You can tell them a little bird told you...

It's been quite some time since I blogged.

I see that same sentence a lot throughout blogland lately. Must only be the die-hard bloggers that find the time to blog every day! Certainly not me. Oh well....

Just because I haven't found the time, doesn't mean I've been sitting around on my laurels watching t.v. and eating the proverbial bon bons...Does anyone eat bon bons anymore? Hmmm.

The GREAT news of late, well, actually there's a lot I could say here, but the thing I want to share today, is this....drum roll.....

We are in the midst of purchasing a commercial property in a great location with two buildings. Yep. TWO. And the frontage portion of the smaller of the two will house my new adventure...

RUSTY MONKEY Vintage Marketplace and Workshop

Now I'll be able to come to work everyday and do my daily routine for E.B. and fill in all that "dream" time creating art, repurposing goods, and just plain having a ton of fun in my own little space.

Actually, the space will be the biggest space I've ever had - THREE rooms.

Lots of natural light. A roll-up bay door.

All decorated in Rusty, Industrial goodness.

Lots of metal.

Lots of wood.

Lots of texture.

And just a touch of softness.

The additional bonus here, is all those totes, boxes, shelves, etc. that are at home will be moving out and be readily accessible at a moments notice!!! YAY!!!

The Rusty Monkey will be open for sales the 2nd, 3-day weekend of every two back-to-back months. At least that's the plan right now. For example, Fri/Sat/Sun - Nov/Dec, Mar/April, July/Aug, etc...

Art Workshops will be held there too. But, that probably won't happen until next Spring. Even though I'll be busy during that "dream" time, there is still a whole lot of "dreaming" to do....

Needless to say, I am beyond excited, excited!!! Finally, a REAL place where I can set up shop, leave it set up, and play to my hearts content - all during the regular work week - while I'm already at work anyway!!!

The other exciting part is, I will be joined by a handful of my closest friends in the workshop. They will be able to set up their own workplace and then sell their creations too!

Each will have a tag # but unlike a traditional rental booth space, we won't have designated spaces, the overhead will be quite low, so all their (and mine) hardwork doesn't go to the "house".

It's a dream come true and I have my wonderful husband to thank!!!

When we first walked through the buildings, he was the one to say,

"...And Honey, this space would be perfect for you!"

Whatta Guy! He works SO hard and yet he puts me in the forefront of his mind....I love you, BABY!!!

There's a lot to do, but because we are Pre-Close Leasing, I began the process of painting the focal wall behind the check-out counter a beautiful shade of rust, of course, right? The other walls will be painted a subtle shade of cream linen. The old gray carpet is going bye-bye and the underlying concrete floor will be stained muted shades of rust, black, cream....The trim is already painted black and will promptly be distressed. Interior doors will be removed to ease traffic flow. A walled up partition window will be opened back up and galvanized trimmed shelves will be added. I can see some rustic garden fencing over the windows with a touch of burlap.

Out in the bay, exposed wood trusses will be capped with old, rusty, nail-hole-ridden galvanized sheets. The clear twinkle lights will be woven overhead. The little back room...well, here's where a soft touch lands. An overhead chandelier. Too cute. I'm loving it all!!!

Yeah, lots of "dream" time, but I can see it in my minds eye.

Sorry for the long, no-photo, post, but I promise there will be photos soon!!! Times a tickin!!!

WISH. DREAM. CREATE.

Those were the words on the first art piece I had published....

Those are GOOD words!!

Cheers!