Budding Inspiration: Spring at the Queen! Guest Post from Appalachian Vintiques

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The earth laughs in flowers.” After a very long, hard winter in the mountains of North Carolina, I am embracing spring with lots of laughter and looking to flowers for inspiration in decorating my home. With our recent Spring Fling, we saw many unique ways to incorporate pops of pastels, floral prints, colors inspired by nature and ways to bring sunshine and laughter into your home. And don't forget the Pantone color of the year, Radiant orchid, is a bright burst of Spring color for your home, and goes great with floral prints.

The Spring brings opportunities for entertaining - look for creative ways to display flowers. Take these ideas from the Queen, using vases, mason jars, teacups, or vintage bud vases for traditional and non-traditional floral displays. 

Vintage bottles would be perfect for displaying, with or without flowers. The fact that these bottles tell their own unique story make them a unique conversation starter. The two pictures below are bottles from our booth in Buford at Appalachian Vintiques. 

Love old Mason Jars? You can find a great selection of Ball Mason jars that are clear or you can opt for the older blue jars that are quite valuable. 

Spring entertaining (especailly in the South) isn't complete without an afternoon glass of tea. Our dealers have a large variety of tea sets to fit just about any taste or style. This floral display would be perfect for décor but can pull double duty because you can actually use the tea sets later in the afternoon!

The great thing about Spring is that there is a flower for every personality and style. Be sure to stop in at the Queen of Hearts and find the perfect piece to display your flowers, or  your Spring floral accents!

This blog was written by dealer Jennifer Turner, of Appalachian Vintiques (LIVJC) on Court St in Buford - like her on Facebook to see all of her fabulous finds!

Dealer Feature: DPC Marietta, Debbie Camp

Each month we feature our great dealers in our blog, to give a little background on them, how they got started at The Queen, and what trends they are seeing! Meet Debbie Camp, a dealer who has been at the Marietta Queen of Hearts for almost a year, and is located on East Bay Street, dealer code DPC. Visit her Facebook page DPC Queen of Hearts, to see all of her gorgeous items and Like her page to be updated on new arrivals!

 

 

A little over a year ago I retired from Delta Airlines after a 34-year career as a flight attendant. Everyone kept asking me, "So now what?" I really did not have any concrete plans to have another career. I enjoy volunteering, gardening, re-purposing things and thought, "hmmm, what can I do with those interests?" One day I was at the Queen in Alpharetta and I ran into a friend who has two booths there. She spoke very highly of the owners and the staff and suggested I might like to join the team. I began praying about it, and plugged away preparing for a booth to become available. In July I moved into the Marietta location on East Bay St.

 

 

Coincidentally, my inlaws were downsizing and planning to move into an assisted living. Their basement was full of vintage treasures. I got busy cleaning up, painting, and re-purposing items, and low and behold I had a plethora of furniture and fun treasures. They were both raised in Paulding County (West Cobb) on farms. They had furniture, tools, dishes, and garden accessories stored in their basement from their parent's homes. My husband would say,"You are not selling Mama's favorite yada yada!" Oh we had numerous discussions about those forgotten treasures. I must admit he and my son have been very supportive helping me repair and haul "Mama's treasures" and my husband has a workshop in our basement that has now become "ours" (and has created more discussions!)

 

 

I moved into my booth in Marietta on East Bay last July. It has been a "stepping out of the box" experience for me working in a retail setting. The creative part of having a booth is totally up my alley. I enjoy the hunt for vintage treasures as much as the re-purposing, and helping people find something they love. Yes, I have been known to go into dumpsters looking for old windows being discarded, and you fellow dumpster divers are probably nodding your heads. I have enjoyed going to auctions and estate sales collecting antiques and picking through vintage items - you never know who's trash might be someone's treasure.

 

 

Furniture has a great story to tell with it's finishes, lines, and character marks. I just like to add more to its story with my creative flair. Stop by and visit me at the Queen of Hearts in Marietta, dealer code DPC on E Bay St, and Like my page DPC Queen of Hearts! I'm always refreshing my booth and filling it with vintage treasures for your home. I'd love to help you find what you're looking for. - Debbie

Dealer Feature: Odds & Ends, Lesia Williams

Each month we feature our great dealers in our blog, to give a little background on them, how they got started at The Queen, and what trends they are seeing! Meet Lesia Williams, a dealer who has been at the Marietta Queen of Hearts for one and a half years, and is located on Meeting Street, dealer code ODDS. Visit her Facebook page Odds & Ends at Queen of Hearts, to see all of her gorgeous items and Like her page to be updated on new arrivals!

Being a small business is hard in today's retail climate. Being a tiny business is even harder. But at the Queen, sometimes tiny is better and can be a lot of fun! It's very fulfilling to purchase an item to resell and then have a customer buy it, leaving happy and satisfied. It makes me proud to make an item from scratch and have a customer take that home, or better yet give as a gift to a good friend or relative. I love to create and make items for Odds & Ends that others may want to own. I love to search out discards, rejects, and unwanteds to give them a new life. I am fulfilled and proud and get to do what I love. My tiny business lets me do all this. The Queen of Hearts makes it possible for me to have this tiny business, and those are the reasons I love being a dealer.

I became familiar with the Queen from selling vintage jewelry at the East Cobb location, then I was persuaded into becoming a dealer again by a friend. We partnered for a few months until she moved to an antique market closer to her home. Odds & Ends has become my tiny business to run and lots of decisions have to be made all the time, like what types of items to offer - as long as the quality is good, then I like to offer them. I also think it's important to offer a variety - new lines, as well as those that have a "vintage vibe." It's fun to see what works for my customers and what doesn't, and to bring in more of what they like.

I have spent most of my working life in the retail environment and enjoy talking to customers when I come in to add new items. Resale is a wonderful business, as you are reusing and repurposing items that might just be thrown out. Recycling is very important in our environment and I like to reuse instead of having to purchase a brand new item. What I love about the Queen is you can save money on quality items shopping here, it's not just a flea market or junk to sort through. The dealers care about the quality of items they bring in, and making them feel like brand new - we hope our customers feel this way also. My best advice to customers is to try to be a savvy shopper. Buy what you like and make sure it is of good quality and a design that suits you. I like the furniture items I sell to be sturdy, made well and have a stylish look, and am constantly changing and filling my booth.

Stop by and visit me at the Queen of Hearts in Marietta, dealer code ODDS on Meeting St, and Like my page Odds & Ends at Queen of Hearts! I'm always refreshing my booth and filling it with things like vintage jewelry, antiques, and modern items for your home. I'd love to help you find what you're looking for and give these recycled items a new home. - Lesia

Modular Shelving: Feature on dealer SLAW, The Painted Hammer

The dealer-merchants at all three Queen of Hearts locations are overflowing with talent that goes beyond what they have in their booths. Some are skilled at locating must-have pieces in remote locations. Some are designers that anticipate what’s hot, shop often, find great deals, make alterations, and display finds in an irresistible way. Some make unique things, in all sizes, styles, and colors that can’t be found anywhere else. Some are amazing at appraising items like sports memorabilia, coins, china, and silver. If you ever want to find out about other services that our dealer-merchants offer, check it out here on our website.

At The Painted Hammer located on S Battery St in the Alpharetta Queen of Hearts (dealer code SLAW), the talent is shared between the co-owners, like a one-two punch. The designer, Audrey, has a dazzling imagination & finishing skills, and her partner Shane can make anything Audrey can sketch on a cocktail napkin. When they work together, it goes something like this:

Their booth in Alpharetta was in need of some serious shelving. Shane saw something on his wife’s Pinterest feed that looked like a good starting point. 

The one on Pinterest was made from salvaged pallet wood, and was meant to go against a wall. The booth needed something bigger, more grand, that could stand on it’s own. So they designed it, and Shane headed to the workshop. Several hours or days later, he showed Audrey a prototype.

Audrey loved it (and occasionally suggested tweaks), as Shane did final assembly. 

Audrey finished the piece, then they worked together to price it and add it to the booth on S. Battery St in the Alpharetta location.

Seems easy, right? For these two, it is as natural and necessary as breathing, but it isn’t easy. It takes a lot of hard work, trial and error, and experience to get to where they are now. However, now that they have arrived to this level of teamwork, refinement, and expertise, they are excited to make the final results available to you for purchase via their booth at the Alpharetta Queen of Hearts.

Make sure to follow the Queen on Pinterest to get inspired for your own DIY ideas. Or bring in something that you want to re-create that you found, and our staff and talented dealers can sure enough help you recreate it or show you how!

Next time you wander The Queen, remember Audrey & Shane at The Painted Hammer, and the many other amazing dealer-merchants. They certainly think of you when they call on their talents to fill their booth with the amazingness that is The Queen!

Like The Painted Hammer at https://www.facebook.com/thepaintedhammer to see more gorgeous finds!