Elegant Clutter Event

We are very excited to be doing a joint venture with Elegant Clutter in Mill Creek. It is a fabulous shop focusing on interiors and gifts. Lisa and Kelly, the owners, have created a sophisticated look that is warm, welcoming and affordable!

On October 17, Salvage Studio will be doing our first combo event – one hour of a lively show and tell demonstration followed by another hour long hands-on workshop. Our theme will be Quick Gifts and Wraps. We’ll use green products as much as possible, help everyone assemble the items in this picture, have a few tasty refreshments, and a really fun morning together!

The cost is $40, which includes all the materials (except the silver plate vase). To register, please call Elegant Clutter at 425-745-8002. Space is limited, so please don’t dilly dally.

In the meantime, pop into this stylish shop to see the Salvage Studio samples and enjoy Lisa and Kelly’s distinctive designs.

Come Junk with Timi!

Our friend Timi is a genius! She has a brilliant idea called Come Junk With Us. Her first junk junket is September 12. Timi has chartered a bus for 22 lucky vintage-loving souls to travel south to the Barn House Fall Harvest Sale – their end of the season extravaganza. Joe and Jermonne are providing a lovely lunch for this select group, and having been the grateful guests at one of their parties – we know the Barn House Boys are very gracious and generous hosts. Plus a tour of their home will also be included!!! Other stops of the day will include Vintage Gatherings and Auntie Tam’s.

Salvage Studio is proud to be a sponsor of Come Junk With Us. We have donated a door prize which will be offered along with other prizes, goodies and snacks provided during this junkers’ heaven of a day.

Please check out Timi’s website for more info. She has a future trip planned to the Funky Junk Sisters Oct. 23 & 24 show in Puyallup. Then watch out – a biggie tour to the Farm Chicks June 5 & 6 show in Spokane!

Note from Lisa: I signed up for the Junk Bus!!!

Sunday Sail

Instead of spending my Sunday at a sale (or show or market), I did the other kind - sailing! As a rule, we try to focus our blog on businessy topics.

But one of the major premises of our business plan is family first, and incorporating fun as much as possible!


Here I am with two of my cousins. We have been close for 57 years, which says a lot. We shared a grandma and grandpa who adored their eleven grandchildren. All of us adored them right back. They lived on Meydenbauer Bay in Bellevue in a tiny house on the water. We shared magical times there and with each other.

Marie took us out on Lake Washington on her beautiful 36 foot sailboat. She looks absolutely in her element.

My cousin Anne helped with some of the sailing chores. I have a sturdy case of vertigo, so my job was to not lose my balance and fall off the boat. I did bring one of the tastiest pasta salads I have made in a while. Thanks to reading what Alicia's (Posie Gets Cozy) favorite potluck recipe is, I had great success with this.

My husband, Raoul, turned out to be a natural sailor. Here is Jerry keeping track as Raoul guides us under the highest part of the floating bridge.

Raoul looks like he was in his element too!

Upcoming Garage Sale with Friends

We’re taking some vintage items to our friends’ (Colleen and Judy) garage sale this Saturday, August 22. A couple of other dealers will be selling their antiques as well. The fun starts at 9 a.m. The address is 23903 – 76^th Ave. W. in Edmonds. This is a good one. My advice is don’t sleep late on Saturday!

Necklace says it so well

One of my major weaknesses is buying jewelry made from found objects and vintage components from independent artists. Here is the newest love of my life, created by Janna of Artsy Fartsy Junk Finds. She sells all sorts of great finds, besides her Junk Jewels. And her blog is hilarious!

Altered Clipboards

Lisa and I have an upcoming meeting with a corporate associate. We are presenting a potential new endeavor to them, and we want to leave them with a wonderful impression of this possible venture! Our outline of ideas will be on these altered clipboards, which each person will receive and keep. I glued on pages from an old calendar I had been hoarding. Then I attached one of our business cards. I used modge podge because I had inherited it. Elmer’s works great too. Wrinkles formed in my paper, and I embraced that look. I smushed all the bubbles as flat as can be, and called it good. For the ribbon ties, I cut lengths of rayon seam binding and the cream stuff might be for drape or upholstery use (?). I got them wet, crunched them up and let them dry. To add some interest to the cream stuff, I blotted them with my used tea bag.

Now I wish I had made an extra one to keep!

North to North Bend

Doug and I took a drive up to Snoqualmie Pass to cheer a friend on during a bike race. On the way home we stopped in North Bend for a delicious lunch at Rhodies BBQ.

Then I made Doug do a quick U-turn when I saw this sign.

I thought this place was super-cool and the prices were really reasonable. Items for everyone from fancy to funky; from jewels to junk. My kind of place. Plus the house kitty, Page, let Doug carry her all over the store.

I got lots of treasures in this funky shop but this vintage candy stand was my favorite. Once again our car was full to the brim...ha!

We drove home the scenic route and hopped out to see Snoqualmie Falls. There seemed to be less water than usual but that is not surprising in the middle of summer and especially after all the record breaking temperatures we have been having.

Nice day for a drive...but an even better one for junk!

Art Party Prizes

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the Art Party door prizes. Rumor has it that there will be so many give-a-ways, that every person will receive one! Plus go home with a goodie bag and their three workshop creations. Fun, food and good loot! There’s still some spaces waiting for you to join in the fun.

Fall Schedule is on our Website

Our Fall Schedule of workshops, events and speaking engagements is up on our website. We are so excited about our fall lineup. We are speaking at PS-Stores again in November -- always a fun time -- and we have added a few new adventures! Check it out.

Plus, we still have space available in our Art Party extravaganza on September 19. Guaranteed to be a jam-packed day of fun, laughs, workshops and prizes.

Bike Works

Recently we did a blog posting about a really handy website called Donate Seattle. After reading through all the listings of worthwhile charities that would like donated bikes, I chose Bike Works. The tagline on their business card reads: “Building sustainable communities by educating youth and promoting bicycling”. It was easy to find in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle. Check their business hours before you head down there, as they vary somewhat.

I was delighted when I saw their cheerful looking shop. The sign on the side is spelled with bike reflectors!

The front of the building sports wonderful mosaics, including this bike wheel by the front door.

And in case my sons are reading this blog entry, here is a last look at one of your bikes, which will be put to good use soon.

HGTV Design Star: Home & Garden Television

I have a new guilty pleasure - watching Design Star on HGTV. I had heard about it the last couple of years, but managed to not get hooked. Well this summer I gave in - tried watching it, and now have it taking up space on our DVR. It's a reality show, but they seem to play nice so far. And I am enjoying some of the designers and their talents a bunch. My favorite is Dan. Is he everybody's favorite?

Urban Craft Uprising

I had always wanted to check out the Urban Craft Uprising here in Seattle. For the last three years, I was committed to the studio on the weekends. It’s amazing how many fun things occur on Saturdays, and I am doing my darndest to get caught up on them! This was the first time Urban Craft Uprising had a summer show, and it was hopping!

Right away I ran into four of our customer friends and spotted a few others while taking it all in. I saw lots of fresh faces and ideas. Here are a few of my favorites.

Alchemy Goods, http://www.alchemygoods.com/, had a terrific display of messenger bags, totes, belts and wallets made from bike inner tubes collected at Seattle bike shops. I bought a nifty business card holder from them.


These striking candle holders were created by Red Barn Woodworks, http://www.redbarnwoodworks.com/. (I’m sure the lighted candles made my retired firefighter husband a little nuts!) But I loved their look.

Felted Style, http://www.feltedstyle.com/, had a lovely array of handcrafted wool accessories for the home. Her color selection and the quality of her work were brilliant.

There were a hundred of these kind of artists. Visit the Urban Craft Uprising website to find out about future shows in Seattle, and to receive their emails with all the latest inside scoop.