It Isn't A Sale!

Make room.

Its a Make Room Event!

We leave this Friday for New York to attend the latest International Gift Show. What that means is I'm going to be shopping! Not likely for me, as time is crunchy this visit, but certainly for the store.

There are going to be oodles of new and the usual attendees showing off fabulous new wares and we intend to bring in some great new lines.

And that means that some of the lines we've been carrying are reduced in price to make room for the newest kids on the block. Many of our great products are available now to our customers at drastically reduced prices, in many cases at our cost! You'll find...

George Nelson Clocks

Bright Times

Chalkboard Candles

Sun Jar and Moon Jar

And much, much more. We won't be restocking these clear out items so once they're gone, they're gone!

We'll be reporting back from New York later this week. In the meanwhile, stop in and see Kendal, have a latte and see the full range of clearance items.

Make room.

Design Trends - 2010

Fusion is the new buzzword. Its something we've been promoting since opening our doors and it is being widely embraced by designers helping clients create a completely personal look in their homes. . Industrial girly, as an example, mixes chandeliers with concrete. Its all about modernizing older styles and selectively blending old with new.

At left... Farmhouse Industrial

Bolder color is being injected into homes, primarily used on feature walls and in accents. Grey is supposed to be the new beige and black is back with a fever ~ although we missed that it had gone anywhere because its a fave of ours for accent pieces. Citrus is on its way out but green is still hot in a variety of rich shades. Wallpaper (Wallpaper? Yep, wallpaper.) is being used in unexpected fashion - like on the ceiling and fabrics are being used on walls.

Behr's Color Trends Pallette

Green is still, well... Green. And big. From energy saving appliances to repurposed pieces (and thats something we love and know well), choices that are kind to mother earth are playing a large part in the things we select to outfit our homes.

Vintage items are hot for accents and furnishing. We are seeing plenty of new replicas of vintage items in the marketplace now. We prefer the originals and continue to up-cycle vintage baroque style mirrors to complement Debby's oh-so-chic up-cycled vintage furnishings.

Lux.

Inconspicuous luxury. Velvety toss cushions, super chic small pieces of furniture or a majestic vintage chair. A modern mobile (watch for Flensted mobiles coming to our house soon!) or a unique piece by a designer or artist you love.

The key is not to go crazy by mixing too many elements. You know your style and tastes. If you are looking to be a little adventurous start small and branch out from there.

Charity Rocks!

We have a winna!

The last set of Whisky Stones in our possession officially left the building last night, bound for Vermont to a delightful woman named Elizabeth Bluemle. How do I know she's delightful? Well, for starters, she saw our auction for Whisky Stones and didn't hesitate to send us her bid, along with a note telling us what a wonderful fundraising idea our auction was (and we DO love compliments so we, of course, liked her right off.).

Also, being the curious Kat that I am, I've spent some time perusing Elizabeth's two websites. After reading her personal web page I felt like she was somebody I would want to be friends with. She's bright and sincere and interesting. She has a terrific sense of humor. She's also an author of children's books and co-owner of a bookstore in Shelburne, Vermont. I'm wired to admire people who have a way of stringing together words, like shiny little pearls, to make something beautiful. It was this snippet, from her About Me page, that did it for me...

"I love words, especially the ones that sound like blown glass or have chewy textures."

Well, that and the title, cover illustration and introduction to one of her books...

Feel free to visit either one of Elizabeth's sites here Elizabeth Bluemle or here Flying Pig Books.

In honor of her father, Robert Bluemle, Elizabeth has chosen the Visiting Nurse Association (Care Connection) in Burlington, Vermont as the beneficiary of her winning bid. You can learn more about that fine organization here Take Me There!

Now, I'm off to figure out how to Wokka-Wokka.

Happy Holidays!

We, at ChiChi, would like to take a moment to thank you for your support and referrals this year and to say happy holidays.

Whatever occasion you celebrate at this time of year... with whomever you choose to celebrate with... we wish you the very best. For now. For the new year. For always.

I, personally, would like to suggest we all cherish the people close to us. Not just now, or other special times of the year. Every day. Do kind things simply for the sake of doing them. And try not to look so far beyond tomorrow that we forget about today.

We will be taking time off to enjoy our families and friends and will be closed, after 3:00, December 24th until January 5th. We will be operating under new hours for the remainder of winter from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm on Tuesdays, 10:00 am until 5:00 pm (Wednesday to Saturday) and will be closed, or available by appointment only, on Sunday and Monday.

We look forward to continuing to serve you next year and introducing the most unique goods we can find.

Warm regards from Terry, Kendal, Kat and Harv