Saturday, July 28, 2012

Fancy Nancy

"Wine & cheese are ageless companions, like aspirin & aches or good people & noble ventures."
-M.F.K Fisher

One of the joys of having the shop is having the pleasure of meeting and befriending new people.  I have found, no matter the age difference, there is common ground.  One of my favorite patrons and contributors to Mish Mash is Nancy Potter.


Nancy was quick to spot Mish Mash and make herself a part of things.  She regularly brings me vintage treasures.  Even better than her vintage treasures are the goods that she herself has made over the years that I am lucky enough to sell at the shop.


Nancy made this in the 1970's.  That makes it both vintage and handmade.  A friend of mine bought this and carried it to an event.  Needless to say, it was a hit.


Some 50 years ago, Nancy and some friends founded Manamore.  It was an artists' collective that eventually had a store front in Edina.  She tells me that Mish Mash reminds her very much of her group.  To this day, Nancy is still part of an artist group.  Together they tour museums and studios, share their knowledge and appreciate that of others.  I'm thrilled to be a part of Nancy's world.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Curb Appeal

"Art depends on luck and talent." -Francis Ford Coppola

Once in a while something drops from the sky into your lap at the exact moment you need it.  Other times things appear, and you need to snap them up and save them for someday.  I take advantage of all kinds of luck that come my way.  A year ago an angel fell from the sky in the form of an intern.  Lovely Danielle walked through the door and offered to lend her amazing eye for vintage and her willingness to work here at Mish Mash.  I'm very glad to report she now has a paying job and her very own apartment that I was lucky enough to visit last night.

Danielle has a keen sense of vintage style, and it shows in every inch of her apartment.  Every object and piece of furniture is perfectly placed, and all of them have a story.  One of the commonalities of many of her lovely pieces is that she found them on the curb.

The TV stand you see in the picture above was found on the curb.  It was used for years as a workshop bench in a garage.  Despite the fact that it weighs a ton, Danielle could see it's amazing rustic, industrial appeal and found a way to squeeze it into her small car to save for someday.  Someday has arrived, and the "Vinnie" cabinet serves as a fantastic centerpiece in Danielle's front room.  If you've looked at the latest catalogue from Restoration Hardware you've seen lots of furniture like this for lots of money.... this was free on the curb!

The dining room came complete with chippy thrift store chairs, a table found in the basement of her boyfriends old apartment and some perfectly rusty horseshoes and gear wheels.... who needs to spend hundreds at Pottery Barn?

The moral of the story here is: luck happens when you are open to it.  Keep your eyes open, and you'll be amazed at what comes your way as long as you are willing to see something in a new light.   After all, I was lucky enough to get to know Danielle!


Thursday, July 12, 2012

Many Hands Make Blue Cow

"A little and a little, collected together becomes a great deal; the heap in the barn consists of single grains." -Saadi

I've been posting a lot on Facebook about the community art project we've launched at Mish Mash.  I thought I'd take a few minutes here to give you all some updates and specifics about the project.

My neighbor, friend and local artist, Deb Traun has done a few of these projects.  Last year she made an american flag using hundreds of cut objects.  The flag was entered into the Edina Art Center contest and won.  The piece was then sold: quite an accomplishment for Deb! 

This year Deb came to me with the idea that we open up to the community, and I offered to open the studio here at Mish Mash to work on it.... and the games began.  We collected an army of young and old to begin cutting red, white and blue images to glue together as our flag.  As I was scouting for images, I came across this picture:



So, gears were switched and we found a new direction.  I took the orignal image, graphed it out, transferred it to a large canvas, and off we went filling in our graphic cow head.

One of the beautiful things about working on a piece as a community is that everybody brings their own ideas and their individual eye.  The trick is to stay flexible and just let it happen.

Community art will be happening again Tuesday, July 17th from 10-12.  We'd love to have your hands in the project!



Thursday, July 5, 2012

A Door to Adore

"Every wall is a door." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love working on special orders.  I love creating something for someone I know and love.  Last week I got to do a big project for some friends to celebrate both a birthday and a anniversary.  The challenge posed to me was to find a way to creatively display family photos.  I looked around the studio and found this:


A door.  I'd picked the door up after I recieved a text from a helpful neighbor that the home across the street from them had just place it on the curb with a "Free" sign on it.  The great thing about working with junk is that the possibilities are endless.  It's no longer a door, it's a blank canvas for me to create something new. 

I found some corks- glued them on one of the windows.  I dressed up some old clipboards with vintage wall paper and added scrabble tile names:


I added some clips, an old typewriter plate with magnets and painted some chalkboard paint.  I backed the family photos with some more of the wall paper.   The new family message center now leans proudly in the kitchen of its new home.


The next time you come across something discarded... try to look at it in a new way.  It likely has treasure burried somewhere.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Nature's Canvas

"All art is but imitation of nature." - Lucius Anneus Seneca

My family spent 5 hours at the zoo yesterday.  Normally this kind of marathon would have tested me at my most patient, but amazingly all four of us were delighted and entertained the entire time.  The weather was lovely.  The spring babies were on view, and nature was absolutely thriving around us.

I spent a lot of time noticing the incredible and unexpected combinations Mother Nature has way of putting together.  Colors and textures blend together were you would normally not see them.  It really was overwhelming.

As an artist, I've been trying to put some thought behind the way I throw things together.  My gut has treated me very well to date, but incorporating something of a thought process is helping me take what I do to a new level.  I've been using some tools to help.  Some tools are old school: like the old fashioned color-wheel.  Some tools are modern: like my smart phone apps.



This picture was taken this morning when the girls and I encountered 2 baby raccoons.  I used the Sherman Williams Color Snap app to pull out a color palate from the picture.  I've seen a lot of these types of applications as well on Pinterest.  Handy & fun, I'd say!

Take time to smell and admire the roses.  Summer goes so fast, and the color palates during the winter are far more limited (at least here in Minnesota.)

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Red Carpet Moment

This is a big week for me and Mish Mash.  I've made it to the finals for "Best New Shop" in the Edina Magazine readers poll.  Thursday is the big awards program at the new Edina Westin Hotel.  Of course there will be beautiful people.  Of course there will be smashing outfits.  Of course there will be photographers.... and me. 

The outfit I wear is a big deal.  It must be flattering.  It must represent me and my Mish Mash vision, and it must be killer!  After several dress modeling sessions with my children, and my oldest advising that "I'm trying too hard,"  I narrowed the dress down to a pea-green cotton dress.  It needed a bit of nipping and tucking to get it just right, but it's now ready.

Part of the choice of dress came from a desire for the focus of the outfit to be one of my vintage rework necklaces.  Because the dress is such a muted color, I needed the necklace to be bright.  I also really want it to reflect some of the cheekiness that is Mish Mash.

Three vintage pins + some chandelier crystals + lots of vintage chains and pearls =



Wish  me luck with the awards.  Cross your fingers that the photos are good.  Thanks to all who have supported my crazy vision over the last year!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Crackin' Good Eggs


It's that time again- the rush is on to make the coolest eggs on the block.  Never fear, I'm here to help!
Here's how:


What you'll need
*eggs*
*decals*
*craft glue*
*embellishments: glitter, feathers, buttons, etc*
{all of the above, except the eggs, are available at Mish Mash}

1. Cut out the decal of choice.  Drop the decal in water. 
The decal will automatically peel off the paper backing.

2.Use the craft glue to adhere the decal to your egg.

3.Go to town with embellishments.  I love any glitter, feathers and buttons.