The Magical Pop Up Shop: a blog post.

Finally. Here’s a blog post for you. There was NO time to post after the shop happened. I rushed right home into holiday shipping and family obligations and this year there’s basically been no rest, just jumping right back into work. I suppose that’s alright, but it might be nice to experience what some call a “weekend”, ha. Maybe for New Year’s?? …Nah. Anyway, I had a pop up shop, INSIDE a giant Christmas tree outside of Chicago, and it even had it’s own musical light show that happened every 30 minutes. What an experience. I basically WAS inside roadside kitsch and made a beautiful little boutique in there. My bucket list has some strange things checked off…roadside kitsch style store, check. Once in a lifetime, done and done. My display fit better than I had even planned after working up my schematics. Afterall, I was building a store inside a stop sign shaped space smaller than a 10×10 booth. Felt pretty roomy in there given my design and I was really pleased with it, nice job myself. It was indeed MAGICAL! Here’s a link to a virtual tour inside, and here’s a link to the music light show outside the tree.
tree shop outside

Me outside my tree shop! How cute is this tree shop! It even has ornament shaped doors!

tree shop sign

I got my very own sign. Thanks to a dear friend for helping me design this. I’m learning but creating giant graphic files isn’t really my thing. I was in the last class to graduate college before learning/doing computer design was mandatory, the struggle is real.

tree shop inside night

Inside my shop at night! Everything fits so nicely and I love how the color makes the product pop!

tree shop outside line night

Outside the shop at night. I hung a clothesline from a couple of light posts and love how the product hangs against the lights. I also adore these vintage signs I bought a few years back, I had no idea how truly perfect they’d be someday!

tree shop pillow side

Pillows, cards, wrapping paper, and stockings on this side. Plus my checkout table and a place to sit.

tree shop apron towel side 2

This side of the shop featured zippered pouches, aprons, and tea towels. Plus I love how that vintage holiday tablecloth matched the walls perfectly, fit with my theme, and hid overstock! How fresh and crisp is this!

 
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Home for the Holidays Part 2

I’m a little delinquent on my post here. Because well, I wasn’t home for the holidays for a week, I was off doing my Magical Pop Up Shop! I’ll do another lengthier post soon on the tree shop. I came home from that and literally got out of the car and ran down the steps into the studio and starting shipping like crazy! Bing bang bam packages and product flying everywhere and out the door to all my awesome customers!  I was shipping through the 23rd, with a half a day escape to put my tree shop display in storage so I could park in my garage, and a lunch visit with a dear family friend on the 22nd. Then with a half a day to prep for family coming on the 24th and 25th and a project in between, well, my legs felt like noodles from exhaustion and there’s not much rest here still.  And here in the exhaustion, the rest of the holiday decor happened, so last minute, there was almost no real tree this year, and then there were 2 because I was so late they were half off, so why not. Enjoy the decor, and Happy New Year to you and yours! Stay safe if the weather outside is frightful. The Christmas eve and day walks were welcome and the dandelion sighting was odd, we knew it couldn’t last.We’re now in the middle of an ice storm here in MI, yep, winter has finally found us again.
plaid christmas day table setting 2015

Christmas Day table setting, well, almost, I had to add another row of tables and seating for the rest of the gang but I was almost there. Lucky for me my vintage closet provides a nice array of props when I do my color of the month settings, and at holiday and for special occcasions 🙂

dining room full view, tree table, wall

You may have noticed I moved the small aluminum tree and replaced it with a real tree in it’s usual place of honor, smells so good! A view from the kitchen into the dining and living room.

   
kitchen nook silver aqua

The kitchen nook. All is calm all is bright. Custom aqua artgoodies doily stockings, a vintage bottlebrush tree on the table with my Marcrest Stetson Swiss Chalet plates, pinecone shaped lights, and tinsel wreath with blue vintage bells and ball accents. I love the icy holiday magic here.

 
dining room window side

A rare look at the other side of the dining room. Switched the drapes out again with a pair that hung in my grandma’s dining room. A clock from my great grandmother, grandpa’s stereo, an array of gold holiday decor and globe atop a vintage George Nelson and Assoc tray, amazing vintage Peabody fibgerglass chair, vintage flokati rug accent, and handmade vintage deer trim pillow., oh and a mid century planter as well.

front porch closer look

Here’s a new space for my holiday decor. I got a skinny mini tree and some new blue, green, and white lights and thought, YES, a blue and green front porch vintage style holiday! The little tree has vintage blue and green ornaments with handmade bead snowflakes and a few new ones too. A vintage angel topper, and a little handmade vinyl vintage tree skirt complete the look. artgoodies recycled felt stockings in snowflake and elf hang above, snowflake pillows, and elf stuffies replace some of my usual pillows, and the awesome vintage hand painted reindeer sign fits perfectly on the wall! And you can see it from outside, so bonus, it greets guests with a happy holiday vibe!

living room tree window

Here’s where the little aluminum tree went, which worked out great since I could light up both little blow molds! The perfect size to be featured in the window, and I decided to keep that antique stand I had for sale, it worked perfectly for this tree!

vintage toolbox arrangement front door

And speaking of greeting guests. I just love this little vintage toolbox I thrifted a few years back. It’s really fun to change out seasonally. It’s amazing how much your little city yard can provide. Look at all the magic stuffed into this little box! 3 different style pine cedar branches, pine cones, berries, dried flower seed pods, some silvery sage. It’s so welcoming at the door and always fun to design! This year as I pulled my geraniums out I even had one with a bud, on Dec 23rd!

 
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Hello Chicagoland!

The Magical Pop Up Shop INSIDE the giant Christmas tree is now OPEN for business! Come see me at Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie, IL NOWthrough Sunday! artgoodies is located near Macy’s across from West Elm. Join me for this truly unique shopping experience! Enjoy the tree’s music and light show and then step inside and shop my independent and handmade product line!         OldOrchardShop2OldOrchardShop1
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Almost time! Magical Christmas Tree Pop Up Shop!

I’m super excited, it’s almost time to head out to my magical pop up shop! Really, it’s the most magical holiday pop up shop EVER! Because, it’s INSIDE the bottom of a gigantic Christmas tree! I mean, how could I resist this invitation for my brand!?! Perfect! It’s my busiest time of year so this adds an extra layer of planning and making but that’s never shaken me before. I can’t wait to show you the finished shop! Stop by if you’re in the Chicagoland area. I’ll be at Westfield Old Orchard, you know where to find me, yup, in the bottom of the giant tree! And yes, I’m going where most independent handmade designer makers detest, the MALL. Let’s do this folks, let’s show the world that independent, small biz, and handmade matters. Power up and support this cause in the middle of a mall. I’m celebrating over 9 years of living this life and dream. Designing, making, marketing, running this business. Making a choice to live a more meaningful, creative, and thought provoking life. One that makes sense in the context of my life. From so many childhood experiences shaping who I am it’s all smashed together into this wonderful company I call artgoodies. It’s an extension of my life, my ideals, my style, my passions, me. I’m thankful to have those experiences to draw from, supportive parents who’ve always told my brothers and I that we are capable of doing anything we want, and for their continued support on this journey. It’s a challenging one. Just like building out a stop sign shaped tree shop.   artgoodies 6x7 tree sign2 - Copy (2) BLOG TREE FLIER
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Home for the Holidays Part 1

In lieu of color of the month, the annual home for the holidays December edition! I’m hustling and bustling as usual over here and getting ready to go to Chicagoland in a week for my magical pop up shop INSIDE the bottom of the giant Christmas tree! So I’m extra busy, no time to waste!
blog holiday 2015 side

It’s fun to mix up the holiday display a little every year! A change in the boxes including the addition of a little house shaped one, some new blow mold lights, a plastic Santa cookie jar, new bottle brush trees, a few new colored reindeer, and a few new small friends too! I have sold some pieces in case you’re wondering, and you might wanna head to the vintage shop to scope out the well stocked vintage holiday section there! After the feature in Vintage Holiday Magazine Fall 2015 issue I felt like I could let a few pieces go and begin to rotate a bit.

blog table dec 2015 - Copy

A nice shot of the dining room table and the credenza display!

blog table dec 2015 holiday

Table setting Dec 2015! I LOVE the icy winter look of this! The vintage moonstone glass dishes lend themselves so nicely with the blue! A few blue corsages add a nice touch, and a little Shiny Brite table top tree is always a favorite holiday accent of mine, plus you can’t go wrong with an artgoodies snowflake towel!

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