MIMI-TORIA"S DESIGNS ONLINE Square Market Online Store

Monday, November 7, 2011

Mimi-Toria's Design upcoming Trunk Show - November 11th & 12th

Hope to see you this Friday or Saturday when I bring an array of vintage redesigned jewelry for a two day showing at Antiques Downtown, at a great location in the original downtown area of Elk River.  There is ample parking in back as well as along the front of this store. 
If you haven't been here before, than you are definitely missing out on some great opportunities to go treasure hunting.  This shop may be one of the best kept secrets in Minnesota, so come on in and check it out.  There are 3 floors of great shopping goodies to check out and each floor boasts fabulous finds...

My Trunk Show is helping to celebrate Downtown Antiques Anniversary Sale which runs, November 11, 12 and the 13.  I will be set up for all of the Friday and Saturday hours that the shop is open, but not on Sunday.  

Here are the Anniversary Sale Dates and times:

November 11th - 10am - 8pm    (Friday)  6pm - 8pm (Customer Appreciation Night)

November 12th -  10am - 6pm   (Saturday)

November 13th - 10am - 6pm   (Sunday)

During all three days there will be special discounts in many of the booths. Refreshments will be served throughout the sale dates too.  On Customer Appreciation Night, a special LaDeeDa Designs fashion show will be held at 6:30 on Friday the 11th by Lori Gravink which you won't want to miss either. 

So, I took a drive up to Elk River to see my location that I will be setting up in the shop so that I could plan effectively and snapped some photos of the goodies that are currently in their shop and for sale.  They may be gone by the time the sale starts, but here is what was there last Friday when I shot the photos.  The photos are meant to give you a sampling of the great finds you may expect to run across at this hidden gem.  It is not a typical antique shop with rows and rows of shelves of glassware and misc. items, however you will also find lots of that too.  Some photos for you...
One of the things I love about Beth and John running this shop, is that they've stepped outside of the box of a typical antique shop, and have chosen to move forward with the times and offer their customers what it is many people are currently collecting, using and decorating their homes with.  They set up wonderful room style vignettes and displays, so that you have the visual of how it might look in your own settings.

This particular space has a lot of industrial style elements housed in it, and they are WILDLY popular with the Junking and Gardening style lovers and or collectors.  My favorite piece in the entire shop happened to be housed in this area...  Can you guess which one it is?

Did you guess right?  Did you pick this beauty out of that previous photo?  This my friends, would be my #1 pick of the entire 3 floors of shopping paradise.  How perfect it would be in my Jewelry Design Studio...  Just love it!

Another excellent example of showcasing antiques to their finest potential.  What a great visual this would give a shopper as to how something might/could look in their home.  Don't you agree?  That lovely settee was my second love in the shop.  Coolest ever....

So cool in fact that I had to toss the throw pillows that were covering up its beautiful details, so that I could give you a close-up and personal shot of the incredible back piece that was added to this lovely...   Love it second best of all!

,,,and this dresser is another beauty in the shop all the work is done, you just need to buy it and haul it home.

Ok, so I'm a jewelry designer after all...  You didn't expect me not to pick out a gorgeous display piece in my top picks now did you?  A lovely well worn dress form for sale on the upper level.  Love this...

 Love this box I saw way up on a top shelf in the top level of the shop.

A basket of elements waiting to get a new lease in life with a junker  re purposing and putting them back into duty.

This lovely vintage wood toolbox has already received a new lease on life as a lovely Fall display piece for this arrangement.  This is the art of re purposing... one neglected and forgotten element at a time.

Another example of a creative vendor re purposing a vintage element and making it something different than its intended use.  I believe this may be a baptismal made into a table now, but I'm not sure.

The shop also has typical lovely vintage furniture finds such as the above photo shows too.

Vintage clothing is sprinkled through out the shop, as vendors find these great elements, but remember, Lori of Ladeeda will have an entire space set up during the event of her vintage clothing, upcycled clothing and fun and funky finds.

The shop also boasts great shelving style vendors with units filled with whatever it is you may be looking for as well.  This display is on the third floor of the three floor antique shop.

This booth on the 3rd floor always has meticulous displays in her shelving units and this color coordinated shot shows the time and effort she puts into her space.  No dust settles on her shelves....

The tour wouldn't be complete without touching on the fabulous jewelry vendors at this shop.  They are all favorites of mine, and although not all are represented by these photos there is a paradise for vintage redesigners and collectors to be found behind the doors of the Antiques Downtown of Elk River shop.

Be sure to check out each of these fabulous ladies through out the shop for treasures.  Great sales going on in the jewelry department booths during the sale dates too.  Rumor has it that one of the ladies in the shop named Jodi,  really shows her customer appreciation extra much during the sale, so be sure to ask about her multiple booth spaces.

Yes, they've got it covered...  There is even a purple/red section for those of you into that tradition.

Cases of gorgeous jewelry and collector quality pieces are included in the venue at this shop.  I'm sure you can see why this is one of my favorite places to shop.  It's been my best kept secret for quite a few years, but it's time to share now and spread the word....

So this is where you'll find me this upcoming Friday and Saturday.  I will showcase some of the pieces I will have at the show in a couple of days.  Hope to see you there.




Thursday, November 3, 2011

Kindred Spirits

I love meeting kindred spirits.  Do you?  I didn't always enjoy meeting new people, in fact believe it or not, I was once a very, very shy girl...  Here's a little story about what Gretchen Johnson was like, and how she has grown to become, Gretchen Schaumann, a vintage redesign jewelry gal.




Meeting kindred spirits is something that always makes my soul grow and I love that.  Kind of strange how one comes full circle in life...  Quite often we become what we are taught and/or exposed to in our lives.  Fortunately for me, this particular attribute is a positive attribute in which I inherited and/or learned from my family.  These personality traits, tendencies and or experiences were a part of our daily lives, and show to me at a very young and tender age.  So here's a little information about my upbringing and how I've come to be who I am today, and how I feel I've come full circle.  

As the youngest of seven, yes seven, I remember that I was told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it by 9 other people in my life.  My siblings may disagree, but I believe this to be reality.  Not a bad thing mind you, just what I believe is often true when your numerical order is at the very bottom of a brood of others.  The seven of us were born in a twelve year time period, so life was a flurry of activity always in our household, with all of us working together as a team to make a large family unit work.

So in the big white farmhouse set on a hill, with its green shingled roof and green trimmed windows it housed my two parents, six siblings (three brothers and three sisters) as well as a fraternal Grandmother that lived with us most of the year during most of my early childhood, and myself.   These living arrangements made for eight elders to follow, to listen to, and to be told what to do.  

As a result, while a young child I was a wee bit shy.  I believe that my being used to everyone doing/saying/thinking for me, I didn't really need to make too many choices, say too much or figure too much out as it was already preconceived how the end results should be. 

So as this story goes, as a young child I remember my parents being extremely friendly people...  As a shy child, I could not stand my parents talking to everyone they met...   It would embarrass me, or so I thought.   They used to close our church down, literally...  On any given Sunday, as they walked out those big double church doors to head home for our usual large Sunday family dinner, if there were any out of town visitors to our small town of 356 people, they would invite them to our home for dinner (lunch to you city folks).  Argh!  Interestingly enough, this is how my oldest brother, Paul, and his wife, Nancy, ended up meeting.  She was the new teacher in town, and my parents invited her for dinner after church and the rest is history.

So as a young child, much to my chagrin and at the time shyness, this drove me nuts...  Ha Ha, so here I find myself much like my parents. 

I've noticed these things about myself:
~I am friendly.  Sometimes, the shyness still rears itself, but I push myself to be outgoing and thus it results in a reality of confidence and truly loving people.
~I love to meet new people. One of the favorite things of doing my jewelry design shows is interacting with my customers, new and old.  Some of my most cherished friendships started out initially as customers and than grew into deep friendships.
~I tend to be the last person to leave many places now.  Just LOVE to visit, and talk.
~I try to make others feel important, which they are, and express that through my conversations with others.
~I talk to strangers while I am standing in line waiting with them, whether they like it or not. :)
~And I so enjoy turning a crabby persons disposition into a brighter one by doing what I call "Pouring on a little Sugar and Cream".  

My theory of  "Sugar and Cream":
Sugar and Cream can come by way of a sincere compliment.
Allowing someone else to go first, when they've just about knocked me over to get there. :)
Holding the door for a crabby person.
Saying thoughtful things and being extra patient when customer service people have had a bad day.
Being thoughtful and asking about their day vs. my own... (I still have a long ways to go on this one)


It is really kind of fun to do some of these things, and take a mental note and watch and see how we can make a positive difference in peoples lives.   People in general are in such a hurried attitude these days, and I am constantly trying to fight that myself with attempting to remember to pour "Sugar and Cream" onto those God brings into my path each day.  I have seen some wonderful results from just attempting to do what I believe my parents were trying to teach us their children in their everyday lives.  I may not be inviting random strangers to my home for Sunday dinners, as hospitality and cooking is not my natural gifts, but doing for others things that I can and am able to do is my own version of what I believe my parents were instilling in us.

So all this is to say, is that I've become my parents in some ways, which is something I swore I'd never do.  ha ha  Eating my own words.  I find I just love to meet new people, and if I listen, take the time, we can both grow and become better people.  After all that's what our purpose here on Earth is about... to minister to others. 

I am so blessed and thankful that God has given me any and all jewelry design talents, as I give Him the credit and glory.  Without Him, my creativity would be void.  My purpose would be in vain.  I hope that through my jewelry design, I am able to minister to others in a non run of the mill way, when I take the time to show and share His love with those He chooses to put in my path.

I feel I have met so many "kindred spirits" through my jewelry design, my blog and my friends I've met on the junking trails.  Thank you for being in my path...  I truly do this for the love of creating and the joy of interacting with my customers most days of the years.  There are a few days each year where I get worn down and tired, overwhelmed or have to fight being frustrated, etc., but overall 97% of the time I'm loving what I do.   So all in all, I just want to thank you for being a part of my life, for reading my blog, for those of you that have supported my jewelry design business, and those of you that have been supportive in any way throughout my lifetime.

Do you find any of your family upbringings to enhance your life?  If so, please share and tell me how its affected who you are today.  Good or Bad, it's what makes us who we are, and we are each special in His sight.


Mimi-Toria's Design Jewelry Style