Friday, January 29, 2010

. . . pure poetry


February skies . . . old man winter fights

the losing battle,

. . . just enough to keep us indoors

a bit longer.



Bursts of lingering holiday reds & pinks

transform into Valentines

. . . and promises of love!



Galvanized grays . . .

. . . tentative blues . . .

oh, beacons of fickle

clouds of Spring.


Books holding seeds of seasonal change

. . . inspire us to begin

the impending sowing and reaping.



Roses memorialized in venerable prints

. . . petals never to fall in vain.



Gerbera, strong & hardy . . .

sunshine on the darkest of moody days.


. . . pearls

. . . and girls

. . . and swirls

unfurls the dawning day.



The rosey light awaits beneath the gently fading shadows.



Hold fast,

. . . see the change

. . . glorify God's miraculous work underfoot.


Hope springs eternal

. . . the nature of things

. . . inescapable awe of little informants

marching winter toward an eagerly blossoming earth!


CELEBRATE the cusp-of-winter-into-spring and witness the unfolding at the

Sand Point

Antique & Design Market

this Sunday, January 31st . . . 8:00 am early birds!!!





Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Let There be Light . . . .



At this time of year--while the days remain short--antique lamps & lighting are front-and-

center in our shows. We never know what will inspire us to create something unique . . . truly

one-of-a-kind. In this case, an accidental fall led this European seltzer bottle to become our

latest creation. I just love the modern feel it has, although the bottle is turn-of-the century!

(We also have two more of the original seltzer bottles available.)



Here's a close-up of the bottle, showing the beautiful "optic swirl" thick glass and the etching

which reads: "The Harlech Mineral Water Co." The perfectly-scaled, black base was

adopted away from the bottom of an antique, Victorian ewer.



Here are the two "complete" survivors of the artistically inspiring crash. We were so fortunate

that only the neck was broken in the third bottle--via nova!!



This antique, American (wonderful green patina) coffee mill had lost its top, so we gave it a

bit of cosmetic surgery by adding a reticulated, antique copper shade. It was the perfect

topper! This looks great in a kitchen or on a desk. Currently resides at Pacific Galleries,

Madison Park 14.



Read closely . . . ya just can't make this kind of thing up!! ;-)



These industrial metal basket pendant lights were made from two vintage baskets I had

purchased from Luluz at the very first Funky Junk Sisters Show, which I participated in. It

took us awhile to figure out what to do with the baskets--and it was thrilling to see the results.

Hard to tell from the photo, but the weave in the metal baskets is quite intricate, and we used

antique copper pipes from our 1905 home to serve as wire covers. These great industrial one-

offs found a new home with Kelly of Catty Wampus--thank you, Kelly!!


An antique, heavy wallpaper roller (one of my personal collection) has become another one-of-

a-kind industrial/cabin lamp. It's large scale would be great in today's decor calling for the "less

is more" approach. The mid-century shade is made to resemble "shark-skin." Currently resides

at Pacific Galleries, Madison Park 14.



Jim was on a roll with this series of musical instruments-inspired lamps. Note the first

lamp on the left includes a coffee mill AND cornet as the base. The middle one is a clarinet, and

we used the reed and mouthpiece as the finial! The lamp on the right is a flute. The entire

collection was purchased by a personal friend who loves music and appreciates the unique

quality of these renditions!


One more lamp is packed away, getting ready for the January 31st Sand Point Antique &

Design Market . . . a Fenton, pink glass, hobnail ruffle bride's basket turned romantic

nightlight--perfect for your sleepy Valentine!!!


We have many more traditional lighting pieces coming to the show--stay tuned for another

photo shoot soon. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our custom

lighting . . . or anything else you see of interest in my blog posts. Your comments are ALWAYS

appreciated, and thank you for dropping by Ormolulu!!!





Sunday, January 10, 2010

Pacific Galleries - New Year's Update



Well, out with the old . . . and in with the old! The urge to purge that comes with the New Year is not exactly "do-able" when dealing with just one space. But we managed to move several big things around, pluck a few tired items and add a few phenomenal, old finds to the mix. The French, cast iron antique cross is truly stunning--one of those things I'll regret letting go of!



That four-foot Coke button sign has been my "roadie" for some time, and I'm glad to have a wall to hang it on . . . it's dang hard to keep moving it around. Would be so cool in a loft with industrial stuff, don't you think? The little concrete fella playing the pan flute is garden statuary--very unusual!



The giant bird cage in the background is on a pedestal and is made of COPPER--never have I seen another one like it. The industrial wood mold is art by itself. The massive clam shell (tridacna gigas) weighs in around 200 pounds--the biggest one I have (and there are two more at home, a bit smaller)!!



Consistent with my nutso obsession with signs, here's "Rx DRUGS" (cropped to "rugs", sorry!) which would be fantastic for a pharmacist or physician. My guy, Wilbur (Jim named him after the pig in Charlotte's Web), is the beefy (?) boar's head on the wall . . . carved Black Forest oak leaves drape around his 70-plus-years-old neck. He is much larger than he looks here and is quite a phenomenal trophy mount.



There's a wall-sized plasticized map of Tacoma in the background, vintage soda fountain dispensers (very cool, shiny black), mixed with more traditional items like a Wavecrest urn and Bradley & Hubbard wrought iron lamp.



These awesome, carved wood legs (probably from an old kitchen table or butcher block) make an architectural lighting statement.

Please drop by" Madison Park 14" at Pacific Galleries in Seattle . . . email me if you have any questions or need to find something else--much more is in storage!!

Next stop is the continually improving Sand Point Antique & Design Market on Sunday, January 31st . . . see you there at 8:00 am for early buying!!!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010 . . . we can do this together!!

xo Debi