Primitive Houses

Here they are.. the promised pictures. These are the hand made primitive houses we got in last week. All of them are lighted. Here are a few pictures. I put several of them in the front

window and they look great. One of my favorites is the large wide one in a dark green color. It is the only green house we got in. Another favorite is the church. We got a half dozen of the Churches and several of each of the other sizes scattered through out the shop now. I don’t have any pictures of the barn red color… but that color is also available.

To market, to market..

Two days of shopping and I’m pumped up! The cash and carry was a lot of fun. Even the bitter cold could not dampen the excitement of getting new things. I picked up a lot of framed prints. We had gotten low on prints at the shop and I hate to just order from pictures in a catalog. Being able to to look at the prints before buying is much more of an enjoyable process than trying to imagine the size and framing. I got several that have been popular in the shop as well as quite a few new additions. Most of the prints have black wood frames but we did get some that are framed in old barn wood. That frame compliments the pictures in them nicely.

Signs are always a good seller around the shop. We got some from a new vendor that are of nice quality and in several sizes. We have a very popular plate in the shop that reads “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” This saying is now available in a wood sign in 4 colors.  We also got some really cute signs that have a magnetic strip for hanging on the fridge. Or hang an old cookie sheet on the wall and put your magnet on that for something whimsical.

Since we pulled the rack for the candle rings out of the candle room to make space for more melts, it is now possible to have even more of a selection in our candle rings. I picked up several styles and colors as well as some really neat berry floral picks. At another favorite vendor we picked up some unique wreaths and Spring florals. Also now back in stock is the 2 and 4 arm candelabras with the twist in them and some more candle stick pans. Our LED battery tapers should be back in stock soon and they look great in these kinds of pans. These new ones will be another price point in these items.

Today at the Market I placed orders for the coming year. It was kind of hard to think Christmas again so soon but we have some new items scheduled for delivery later this Summer. We will tell you more about these items a little closer to the holidays. Scheduled in the next few months are more punched tin wax warmers. New for this year are the Junior Revere warmers and a new finish on a few of the old favorites. Also on the horizon are cake pillar candles by Thompson Candle Company. We have had requests for this type of candle and I just don’t have the time to create and test them  here at the shop. So I spent all day checking out and sniffing several different lines of candle. The Thompson candles have a nice, primitive and rustic feel and they appear to have a nice fragrance load. I am excited about bring this line of candles into the shop to continue making The Comforts of Home your source for candles. Also coming are wick trimmers. These tools are designed to trim your candle’s wick to the proper length and also to catch the trimmed wick for easy removal.

Although we have a lot of new goodies coming to the shop, the party is not over. Monday I head to another cash and carry for more Spring items.  Knowing my love of florals and my hatred of  this winter weather, I can pretty much guarantee I will bring home lilacs, iris, lavender, pansies and even more. I also have some restocking to do on charm lights and other everyday items. There will be new jewelry items out and we will bring some of it home as well.

My son, always very helpful, is not as excited as I am about all the new things. I think I walked him into the ground today. But he did manage to have enough energy to spend several hours in the pool again this evening. And, I was told, he really enjoys all the good food we eat when we do trips like this. After tomorrows cash and carry we will head to Steak n Shake for our ‘traditional’ lunch before heading home to unpack. Several years ago, when we started doing craft shows, we decided that a nice meal was a good treat for all the hard work that goes into a show. And so it has carried as ‘tradition’ into the shopping for the store. We get to relax and spend some time just hanging out and talking.. something that doesn’t always happen with the home schooling and the demands of the shop.

Spring is coming..

Well the shop is now really a mess. Several days of nothing but snow and freezing temperatures have slowed the traffic in the shop. So I have been rearranging everything. Yesterday it snowed all day and I just kept rearranging. I have the Spring stuff slowly but surely going out. With all that snow and now, below 0 temperatures, the sight of hyacinths and daffodils is very refreshing.

I think the only one that enjoys the chaos in the shop right now is Bruce. There are empty boxes to play in, fallen leaves to pounce on and so many new things to get into. I guess any time something is new there is just an excitement for everybody at the shop. Now that I have done the rearranging, I am looking forward to my buying trip this weekend.

Between Seasons

I really enjoy all the seasons in the shop. The changes in the colors.. the seasonal items.. all mixed into our regular every day items. It’s the inbetweens that make me crazy. Tearing down and packing up sure makes a mess of the shop. And, because I tend to get really board with the same ol’ thing, I also tend to rearrange the larger display pieces as well. And until the shop gets put back together it will drive me nuts!

The candle room is up for change. We have the ability in the candle room to display about 150 different fragrances on the 2 hutches dedicated to the jar candles. So my goal now is to get tested and produced 150 highly fragrant and unique candles. And, if we carry that many jar candles, we have to have that many melts. So the racks of candle rings are going to have to find a new home and bins for the melts are going to replace them. When we reach this goal we will be able to advertise we  have the largest candle selection in the state. And with Helen’s Gift shop up the street carrying many great brand name candles, Kenton can/will be the candle capital of the state. We’ve also has request for some cake candles and we will be looking for a supplier of these at market next weekend.

Spent the day divided between picking up and putting away Christmas and organizing  my production area. I am waiting for shipments of new items and fixtures but they just don’t seem to be getting here as quickly as I want. Without these things it is so difficult to really to get the shop changed over.  And in the back I have to set up areas to keep my candle inventory. As we get more involved in the wholsale of our products, we have a need for deeper inventory levels in the back. So we are trying to get better organized back there to so we can be more efficient in getting things shipped.

We will be going to market and the cash and carry next weekend. The cash and carry is my favorite as I get to immediately get things and bring them home. No waiting for them to ship. By then I hope to have the display pieces in and in place. When we get back from market I will have a bunch of neat new items and be really excited about getting them out in the shop.

I hate Winter…

Well Winter is here.. and in full force. I left Texas last Saturday where it was 85 degrees and got back here to Ohio on Sunday. It was a cool 50 degrees when I got out of the car. Then came the snow. On the way in to the shop on Tuesday I lost control of the car and fish tailed down a good stretch of the road. Would I hit the truck in the other lane or go off in a field and possibly catch a telephone pole off on the right. After going back and forth for what seemed like forever, the car finally straightened out and we continued on. I’m still amazed I didn’t hit SOMETHING. My son said the whole thing was ‘wild’.  More snow today and more slippery roads. And there is more coming… they are predicting about 6″ more inches by Sunday. By now I’m thinking I left Texas for this?!

Around the shop we are getting  Christmas packed up and putting out Spring. Last year I loved being surrounded by daffodils, hyacinths and songbirds while watching the snow outside.  It just makes you feel good to see the bright, cheerful colors when the outside is so drab and gray. So when cabin fever sets in and you get tired of Winter, come in and get a breath of Spring. We will also be burning some new candle fragrances that will make you forget how cold it is outside.

New items are also arriving this month. We have several new Hearthside plates that are due in any day now. We had several new plates come in around Thanksgiving that sold out very quickly. Reorders of these items will also be coming in. Yesterday we received some really cool new primitive night lights as well as more of the best selling ones we already had. On the way are several new Wax Warmers. My favorite pattern, Old Mill, is no longer being made in the regular warmers. It is, however, being made in the new Junior Revere wax warmers. These warmers will also introduce a new Barn Star pattern. The projected ship date on the Junior warmers is March 1. We expect them in the shop shortly after that. Also expected in before the end of February are more of or our Revere Warmers. These warmers are very popular and go quickly when they hit the shelf. To see these new warmers check out the web site: www.the-comforts-of-home.com . You can reserve one of these warmers before they come in by stopping by the shop.

Finally Open

Where did time go? We got notice they were ready to close on the building and everything started to blur. The day we closed we started to knock down walls. The dream was becoming a reality! It felt like so much got done. It was the last time I would feel that way.

The building had 2 inside office rooms. We knocked down parts of the walls and made doors from one office to the other to make a loop through the shop. It gave a more open feel yet kept some neat nooks and crannies that still felt cozy. After walls were down we had to refinish the edges and rip out carpeting. 

Because the ceiling was stained in places, we decided to paint the ceiling. I had decided on a very dark charcol gray.. like an aged black. Based on square footage we bought 4 gallons of paint. Into a paint sprayer it went and the fun began. What a mess! My husband looked like a gorilla and the overspray went everywhere. And, 4 gallons was just the beginning. The paint sprayer was clogging every few minutes and needed to be cleaned. We were constantly having to adjust the spray and much of the paint seemed to be going every where but the ceiling. We were out of paint and about half way through so bought 4 more. That finished the ceiling so we cleaned up and went home. The next day revealed white showing through the black. A call to the paint manufacturer found we could add water the the paint to thin it out. Two ounces in a gallon and the sprayer worked wonderfully. The thinner spray also penetrated up into the textured ceiling tiles and gave much better coverage.

Now we are over time and budget. Still have the walls to paint and the carpet to install. After waiting for the carpet to finally get here, the day before it was to be installed we had above average rains. My installer woke up to waist deep water in his yard and truck. The other crew was on another job so we had another delay. The Grand  Opening was fast approaching and we were running out of time. Long hours and lack of sleep were becomming the norm around our house. I kept thinking I’d get a break after we opened.

The fun part finally started.. buying merchandise and displays. A few road trips and phone calls and all the goodies stared coming in. Opening was coming fast so some wonderful frineds showed up and helped with the pricing and getting everything displayed. I was now beyond stress and excitement. Slowly but surely everything came together.

The big day finally arrived. We had a ribbon cutting and lots of people in. The shop looked nothing like what it had been only 8 weeks ago. The late nights and hard work were so worth it. I was now a shop ower and on a wonderful adventure.

Antique Shopping

   Yesterday I took a couple girlfriends to Springfield to look for bargins at some antique malls. One of them had been there before, and since we all like the same types of things, figured it would be a great way to spend a girls day out.  The first mall we went to was wonderful! We walked for what seemd like hours, oohing and aahing over all kinds of neat things and only got through about half of what they had to offer. After a nice lunch and a bit of a rest from the walking, we headed out to explore the other half of the store.

   My friend Jenn was seeking items for her bedroom. She found a wonderful square basket with a neat iron handle. In places where the wood on the bucket had cracked, there were metal pieces like bandaids to hold the two sides of the crack together.. really cool. And, the best part was it was painted the perfect blue for her bedroom. She also found several old bottels in shades of brown and blue to catch and reflect light from her windows.

   My other frined Deb, the leader of this adventure, found some very pretty lace to go in her bedroom. A recent paintjob and new linens and she was out looking for accessories. She did find a beautiful hand painted mirror that upon closer look, was $700.  She didn’t like it that well. Several other pieces caught her eye but not enough to really capture her interest. She already has some wonderful pieces in her home, so I understand her waiting for just the right one.

   I ended up lucking out with some great finds. As I was looking for pieces I could use in the store for display, I could be a flexible in design and finish. My treasures were some very old and beat up plank seat chairs. They had definately seen better days but were steady enough to set things on for display so they were joyfully pulled out of a corner. While getting the chairs I found a solid oak library table. I little cleaning and that is going to be a great piece. I also found a half round table that has some issues with its finish. I will be stripping that down and restaining it before it gets to the store. A few other goodies I picked up were crocks and a 4 compartment baking pan that will be used as a display at the shows.

   After getting all our stuff loaded we headed down a few exits and went to another mall. Jenn found a windpw pane that had been made into a planter box and I found a delightful old shutter with lots of peeling paint. We decided we had worked up an appetite for ice cream so stopped for a treat on the ride home. The day was such a wonderful treat we really did not want it to end.

   Eventually I got everybody dropped off and it was late when I got back home. My husband helped me unload all my goodies and was real good about all the funky old stuff I got till he saw the shutters. He gave me one of those ‘you PAID money for this’ looks. I told him yeah, aren’t they cool. But he smiled and knew the best treasure of the day was the time spent with good frineds.