When I attend antique markets as a vendor, I try to keep blinders on for the most part, so I don’t end up bringing home a van load of stuff!  I think Jeff would be less than pleased if I did that!  When I find I’m getting sidetracked, I try to remind myself that I’m there to sell, not to shop, but sometimes there is a special piece that just cannot be ignored!  Last year, I bought a chippy white dental cabinet that was perfect for an awkward spot in my living room.  This year, I wasn’t looking for anything specific, but I let Jeff know I might buy something if it really speaks to me, but I wasn’t going to search for it.

I was one of the first vendors set up at The Chapel Market last weekend and one of my old blog friends (also a vendor), Linda from Coastal Charm, came by to say hello.  She ran her fingers along the hand painted empire buffet and mentioned how much she loved it.  “I would love to buy that, but I need to sell a large piece first, so I have room to get it home!”

I told her to run up here if she sells a big piece and if it’s still available, it was meant to be.  She made a pile of some smaller things to purchase later and then went back to setting up her space in the large tent behind the chapel.  Once I was finished with tweaking and fluffing, I walked down to the tent to check out the other vendor’s spaces.  There were some amazing things!  I was contemplating some amazing old doors, a blue, black and white quilt and a few other things that were very “me”.  I really couldn’t justify buying any of them, though.  I didn’t have the perfect spot for them.  I meandered to the end of the tent and was immediately stopped at the sight of an antique wooden workbench.  I was so focused on the workbench that I didn’t see who it belonged to.  I looked up and saw Linda!

“Is this yours?!”

“Yes, it is!”

“Do you want to trade?  The dresser you like for this workbench?”

Linda agreed that a trade would be perfect, so a sold tag was tied onto each piece and the deal was done.  We were both thrilled.

Here’s the workbench I bought…

I wanted a counter-height table on wheels that I could use in the studio for a variety of purposes…photo shoots, workshops, sales, etc.  The top of it is so much prettier than a lot of workbenches I’ve seen.

It’s scratched, dented, dinged and aged to perfection.  And I even like the vise on it.

As I’ve been picking pieces for the studio, I’m trying to select pieces that can be used in a variety of ways and ones I can sell if ever I’m done using them.  This workbench really fits the bill.  It would make an amazing kitchen island if I ever decide to sell it.

It ended up being a great purchase, because Shaunna and I needed a work surface for teaching our paint demos, so we just rolled my new workbench over!

After a few days off, Kriste and I were back in the studio on Friday.  We decided to work on the rolling workshop walls Jeff built to use as dividers and photo shoot backdrops.  I painted one of the planked walls in two coats of MMSMP Ironstone.  It was freshly painted and still wet when I used it as a backdrop for the workbench, so it looks little streaky and I think it still needs one more light coat, although I like that you can see some of the knots and character of the wood.  Jeff is going to make me a baseboard next week, so it’ll cover the gap at the bottom.

And I’m still playing with how to best situate the wall.  In this picture, it’s facing the two largest, brightest windows and the light might be a bit too harsh.  I’m going to try it perpendicular to those windows next time to see if that brings out the dimension of the planked wall better.

We also worked together to make a paper wall…

We simply ripped pages out of an old dictionary and taped them to the wall in layers, working from the bottom up, so the tape was hidden.  While I painted the planked wall, Kriste painted the two drywalled walls behind the free counter in a black chalkboard paint.  We need to season them with some chalk and then get to the fun stuff – doodling!

We also started working on getting things photographed and listed in the online shop and started on some ideas for look book two…

…and another special project I’m working on.

 Hmmm…what is she up to?

In case you haven’t seen it, there’s another #holidayhostess event running at Joss & Main!  This week, Yvonne from Stone Gable’s style is displayed in an inspiring collection.