am going to use this beautiful wooden violin case for display. I fell in love with the weathered patina and could not resist taking it back to my shop.

Honestly, she needed a good home.

Tomorrow I will be bringing in a whole pile of vintage and antique linens, Victorian Whites and trims, and an assortment of things I bought in France awhile back. I even have a few Fortuny pieces I am finally willing to let go of. Why? I am not sure, but sometimes you cannot covet something forever! I can hardly wait until Annie Sloan comes out with her beautiful line of textiles.

And of course I am continuing to paint lots of things for the shop in my favorite Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colors. Could you ask for a more perfect existence in a world of color and dreams and exploration? I think not.

Spring into The Purple Pear

The rain the last few days has been unrelenting in Portland. I have to say I don't mind it and I am not sure why this is, but a lot of people are seriously affected by it. Last Friday, I stopped to buy some spring flowers to put in the window of my shop, and it seemed to lift a few spirits.

Annie Sloan is nearing the end of her US Tour in a few days and I am ending my last scheduling of workshops on Saturday. I am doing the Basic Six from 1-5 or 5:30 pm. I am completely revising my workshops and labeling them according to level. I have also decided to offer fewer techniques per class, so there is time to assimilate things, ask more questions. I also want to do a color class where we play with Annie's Chalk Paint and take certain colors and make gradations of tones. All these and more will be available in early April, so stay tuned for a more eclectic mix and lots of fun! And before we know it the sun will be bright, and we will be wearing summer dresses and shorts.

Collaging from the Heart

Kathy Sandler taught a fun workshop at the Purple Pear last Thursday. I was amazed what her students produced.

All the journals were collaged with images and papers that Kathy brought. Some of the students brought images they wanted to include as well.

I think the fact that the representations are all so different reflects the individual expression of each and how Kathy encourages each person to work from the heart and design accordingly.

I was in the back most of the time with customers, but when I walked out to see what they had created, I was amazed at the beauty and well as the differences expressed by each.

Kathy has wonderful stamps that she shares as well. I love the written word anyway, and I like the way it is used in some of these journals. Kathy's next classes will be on April 14. She will be teaching two classes back-to-back from 11:am to 2:pm and from 2:pm to 5:pm. Leave a comment here if you would like to join her and explore the many variations of this fun and personal collaged journal.