Sale Weekend

Just a quick reminder...we are in the midst of our Springtime at the Ranch occasional sale...

I 've been so busy I completely forgot to post here on the blog. While I've got a break I thought I'd best get back here just in case there was someone that had missed the other posts.

We are open today until 5pm and open again tomorrow, Sunday May 1, 1-5.  At 5 we are going to have a drawing for the assemblage piece shown above. It can be used to hold jewelry...etc. and can be kept for your self or it would make a lovely Mother's Day gift.

There is much to see in the shop still yet. I hope you will stop by!

All Shop Photos

Come on in

NC tobacco stick stars...gotta preserve our heritage!

Great chippy ladder backs, green, black and white. 

Old, old patchwork quilts...these were made by po folks! Some are entirely flour sacks.

A view from the other end

And from the back

...and here's Cheyenne. How'd she sneak in here?

Kitchen wares

Great find...White House vinegar jugs with lables

Front corner

Vintage travel...cases, brochures, maps, souvenirs

Old bakelite body Imperial camera (top)

Shoe brush makes a nifty photo display

Back corner

Our door prize

Just for the ladies

Lots of trinket boxes

Bird Feeder?

Intended as a bird feeder, but cute in a kid's bathroom for "stuff" if you have the space.

Where did I put my keys?

Extra large key

Button cards, neat embroidered pillow and hand made dresser scarf

Everything is for sale...but the dogs! Friday 10-8, Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5. The drawing for the tiered jewelry dish is at closing on Sunday.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Win This!

Tiered jewelry dish

We are giving away one of our tiered jewelry dishes this weekend at the sale. It's a small one that would fit right in on anyone's dresser. It is made from three entirely different patterns but work together beautifully. I'm as addicted to making these as I am trinket boxes.

All you have to do to win is stop by Friday, Saturday or Sunday during the sale and drop your name in the cookie jar. We will draw a name on Sunday at 5pm. I will email or call you if you are the winner. 

I'm all but finished with preparations. Tomorrow, I will make sure everything is priced and finish a few small projects, take a deep breath and call it DONE. I set my goal to be done two days before the sale this time...I think I'm going to make it. 

I am looking forward to seeing you this weekend...and I hope you win!

OH, and I've added lots of new pictures of the shop on our Facebook Page if you want to take a gander...I'll post some here tomorrow, but there are lots there already. Click on the highlighted link above or there is also a link in the sidebar. 

Vintage Trailer Art is Here

Flower Child by Paige Bridges

If you've read my blog for a while you may remember me writing about my discovery of vintage trailer artist, Paige Bridges in my post titled Vintage Trailer Art . I placed an order with her last week for the shop and let me tell  you, making the decision of which ones to order was most difficult. I LOVE them all! I actually want them all.

I will have a selection in the shop along with boxed note cards for you to choose from. If you think the online images are great you are going to love seeing them in person! The prints are 11" x 14" but if you'd like a smaller 8" x 10" size to hang in your trailer I can get those too.

Here are a couple more...

Gettin' Ready by Paige Bridges

This would make a nice Father's Day gift.

Ric's Route 66 by Paige Bridges

Are you a trailer camper or just love the nostalgia of the old ones? I want a vintage trailer just to set up out here somewhere even if I didn't go anywhere. It could be my mom cave.

What is an Occasional Sale?

The invitations are out and the questions are coming in..."What is an occasional sale?"  Our first occasional sale, I just called Grande Opening, so everyone was good with that. This term, occasional sale has filled my inbox with questions. Here are my answers:

It's really just what the name says. A sale that happens occasionally. I almost called it a Seasonal sale but that has it's own meaning too. I had been using both phrases interchangeably, so now that I'm all straight I will not be doing that anymore.

Occasional sales are all the rage right now, especially in the handmade and vintage world. According to Renee Christensen, the Minneapolis Thrifty Shopping Examiner, "Occasional sales are usually hosted by an antique dealer or a group of antique dealers, and are held as often as monthly to quarterly to biannually for three to five days."
The beauty of occasional sales is that dealers restock items throughout a sale and each sale brings new treasures. Dealers strive to showcase decorating with architectural pieces, vintage wares, repurposed and recycled furniture, rustic and retro furniture, cabin and cottage style accessories, household and garden wares, and textiles."


 Our sales will be quarterly this first year and last 3 days each. Items are priced to GO. If something has been in the store for months it's been marked down. Collectible items are averaged with national markets and handmade art or fine crafts are marked about 10 to 20% less than what they will be listed for online if they don't sell during the weekend.

The back corner

Here are a few teaser photos as promised. Some areas of the shop look like an explosion, but I managed to get in the very back corner and take a few pictures. This is where most of the kitchen ware, candles and pottery are. 

 More to come....

1st Annual Springtime at the Ranch Occasional Sale.

Vanity items at Ranch Dressing Handmade and Vintage

The dates are set for our first occasional sale of the year. The invitations/newsletter are addressed and ready to go out this afternoon. E-invites/newsletters are scheduled to go out shortly, and for you, blog readers, you can read the newsletter here on the blog in just a second or two. Look up just under the banner and click the Newsletter link for the Spring 2011 edition.

If you'd like to be on our email list to get the next newsletter in your inbox sign up from the link on the side bar. Look for the pic of the shop and click there. We only send out 4 newsletters a year so don't worry about us bombarding you with emails and we never share your email address.

FYI the dates are April 29, 30 and May 1
Hours are Friday 10-8, Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5

We are excited to share everything we've been working on and will be putting up a few teasers here on the blog for the next couple weeks.

Take Your Floorcloth to the Door

Business Card Floorcloth  Angie Nelson © 2011

Why not greet your customers at the door with your logo and product information?  You know what "they" say about branding...the more places people see your logo the more likely you and your business will be remembered.

Angie Nelson © 2011

I made this floorcloth/business card for the stair landing leading up from the shop to my studio. People always ask, "what's up there?" Now they are asking to GO up there. It's opened the door to more questions about my work which is the whole point of having my studio above my store. Right? 

Before our Spring Open House at Ranch Dressing Handmade and Vintage, I'm going to make one for the shop as well that will be placed at the front door where this photo was taken. It will be more rectangular to span the width of the double doors. Didn't know you could take your floorcloth outside? Sure you can.

Angie Nelson © 2011

There are only a couple of things to remember before placing your floorcloth outside...

1. Sweep the floor surface completely clean of any and all grit. You can, but don't have to, place a very thin rug pad beneath it. No mesh; anything with a pattern will transfer to the surface...permanently. 

2. If it's windy or rainy, take it in. Water will not hurt it, but you don't want it soaked through and through.

Other than that, you are good to go. I can only recommend this for MY rugs because I know what they are made of. I use the best materials available for making a quality product that will last you indefinitely with proper care. 

Angie Nelson © 2011

You will notice in the photos that they are heavy and lie flat. My floorcloths resemble a thick, heavy piece of leather in both weight and feel even though the base material is #8 canvas duck. After all is primed, and painted with multiple layers and then with acrylics for the artwork, they are sealed with 5 coats acrylic poly on the front. If you let me know ahead of time that you will or may even use yours outside in a covered area, I will add a couple of sealer coats to the back for added protection. 

To clean them, just sweep and mop with your floors or wipe with a damp cloth. Floorcloths are ideal for the door area as there is never any problem with doors catching them like with a thicker type traditional rug.

Want one for your business or as a custom welcome mat inviting guests into your home? I can help you with that. Send an email to angie@freereinart.com or call me to set up an appointment at the studio 336-905-0386  Let's get started! I'm excited to see what you have in mind.