Boats

another post from dave

("YIKES!")

Mrs. H heard the rumor, a friend of a friend was a Dealer-he had closed up his shop-its contents in a storage locker…he was willing to sell any and all.

We were on the hunt! The who, what, when and where needed to be determined. Immediately.

Preferably sooner than that.

Part Holmes and Watson, part Lewis and Clarke, part Martin and Lewis ("I"M THE BOSS; I GET TO BE DINO!") we franticly made contact.

Racing off in Big Red trying to beat other pickers to the treasures.

We formulated our strategy. ("BUY QUILTS!BUY PYREX,BUY FURNITURE! DON'T BUY PYREX! NO SMALLS!)

 ( "OK well no smalls unless it cool stoneware, or maybe really, really good Pyrex".“DRIVE FASTER !”)

It’s one of the ways that our wonderfully pretty little store is created; by linebackers.

Steroid enhanced, amphetamine fueled, cheerleader motivated linebackers. Both of us.

Arriving with a screech, we parked illegally (" TICKET-SCHMICKET!)

Three storage lockers awaited us, open and bursting with all manner of treasure. A few construction workers from a nearby site were eyeing our lockers.(" REMAIN CALM")

We charged in, a sweet take home pile was created in the hall. Mrs. H  shaking her head in rejection of some of my selections, me secretly returning some of hers.

We grabbed some furniture

We grabbed some Russel Wright to replenish our stock

But mostly it was art. Nautical themed - sails, docks, shoreline-("TUGBOATS!")

All perfect for spring.

We’ll clean it up this morning and have it ready for Robyn to curate this afternoon.

When you come in to see our new gallery wall I’m sure it will look as if created by gentle souls with kind hearts.

You’ll know better though, won’t you?

where do you find all this stuff ?

where do you find all this stuff ? that is a question dealers field daily. there are of course lots of answers one could give on any given day, but the jist of it is "never you mind!"

a small insight would be this - you know how when your street pulls together a block wide yard sale day and all the neighbors go around buying all the other neighbors stuff up ? dealers and pickers are just that but on a much larger and often heavier scale.

pickers buy stuff from me that i see up for grabs at st. lawrence market. i buy stuff from some top secret dealers - never you mind - and sell to other top secret dealers, some of whom you may have stood in line next to at the seventh sister while waiting to buy owl and goose juice.

it is a big city, toronto,  but my shop on roncesvalles is truly part of a village. same can be said for the  community of pickers and dealers who keep the game afoot... in a carnie folk salt of the earth kind of way.

The Elephant In The Room

Gorgeous, right?  Although my camera cannot do it justice, the colours on this piece are stunning.  Rich, earthy greens and blues, vibrant reds and oranges..she's a beaut!  Our elephant is an original French subway poster circa 1912, linen backed, and in excellent condition.  Oh, and hey, you also get a peek at that cobalt blue depression glass Mrs H was talking about a few posts back, just hanging out underneath elephant extrordinaire.  Pretty excellent little corner of the shop, don't you think?

Sunday night in the rain

 a post from Dave:

We Pickers pick, it's constant in our lives, couldn't stop if we wanted to. If there's ten minutes to kill, I'll kill twenty at a yard sale, at family gatherings I rummage through my Dads basement, I'm a shameless garbage picker...it goes on and on.

And the experiences bring me joy.

Last Sunday evening it was raining, I'd just watched my son win his playoff game, I had that inner calm one gets when they see their children succeed. Driving home I noticed Marks' shop was open, compulsive, Picker Dave stopped the Big Red truck.

Marks' shop is intimidating, it has a rusty nails/broken glass feel to it...taxidermy alligators..inarticulate graffiti on barn board... naked, armless dolls...Paint-By-Numbers clowns. 

The place is well beyond charming.

Mark was inside, alone, engulfed in a Marley-esqe aroma, playing a 60's Stratocaster.  He didn't greet me, didn't even look up from the guitar; he knew the music was welcoming enough.

I spent a long time picking through his stuff, listening to the music and watching the rain fall outside. I'd point at an item and Mark would silently mouth some random price.

Mark stopped playing and we chatted a bit; we talked of our sons and we talked of our work.

"You wanna have a look in my basement?"

Yes, Mark, that's what I want.

Dusty, dark and spectacular!

I found a pop bottle for Annie, that planter Amy was looking for 3 months ago, a crock for my Dad, an enamel advertising sign for a photographer friend and 20 other little items for Mrs H to display.

It was magical

It's why we Pickers pick.

just words

i have a good life. like, sunshine, lollypops and rainbows calibre.

i blithely traipse along in my happy haze of making pretty displays and shopping for hot vintage and cherry bomb croissants with jam for a few simple reasons.

robyn. patti. dave. alina. laura and darby.

the magical realm i am allowed to exist within is mainly because of these impressively responsible and charming souls. my name is on the marquee but their hearts are in the shop. sweet deal huh ?

it occurred to me after i posted the big bar rebrand announcement that i had completely gooned picker dave. you see, i don't actually do construction. dave amer does. for 25 years. really well thank you very much. i choose the pretty colors and i leave the room and things magically appear in my absence. whoa.

robyn takes care of restoring order to the store after i "work" a day. she tries to always makes sure i know what i am talking about. she is the back bone of mrs huizenga. a good looking backbone at that.

patti takes care of nitty gritty details and smiles like your cool aunt who always made you feel good. alina has more style in her left leg than most people and their families. laura covers our butts and saves our asses. and darby ? the high priestess of the cheshire smile.

they are just words, but thank you. i really like it here.