Dear Friends,
It is that time of year when we stop and reflect on what we are truly thankful for in life.
And we could not be more thankful for all of you.
Now that we have all begun shopping for the holidays, it makes me think of how many years the Willows' has been around and how many amazing holidays we have had here. And we have all of you, our wonderful customers, clients and friends, to thank for that.
So, thank you.
All of you.
Through it all, you continue to come back and support the local boutiques. Since we began creating the Willows in 1996 and opened our doors in 1997, a lot of things have changed. We have moved three times and you still continued to come and shop with us. In my own family, we moved our home, had 4 children married and 16 grandkids (and counting...) born and, somehow, I still continued to come to work:) Over the last 13 years, you've kept me on my game. Always reinventing the Willows to keep it exciting and to find something new. I feel such joy when I go into people's homes and see things we sold in the past with such a happy place in their home. Thank you for that continued inspiration.
With our lovely employees we have celebrated weddings and babies. Our old store manager, Ashley now has 2 kids in grade school! Have we really been here that long? At our original 44th Street location, when we first opened, we carried tons of Shabby Chic Baby. Now I see these kids all grown up and think, "Wow. We decorated your nursery." Its all a little bittersweet. And I can't help but think, we could never have lasted this long without such amazing and faithful customers, many of you we are happy to call our dear friends.
Recently, a dear customer who has shopped with us since day one, just redid her guest room and bought all new bedding from us. Next week we are taking it all over to her house to iron it (side note: I have a terrible sickness - a love of ironing. There, I've admitted it...) and help her make the bed. I love that about us and I hope you do, too. I hope that is why we have had customers since we opened our doors who continue to shop with us time and again. That's the extra bit you get from a local store and I believe that's why we have had customers shopping with us for 13+ years. We have customers who buy something from us for a table setting with only a vague idea of what they want to do. They ask us about it, and before you know it, we are all gathered around helping them plan exactly how it should all look. We even have people come in to ask us to tie bows on their Christmas wreaths. I love that. We share places to eat, places to shop, the names of our hairdressers. And my favorite are the customers we can stand around laughing with for hours. They come in and share their stories and make us laugh (occasionally, make us cry). Its for all these reasons that I love coming to work.
In addition to all that, this blog has opened up so many new people to be thankful for. The wonderful readers and the kind comments and inspiration keep me smiling everyday. So, thank you all, too.
I love knowing that when you are all out doing you holiday shopping, you never forget us! (Evident by the crowds we have had bustling through our store over the past two weeks and the ever-dwindling holiday inventory...).
We love you all and are so very thankful for each and every one of you! Thank you for always shopping with us, stopping in to make us laugh or reaching out to us through this blog! We hope you all have the loveliest Thanksgiving, surrounded by those you love!
All our love and thanks,
Bev and the rest of the Willowettes
*top picture from a magazine I bought in Paris two years ago.
Isn't this gold chrysanthemum to die for? They are one of the most beautiful flowers (IMHO)
Love the greenery on the chandelier
Aren't the little nesting "bowls"? so pretty?
These vignettes are so beautiful. via Mariam's GORGEOUS riad. via My Marrakech
via House Doctor
I LOVE quilts - I have (unrealistic) aspirations to make one one day, so I save bits of old clothes and fabrics to use.
A pretty way to display jewelry
These are the curtains I chose. I normally don't lean toward red, but thought I'd take a chance.
This room is just a temporary home until I move in February.
A close up of the embroidered flowers above the printed flowers.
I have this jacket and love it! I always get compliments
I'm seriously considering this coat - wool and only $89!
Here's you membership link again.
Here are a few supplies you may want to have on hand - gesso (which I used as a primer on the gourds that I only painted, not leafed). Paint (some of the gourds I just painted metallic gold to ad variety alongside the gilded ones). Brushes, paint stirrer, paint tray, palette knife for mixing small amounts of paint, a pencil and masking tape for creating designs on the gourds, and a leafing kit or supplies.
After picking the gourds I wanted to paint, I primed them with gesso, applying it only where I planned on painting them or applying the leaf.
This gourd I painted the top a metallic gold, and applied leaf on the bottom half. (Notice the red leaf primer on the bottom.) A dark color primer makes the gold leaf "pop" a little more.
Once the primer dries, apply adhesive as instructed on the label. I found applying the gold leaf was easy it I placed a piece of waxed paper over it, warmed the wax paper a little just by rubbing my hand over it, and then applying the leaf to the gourd. Try and touch the leaf with your fingers as little as possible. You only have to press the leaf to the gourd very lightly.
Brush off any excess flakes with a soft, dry, brush. A light touch will do. After that, coat it with the sealer well. After the sealer dries, apply the antiquing glaze as instructed on the label. This project does require a good amount of surface space, and can be messy so make sure you've allotted space and cover any surfaces. Also various amounts of drying time will be needed between steps.
I lined a wood bowl with dried rye and than arranged the gourds to create a centerpiece.
What do you think?