Originally posted August, 2009
I recently scored an absolutely amazing vintage china cabinet
at a local flea market...to say I got it for a steal
would be a gross understatement.
would be a gross understatement.
It was such a steal that I even felt a momentary twinge of guilt
as I loaded up my treasure, knowing full well
that what I got for a mere $85(!)
that what I got for a mere $85(!)
was going for upwards of $600 just a few blocks away
at the chi-chi antique stores in town.
at the chi-chi antique stores in town.
Upon getting it home and placing it in the kitchen corner,
I began to fill my newfound gem
with wedding china and household wares
with wedding china and household wares
procured two years ago, but heretofore unpacked.
Hooray, I thought!
At last, a fitting showcase for my shiny, new Calphalon,
my glistening Corningware, my sparkling ivory Mikasa.
The new juxtaposed against the old,
the timeless contrasting sharply with the transient.
Would my designer label china have looked any more elegant
displayed in a modern, new Ethan Allen piece?
Some might say yes.
But like so many of you, the inherent beauty in what others
might perceive as junk is this:
my chippy, peeling, flea-market find has lived a life.
Not to anthropomorphize, but it has tales to tell.
Each chip, each dent, each coffee-stain ring
speaks to an existence
speaks to an existence
foreign to my own, yet strangely similar.
Utilitarian practicality is now sharing the stage
with stylistic functionality,
with stylistic functionality,
but to us junkers, the beauty has always been evident,
even if Farmer Jones and the Missus might not have fully
recognized it before relegating it to the storage shed.
Yes, my pristine Mikasa serving pieces
have a resplendence all their own,
but they have yet to live a life.
They still have much to learn
from the wisened old veteran
from the wisened old veteran
which provides them harborage.
I'm hoping they will confer,
as we would all be wise to do
as we would all be wise to do
in our own small corners of the world,
be they kitchen or otherwise.
be they kitchen or otherwise.
*** this is a re-post from August 2009***
Oh my goodness, it sounds simply wonderful. Can't wait to see what it looks like. Please tell us more about where your shop will be and I love the name of your blog.
ReplyDeleteSmiles,
Carol Casey
San Antonio, Texas
Hi Carol,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I sweated over what to name my business, it went through a lot of permutations before I finally settled on what I have now.
My blog, hopefully, is going to be a chronology of the birth of a business....as I said in one of my posts, y'all are getting in on the ground floor. I hope to be able to share the excitement of someone just starting out, but I also plan to be brutally honest and not sugarcoat things when and if dicouragement sets in and I ask myself "What the heck did I get myself into?!"
I'm going to start small, with a booth in our lovely and BIG antique mall in Kerrville, Texas. From there, I have my sights on a spot in Comfort, just up the road 15 miles or so. Have you been to Comfort? There's some spectacular shops there.
Thanks so much for your support, it is muchly appreciated!
Pax,
Anne