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 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!

Painting Workshops at The Purple Pear

It's amazing what a difference that 1) ample space, 2) tailored lighting and 3) an extra-large table can make when teaching a workshop! I am having so much fun teaching Chalk Paint™ techniques in my larger quarters!

I taught a furniture painting workshop tonight in this new space. They brought the wine. I brought the cheese and crackers plus a little paint and wax. I will post photos in a few days of their fun pieces.

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!

Store Progress

We're almost completed with my store remodeling, and my customers have been so gracious in spite of the sawing, hammering and other usual construction noises. We've enjoyed sharing our Annie Sloan products with so many of you at the new location at 6016 NE Glisan in Portland.

This morning, I made my first sale of Annie's fabric at my new store to a true lover of the French country look. Debra Ruggles, from Canby, Oregon, is shown in the photo below with her purchase of Normandy Toile. I wanted to capture this exciting moment for The Purple Pear and Debra was gracious enough to allow me to do that. Thanks Debra! Please stop in and take a look at the other three designs that I am offering. They are all beautiful and the quality is superb!

The Purple Pear will be the location for many exciting events during the remainder of 2012 as well as for the new year ahead. In 2013, we will be hosting an evening guest artist series. More immediate, several workshops are scheduled for November and December, mixed in between the holidays. Please check the dates on my website's "Welcome" page.

Also, a grand opening for my new store has been set for Saturday, December 8, from 4-7 pm. (More to follow in a subsequent blog.)

Finally, for those of you who have already stopped by The Purple Pear's new location on Glisan Street, I want to express my appreciation for your visits. The remaining touches of remodeling will soon be completed, and it is my hope that The Purple Pear will be a place to find joy and inspiration. As one of my favorite artists, Georgia O'Keeffe, once said, "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for."

Meeting Jeni

I am so excited to introduce Jeni Barackman as a new member of our Annie Sloan group of retailers in Oregon. Jeni is a woman of many talents, inspiration, and creative energy. She has opened a wonderful store in the charming downtown area of Hillsboro.

This is one of the many pieces that Jeni has painted with the Chalk Paint™ decorative paint, Emperor's Silk. When I visited Jeni in her beautiful location, I was amazed at all the furniture she had painted and the beauty of each piece.

This eye-catching table was done with the most beautiful lettering, and if Jeni wants to share her secret, I will leave this up to her!

Here is the detail of the table top. She told me that this piece sold so quickly that she barely had time to photograph it.

I have always loved the color Cream in Annie's palette, and Jeni has surely exemplified why this color is so soft and easy to use in any room. Please take some time to stop by and introduce yourself to Jeni in her new shop. She would love to have you visit, and she has every color in stock as well as the waxes. Her hours are as follows: Sun/Mon closed, Tues 11-7, Wed-Fri 10-5, and Sat 9-2. Please visit her at 158 NE 2nd Ave, Hillsboro, OR. She will inspire you and you can welcome her to her new position as retailer of the greatest paint in the world, Chalk Paint™ decorative paint by Annie Sloan!

A girls gotta do what she has to do!

I know this is a boring photo for a blog focusing on beauty, French things, and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™, but Sunday was a very busy day. I moved lot of furniture out of my house and into my store by myself. I hauled an oak dresser up from the finished basement and carried a French metal crib down the stairs from the upstairs, drove to my shop, and got ready to give a workshop. I parked the van in front of my store to be unloaded after the workshop was done.

This is a photo of what is inside the van. If my husband had been around, everything would have been arranged and secured with rope, but I was in a hurry and really nothing shifted on the trip to the shop. I intend to paint everything pronto!

The workshop was so much fun! The weather was perfect, sunny and in the high 70's. I love it when I can open the garage door and let the light in. People passing by also love to look inside and see what we are up to. What a great group of women, very enthusiastic, gracious, and fun. This is why I absolutely love what I do. I have met some of the most talented and lovely women since I became a Stockist almost a year ago now.

One of the women brought a chair that she had purchased for $12 and wanted to learn how to paint a piece of furniture. So after the other three women left, we picked up our paint brushes and started painting with Duck Egg Blue. I am so sorry that I do not have a before photo of the chair because it was nothing special and then when we added the clear and dark wax and distressed it, it really looked like a very sweet and special chair. She loved the chair as well as the process. What a fun way to end the afternoon!

Then it was time to unload my van and return it to the rental location. By the time I turned it in, it was 7:00pm so I inserted the keys in the mail slot and drove home very pleased with the day.

The reason I moved some things down to my shop was, not only to paint some more furniture, but also to refresh the store with new things since this little table sold, and I had some other furniture moved out that had been there for awhile.

Last week I devoted myself to focusing on painting some pieces of furniture that had been in my back room so I could move them to the front. This desk was really nothing special and I was getting tired of using it as it was. It was so quick and easy to paint! Since I now have wi-fi I can listen to Pandora and sit in my front room at my computer when I need to attend to other business.

I tried to create a color I had seen from another Stockist who had used Olive, Duck Egg Blue, and Arles, but somehow did not realize her exact color, so I added a little Old White to lighten it. I will have to try again with the color, but this turned out quite nice. It is waxed with clear and dark wax, and I still need to do a little distressing.

I usually paint the hardware particularly if it is very common. I like to add the dark wax to give it a little character.

This was the other piece I painted. It was actually a pine cabinet. I had it in my front room way back in July when I had first moved in and then moved it to the back because I did not want any unpainted furniture in the front room. I painted it in French Linen with the doors accented in a combination of French Linen and Old White. I finished the piece with clear and dark wax and moved it to the front room to house some French linens, textiles, laces and trims, and soon to arrive some of Annie's new fabric collection! It needs a little distressing which I will do today.

This is the before photo of the pine cabinet. Please stay tuned in the next few days as I am going to feature a post on stenciling furniture and fabric as well as some really special signs that I purchased yesterday for the store from a woman who loves Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ and does some really outstanding and unique pieces. In fact, she is soon to open her own shop!