Back From Market - The Buzz

We've just spent five days at AmericasMart in Atlanta, the first Market of the year. There is so much to see; new merchandise, displays, and plenty of inspiration for 2010. The buzz: nature inspired colors and patterns, the return of vibrant colors, gray and taupe are the new neutrals, an easier more livable style approach (the new casual), organic shapes and materials, texturized options on everything, and of course livable sustainability. It's not out of the norm to be Green anymore. And area rugs have become the interior's newest art form. You can add spice, or subtlety with them.

We wrote piles of orders! And the ship dates are varied between now and Memorial Day for new furniture, lamps, decorative accessories, bedding, jewelry, and shoe clips. . . Yes, they will be a fun new accessory that you can clip on to shoes or flipflops that can change the look and color of your outfit. Fun, fun, fun ~ make sure to come in and see them. They will be here before Valentine's Day.

Come in to see what's arriving, and to say hi. We had fun on our trip, and we want to pass that along. . .

Keep The Home Fires Burning.

Happy New Year! What a great holiday season it was, with shoppers again excited about all that it brings; buying gifts for loved ones, and perhaps visiting Bath ~ our lovely little city ~ for the first time. It was bustling.

Now we go into the deep winter season for several months, so keep those home fires burning. With the recent return of a significant amount of snow, it's easy to go into a hibernation mode. But don't succumb, as this is the time to keep moving, be social, get some exercise (take a walk on a sunny day), visit friends, and attend events that take place in your town. Every town has them! Our next event in Bath is the return of Bath Blarney Days, obviously set around St. Patrick's Day. . . What fun. Do you have something green to wear?

As for the store, we are currently having our Winter Sale. Everything in the store is on sale, yes, it's true. We are getting ready to go to Market in Atlanta, and want to have space for new merchandise when it starts to arrive. So come visit this month, we'd love to see you.

All That Glitters

Tis the season for sparkle and glitter! We love anything shiny this time of year, almost like a Magpie for her nest. We've decorated the store as we had our Holiday Open House last weekend. It was fun, and the store was full of people getting ideas and buying gifts for their loved ones. Of course they were also buying the glittery, eye catching decorations for their nests.

Next, I'll move on the my own house. We'll get the tree this weekend, and I've been thinking (okay, maybe obsessing is the right word) about the other decorations for this season. Every year I try to add something new, or change something so it's not exactly the same as the previous year. This causes angst for my grown children however, who seem to think everything has to be the same for their whole life! Tradition and all that. They just don't realize yet that when you are a decorator at heart, things have to change all the time. . .

Also, Paperwhites and Amarylis are everywhere, along with fresh greens. Every container I can get my hands on will be filled with something appropriate, along with a "Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree at the front door to welcome guests.

It's a month of sights, smells and excitement; mull some cider, bake some cookies, have fun shopping, and enjoy all that is merry and bright.

Happy Holidays!

"Our Favorite Things"

We are surprised and thrilled to be included in the December issue of DownEast Magazine's Our Favorite Things article. They have listed approximately twenty-five stores across Maine that they consider unique, and where you can buy a piece of Maine to put under the tree this holiday season. WOW, pardon my enthusiasm, but this is very exciting for us to be included. I consider that we are in very good company with the others listed, too.

By the way, it wasn't just positive for Ornament, but for the town of Bath as well. The article about us starts "As if you needed another reason to get off Route 1 and stroll Bath's delightful brick sidewalks . . ." Yes, please do stroll Bath's sidewalks ~ celebrate the season with us!

Fabulous Fall Fun

Yes, it's fall - that time of year that can be magnificent if you let it. I'm one of those hold outs for summer though. Meaning, I wear flip flops until October and resist Mums until late September. Just can't seem to let go as easily as some people can. We have had an absolutely wonderful September, and now that the leaves are almost at their peak, I've put on closed toe shoes and am starting to nest. Oh, the other change is the way we cook; macaroni & cheese, soups and stews, and more heavy dinners. Are we like the birds and squirrels, storing up for the long winter?

Think about bringing these fall nesting necessities into your home:

-Candles - yes we light more this time of year!

-Rich colored placemats and napkins. . .

-Indoor herbs to cook with all through the season.

-Wool hooked rugs in beautiful colors.

Do you need to have a few hostess gifts on hand? We have pear and gourd candles that make great give aways, and don't forget that Halloween is coming. Decorate your pumpkin with Pumpkin Bling (oooh, fun), and our Spirited Coasters would be fun for your party!

Have fun this fall. . .

Back From Brimfield, Again. . .

We've just returned from another great trip to the acres and acres of fields full of antiques in Brimfield, MA. If you've never been, it is one of those places that can be a little overwhelming if you let it, but is absolutely one of the best places to find anything your heart desires! This time we wanted to get into a specific field that opens on Wednesday, so we spent two nights and days filling up the big truck that we took. The chair that you see in this photo was the cause of the second day. . . Yes, I spied two of them from the road - but was barred from entering until the next morning. As the line forms at 5:30 a.m. for this particular field, we were there before dawn. Once the gate opened, we literally raced to this fabulous pair of reupholstered vintage club chairs and made the purchase on the spot. Don't they go great with the Zebra Dash and Albert rug?

The truck was full with wonderful finds for the store, and for a couple of customers who were looking for specific items. Another great trip.

Summer Fun at Ornament

Last week we held our 2nd successful Girl's Night Out. A portion of all sales for the day goes to breast cancer research, so not only do we have fun, eat sushi, and drink wine, it's also a very worthwhile event.

Thanks to all the customers who attended, and to Erin and Casey!

Cheese, crackers, fruit, artichoke tapenade with baguette, sushi, saki, and wine!

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer. . .

Oh these August days and nights. You can almost feel a slight change in the evening air as it gets a little cooler - and oh those beautiful, perfect days. The beaches are finally full of people, the sailboats are out with full sails, the lobster docks are busy, and town is hopping with tourists! We're in those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

Summer decorating is best when it is laid back and comfortable. We continue to have beautiful seasonal merchandise; pillows with lobsters, anchors, shells and starfish, iron mermaids, hurricanes and candles, summer inspired linens in bright funky colors, and some new soaps for that guest bath. Add a new Dash & Albert rug that is full of color in front of your sink for a little change. We have several in stock, or we can order one for you.

Enjoy the next few weeks, and we hope to see you soon!

Brimfield or Bust!

We are just about half way through July now (Erin's birthday is the 15th, which is always the indicator), hoping that we'll see a lot more sunny weather here in Maine. We really need it as do the flowers and vegetables. I'm not sure that we'll see any tomatoes on our home plants this year. . . Heritage Days in Bath were great, and brought crowds of people to town, and we are seeing a lot of vacationing families. The merchants are happy.

The middle of July also means another trip to Brimfield. Yippee, a road trip! Our vintage furniture pieces have flown out of the shop to cottages and summer homes. They have so much character, history and are a great value. It's also nice to recycle and reuse. We're taking a truck with trailer, which is always a challenge (especially for Erin, as she drives). We'll be back with merchandise in 'hand' on Wednesday, so come and see what we find.

Ahhh, Summer in Maine. . .

Okay, I am pushing it just a little. Summer doesn't officially arrive until June 21st, which is also Father's Day this year, but I always feel as though it's summer once June is here. The gardens are starting to look beautiful, lupine starts to appear, the lilacs are in full bloom, and the lawn has been mowed several times by now! Oh yes, I did forget those little flying bugs.

We are lucky indeed to live on the coast of Maine.

Here are some of our favorite things this summer . . .

• Flip-flops (get that pedicure and let your toes sing). We'll be carrying OKAb flip-flops; pretty styles and colors.
• Colorful Bangles on bare arms.
• Seals sunning themselves on the rocks between Georgetown and Southport.
• Strawberry Rhubarb pie (I've made two).
• Colorful Dash & Albert rugs underfoot.
• Displaying shells in pretty jars.
• Vance Kittera candles in lovely pastel shades.
• Cut flowers from the garden in vases.
• A pretty pashmina over my shoulders in the evening (arriving soon).
• New summer pillows on the deck chairs.
• And of course, Lobster on the dock at Five Islands!
  

Thank goodness we live in Maine.

Brimfield Shopping Trip

We've just returned from a wonderful time in Brimfield. For those of you who haven't been, there are about 5000 dealers on field after field for a one mile stretch. You can find almost anything there, and certainly a lot of things that you've never seen before! Erin and I started our trip by picking up a 16 foot rental truck on Monday afternoon, and making our way to Brimfield that evening. We wanted to get there on Monday so that we could get up at the crack of dawn the next morning and start shopping. Fun, fun, fun. . . It's tiring, and a long day but we filled the truck and arrived back in Bath by 11:00 p.m.

We bought mostly "cottagy" type furniture and decoratives since summer is almost here and customers will be opening up their cottages. It's all in the shop and ready for Memorial Day weekend. Let the season begin!

Girl's Night Out

Wow, our first Girl's Night Out was a success! We got the store ready for 'company', put out the food and wine, and entertained our friends and customers. Erin took the day to make sushi which was beautifully presented (forgot to take photos) and was a great hit, and paired it with Saki. . . Oh yes, sushi, saki, wine, cheese, fruit kabobs, and chocolate mini cupcakes (what's a party for women if there's no chocolate?). It was fun. A portion of each sale was to be donated to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure fund, and there were even some additional personal donations added to it. Thanks for coming.

I think we've decided to do it again sometime during the summer, so stay tuned. . .