Dealers Showcased

Starting today I thought I would like to showcase each individual Dealer or Vendor in The BriarPatch. I'll start with Steaven's collection. Above is a vintage Bolo tie and below is petrifyed dinosaur poop. That's right. Now there is a more technical name for it but so we all understand what we are looking at I'll use the commom name of dino poop. Who says we don't have everything.
Steaven brought in several turquoise and sterling rings from his personal collection.


The ring above is set with an old trade bead. The ring below is set with turquoise, coral and a bear claw.

Steaven also has knives, scouting items, rocks of various kinds and coins. Everything is from his personal collection that he is downsizing. He has been collecting for years and comes up with some unusual items.




In contrast Marilyn is our newest Dealer with her Forget Menot Boutique.

Beautiful floral cups, saucers, plates, and teapots.

Vintage Baby clothes and below is a frog tassel.



Vintage luggage and linens, pink bunnies and a marble top table.
Pearls, pillows and everything pink. If you like shabby chic you will love Forget Menots.

Waiting for the Blizzard of Christmas 2009

Coco is waiting for Santa
All of us at the Briar Patch wish everyone the merriest and joy filled holiday. Hope Santa finds his way thru the blizzard. Don't worry Coco afterall Santa is from the North Pole.

Here are a few more Christmas pic from around the store. Our inventory changes constantly as items sell, and unlike other retail stores which have multiples of an item a lot of the time we only have one. This is true of this reproduced vintage tinsel sign.

Silver tree above is an authentic old one with vintage ornaments while the Santa above is an old new one. Below is a red crystal berry wreath with vintage Christmas cards on display stands.





Whitney's mantle is adorned with photo blocks she makes herself.

A Victorian dressmakers form decked out for the holidays. Below is a display using the wide ribbon I mentioned in an earlier post.

Below: I made this rustic harvest table in 5 minutes. I have several iron table bases with no tops and always a supply of old doors. Instant harvest table. The table is set with vintage Mexican talavera blue and white pottery.

Gift Ideas

I found this Christmas picture on my camera today. It's our faux electric fireplace. One of my favorite things and therefore not for sale. It has a light bulb inside with some orangeish colored plastic which rotates and makes it look like fire in the logs. Well that's what it's supposed to look like anyway. As you can see we have plenty of the old plastic Santas that a light goes inside of to make them glow. I used a tree skirt for the top of the mantle which has a matching stocking. Faux popcorn and cranberries adorn the trees. I'll be taking more photos tomorrow.



















Coco is modeling a wonderful hand crocheted rug by Janice. This one happens to be one of about 5 of my own. Janice has many to choose from in the store. I use them all over my house and they are machine washable. Great gift idea. If she doesn't have the right color combination for your home she will be glad to do custom orders.











Another great gift idea for someone special or for yourself is a hand knitted scarf. Shown here are three of my own. The photo does not do them justice as they are so beautiful and very soft and warm. Sisters Christine and Liz make each one unique. The one on the left has vintage buttons. The chair is one I purchased from Vicki. I love it and have it in my bedroom. What a great job I have! I get to shop while I work.

What happened to 2009...no blogs since March. Now that the Christmas season is upon us it's time to decorate. Actually the store has been in full Christmas mode since the last week of October. Customers started asking for Christmas decorations the first of October. Although we have been selling lots of decorations for the last month we still have more great decorative and gift items coming in each and every day. Over the course of the last year we have added more vendors and we now have 60 of the very best. We have new ornaments, new ornaments that look old, old ornaments, old ornaments that look new and many hand crafted ornaments made by some of my very talented friends. I have no photos at the moment but I will try to post some on Thurs. My very favorite decor item this year is red and white candy striped ribbon that is 30 inches wide and 30 feet long. Oh the possibilities. I have wrapped our check out area like a giant gift with this wonderful ribbon. Almost looks like old fashioned ribbon candy. We also carry it in a red/green stripe or check. Sells for 16.50 a roll. A huge statement for not much money and the smiles on peoples faces when they see it are priceless. One thing about Christmas decor this season is that it is all about the sparkle. Seems like just about everything has glitter on it this year. It seems to give a festive nostalgic feeling. I will be posting pics on Thurs. of some of my favorite things.

Vic's Boot.........

This is so cute! What a great way to display your jewelry. Vicki has been hard at it creating some new designs before she takes her "get away" trip to the beach.

Battery Candles

More Spring things........

New arrivals for Spring............

New look for the blog...........

Our blog has a new look. I'll soon be posting pictures of the new arrivals at The Briar Patch. Linda recently went to market and she found some great things for Spring. You won't want to miss them. Spring is just around the corner. I've got bluebirds scouting places to nest around my house. They are so beautiful. I love cute decorations for my house that are bird related. I've posted a few pictures of some of them.