Strange Folk: How Do I Love Thee?

I don't think it's possible to even count the reasons why Strange Folk was awesome. This was our first show and I was told many times that this was the best of the best. It would ruin us for other shows. I have a feeling they were right.

We were so excited to be there. Our little tent was jam packed all weekend. My throat is still sore from talking so much! We loved sharing our tables, vintage finds and other handcrafted items with other people. And actually have them like it...and buy it! Some of my favorite things found new homes -- which is awesome. We were exhausted at the end of the first day...but, totally pumped to do it all over again for day two.

It's hard to put yourself out there for other people. For judgement! Everything we make or find is something we truly love. Our items are things we would want in our home. And, we hope other people do, too. I get very attached to the things we find and create. Take this little guy:

He didn't find a home this weekend. That's ok. I'm not entirely sure I was ready to part with him, anyway. He got alot of praise and pats on the back. Had someone wanted to buy him, I probably would have run a background check.

I'm not kidding.

We didn't have alot of time to visit other booths...here's just a few of the pics we snapped. Starting with Booth #206 (which I'm a little partial to):

Every booth was so uniquely amazing. The music was great. The gyros and cupcakes kept us fueled thru the busy days. Don't even get me started on the $3 beers. If you like jewelry -- this is the place to be! I could have spent a paycheck on the awesome necklaces and rings. Here's a few of our fave booths (and doesn't even cover ALL of the incredible vendors):

Everyone worked so hard to put this together. Not just the event organizers, volunteers and sponsors, but the vendors, too. I know we were up late. Painting, tagging and adding last minute additions to our tent. 

To have people ask if we have a retail store is unbelievable. That's our dream. We feel very fortunate to be in a community that supports that dream. At the end of both days, we were exhausted and collapsing on the couch. The feedback we got from everyone is what will keep us going for the next year. But, we would do it all over again...and we hope we can in 2013!

Countdown to Strange Folk Festival

The countdown is officially on! Since mid-July, we've been prepping for Strange Folk Festival. With 150 vendors, bands, food and alpacas, it will be the largest one we participate in this year. And, our first official festival. I'm excited to show our stuff to the world. Nervous that people will think it is stupid. Curious about why there will be alpacas. I promise to report back on all of the above!

During the last several weeks, we've held back alot of our items from our Etsy shop. Here's just a quick preview of what we've been working on and of what we'll be featuring in our booth. If you are in the STL area, stop on over!

Antiquing at a Fave Spot

I know I've mentioned how much I love hitting up antique and junk stores. You just never know what you'll find. This week, Junk Bonanza, will be taking place in my home state of MN. While I'm super disappointed not to be making the trip (Mom, I've got the Spring dates already on my calendar! Can I sleep on the couch?), I had some time last weekend to do a little digging here in St. Louis.

What's that over there?

I thought these plastic cups were cute. Mostly, I loved the packaging and marketing. "Add sparkle to your get together." These cups are break, scratch and chip resistant. Something I definitely need.

The Sociables

This leather briefcase had just the perfect amount of wear and tear.

Vintage Leather Briefcase

Dress forms and mannequins are really popular right now...but, usually pretty pricey! I thought this one was wonderfully vintage.

Dress Form

This old time card organizer would be perfect for outgoing bills and letters.

Time card organizer

This vintage horse bike was too cute. What little kid wouldn't love riding around on this? Even I was tempted to take it for a spin!

This set of hot air balloon plates would be great for a party. What mini desserts could I put on here?

Hot air balloon plate

I continue to look for printer trays and I found three on this hunt! But, for some reason, I just haven't pulled the trigger and bought one. I might just go back...

Printers tray

 I came across a whole basket of these old shoe stretchers. Totally cool. And at $3 each, an inexpensive addition to a vintage collection.

Antique wooden shoe stretchers

This galvanized basket would be perfect for bottles of wine. Or, maybe some empty bottles filled with flowers for a centerpiece?

Galvanized basket

My suitcase obsession has continued. I picked up the one that is second from the top. We have some cool plans for it....stay tuned!

Vintage suitcases

Finally, who couldn't love this little guy. I think I heard him say "Fill me up with your favorite chowder!"

Mini chowder bowls

Surprisingly, I only walked out with a suitcase. But, after seeing all of these finds again, I think I have to go back for that briefcase and galvanized basket. And, maybe a printers tray....

Coffee Table with Hairpin Legs

After waiting a month, we finally got the hairpin legs we ordered! Here's the final product. He can't wait to go to his first show!

We also ordered a set to use for a side table. I'm loooving this look -- I think we'll definitely be doing more like this!

Antique Dentist Box Update

I'm pretty excited about this latest project. I loved it the minute I saw it -- it's the perfect desktop or jewelry organizer. Even on sale, it was a bit more than I wanted to spend. But, I knew once I spruced it up that it would be a great piece.

The tag said it was an antique dentist box. You can see on the top where there might have been a handle. A quick Google search brings up some that are similar...but don't quite look the same.

Antique Dentist Box

Antique Dentist Box

The door on the bottom is not original and the inside was covered in a nasty green "carpet" -- which I ripped out. Then I got out my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. The first layer is French Linen. The second is Pure White mixed with some of the dark soft wax. Clear wax and distressing ensued.

Then I broke out the Mod Podge and added some pages from an old book for the bottom of the drawers.

And, here it is today:

Since the bottom drawer isn't original, I decided to leave it out. It's a great space to put larger pieces. We'll be bringing it with us to Strange Folk -- I hope others love it as much as I do! If not, I have just the spot for it ;-)

Linking to: Monday Muse, Make it Pretty Monday

The Faces Behind RDFCo.

The RDFCo. team was busy packing up another table tonight, so I'll make this short. Shipping our tables across the country can be very time consuming. We take great care in packaging up each shipment so it arrives in the same condition it left us in. And, it's usually a team effort -- so I wanted to introduce the faces behind the Red Door to you:

Creative Director/Blog Manager/All-Around Bossy Pants

That would be me! I primarily handle all of the social media, marketing, sales opps and blog posts. In addition, I love to search for and create unique home decor items, and, of course, paint furniture. I typically do this all with a stylish necklace and glass of wine (as you see in the photo above).

Chief Designer/Master Builder

Jeff. AKA Sparky. He built the first Red Door table many years ago...way before it was RDFC. It's that original table that we are basing our Signature Collection on today. He has final say in all of the doors, design ideas and product. He also gets to operate all of the heavy equipment.

The team wouldn't be complete without our assistants. For the most part, they serve as my wingmen wingdogs. They are by my side whenever I am sewing, Mod Podging or painting. If you can't find them in my craft room, they are probably out hunting for moles. Read more about them here.

Senior Designer

Design Apprentice

There you have it! These are the faces that dream, create, build, sell, package and ship all of the unique RDFCo. items. Some of us get paid in bacon treats. Others with wine. You'll never know who gets what.

Hairpin Leg Coffee Table - Part 1

If you've taken a look at our tables, most of them have square, wood legs. We wanted to switch it up on a few of them, so we've ordered these: 

Hairpin legs

I can't wait until they come in! We'll be making a coffee table and side table featuring hairpin legs. We both really love the look of this table:

Source: hairpinlegsforless.com

We knew this part of a door we picked up a few months ago would be perfect. It is super thick and heavy. We won't be trimming it out and will leave the edges raw. Here's what it looked like when we picked it up and what it's been thru since then:

Original State

Original State -- Dusty and Dirty!

Door gets sanded and cleaned

Signature coat of red paint is added to the back

And here it is today...just waiting for it's new legs! (Forrest Gump movie quote coming soon)

I'm hoping to have it done next week...stay tuned!

Stitched Paper Ideas

Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here -- what crafting projects are you planning to do? Most of the time, a new project I find requires a trip to the store. This weekend, I'm vowing to use only what I have on-hand. And, create something that's on my to-do list for Strange Folk Festival.

Recently, I've been playing around with stitching paper. It added a pop of color to the thank you cards for our Etsy shop:

Red Door Furniture Co. Packaging

It's an easy and cute way to make my own little banner notecards from scraps of fabric.

I also created some garland out of old maps for a friend's baby shower (sorry for the pic...it's all I have!). It was some trial and error. One thing I learned was to set the machine on a straight stitch, to the longest stitch possible.

Last week I made some of these wine bags, which I plan on selling at the Strange Folk Festival. I want something unique to package them in and remembered a pin I saw recently. In just a few minutes, I created these bags using pages of an old book, a thank you stamp and scrapbook brads. The hanky wine bags fit inside perfectly!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!