Dealer Spotlight.. Grit and Grace

Do you ever watch the Rachel Zoe project on Bravo TV? I am "Bananas" over this show! I am also "Bananas" over our next dealer.. Natalie Hayes, owner of Grit and Grace. She is our very own Rachel Zoe with her quirky inspirational t-shirts and Bohemian clothing collections that she represents upstairs at The Vintage-Flea. Natalie is so adorable when she comes in the shop wearing her adorable outfits, fabulous jewelry, and her vintage cowboy boots. This is what we learned about Grit and Grace....

Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo TV, Monday at 10pm

Flea..Hi Natalie.. thank you for participating. You are definitely a Southern Girl with tons of Southern Charm. What part of the South are you originally from?

Natalie..I am Originally from Atlanta.Ga.,a true Southern belle! My brother and I would go the movies on the weekends at the Fox theatre,and play at Piedmont Park.I attended College at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta,and received my BA.I met my husband, Peter,And that is how I landed in Newnan.We have three children, J.P.,23,Ben and Bailey, twins,that are 20! The last 23 years have been busy,fun filled years raising our children,and dogs!
Flea..You once had an antique booth over at Mrs. Wendy's Antiques.. how did you get started in antiques?

Natalie..I got started in Antiques after my Mom's Aunt Mary and Uncle Joe passed away.They were avid antique dealers from the Baltimore,Maryland area.They had a barn full of treasures "their so called rejects or unwanted projects", that they gifted to me. Why me? I use to play in their barn as a young girl and pretend I had a store with one of their old cash registers. I guess you could say they made my " play, pretend days" become true!
Flea.. But now you are selling the coolest clothes upstairs at The Flea.. Why the huge 360?
Natalie.. 360! it is! I was looking to mix it up a bit, and never dreamed the mix would be cool,hip t-shirts. They just grabbed attention with their amazing designs, colors,and inspiring messages.The t-shirts are a way to connect with customers offering everyone a chance to share short stories of there lives,journeys, and motherhood.

Flea.. How would you describe your personal style?
Natalie.. My personal style would probably be a"relaxed,hip mom" style! I say just be your own style,and have fun,and do not be fearful of change.Be creative with something old, and something new from "Grit and Grace" at The Vintage Flea!
Flea.. I am sure you keep up with the trends, what do you predict will be hot for Fall 2009?

Natalie.. The Trend For Fall 2009....Well,I do not claim to be a Fashion Diva in the fashion world! But,An oversized Boyfriend t-shirt, colorful scarf, short jacket, skinny jeans,and a pair of short boots! Great colors for fall are anything in purples and grays,and do not forget a big funky ring with some festive earrings.

Flea.. Thank you Natalie so much for playing along with us!
Natalie.. And many thanks to,Valerie and The Vintage Flea girls for All your smiling faces,great hospitality and over the help and hard work! I am so grateful to be a part of this great store.

Artful Night

Just a few pictures of the fun we had on Friday night at Art Walk in downtown Newnan. The weather man forcasted rain but luckily it broke around 3pm and it remained clear and sunny the rest of the evening. Here I am with one of the artists, Jenni Horne.

I was amazed by the amount of people who came through my little shop. I think this year had the best turnout to date. Here this customer is trying to decide which artistic jewelry to buy from Dayna Miles.
Here we have a customer admiring Jenni's work.

Mary did not leave the register all night!!

One of our tablescapes outside.. like I said it ended up being a beautiful night so we put out two tables for the crowd.

This way they could enjoy the wonderful music provide by Tyler and River, two boys from Northgate High School. Their mother told me this was their second "gig".

I think everyone had fun. Our next big event will be Oktoberfest for the beer tasting boutique. This will be October 23rd from 5pm-9pm.

Art Walk Countdown.. 2 more days

A few more artists have stopped by The Flea to set up their beautiful creations. Sherry Cook brought in her whimsical folk art goodies...

and her amazing encaustic pieces.
Jan Fruit is a newbie to the art scene but she has certainly blasted out of the gate!! She recently learned out to make these colorful hooked rug creations..

portraits are her specialty! Here we have her doggie and her adorable husband.

More pictures to come! Hope you will all mosey on down to The Flea and support the local artists of Coweta County. Art Walk is this Friday, September 18th from 5pm-8pm.

ART WALK.. countdown

Yes it is that time again.. my how time flies between the Downtown Spring and Fall Art Walks. But the countdown has begun at The Vintage-Flea. I am finishing up putting out Fall and Halloween decor as we speak and setting up the Artist areas. This year we have a variety of talent that will be showcased. Hook Rug portraits from Jan Fruit, Folk Art creations from Sherry Cook, Paintings from Charlotte Scarce, Acoustic Guitar serenades from Tyler, Encaustic Wax art from myself (Valerie Dumas), and Mixed Media Paintings from Jenni Horne.

Art Walk will be this Friday, September 18th from 5pm-8pm. Adult beverages will be served along with snacks. Hope to see you there.
Artwork by Jenni Horne
Artwork by Valerie Dumas

Dealer Spotlight- Georgia Ann

Now that the Labor Day Sale is over.. it is full speed ahead at The Vintage-Flea. Fall and Halloween merchandise will be going out on the floor beginning this week. With that means a store redo with interesting vignettes reflecting the our carefully thought out themes. And while we are going to be upside down for a bit downstairs, I have to give props to my wonderful vendors upstairs (and a few downstairs too). Most come in every week to say hello to us and to bring in new goodies into their booths. We appreciate them and with that I am starting a new Dealer Spotlight Series... for you to appreciate them too. First up on my list is the very effervescent Ann Pelrose or Georgia Ann. She literally lights up my day with her huge smile!

Flea: Tell me a bit about yourself, are you from Newnan originally?

Georgia Ann: I grew up in south Alabama, where country living is very simple. We walked barefoot, swam in creeks, and every Sunday we went to my Mama Rosa's where she always cooked fried chicken and made banana pudding. I have been married for 21 years and have two sons, ages 15 and 19, that I absolutely adore.

Flea: You have 2 sons and have a cleaning business.. how do you have time to find things for your booth?

Georgia Ann: Yard Sales. Yard Sales. Yard Sales. My absolute favorite thing to do. Saturday mornings are my time. "Early bird gets the worm."
Flea: So we all have dumpster dived at one time or another to find a fabulous piece.. do you have any funny stories to share?
Georgia Ann: About 5 years ago, I was taking my oldest son to school at Newnan high when I spotted this neat, primitive little table on the side of the road. I had my son jump out and load it up. My husband thought it was the ugliest table he had ever seen. Well guess what? It was the first piece I sold when I first opened my booth!
Flea: You have lots of primitives in your booth and yet some amazing vintage finds as well. (I'm so in love in your vintage mustard card catalog) How do you describe your design style?
Georgia Ann: I have a country soul and my roots trace back to the deep south. Mixing old with new is the trendy thing to do and it really shows my style.

Flea: Lastly.. What collections do you have at home that you treasure most?

Georgia Ann: For my 10th wedding anniversary, my husband brought home an old primitive corn bin (I was so excited!!) from Blue Ridge, Ga. It had a hole in the front where rats had chewed it up trying to get to the corn mill. It has so much character!

Thank you Ann for playing with us!!

Annual Labor Day Side Walk Sale

Just a reminder that this weekend will be Mainstreet's Annual Side Walk Sale!! This is the day that The Vintage-Flea will pull out all the old displays, merchandise, furniture, etc from the back storage room and put it all out front at BARGAIN prices. Our gorgeous 8' Harvest table was $650.. now only $400, Chenille Loveseat was $250.. now $175, and much much more.
Sale starts Friday, September 5th at 9am. See you on the Square!

Ann's Butcher Block was $1200.. now only $950

8' Harvest Table priced to SELL!

Amy Butler Hunting

Yipee!! Our friend Michelle Wiseman has finally opened up her own dream shop called Fabritique.. a Fabric Boutique. She and her 2 business partners have been planning this for a long time and when I found out they carried Amy Butler fabric, I was off to check things out!

Their boutique is located at 3339 Hwy 34 E. in Sharpsburg. Look at their pretty business cards!! Michelle is also a Design Consultant who frequents The Vintage-Flea many times looking for that special something for her clients.
The gang is all here... Michelle, Jenni, Terri and Kelley.

It's like going to a candy shop.. look at all the pretty trims, ribbons, threads, and fabrics.

And finally... La piece de resistance.. Amy Butler Fabrics!! The fabulous fabric collections are still growing but stop on by Fabritique the next time you are in need for some fabulousness!

Good Luck Girls!!

How to Feed 50 Children... at the Flea

Want to make a difference? We all do. I found this unique company in January called Two Loops. They sell beautiful handbags and tote bags... but this time around they were introducing the World Market Tote Feed 50 Program.

Proceeds for every 1 World Market Tote purchased go to feed 50 children in India and Africa! The bonus is how pretty they are for only $14 each!!
While in Franklin last week, I went into a store called Philanthropy: where fashion meets compassion. These tote bags definitely fit that description. Get one today and make a difference in the world.

May the Force be with you... Helping a Friend

Went to Franklin, TN this past week to help out some of Jenni's friends open up a new store called Wedding 101. Actually the concept is pretty ingenious.. a virtual wedding directory/retail boutique. Space can be rented out in 3 tier levels from photographers, planners, designers, event locations, rental companies, caterers, etc. When done, their space looks like a 3d magazine advertisement for the potential bride to see, touch, smell, etc. Pretty cool!

from the dashboard of Jenni's car....

Our first order of business from the boss woman was to rearrange their retail area. It was definitely in need of some Vintage-Flea TLC. You can see on the right side a project runway style dress that Jenni and I made for the vintage mannequin. The close up picture is the gorgeous trim made from coffee filters and left over tulle.
The next day we continued with the clean up and set up. That evening was the cocktail party to welcome all the new vendors and for the opening of wedding 101. We walked in through a gorgeous hand made awning with their logo attached and found our name tags.

Here is a sampling of our party.. wedding displays from cake chiefs, photographer displays, bridal gowns from a designer... then the delicious food from the caterers.

A toast to each other. Amy & Ashley, I wish you tons and tons of success!!

May the force be with you. -Yoda

Cocktails and Cowboy Boots

I'll be away for a couple of days... Jenni and I are going to Tennessee. Do you remember our last trip to Franklin? We are headed back to help Jenni's friends, Amy & Ashley, get ready for the grand opening of Wedding 101. (A really cool concept to help with the wedding planning process.) I can't wait to see it all come together for them. They both came up here in January for the Atlanta Market.. still in the planning/dreaming phase of their business. Of course they will have their grand opening in style with a cocktail party to celebrate and Jenni said she will be wearing her cowboy boots!! Should be lots of fun. Have a great weekend! image from French Blue & Co.

Inspired

So I have been wanting to change my office at The Vintage-Flea for some time now. When we first moved into the building, Jenni did a gorgeous wall mural on the back wall of the office as a surprise to me. Imagine a chocolate brown wall with vibrant green foliage and ginormous hot pink flowers. Very pretty.. but it has been 5 years now and I need a change. Cruising the blog world I found these great inspiration pieces from Desire To Inspire. Embroidery hoops have been turned into great design accents with the use of gorgeous fabrics. How easy (and cheap) is that!!!

This one is my favorite- used as a bulletin board or inspiration board.

Think of all the possibilities.. clothing from your child that you just can't get rid of, lacey doilies can be turned into jewelry displays, any of Amy Butler's fabrics (need I say more). Here is a tutorial from The Purl Bee on how to make the fabric hoops. Enjoy!

Have a Weekend Full of Smiles

new kitchen timers at the Flea..... Have a great weekend.

Library Geek?

Am I a library geek? Definitely not.. I don't even have a library card. I am a geek with new gadgets though so I had to try out this fantastic little Card Catalog Generator. My thanks to Beach Bungalow 8 for posting it on her blog.. which BTW is one of my new favs in the blogsphere.

This turned out cute, don't you think? What card catalog would you write?

Another Hollywood Visit

Okay I admit it.. I do get jealous when I open up the pages of Southern Living Magazine or Country Living Magazine to find wonderful glossy spreads on fabulous shopping areas in Atlanta. Yes Star Provisions is amazing and Virginia Highlands is on my "favorites" list but never do these publications go beyond the perimeter of Atlanta to seek out places like Newnan. There are so many wonderful little mainstreets outside the big city!! I can not say that about Hollywood though. You see our little town has been blessed as a filming location for many movies, television series, and commercials. Currently Newnan is being used in the lifetime series Drop Dead Diva.

You remember my posting here about the Zombieland Movie that was filmed outside my store.
Here is a partial list of other movies and tv shows that have been filmed in Newnan.

Movies on the "Big Screen"
Angel From Montgomery
Driving Miss Daisy
The Fighting Temptations
Fluke
Fried Green Tomatoes
Gordy
Moonrunners
Our Winning Season
Pet Sematary II
Raney
The Sheriff and The Satellite Kid
Sweet Home Alabama
The Unseen
The War

Television Movies and Shows
Andersonville
Caroline Skeletons
A Christmas Memory
Decoration Day
Desperate for Love
Flash
Grass Roots
Guyana Tragedy
I'll Fly Away
Mama Flora's Family
Manhunt in the Dakotas
Motor Home Massacre
Noah Deaborn
October Road
Passing Glory
Severed
Silent Victim
Stolen Babies
White Lie
Wife, Mother, Murderer
Zoobilee Zoo

So I guess Newnan won't be in the pages of a magazine just yet.. but you can see us as a backdrop on many of your favorite shows. I suppose the Atlanta shop owners can be jealous about that......

New Goodies

"Sometimes just a little change in your routine can transform something you dread into something you love." This is a line taken from the Sweet Grass Farm website concerning their line of Farmhouse Homecare Collection. So true indeed. I fell in love with this company on my last trip to Savannah where I saw the line at one of my favorite shops, Paris Market & Brocante. I purchased it and have been using it ever since. It definitely brings me back to when I lived in France during the first 2 years of my marriage. I loved doing the laundry because my clothes smelled so darn good afterwards. I have never been able to re-create that smell until now.

This is definitely my favorite of all the Farmhouse collection, reminding me of when I did laundry in France. There are 3 sachets in each bundle. Can be used to freshen drawers, gym bags, any stinky place...

The Shea Butter Lotion is suitable for hands and body. It contains both shea butter and olive oil.
The liquid soap is a glorious, rich and creamy lathering soap with natural glycerin and vitamins. It is a great hand cleanser, but it can also act as a shower gel too.

This old fashioned laundry powder formula is wonderfully fragranced, biodegradable and very effective. You only need 1/8 cup per wash load. This is a low sudsing formula, it is kind to nature, and kind to those with sensitivities to chemicals. Safe for high efficiency and front loader washing machines. The 4lbs bag will make 58 loads of laundry.

The liquid laundry softener provides a natural, non-chemical means of softening your clothes. Made of natural, plant based ingredients, this non-chemical softener conditions water and brightens fabrics. The 32oz bottle will care for 32 loads of laundry.

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Also new at the Flea.. we are bringing back an old friend. Remember our gorgeous Bakelite rings and necklaces? We brought them back for Fall. I am still amazed when I get people stopping me on the street asking me about my crow ring... they will be stopping you too!!

Hope to see you at the Flea.