Stormy Weather....

Hi Everyone....!!

A short time after arriving home from the US early October I encountered some 'stormy weather'....An exceptionally appropro metaphor of course for the 'stuff' that comes at you out of nowhere leaving a trail of destruction in it's path....!

I had some tough choices to make....Though to be perfectly honest, it would have been much easier to immerse myself in the more pleasant side of life & simply disappear into the blogisphere & ignore the chaos....

Instead....I got busy....For 7 weeks I left this place to work on the issues at hand & concentrate on my business....I'm pleased to say the time away has been well worth it....The 'stormy weather' has abated & I've made it through a PLETHORA of Shabby Vintage Junk projects....One of which I've shared below....!!

THANK YOU for your emails of concern & well wishes....I hope to be able to start visiting with you all again soon....In the mean time, if you visit when I post I'll be commenting here on my blog....!!!!!

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When I moved into The Vintage Shed at the beginning of July I was hoping to be able to pop a lock up cabinet into my space for smalls straight away....Alas....I was unable to find the right piece....Week in week out I searched until one day a few weeks ago I received a call from a Friend to say he may have what I was looking for....Even better though....He had a PAIR....!

I popped over to have a look & was THRILLED to find two of the sweetest little deco kitchen cabinets with sliding glass doors....P-E-R-F-E-C-T....!!!!!

One cabinet required very little work....LOVED the chippy cream paint....Just had to freshen up the interior with some white paint, line the shelves with yummy vintage wallpaper & change out the crinkly glass with plain glass....DONE....!!

The other one though was a real fixerupperer....The cream paint had blistered from exposure to heat & I just wasn't happy with it....

Ok so this isn't the BEST before shot....You can't see the blistered paint & I've ALREADY removed the crinkly glass....DOH....! 

At least you get an idea of how the shelves looked after the contact was removed....! 

I LOVED the chippy cream & green trim of these little cabinets so no matter what I did THAT particular sign of wear was STAYING....!! 

Initially I scraped the blistered cream paint off to expose the darker cream underneath.... 

But I decided I really wanted it to match the other cabinet so committed to repainting the entire piece....MINUS the top & bottom trim of course....! 

The inside after two prep coats & two top coats.... 

I kept the paint splattered metal rails....

And there's the chippy trim at the top & the first prep coat on the exterior.... 

And here she is in all her glory....**sigh**....! 

They are GORGEOUS if I don't say so myself....Since installing them in my space I've had several inquiries as to whether I'd sell them....Ummmmmm....NO....  :o) !!!!!

I've been obsessively holding onto this wallpaper for almost TEN years....I just KNEW it was waiting for the RIGHT piece....**wink**....!! 

Bunnings matched the paint BEAUTIFULLY if not perfectly & I'm really happy with the end result....!!! 

And Mr SVJ added an unobtrusive locking mechanism which can be removed & repaired easily as required.... 

I also left the chippy shelf trim....Love....Love....LOVE that....!! 

And there you have it....Total cost of the makeovers for BOTH cabinets was $35.00

$5.00 - Undercoat

$8.00 - Sample pot of matched cream paint

$20.00 - Two locks

$2.00 - Wallpaper

Replacement glass for the doors was found in the Hard Rubbish....!

I hope you're all having an EXCEPTIONALLY creative, productive week filled with LOVE & LAUGHTER....Perhaps most importantly though....I hope you're surrounded by WONDERFUL Friends....Because without those....We might all just disappear into ourselves & walk around in circles when faced with 'stormy weather'....!!!!!

Cheers,
Tamarah  :o)

ALMOST FAMOUS....'Sunday Service'....An AWESOME history of the Camberwell Market by Leah Annetta....!

Last year when I was busy promoting the FIRST Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza, I was VERY fortunate to have been contacted by Leah Annetta after reading the article in the local Progress Leader newspaper about my home & the upcoming Show.

Leah asked if she could come over & interview me about my experiences & association with the Camberwell Market as both a stall holder & seeker of Vintage Treasures....!

ALWAYS happy to talk to a fellow Treasure Hunter & THRILLED by the idea someone was going to write a book about one of my FAVOURITE places on earth I jumped at the chance....!

Several days after our initial conversation, Leah arrived on our doorstep with a plate of THE most AWESOME home made jam drop bikkies & we spent time swapping Camberwell Market yarns....The early starts, Treasures found & our shared enjoyment of the 'characters' that MAKE the Market....HOME....!

It was a WONDERFUL meeting which has caused me to ponder from time to time how very fortunate I am to have met such a kindred spirit purely by chance....If it weren't for the SVJ-X & the local paper, we may NEVER have met....SURELY I would have bought the book on it's release & I would have probably stood in line to have it signed by the author, but this would have just been a fleeting moment in time & probably not sufficient to generate an enduring bond of any kind....INDEED....I was VERY LUCKY....!

And LUCKIER STILL when I received my copy of Leah's recently released book, 'Sunday Service' at the Market last Sunday to find Leah had kindly included TWO whole pages of my Camberwell 'story' INCLUDING both my business AND blog details....!!!!!

The front cover of the book has a GREAT pic of the Market from the 1970's while the back cover has a pic of the GORGEOUS Leah between two of her FAVE Market finds....A pair of INCREDIBLE carousel animals....!

The history of the Market from the very FIRST meetings that lead to it's establishment along with it's trials & tribulations, it's volunteers, traders & buyers has been BRILLIANTLY documented by Leah & I KNOW anyone who purchases a copy is in for a very ENJOYABLE read....!!!!!

There will be a formal book launch at the Camberwell Market Sunday 6th November when Leah will be on hand to sign your copy however, if like me you're ITCHING to see it NOW, you can pop by the Rotary van in the walkway & purchase your copy over the next two Sundays....!!

If you live interstate & would like a copy feel free to contact me directly at: shabbyvintagejunk@hotmail.com
'Sunday Service' retails for $43.00 & postage in a pre-paid satchel will be at the current cost which I think is around $11.00 or so....!

Well I must away....PLEASE forgive my lack of posts of late as I'm flat out running between my spaces at The Vintage Shed & the Wholesale Antiques & Collectibles Bazaar in Glen Waverley as well as working on those 'other' projects I've been hinting at over the past month or so....All of this combined with negotiations re the next Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza & I'm a tad on the busy side....!!!

I hope you're all enjoying a BRILLIANT week....!!

Cheers for now,
Tamarah  :o)

Wholesale Antiques - Glen Waverley .... Melbourne's NEWEST Antique / Vintage Centre

Hello Vintage Friends....!

After arriving back home Saturday morning I literally hit the ground running....I'll be back with updates, exciting news & a Dottie Angel giveaway of the UTMOST kind SOON I promise but for now....I wanted to share some AWESOME news with you....!!!!!

For those of you ITCHING to do some SERIOUS Vintage Shopping during the week, I'm pleased to advise a NEW Antique / Vintage Centre has just opened in Glen Waverley....YES folks IN THE BURBS....!!!!!

WOOHOO....Open 7 days a week from 10am - 5pm this place is HUGE....747 hanger size....Now granted, ALL the spaces haven't filled as yet but they're filling as I type & filling FAST....!!

I have a stall myself....It's TOTALLY different from my space out at The Vintage Shed but I'll talk more about that in another post....!

Right now I want you to hop in your car, get on a train, tram or bus or heck just LEG IT out to:



11a Aristoc Rd, Glen Waverley

Aristoc Road is between Blackburn & Springvale Roads on the left as you're heading AWAY from Chadstone....The Centre itself is signposted as per above....ODD name I know but hey I'm not gonna complain....!!

You actually make a left hand turn OFF Aristoc Road when you see this sign & drive down to a factory complex....The building doesn't have a sign as yet but you'll know when you've found the place....!!!

Now what are you waiting for....Go on....GIT....!!!

Hope you're all enjoying a WONDROUS week....!!!!!

Cheers from Camp SVJ,

Tamarah  :o)

Shabby Chic....Rachel Ashwell & Me....!!!!!

I remember back in 1995 when I was living in Dallas, Texas I watched a show on telly where an actress from Y&R was being interviewed in her home....She picked up a pretty floral cup & saucer & said, "Oh & I love this....It's very shabby chic"....I wondered at the time what this 'shabby chic' was but wasn't able to find any info....

Fast forward to December 1999 when Mr SVJ & I were away on holidays....I popped into a bookstore & spied Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide....The cover alone set my heart racing....You know when you discover something so WONDERFUL your body tingles with anticipation of what's to come....?  Well THAT'S how I felt....!!!!!

I raced back to the hotel with my TREASURE....Ran a bath & emerged SEVERAL hours later with the BIGGEST smile on my face & a NEW appreciation for all things Shabby Chic....!

In 2003 Mr SVJ & I were in the US in St Louis & I took the opportunity to fly to Chicago for the day for no other reason than to visit the Shabby Chic store there....**magic**....!!

Then....In 2009 when Rachel's business faced some serious challenges I flew to LA for five days to visit the Santa Monica & Malibu stores before they closed....I drove back & forth....Back & forth between both stores for five days....**heaven**....!  You can't imagine how HAPPY I was to learn Rachel would be re-opening her Santa Monica store....

On travelling to Texas to source Treasures for my business Shabby Vintage Junk in 2010, I KNEW it was one of Rachel's FAVE places to shop....I heard from vendor after vendor, "Rachel's just been by"....DRAT....I missed her by a hair each time....I was dying to spy her in action but three Shows in I kept missing her....

Well....I'm so VERY PLEASED to say I FINALLY had the opportunity to meet the FABULOUS Rachel Ashwell last night out at The Prairie at the opening of her NEW store....And I have to say....The smile on my face is still just as BROAD as the smile you see below....

I have some FAB pics I took of the grounds while I was there....Be sure to pop back in a couple of days....!!

Wordless Monday....**wink**....!!