Nothing Says "FUN" like loading for a show!!!

Well we are loading up and getting ready to move on out (next week that is). I thought I would shoot a few pictures of our progress. We have created these piles of our wares everywhere and finding the room to move can be trying at times. When attempting a simple maneuver such as crossing the room (we all know how well I do with that) one gets to feeling like Columbus circumnavigating the globe. We have enforced a strict NO FLY zone for Beth since she is also still in her boot and only has the one good foot left. There will be no attempts to JUMP ANYTHING. We now MOVE things over and out of the way. LOL.


Everyone is working. This is my dad who was kind enough to fly in from Florida and help tag merchandise. He works for room and board.


As Beth completes the vintage paper covered boxes she is making nice neat piles. Wait until I show you whats behind me.


These are the one of a kind feed sack chairs. They are AWESOME. And comfortable too.


Here are a few of the large apple gourds. I love the way this picture looks. These are just a few of the items we have ready to load. To see more... we will see you at the fair.

We're going to the Country Living Fair!!!

We are so excited to be exhibiting at the Country Living Fair- our 1st time!
The Country Living Fair is hosted by Country Living magazine and is "where the pages of the magazine come to life". This Fair is Open to the Public, so we look forward to meeting lots and lots of folks at the show. We will bring a wonderful variety of our handcrafted offerings. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Beth at Primitiques (primitique@comcast.net) or call Beth at 610.459.1776. Stephanie can be reached at samplers2@yahoo.com. See you at the Country Living Fair.

Join us in Columbus, Ohio as we bring the pages of the magazine to life with the fourth annual Country Living Fair. Shop the more than 100 exhibitor booths for antiques, vintage furnishings, crafts, gifts and collectibles. Enjoy food tastings, cooking demonstrations and the harvest/gourmet market. Attend decorating and crafting seminars and meet and mingle with the editors and contributors of Country Living for a weekend of fun family activities.

DATES: September 18–20
Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.



ADMISSION: One day $12 door/$10 advance

Weekend Pass $20 door/$15 advance

Early Bird Weekend Pass $30 advance only

Enter Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m. and beat the crowds! Tickets go on sale June 1st

LOCATION: Ohio Village
A charming 19th century village conveniently located just off I-71 @ Exit 111, across from Ohio State Fairgrounds, Columbus, Ohio


EVENT PARKING: $5

TICKETS & INFO: Stella Show Management
1-866-500-FAIR

www.stellashows.com

How Did You Do That?

Today we received a kind email praising the look of our Goodes. Its always nice to hear a kind word of approval. As it happens this email included a simple question which we have found we are asked quite frequently... How did you do that? I have to say that I never really have a good answer to questions like that. Simply because some times I just don't know the answer and some times I just don't want to tell. I am not trying to be aloof or arrogant by any means its just a simple question that need only a simple answer and here it is...

The best answer we can give to your question is to say years of trial and error. It doesn't matter if its a piece I finished or a piece Beth finished. I have known Beth for several years and we have honestly never discussed our techniques in completing projects. Kind of like grandma's pie that won a blue ribbon at the fair. You always wonder what the secret ingredient is but you never find out. And really... if you did would the pie taste like grandma's? Not hardly. There is always some flick of the wrist stirring technique or that extra pinch over 1 tsp of something that you just can't get and grandma would never think important enough to mention. LOL. I asked my memere' (french grandmother) how she made her fudge 20 years ago and knew I was in trouble when the first ingredient was 10 lbs of sugar. That was it... game over... I was done. It wasn't until she explained that having 9 children and a few farm hands did not afford her the luxury of making things in small quantities. It only meant more work when she would have to make more fudge just a few days later. So when she made it it wasn't always the same. It wasn't ever written down. It was in her head and if she was short on one thing she could compensate a bit with something else. The "MAKE-DO" theory as everyone likes to say. I look at it this way when asked... some things you just don't ask and some things you just don't tell. Techniques in finishing projects and secret ingredients in recipes are a few of them so I really don't know the answer to that question. Having said that I can also say that even if I knew I wouldn't be able to duplicate it. There is always something I find daunting about trying to mirror someone else's technique. We have ALL tried it at some point and most of us have come to the conclusion that it is best not to try. After 25 years of learning by doing I find it much easier and less frustrating. As we like to say "We can screw things up enough on our own. Who needs someone else's technique to make it worse".

Ella Says... "Behind Door #1 We Have Awesome Chairs"

The making of a chair is a work of art. Have you ever really thought about it? We all go out just about every day. We visit places and we take a seat. Some of us often think... "this is a comfortable chair... or not". Yesterday I had to go out and get a few things. My foot was really hurting so every chair I saw was like a breath of fresh air. I took a seat. My poor father is in town for two weeks to help me out and I kept waiting (hoping) he would say he was tired. NEVER HAPPENED!!! I finally threw in the towel and we had to come home not having completed our errand list. Ughh! But for every chair I sat in (trust me... there were many) I did a personal analysis and I can tell you I would have loved to have had this chair which Ella is hiding behind door #1.


Primitiques one of a kind slip covered chair in a vintage feed sack with a pillowed seat and an extra back pillow. I can tell you first hand having also broken my back that I love that extra pillow. VERY VERY COMFORTABLE.


Beth and Bill make these chairs to be "one of a kinds". The feedsacks are ALL vintage textiles that were actually used in a day so long ago. The wear on them is original. They have been cleaned but still posess the beauty of another time.


If you look closely in this picture you will see a small mending patch that Beth added to cover what was once a bitty hole.


On the back of the chair she added a pocket which in my house is PERFECT for the TV remote and an extra pair of eyeglasses. Two things that I could never find.


BEST of all... this is a "SLIP COVER" chair so the cover comes off for easy clean up. I LOVE IT!!! This chair has been loaded on the trailer and is headed out of town for the Heritage Market show in Gettysburg. But... please email Beth at primitique@comcast.net for a look at some of the others she might have available. Remember "NO TWO ARE ALIKE" and she can add special touches to each chair per your request.

We Are Packing For GETTYSBURG!!!!

Hello Folks,

Just a quick note to let you know that Primitiques decided (last minute) to attend the Gettysburg, PA Cash & Carry Show on Wednesday, September 2nd from 9am-3pm. It is through Heritage Markets. (See show info below).

As many of you know, Primitiques introduced our 200 under 20 Program in June and it was a HUGE hit. Since our starting this program, our items are also a HUGE HIT for you, our retailers! It seems that our buyers/shops cannot keep these little Primitiques' treasures in stock! We are busy trying to make as many 200 under 20 items for Gettysburg because we literally ran out of almost 500 of these treasures last week at the Columbus Cash & Carry! We are thrilled that our small Handmade, one-of-a-kind pieces are selling well for our shops. Especially since folks want to purchase handmade goods, but may not be able to stretch their budgets for a while. These little pieces are truly the niche you need as a shop owner to bring fresh and original works of functional art into your shops and to keep your buyers interested in your shop!

Remember, if you are a qualified buyer as not able to attend a show, please call or email Beth at Primitiques to purchase your "care package" of our 200 under 20 program items. This is a wonderful way to get a wonderful variety of smalls into your shop for the autumn season! Pair them with our wee little shoo flys, our NEW Rusty Wire Spring Candle Holders and you have a unique and perfectly Primitive Gathering!


Here is our new Ol' Dryin' Board
We'll have a few of these cuties for sale at Gettysburg on 9/2.


If you are planning to attend the Gettysburg Cash & Carry, be sure to get there early so you can get first pickens of these little treasures! Many of you have already seen and fallen in love with our new rusty shoo fly collection! We SOLD OUT of about 100 Small & Medium Rusty Shoo Fly Screens in the first hour of our Autumn Harvest Online Trade Show in June but now have a new batch (only about 40 left of small (4 inch and of the 7 inch). These shoo flys are as authentic as they come! hand stitched by me, Beth (for orders, and by chance at C&C shows). Of course, we have a nice sampling of BIG Primitiques available at the mill but will only be bringing a sampling of our larger pieces to this show. Please check out our invetory available online @ www.picturetrail.com/thequillandwell to see if there is anything you want to buy and have us deliver to the show at no charge. This site is password protected, so email or call Beth asap to receive the password (only qualified buyers please). primitique@comcast.net OR 610.459.1776




Finally, if you are a qualified buyer, you can go to our online tradeshow website (currently between shows) to view some of the inventory Primitiques has to offer. If you see anything on the site, please call us right away, otherwise, we may not be bringing it to the Gettysburg Cash & Carry on September 2nd.

Here is the site of the Quill & Well's Online Trade Show:

www.picturetrail.com/thequillandwell

You will need to be qualified as a buyer to receive your password to enter the site. The site will be closed the second week of September while the artisans (such as Primitiques) are busy setting up our booths with NEW goodies for the Jack Frost Online Trade Show on Monday, Septermber 28th (8-10:30 PM).

Thank you for taking the time to read our updates and we hope to see you at the Gettysburg Cash & Carry Trade Show Next week!!!

Beth & Bill Merryfield
Primitiques, Ltd.
610.459.1776
primitique@comcast.net
www.primitiques.com

Primitiques and Samplers

I have been working on the Samplers store and site shooting pictures of the Samplers and Primitiques items together. We will have a plethora of these goodes at the up coming Country Living show and I wanted to put a few photo's up for all to see. We don't have our booth number yet but will let you know when we do. If you have any questions about any of the items in the pictures please feel free to call or email either Beth or myself.


This DARLING shelf was a piece I picked up from Beth at the Cash N'Carry. I had it in my shop 45 minutes with these beeswax n'clove nubbies and it sold. I am NOT KIDDING!!! Now I am thinking I should have kept it. Here are just a few of the many hanging candle shelves available. They are ALL UNIQUE and ALL ONE OF A KIND!!!







I tend to buy the unique Primitique pieces with the extra missing chunks to mix with my Samplers Goodes. I found a wonderful assortment of Primitiques hand turned bowls at the cash n'carry in varying colors. They look great and display so nicely with all of my primitive drieds, potpourri's and candles. I have taken pictures of a few.



This is one of the nicest bowls. It is 17" and is colored pumpkin over spicy mustard. It is by far one of the BEST fall color pieces. I am currently using it to display my simmering potpourri and pumpkin votive chunks.


I love stacking my bowls in my displays. This is the dark pitch bowl from an earlier picture inside a salmon bowl with dirtly white accents. I have my pumpkin tapers, fall simmering potpourri and a few cloved oranges accenting this display.


This is a putka garland and the pumpkin chunk votives I mentioned earlier. They are scented in a pumpkin spice blend with a hint of cinnamon. The bowl is the chippy side of the salmon bowl from the previous picture. If you have noticed in all if not most of my pictures I have a large Primitiques paddle behind the display and under the display. These paddles are so universal. I have them under candles, primitive jars, bowls, stationary packs and an assortment of goodes. They are both beautiful and functional. Beth and Bill always have a variety of colors and sizes at the shows so remember to just get on in there and DIG.


Here is a close up of one of the large candle paddles so you can see the details in it. I also have a picture of it leaning against an old door so you can see the entire paddle.

My New Shoes!!!

So... I get up this morning moving rather stiffly listening to my bones crack into place as I try not to fall on the floor getting my balance in my lovely new boot. I think... a fresh new day... its all good. Its nice and cool outside and there is a slight breeze. I gather myself together, sit down in my all too comfortable office chair surrounded by a tornado of paperwork which SOMEONE ELSE must have left because we all know it couldn't be me. I open my email and VIOLA.. a little ditty from my friend Candy from The Simple Goodes show. Wonderful gal... Great show. If you can't get enough of primitives you need to attend this show. Its FANTASTIC. Plus I am an exhibitor there. Anyhow, she sent me this email with these unbelievable shoes. I thought I would share a few with everyone.

Obviously she didn't realize I was already in enough pain from the ankle and these are clearly marked with a "B" so these must be for Beth. Oh... but alas her foot is broken as well. So these must be meant for my oldest daughter Elizabeth that other people also call Beth. Candy likes my Elizabeth a lot more than me. Its probably because shes just so much nicer than I am. Go figure. LOL. So these we will pass on to her.


Now I am thinking that even after recovering from a broken foot there is no way I would ever entertain wearing this pair of shoes. To put it simply, at this point in my life my chance of recovering from a broken neck when I fall in these beauties is slim to none. Guess what... Beth gets em!!!!


Oh...my my... and this lovely, if not smelly pair of shoes although probably safe to walk in were clearly not meant for me. I am NOT the one vacationing on the Jersey shore right now sunning myself and eating sea food. That would be... YES... BETH!!! Looks like she wins again.