Bread & Butter

I think I have said previously that I am not a fan of custom work. I get so nervous. I want the customer to be happy, but all I can see are the less than perfect quarter millimeters of paint. So I know right off the bat they won’t be happy with the finished product. Or they wont’ be happy on how something isn’t exactly even, or wobbly, or maybe not as smooth as I think they would want. But then I ask myself. Who the hell is running their hands ALL OVER A PIECE OF WOOD FURNITURE?Because lets face it. That is not normal behavior. They will touch the part they need to touch. Move it where they want it and then most likely not touch for a couple years. (I have been told not everyone moves furniture around frequently nor in and out of their homes on the regular. I believe this may be an urban legend.)

This week I have been working fervently on multiple pieces of custom work. Graduation is coming up, summer might be close, mostly just things customers have put off for awhile but have decided to have done. And I am grateful for it! I have learned some big things on one, had fun with another, and experimented (fyi, it’s National Honesty Day) with a new paint on another and lastly, almost finished my friends vintage secretary that I promised to paint two years ago.

This is what I had fun with. It’s salmon now, or light orange, or coral. Depends on who you talk to. The pulls are amazing!

This is where a learned a TON! 12 year old outdoor furniture. This took some research. And my dad. He has a power washer and I needed it. Using the right wand tip was imperative. AND in a totally off hand way, while explaining how to use the power washer Dad said the soap dispenser was not working, that I should just pour the deck soap onto the table and chairs. HUH? My research just said clean it, not deck wash soap it. GLAD HE SAID THAT! Made a huge difference. As evidenced by:

I mean, come on. The difference is obvious. Today I sanded all the pieces down and I swear to you, it is almost like new. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny so really REALLY hoping to get the stain/sealer on it and delivered!

Lastly, I am painting a cabinet/oversize bookshelf that was painted a colonial red. WHITE. I guess she doesn’t read my blog. She does not want it shabby. she wants it smoothly painted. She wants a traditional white. This one is making me sweat. And wash my hair.Ideally tomorrow all these pieces get dropped off. And I get my bread and butter. All the other pieces I post and sell, are just the jam baby! And I am A.OK with that! Here is the coral/salmon/light orange piece. Really jealous it won’t be living at my house.

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And some days, you hope Karma is ignoring you.

Friends frequently let me know when they see a piece of furniture they think I will like or could really make an impact on. I love when that happens! I love that people see random things and think of me. On Saturday I got a text from Kate showing me this little gem at the VOA in Grove City. It has a match, but that isn’t part of the story.. It was marked $69.99. The thing about VOA is they hold items for 45 minutes while you think about it, but once purchased they won’t hold at all and once purchased, they won’t help load it up. Saturday was too busy for me to head down there to look at it and Sunday was a snowy mess. No way I wanted to ruin it like that. So today was my day off and I decided to head down to the far southern reaches of Franklin County and see if the dresser was still available. I get there, head to the back and YES IT IS!! It’s meant to be right?? And then *** IT’S MARKED WAY DOWN!*** I call the hubs, tell him it’s here – it’s cheap – it’s MINE! (He has to come down and help me load it because remember, VOA won’t load) So I wander around the joint looking for other deals as he is driving from Bexley to the far southern reaches of Franklin County. I finally go up to pay for it and have it brought to the front (VOA will bring outside??) And then the loader guy says – that’s on hold – WHAT? It wasn’t when I got there!! Long story short, the only reason I got to drag this lady home was because I paid for it. It was a bit of an argument between me, the loader guy and the assistant manager. Then the girl who had it on hold showed up with her dad and I felt horrible! I offered to let them buy it back from for the same purchase price but they said no. Then I realized, oh drat that karma, it’ll come back to bite me. So I really hope Karma was busy elsewhere today!
In closing, I found this planter last week. I absolutely love it! It is vintage NAPCO and there is not a chip on it! It looks so springy now with the tiny fern addition. I wish it looked springy outside.