Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Look Book Sneak Peek

So, I'm super excited about a brand new item we'll be getting in the shop very soon. Miss Mustard Seed recently published the very first Look Book for the MMS Milk Paint line. This has been in the works for a long time and it's finally here!

If you need some inspiration, this is gonna be your go-to book. If you need a refresher on how to mix or the best uses for hemp oil, this is gonna be your guide! It contains 150 pages of inspiring pictures and informative content that will make you want to dive into milk painting! 

There's tons of great articles, including: .

• What is Milk Paint 
• It's all in the Mix 
• Raw Wood Painting Tutorial 
• All About the Bonding Agent 
• Ask Abbe 
• Chippy Goodness 
• Waxes 101 
• The Many Uses of Hemp Oil
• and more!

As always, MMS is including her amazing before & after pics, as well as spreads for all 18 colors in the line.

The best part, it's only $14! And, because we can't wait to get these books in, we're gonna give one away to one of our fans. There's several ways to enter:

• Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway
  
  
• for an extra chance, leave a comment below telling me about a current project you have waiting in the wings that you need help or inspiration with.

If you would like to pre-order a copy, send me an email at info@reddoorfurnitureco.com and I'll set a copy aside for you!

Behind the Red Door: Savannah

After an 11-day marathon session of getting our new shop space open (more pics on that to come!), Jeff and I hit the road for a little R&R. Our favorite stop, by far, was Savannah. From the hanging Spanish moss to the historic Savannah Squares to cheese grits, I was in love with this city. Not to mention that it's not only legal, but highly encouraged, to walk around and drink adult beverages in the streets. Why had we not visited sooner?

It's a very walkable city and we did a ton of walking, taking in all of the historic homes and architecture (it also helped walk-off my daily dose of cheese grits and Chatham Artillery Punch). It didn't take us long to notice all of the beautiful, red doors. Obviously we had to snap pics of as many as we could!

Seeing all of these homes with red doors reminded us of how boring our front door is right now.

 

Following our stay in Savannah, we attended a blog conference and met the nice people from Modern Masters. They just happen to make a no-fade door paint. In bright red (it's called Ambitious). A week later, look what showed up at our front door:

What do you think...should we go for it?

Marble Top Step Down Dresser in Kitchen Scale

Sometimes, you just get that feeling, ya know? I've been in major need of a new Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint display. I knew immediately that this old, marble top step down dresser was going to looove milk paint.

And it didn't disappoint!

Marble Top Step Down Dresser in MMSMP Kitchen Scale

Here's it is before. The marble tops come off and are HEAVY! Trust me. I almost broke my foot. (And, now I know why the bottom of the top drawer has a crack in it).

It's missing its mirror, but I love how there are two height levels on the top. Great for showing off all of our MMSMP products! And the marble is in beautiful condition!

I did no sanding and no prep (and no bonding agent). The drawers are painted in Kitchen Scale (one of my favorite colors). I mixed in a little Ironstone and used that for the outer frame. It gives is just a bit of contrast.

This dresser chipped up beautifully! I couldn't have asked for a better piece to demonstrate just what MMSMP can do. It got a light smoothing with sandpaper and a coat of furniture wax.

I didn't want the knobs to be a distraction, so I found these glass knobs at Hobby Lobby. Perfect!

Marble Top Step Down Dresser in MMSMP Kitchen Scale

Linking to:
Show Me What Ya Got
Anything Blue Friday
Creative Spark Link Party

What is the Atelier?

I'm getting super excited about how we're going to transform our current space in a collective market. I wanted to take the time to share our vision and what the space currently looks like (in case you've never been in). If you are thinking about applying (and I hope you do), following are some FAQ's and pics of what we'll be working with:

What is the Atelier at Frenchtown? 

Atelier is the French word for "workshop"...and since we're located in the historic Frenchtown district, we thought that was an obvious choice for this new shop. A portion of the space will remain a workshop for RDFCo. and for our Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint workshops. 

The rest will be turned into a collective market featuring local artists, handmade vendors and vintage finds. We're looking to bring something new and different to this little shopping district.

The Atelier will be open the first full weekend of each month on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to coincide with other monthly local sales events in Frenchtown. We will happily open for appointments outside of the monthly sales event, in addition to special pop-up events.

What's the inspiration/vision for the Atelier?

I'm always amazed by the artistic and vintage community in St. Louis. There's a ton of small shops that sell on Etsy and local seasonal craft fairs. Or, they may have taken their business a step further and done larger markets and events. There's alot that goes into having a brick and mortar. We've made alot of changes in our lives to do it. And, we're fortunate to be able to really try and make a go of it. Now that we have some extra space, I love the idea of giving other small businesses the opportunity to sell in a bigger space and get a taste of what it's like.

Since becoming a MMSMP retailer, I've joined a group of inspiring shop owners. Two that I really admire are Abbe Doll of The Cottage Collective and Chad and Brandi Dressen of Carver Junk Company. They have created inspiring occasional shops -- if you are thinking of applying for a space at the Atelier, this is what we're aiming for!

How will my brand stand out?

We really want the Atelier to serve more as a marketplace and not like vendor booths. As much as we can, we will be blending and staging items together, creating little vignettes. We will be selecting vendors with an established brand, identity and look. You will be encouraged to have your own tags and signage.

This will also be our vendor's space. For the most part, our products will move to Main Street. We will probably have a table or two of ours, but for the most part, our product line and items will not be competing with yours. If we need some filler, we might bring stuff down as needed.

Who will be doing the staging?

Us. You. Everyone involved! We want our vendors to feel like the space is as much theirs as it is ours. We're looking to get a great group of people in who love to decorate and stage their products. I'm hoping we can all work together to make an amazing space. If that's not your thing, no worries. Your products will be blended in to create a cohesive look!

How will by brand be advertised?

Vendors will be spotlighted on our website, Facebook page and will have prominent acknowledgement in the store. We also plan on having Atelier promotion at our Main Street location. Also, the local businesses along Second Street all work together...we all carry everyone's marketing/business cards and send customers to the shops along our street.

What products are you looking for?

Since we focus on home decor at RDFCo., we'll do the same at the Atelier. However, we're also looking at bringing in smalls, like jewelry, bath products, etc. Shops currently in Frenchtown have a lot of antiques, painted furniture, and salvaged items. We want to bring in some vendors that are a bit different to compliment the other shops.

If you still have questions, feel free to email me at info@reddoorfurnitureco.com. I also invite you to come out and take a look at the shop and chat with me. We'll be closing the application period at the end of June, so we can quickly get things ready for the first weekend in August. Click here to apply.

RDFCo. Presents....

Are we completely insane?

I think I've asked myself and Jeff this about 238 times this week. The answer: Yes. Yes we are.

Just as we were settling in at our Frenchtown shop, we're excited to announce that we'll be moving to Historic Main Street! In a few weeks. Eek!

Since we opened in Feb., one of our most frequent customers has been Dan Hobbs, who owns Fox and Hound Antiques, along with his wife April. They are opening their second location on Main and had some extra space. Jeff and I had already been talking about our next step and what we wanted/needed for RDFCo. Late night dreaming turned into serious talks turned into this...

Isn't this little courtyard amazing? We'll be renting the "barn" portion of the Hound's new space (the back, lower red section of this building). The courtyard is also shared with JOYS. The event planner in me is already scheming on what all three of us can use this space for.

Here's a peek at the inside...

We've got a ton of work to do and questions to answer...like why won't that light come on?

But, I think it's going to be awesome. Our businesses are both unique and are going to blend well together. I can't wait to see what it all looks like in the next few weeks!


So, what does that mean for our Frenchtown space? It will remain Jeff's workshop for building tables and I'll host my milk paint workshops there. We're also opening the space up to local handmade artists and vendors to create a unique, collective market:

The Atelier will be open the first full weekend of each month on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to coincide with other monthly local sales events in Frenchtown. We will happily open for appointments outside of the monthly sales event, in addition to special pop-up events. We are currently looking for vendors...so, if you are interested, check out our website.

More info will be coming soon. A late June/July opening for our Main Street shop is planned and we're hoping to get the Atelier off the ground in August.

All of this couldn't be possible without the amazing support of our customers, family, friends, neighbors. Every purchase, mention, Facebook share helps. Thank you!

I'm also beyond lucky to have a Hubbie who will dream with me (in addition to his full time job) and works so hard to make it all a reality.

Milk Paint Tip: Easy Chippy Technique

It's another rainy afternoon here in STL, so I thought I would post this sunny piece I just finished. Well, almost finished. I also wanted to share a chipping technique I accidently discovered {although, I'm sure I'm not the first to do this}.

So, here's the before. This dresser came with a taller "brother", but I've painted them differently and don't plan on them selling together. Both are unique pieces and I wanted them to have two different looks (I'll share the other piece in a later post).

Before

It was in pretty good shape when I got it. A little chipping veneer, but not bad. I loved the tall legs and old caster wheels.

I'm not typically a stencil/script person, but I wanted to try something new. I picked up the stencil below from a nearby shop, Dawn Lynz Surface Design. She does amazing work and has a great selection of stencils.

I used MMSMP in Mustard Seed Yellow and stenciled the writing in Ironstone {I carry both of these colors in the shop!}. It's finished with furniture wax.

After

I love how sunny and light it turned out. I think it would look cute in a nursery (as a changing table) or in a dining room as a buffet.

I had already painted the "brother" to this piece, so I knew I most likely wasn't going to get any chipping. Which I wanted. However, my laziness to just use hemp oil or a wax puck outweighed my desire for chippiness. But, decided to just let it go.

For the stencil, I had to tape it on with Scotch Tape to hold it in place. And, wouldn't you know, when I removed the stencil, a bit of paint came up here and there.

Almost like chipping!

So, I applied it in various places all over the piece. Any "chipping" you see actually came from where I applied the tape and then ripped it off! I did this before I waxed (the wax will seal the paint in and you most likely won't get this effect).

Miss Mustard Seed Yellow Dresser

Red Door Furniture Co. Dresser in Mustard Seed Yellow

 

While this method might be a bit unconventional --- it worked! I would love to know...what painting techniques have you accidentally discovered and now love?

How To: Host a Succulent Bar

Like everyone else, I've been a bit obsessed with succulents lately. I brought a few that I planted in vintage containers to Vintage Market Days last month and they were a hit. Trying to think of a fun way to bring people to the shop for some spring shopping, I came across the idea of a succulent bar. We supply the succulents, soil, rocks, containers, etc. and customers could stop in and put together their own potted plant. Leaving the mess to us!

This would also make a great addition to a birthday party or gathering. It's a fun way to get creative and plant something of your very own (without having to buy more supplies than you actually need).

Here's a few tips to get you started:

Note: If you are able, check out a wholesale nursery that sells to the public. I headed to the St. Louis Floral Market or Florist Row to pick up our succulents. It was my first time and I was completely overwhelmed. The nice folks at Baisch & Skinner helped me out and got me all set up. The selection was much better than what I would find at Home Depot or Lowe's garden centers (and better prices).

1/ Choose a selection of small, medium and large succulents. Depending on the size of containers you will be using, your guests could pick just one succulent or several. Make sure to have a good variety on-hand.



2/  Get creative with containers! I searched for a few weeks, curating a unique selection of containers. Popular planters included milk glass, vintage tea cups, vintage trays, and newer mercury glass candle holders.

 

3/ Give a little guidance. We hosted our succulent bar as a special event at the shop, so I printed up a la carte price sheets. The cheapest potted succulent went for under $10. Depending on the container, they went up to $50. I picked up some tips while I was at the floral market, and I offered those up as customers put together their plants. {hint: over watering seems to be the #1 killer of these cuties).

4/ Don't forget the details! Put out some gardening gloves, small scoops and shovels and mini watering cans! Give your guests all the tools they need to dive in!

5/ Have fun! Many of the people who stepped up to the succulent bar just happened to wander in...it was a fun surprise for them. Mother's Day was right around the corner, so alot of pots were put together with Grandma and Mom in mind. It was definitely messy, but that was the point!

 

 

DIY Succulent Bar

Succulent Bar

The succulent bar was a huge hit with kids (they loved planting in the vintage tea cups) and it was fun watching guests carefully select each item that went into their finished piece. Everyone not only left with a truly unique plant that they created, but a huge smile on their face.