Here We Go....

Crazy wonderful! Record setting heat and record setting sales don't often collide in the same sentence, but they sure did for us this show!

This First Monday was a whirlwind and in no way the "sleeper" show that is typical for August.  I keep thinking at some point the growth of the business will plateau, but every month is always better, significantly better, than the year before. You just continue to blow us away with your support and I am eternally grateful for it.

Now the real fun, and work, begins.  Those of you that have shopped with us over the years know exactly what time it is....

It's time for us to rebuild the Shoppe for our annual Fall Serendipity Market!

We have so much new Fall inventory waiting for its appointment in the Shoppe that it's positively mind boggling!  So much so in fact, that I get an adrenaline rush just thinking about where we're going to put everything. :-))

But, that's okay....

This is where the real fun begins because there's nothing in this business I enjoy more than building the bones of my Shoppe.....I just love it!  And, aside from physical help with furniture moving, it's something I've always done alone.

So, for the first couple weeks it will be just me and a couple strong guys as we build the bones, hang the lights, place all the furniture, and set the stage for the entire 5500 square foot Shoppe.  

Which means I will be a busy bee over the coming month, and even busier in September when we roll into the the Farmhouse projects!  
Can you hear my heart beating faster? I can't wait for that too!

Excitement is lurking around every corner!  :-))

During the crazy month ahead my presence online will be scarce, but rest assured I will be thinking about you the entire time.  After all, you are the reason we do this!

I also have some posts planned that include more before photos of The Farmhouse on Main, and weekly posts for the new blog segment, Farmhouse Friday!  So, I will be popping in for quick visits.

Meanwhile, please remember me this month during the craziness and hoopla, send me energetic thoughts of chocolate and caffeine! 

Now, bring on the wonderful chaos of Shoppe building that is such a large part of my life and brings me so much joy!

Have a wonderful week my friends!

Here we go....



Shoppe Dogs

Yes, it's certainly true that if you visit the Shoppes on our little strip you will find some pretty cool home and fashion baubles.  But, we have some other adornments of the furry persuasion that are pretty durn cute too!

This is Moe, you will find him next door to us at Willows at Home. He's the sweetest lil rescued baby that loves everybody.  And, as for his humans, Fred and Peggy Hunt, they are among our dearest friends!

If you take a few steps just the other side of our door, you can pop in and say hi to Hazel and Emmit, they are the shoppe dogs at Old World.  Aren't they the sweetest things? And, you will love the owners of Old World, Ray and Brenda Reed.

And, of course this post wouldn't be complete without our Shoppe baby, Zeekiepooh.  Who's been MIA for the past couple shows because he's keeping watch over the new rescues at home.

Come visit all of them this week during First Monday, you can find them lounging in their prospective shoppes, soaking up the attention along with a lot of cold, cold AC! 

See, they know where to hangout in Canton!

They're waiting to see you! 

The fun begins at 8am on Thursday morning!

Hope to see you here!

Vintage Farmhouse Christmas Photos

With all the craziness of the Holiday shows, we've not come up for air since October 23rd.  I've had photos for almost a month and no time to share....it's been crazy wonderful busy!

Our 1st annual Vintage Farmhouse Christmas was off the charts amazing!  We were blown away by the long line of customers waiting to get in....thank you for that....it was astounding! 

It was humbling to discover the distances from which some of our visitors traveled....Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and many from Kansas and Missouri!  We are so very blessed.  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

The following are a few photos taken just before the event.  

Still more photos to come!  And, we have something else coming up.....something very very big! 

Anyone know what it is?...

It was a hit!

Customers loved the extended shopping hours! 

Let's do it again tonight! 

Come see us today 9am - 8pm!

We will also be open on Sunday 10am - 5pm.

1457 N. Trade Days Blvd, Canton, Texas

Hot Dog!

Come and shop late with us for the next two nights!  Friday and Saturday we will be open 9am - 8pm!  

We're excited to offer the new later shopping hours and there's been lots of excitement about the news!

We hope to see you there!

Decisions and Growing Pains

Put a line of home decor items in front of me and I can tell you exactly what I want in a matter of seconds.  I simply go with my instincts and the decisions are easy.

I wish all business decisions were as simple, such as the difficult decision I’m about to share. After almost 6 happy years, we have decided to give up our space in the Arbors. Our business is very firmly rooted, the new Shoppe is running like gangbusters, and to be frank, the booth is just no longer necessary.

The truth is, we haven't "needed" the booth for a good while. But, the Arbors location holds a special place in my heart; it always will. After all, it is the place where this business officially began. It's also the home for a great many of our close, personal friends. So this has been a long and bittersweet decision for me. No doubt I will miss the Arbors and our friends, however, I will NOT miss the grueling set-up and teardown. Nor will I miss the freezing cold temps in the winter, triple digits in the summer, and the daunting task of loading and unloading trailers. It's just time.

This has been a tough decision for me, although as each of them will quickly share, I am the only one on the crew that struggled with it. Everyone else has been ready for MANY MONTHS! And my hubster is dancing a jig of glee. Not because he dislikes the Arbors, but because he bears the brunt of the booth set-up and tear-down tasks.

This best thing about this decision is that it will allow us to focus 100% of our energy and efforts on the Shoppe.  This is GREAT news for you! For starters, this month you will find an additional 1000 square feet of retail space that we’ve added to the new Shoppe. You will also enjoy extended shopping hours during First Monday weekends. We will now be open for you on Wednesday and will also be open late on Friday and Saturday night. So, although you will no longer find us in the Arbors, you will find even more space, even more products, longer shopping hours, and more staff to help you in the new Shoppe! These are all very good things.

We are super excited about this new, and much less complicated, path for the business! This decision will also give us a lot more time to service the online store which has turned into a full time gig in itself! So, be on the lookout for new products just as soon as the remaining Holiday shows are over!

In fact, just get ready, we have many things and events planned for 2011 in our wonderful new location.  And, the best part is getting to share it all with you!

Now, it’s time to get a little sleep....we open for you tomorrow morning at 10am!!

Our new hours at the Shoppe during First Monday weekends are:

Wednesday 10am – 5pm

Thursday 9am – 6pm

Friday 9am – 8pm

Saturday 9am – 8pm

Sunday 10am – 5pm

xoxo

LaurieAnna

Store address:  1457 N. Trade Days Blvd, Canton, Texas 75103

Vintage Farmhouse Christmas

We've worked very hard this week getting things ready to go.  We love the end result and think you will too!  If you are looking for vintage inspired decor to get your home ready for the Holidays, you don't want to miss this! 

Lots of other exciting news, our close friends, Fred & Peggy Hunt of Willows at Home, are now our neighbors! 

Join us for our first ever Vintage Farmhouse Christmas, Saturday, Oct 23rd, 10am - 3pm.....we can't wait to see you!

LaurieAnna's Vintage Home, 1457 N. Trade Days Blvd, Canton, Texas 75103

Are you ready?

Christmas is bursting out everywhere in the Shoppe and it is fabulous!  And, that's not all....we've just completed another 1000 square feet of retail space too!  We've been busy bees since the past First Monday show!

There is so much to take in......you can't imagine how much Holiday decor is waiting for you at the Shoppe!

Come and see for yourself this Saturday 10am - 3pm!

Where will you be this Saturday?...

Why is it when I need to blog the most, I have the least amount of time to do so? 

We've been busy bees, preparing the Shoppe for our first annual a Vintage Farmhouse Christmas! 

Have you marked your calendar?

It all happens this Saturday, October 23rd, 10am - 3pm!

Hope to see you there!

Can it get any better?

Yes, it's been a week since I've posted....but hey, we were in the midst of a show.....a BIG show until Sunday!  Then it took me two days to recouperate!

Glass bird vase

We had a line of at least 50 customers waiting to get in on Thursday morning before we unlocked the door and that set the pace for the next 4 days.  I'm not sure if it was the fantastic Fall weather or the article in the Dallas Morning News, perhaps a combination of both, but, we've never seen the likes of the insane crazy wonderful growth that happened over the past 4 days!  I have since learned that the Dallas Morning News has the 4th largest readership in the Nation, so no doubt it was greatly responsible for the influx of the large amount of new customers.

Over and over we heard customers say, "I've never seen this many people at Canton before".  And, we are in complete agreement with you!  Each show we say, "We will never top that".  And each show, we do. Thanks to you!

Now being on the back side of our move into the much larger space I can firmly say that the timing was perfect.  Gardeners use the term potbound and that term certainly applied to us.  The old location was like a pot that was too small for a rapidly growing plant.  We needed a larger space to continue to grow and let me tell ya.....we are bursting out all over!! 

Farmhouse Cake Plate

All the new space has me super excited about our upcoming "A Vintage Farmhouse Christmas", because we can do so much more.  I get to play play play for the next couple weeks with the most delightful vintage inspired Christmas decor.....you're going to love it!  And, if that's not enough to get you excited, we're also in the midst of building out an additional 1000 square feet for you to shop.  We hope to have it ready in time for this event.

Mercury Glass Floating Candle Holders

I've included a few photos of things you can find in the shop and online.

Jeweled Votives

We have 6 more weeks of shows and then we will return to our latest restoration project, 5th Place.  I have some big plans for it and can't wait to share it with you! 

A Vintage Farmhouse Christmas

As you know, each year we host two big events at the Shoppe. In the Spring we host our annual Serendipity Market, and in the Fall we do it up big for our Fall Preview Party.

This year, I'm excited to announce that we are adding a new event to our repertoire. On Saturday, October 23rd, we will host our 1st Annual “Vintage Farmhouse Christmas.” 

After this upcoming First Monday show is over, we will lock the doors, drape the windows, and spend the next 3 weeks transforming the Shoppe with our beautiful vintage inspired Holiday decor!  This is always my favorite time of year, but this year's decor is by far the best we've ever had!  So much so that it inspired this event!

We will share a preview of our Holiday decor with you, our VIP clients, on Saturday, October 23rd, 10am – 3pm.

As you know, we do not advertise, so only those that are on our mailing list and/or read our blog / website will know about this.  Our VIP guests will enjoy the opportunity to get first choice of our Christmas treasures before the Holiday shows begin!

So, mark your calendars and save the date! 

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Make Sure To Button Up

I'm obsessed with BUTTONS!

You can use them virtually anywhere in decorating.

We have thousands and thousands of them in a big wash tub at the Shoppe!

10 for a $1.00

They're a huge hit....customers love them!

Dig until your lil heart's content!
Even online....these can be found here in the online store!

Buttons buttons buttons...
doesn't everyone love buttons?



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You told two friends, and they told two friends...

There was a commercial from the 80s for Faberge Organic shampoo that used the catch phrase, "I told two friends, then they told two friends, and so on and so on".  Do any of you remember it? 

I was reminded of that commercial as I read through some recent blog posts about the opening of our new shoppe just a couple weeks ago.  You see, we don't advertise.  Well I should say, we don't advertise in the traditional mediums.  Our advertising?  Our customers.  How?  They tell their friends!

You won't find a billboard with our business name on it, but you will find our name gracing the blogs and FB pages of our clients and friends.  And mind you, it's not just pictures, not just our name, but something far more special, it's their experience in our shoppe!  There's not an ad or a billboard that can possibly convey that, and there's no way to place a value on it! 

We have the best advertising that money CAN'T buy....YOU!

Here's just a snippet of some of our recent advertising...

Garden Antiques Vintage

Daphne Nicole

Dreams and Decor

Ella Elaine

Memento Designs

Buckets of Burlap

Ruby Grace

Southern Charm Cottage

How's that for an unexpected advertising campaign?  Be sure to visit their blogs by clicking the links!

Thank you my friends for telling your friends, not just on the blogs, but also through word of mouth. It is the best gift I could ever get!

If you know of other posts please send them to me so I can share them! 

P.S.  Does anyone else remember that commercial?

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