Family Time

It's been a fantastic summer both at Studio Rewind and in our day to day lives.  "Rag and Bone" has closed its doors, but "The Space at 1412" has taken its place and we have stretched out and currently have two spaces in the new store.  July's First Friday was amazing and we can't wait to see what August will bring.

As we have been prepping and collecting for Studio Rewind, we have also been settling into our new home and enjoying married life.  

In the photo above you will see a collection I call "Family Time".  The center piece is an antique mantle clock I found that was gutted.  I found an original print from "Alice in Wonderland" online, printed it onto vellum and slipped it into the face plate.  Now we have a nice reminder of our reception dinner which was held at the "Mad Hatter" in Sanibel Island, Fl.  

The two books that elevate the clocks are a set of dictionaries Ella and I found. 

Ella found the leather-bound, 1896 Webster's Dictionary at an estate sale for $3.  A couple of weeks later I found the 1950's version for $2.50 at a garage sale.  They are a great way to add interest and height to the display.  Plus, Ella and I love to write and we are happy to have the tomes of words hanging out with us in our dining room.

The wind-up clocks come from a variety of places: 2 are family heirlooms, one comes from Ella's old Harry Potter-themed room and 2 were found at an open air flea market.  I have a clock addiction, and an ever growing collection forming in my art room.  I was looking at these clocks and wondering how I could use them in the house, I knew I didn't want to wind them every day so I was thinking what time would be meaningful to leave on each one.  And then it hit me, I have 5 clocks, 5 family members and I decided each clock would represent the time of birth for each member of our little family.  PERFECT!  

To pull it all together, I snagged this super cool swiveling table Trey had bought at an auction.  The result is quirky, whimsical and meaningful. Studio Rewind is all about re-using, re-purposing, re-imagining and I love being surrounded by beautiful, vintage things and delight in integrating them into my home and family life.  I also love, just as much, sending them out into the world and into new homes ~ I hope they bring their new owners as much joy as they bring me!

Hope you all are having a peaceful summer ~ see you all next First Friday in the West Bottoms ~ August 1, 2 and 3 ~ it will be here quick!

and life goes on . . .

Well, it has been a long time since my last Studio Rewind post ~ we have kept the space open and stocked, but life threw us a curve ball back in March when we found out that my mom has non-curable, non-treatable stage 4 cancer.  The last few months have been a whirlwind.  There is not much I can say about it, I don't know what can be said.  This is life, we are mortal beings ~ but it still comes as a shock and life here has been full of wistfulness and tears.

Once mom and dad found out it was not treatable, they packed up and headed down to the ocean.  They are there now, at St. George's Island with Ella.  They will meet Trey, I and his girls in Orlando in about a week and a half.  So, we are seizing the moment.  Making memories.  Being happy and connected in these moments that belong to us.

In the meantime, I have just finished up the 2013-2014 school year.  We are settling into our new house in Lawrence, KS.  Trey and I are putting the very last touches on our "sunset at the beach" wedding and we are getting ready for June's first Friday weekend in the West Bottoms which is . . . tomorrow ~ YIKES!

Finding treasures, enjoying the secret history of used items has always been a refuge for me.  A hopeful space within the chaos of life.  Trey, Ella and I have had a wonderful time this May exploring, poking around and bringing back to life a wonderful array of vintage and antique objects.

A few we are keeping for our house, many others we are getting ready to place in the shop.  May has seen our space emptying out, things are flying off the shelves so we are completely re-creating the space and have lots and lots of new items.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring??  We never really know ~ love the people around you, treat them like the treasures they are and do what makes you happy!

Here's whats fresh at Studio Rewind . . . more pictures will follow tomorrow when I get to the space, I will be working at Rag and Bone tomorrow from 10 to 4 and will post pictures to our FB page.

This mini-library from the 1920's sold the day we put it out but I still love the item and wanted to post this pic :)

Chifferobes and Magnolias

Spring is coming to the West Bottoms and the First Friday Weekends are really picking up steam.

We have been so busy with our personal lives ~ planning a summer wedding, packing and getting ready for the big move, and the busy cadence of balancing family and work.

But Studio Rewind and Celfie always bring us relaxation and smiles even in the midst of so much bustle.

Here are some of our fresh finds and hope to see you at Rag and Bone soon ~ ~

New Space at Studio Rewind

We have moved into our new and improved space at Studio Rewind (in Rag and Bone in the West Bottoms of KC).  And we love it!

My whole life I have felt torn between what I saw as two separate and un-combinable parts of myself - the healer and the artist.  For the first time in my life, my day job working in the inner-city schools in KCK and my weekend job helping style and create Studio Rewind and Celfie Boutique KC make me feel like a whole and complete person.  I love creating collage art and the space at Studio Rewind is like a large canvas - concrete, brick and metal - in which I take the things I love, the things the people I love collect, and create a larger than life collage in which all parts of me can soar and express.

It is a past time that brings me closer to my daughter and the man I love ~ it is a dream come true and a joyful space in my world.

One of my favorite things to do as I travel around looking for items is find and purchase images of the Virgin Mary.  I have created two grottos featuring Mary for the space, and the newest one "Our Lady of the Sea" is currently in our space at "Rag and Bone":

These grottos are created 100% out of pieces found in our adventures, everything is second hand.  I collect the items that call to me, and after a while, certain things just call themselves together.  It is my goal to always have a grotto on display.  So once one sells, another seamlessly will take its place.

I also have finished my first "before and after" piece for the shop.  I found this coffee table at a thrift store for $12 and just loved the drawers, the glass top and the fabulous wood trim on the table top.

I had several ideas for a re-do but in the end decided on a very simple design.  An extremely thorough cleaning (ewww! need I say more??). Then painting the bottom of the piece in an onyx black.  Taking out the tacky red fabric and replacing it with an ecru duck material, covered in French writing and finishing it with cream, ceramic, tear-drop handles.  I love the finished look and dressed it with some fabulous, antique shoe forms Trey bid on at an October auction we attended:

And Ella and I opened Celife Boutique KC this weekend.  Show-casing high-end, extraordinary, and fun "re-run" fashion.  I am excited to join in this business adventure with my beautiful, creative daughter and am glad for the time it allows us to share thinking, planning, learning and growing together!  And a big thank you to Trey for helping us design the industrial clothes display complete with metal pipes and the coolest vintage ladder (you're the best babe!)

Studio Rewind and Celife are the perfect complement to my life and a constant source of inspiration and joy.  Just another reminder that you can't go wrong if you do what you love!  Do the thing that makes your heart sing, bring joy and beauty into the world and healing will abound.

I hope everyone out there is ringing in 2014 in vibrant hues of health and joy!

With affection from Rae, Ella and Trey at Studio Rewind and Celfie Boutique KC ~~

A New Year at Studio Rewind

We have been relaxing and enjoying the season and hope that you have too.  Studio Rewind at "Rag and Bone" has been enjoying some success.  All in all, 2013 ended on a high note and it has been a wonderful start to 2014.  

It is time for the first "First Friday" weekend of the new year!  We have a few new ideas incorporated into our space but the big changes will be coming with February's First Friday.  We will be moving into a larger space, showcasing more original art and opening our little "Célfie Boutique".  The boutique will be a joint business adventure between Ella and I featuring highly cool, couture-ish clothing and accessories.

I will be at "Rag and Bone" today from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. so if you are in or near the West Bottoms area stop by and say, "Hi"!!

We have a nice collection of vintage cameras and a new display of vintage typewriters.

I have filled each typewriter with a pre-printed, inspirational quote and I think that they make an awesome statement piece at a nice price.

Take a look and happy New Year to you all ~

Here is the vintage camera display: