Happy Small Business Saturday! If you haven't already, please do try to get out to a local business or two and help support your local economy!

Another big push to get the winter and Christmas things out today. It's still not photograph-worthy unforunately, but we've got lights and things up, so that's an improvement. One thing you never actually realize as a customer - you walk into a store and one day, it's suddenly covered in Christmas stuff like magic, but wow, yeah, it doesn't really appear all at once.

The main point to this post is to give a big thank you to Melodye Whatley, who came and gave us a lovely show with her bowed psaltery this afternoon.

It really is a beautiful instrument, and makes quite a lot of sound for such a little thing! If you'd to know more about the bowed psaltery and Melodye's work, check out the pdf version of her pamphlet here.

Also, a quick reminder, 1st Anniversary Sale next Saturday and Sunday! I'll be posting the Etsy coupon code at the end of the week, so keep an eye out for that here and on Twitter.

Return of the dodgy photos

One of these days, I will completely figure out how my camera works, I'll get a tripod, and I'll be patient enought to wait around all day for the light to not be so glaringly bright. Today is not that day.

We've become the drop-leaf table store. This is the fourth one we have in the store right now. So if you're looking for a drop-leaf, we've got 'em. Really. Four of them. This particular one is a (likely) cherry gate-leg made by Statton Furniture. It also has two additional leaves (which bring the table to nearly 7' long) and those protector felt pads to keep it in good shape (not pictured). I couldn't track down an age for it, but it's still a gorgeous piece.

And just in this French & Heald Company 5-drawer maple dresser. It's really quite lovely in person, with intricate handles and dovetailed drawers. Another piece I can't properly date, though. There is a date stamp on the inside of one of the drawers, but it's terribly smudged.

I think it might say 18*3, but I can't be certain. The antiques business would be so much easier if every company ever had clearly marked and dated their items!

And lastly for the pictures, the display on one of the other drop-leaf tables. This one resides in the entryway, featuring a cubby box full of all sorts of things on the right and two American Tradition ironstone King Tom platters on the left. (You can see them better on Etsy here and here.)

And now really last - I've joined the Hebron Shop Local program that's started this month. Pick up your rewards card here or any other participating business, have it checked off at five different businesses, and turn it into the Town Hall for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate good at any participating business. Look for the orange cow sticker in the window of participating shops!

Anniversary Sale & Open House 12/3 & 12/4

5 weeks, 3 days until Christmas! We've been slowly starting to pull out bits and pieces of the Christmas stuff for a while. I'm trying not to rush things and overwhelm the whole store (and myself) by putting out all the Christmas items at once. But they have to come in sooner rather than later!

Of course, whenever we do this much rearranging and such, I make a giant mess, like so:

I've got to get it all cleaned and picture-worthy up fast, because for the store's first anniversary, we'll be doing a sale and open house kind of thing! So if there's anything you've been dying to have, the first weekend of December, 15-20% off regularly priced items over $10, 20% off many items under $10, and an additional 10% off items already marked down. I'll also be running an Etsy coupon that weekend, to be announced later. So!

Willow Tree Antiques
Open House &
1st Anniversary Sale
Saturday, December 3rd &
Sunday, December 4th
10:00 - 5:00

Come, have some snacks, work on crossing a few items off that Christmas list, and celebrate our anniversary with us!

Now on Twitter!

No exciting pictures today, I'm afraid. All the news that's fit to print isn't so fit to photograph. :)

The main point of this post is to point the way to my new Twitter account: @WillowTreeAntqs. Unfortunately usernames can only be 15 characters and "WillowTreeAntiques" would've been 18, so we get a weird abbreviation there. Still, it works. Follow me for updates on new items both in the store and on Etsy, and whatever else strikes my fancy. @WillowTreeAntqs

Also new - new business cards! Which are just like the old ones, mostly. Except these have improved LARGE FONT for easier reading and a pretty full-color back with my email and URLs for the blog and Etsy. Now to use up the last chunk of the previous batch...

Here we go again...

Power outages! Panic in the streets! Pandemonium! Didn’t we just do this a couple months ago? Around six inches of snow here, so not quite that bad. The store got power back late Sunday afternoon, which is really good. I was worried for our namesake the willow, but it’s still standing, thank goodness.

Our pear tree at home wasn’t nearly so lucky, unfortunately. But we didn’t lose power there at all, so I suppose we dodged a bullet with that one.

But if this is a preview of what this winter’s going to be like, then the birds have the right idea – migrate south!



Some minor changes to the blog layout today as well. A couple new things in the sidebar, a couple things moved around. I've also stuck my Etsy banner at the top here just to give it a bit more color. I need to find something a little less glaringly white, I think.

So now we're into the real stretch of fall, with cooler temperatures and turning leaves...unless you're here, then the leaves are just falling right off the trees without the pretty colors:

You can't tell from the photo, but one whole side of the tree is pretty much bare. The poor thing's really kind of sad.

Lots of new things in lately. First off, here's our new entryway display. I love these shutters - got several from an old house in Lebanon. The owner told us they were original to the house, which was built in the 1820s. The paint's newer but still very cool. Some neat things on the table, including these little leaf-shaped salt dish things. Such a great color.

From the same house call as the shutters, a really neat old tool box with a great curve to the front.

And old blue paint inside!

And we have a heavy-as-all-heck crock. I could move this thing, oh, about five feet at a time. Better than the #12 we had a few months ago - that one I couldn't pick up at all!

Also a great #6 with the handles in tact.

Lastly, Debbie's brought us some glass in these great seasonal oranges. My picture doesn't do the color justice - they're really quite neat in person.

Long time, no post

Between cloudy weather, battery mishaps (did you know they make batteries that you can't use in digital cameras? Now I do!), etsy, and new displays, I've been getting behind here. Oops. Recently new to Etsy three neat old architectural pieces. The first one there is huge - almost four feet long! Also eight vintage tin noise makers. Frankly, taking pictures of those wasn't exactly fun; I felt like the clowns were staring at me the entire time. They'd be good if you want to scare small children.

As for new displays, the Hitchcock set from the previous post has sold and been replace with a lovely 1940s drop-leaf table.

The light in this room is wonderful, but boy does it reflect in pictures! Around the table are a pair of black ladder back chairs and a set of four chairs probably from around the 1940s. I love the combo of the coppery colors and off-white bowls on that shelf.

Here we have a 1920s solid mahogany drop-front desk. It's got some really nice detailing on the legs, an urn pattern. To the left is a 1950s three-drawer chest. Great size for a nightstand, and it has a really neat tan and brown leafy lining in the drawers. And yes, we've got a touch of Halloween here with black cats and an old sugar bowl that looks like a caldron.

Just in, a vintage round pine-topped table. On it we have a vintage shelf decorated with a Red Wing Bob White casserole and plate and a variety of Country Fair/Country Fare/whatever we're calling it today pieces. I love how the two patterns look together.

To the right of the table, an upcycled vintage mirror frame has been turned into a huge chalkboard. I like putting seasonal quotes on it, and inflicting my attempt at art on my customers. ;-) The chalkboard reads, "For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad," quote by Edwin Teale.