…Turning decorating into a fun experience!

Think about the house you live in, hundreds perhaps thousands of square feet of blank canvas. Now think about the last time you pondered filling those spaces with beautiful fabrics and color only to be faced with a veritable sea of choices. “So many choices, too many choices” you said, dashing out of the store breaking a cold sweat and your heart pounding. Who among us hasn’t been there? All of those choices don’t have to be so intimidating, we have a way to make your decorating projects fun filled and without stress.

On March 30th we are presenting a unique opportunity, we will be hosting a trunk show by Beverly Ferguson of Exciting Windows by The Reflective Designer. You may know Beverly as the brilliant local color expert whose work is the buzz of Metro West and who now has turned her talent and expertise to full decorating and design services.

What’s a trunk show? A decorating trunk show is an easy, casual and hands-on presentation of new styles, trends and fashions. We will show you how to connect with your personal style and how easy it can be with Beverly’s guidance to fill your home with warmth and comfort. We will handle beautiful fabrics, draperies, trims…see the newest and latest…there will be prizes, and there will be the opportunity to win a $10,000 room makeover by HDTV’s Michael Payne of Designing for The Sexes. Refreshments will be served so bring a friend along for a fun and relaxing afternoon of entertainment!

Has anyone seen my old Buggy Whip?

It’s like glancing over your shoulder while shuffling down a familiar street. You tend to notice those things that have always been there like the trees, houses a couple of trash cans at the end of a driveway. Even when something common to the memory like a car or a bird moves you hardly notice. Then you stop dead in your tracks and begin to pay attention. Its then that you finally realize that things have changed right under your nose! There isn't anyone outside. The yards and sidewalks are all empty and there isn't even a sound. People have changed the way they think and act and as a business it means adapt or die!

Just like the buggy whip business was rendered obsolete by the automobile, the internet has rendered the old, tedious method of shopping nearly obsolete. Yes, there appears to be a few holdouts but for the most part consumers are behaving in a whole new way and for those of us who have noticed its time to throw out the old and embrace the new! If the internet isn’t a big part of your business strategy, then, I wish you well as I turn the corner to shuffle down the next street.

“…this is the best way to choose a Persian Rug!”

Imagine, a crew coming to your home, moving the living room, dining room and, or family room furniture and placing one Persian Rug after another and one more beautiful than the last? Just think how perfect a process that would be to never have to lift a single rug. How would it feel to take whatever time you need to ponder each rug that you have carefully selected from our inventory of hundreds of Fine Persian Rugs? Can you even imagine?

When our customers have completed their selections at our store, viewed a number of options and made a choice right in their own homes, they always call us the next day to thank us for the “most incredible and efficient buying experience” in which they have ever participated! They “can’t believe how much fun they had” and “how much they learned in the process” and from now on they “feel far less intimidated and confused about Persian Rugs!”

For us, the best part is when they can’t wait to tell their friends…and for that, we thank each and every one of our satisfied customers!

Do We Shop Locally?

I woke up today filled with questions! Think for a moment where we tend to shop. Do we know if we tend to shop local, regional, national or international? Do we know where the things we buy come from? How they arrive in our hands? Are we aware that as an active member of economics 101 the “where and how” we shop shapes the world in which we live? Is it possible that we have at least some control of our local destiny?

For years we have been carrying on a national dialog about the effects of the “Global Economy!” We engage in populist speak and toss about references to NAFTA, the WTO and the IMF, etc. We carry on like Jekyll & Hyde with our discomfort over how another local factory has moved to China or the corner clothing boutique just closed without giving us proper notice. On the one hand, we feel a bit unsettled about it. On the other hand, we push it a little deeper. We push it past the horizon of our immediate sense of urgency as though we need to accept the inevitable.

What happens, years from now, when we look back? Will we see the local community that attracted us to move away from more familiar environs or the once reviled hometown? Is it possible that the local shops we blindly drive by today will become impossible to avoid as we can’t help but notice how many are gone? What if, for the next few days, we just count the number of locally, owned and operated shops as we drive through our daily grind? If we merely count them today, will we be able to count on them being there tomorrow?

What exactly is an antique, anyway?

So, you look at it and it seems old. Then you have a closer look. You open the drawer, you see the “dovetail” joints, the solid wood box…and wow, they even dovetailed the back of the drawer frame! Next thing you know, you have the drawer out and flipping it around to scan the bottom. Then, you’re straining your neck to see the shadowy interior while looking for some sure sign that this is as old as you think…or hope.

How and who defines what an antiques is, anyway? How do we know what the standard is and who it is that holds sway on this standard by which we all anticipate our next glorious find? The best answer I have ever heard is…”well, it depends!” It depends on who you ask? To waltz through most shops, you’d think your old sneakers were a candidate and the gum stuck to the underside of that brass ‘n glass coffee table was a sure sign of patina.

According to the politically correct, US Customs antiques are defined as “something older than any living person.” I’ll bet a few of you just settled with a slightly longer than normal exhale? I heard the Keno Brothers won’t call anything younger than 1803 an antique. Many a weary wanderer on their way to this May's Brimfield Show has suggested 1830 was the absolute cut off. Yet, mass production didn’t get fully under way until the very late 1800’s.

Irrespective of all of those capable purists, I find the 1940’s a far more convenient, profitable and therefore acceptable date range. In fact, were it not for all of that wonderfully constructed early 1900’s mahogany, we would, for most of our past 18 years been forced to sell only small pieces of encrusted wood. We may well have been inclined to call ourselves something like Wrentham Vintage Marketplace or Wrentham “sure we have a few “ Antiques Marketplace or better yet, Wrentham “Just buy it because it’s made well and you like it” Marketplace!

Business/Connections/Life

We pass by each other and occasionally we may connect. Through retail, we meet many, many people and are able to make a lot of connections. In fact, we meet so many people it can be difficult to make connections beyond the most basic level. However, when you have been in business for nearly 20 years, the repeat nature of our connections offers us the chance to have them grow into something more substantial, something deeper and even, more human.

Our staff often finds themselves engaged in conversations about our customer’s lives. We discuss each other’s families, their past, personal experiences and many other fascinating areas of discovery. Through this deeper connection we are able to foster a sense of trust and appreciation for them, for those we have yet to meet, and vice versa. As important as sales are to any business there is another, very important need fulfilled when making long term connections, indeed relationships. We place our finger on the pulse of the human experience and may even discover a bit about why we are in business to begin with…to play a positive and contributing role in the life of those around us and in the life we all live!

Kathy says “Relax” when choosing your rug!

After going to so many homes, and helping my friends choose rugs, I suggest that when you come into our store, choose the rug that moves you, that appeals to you, that speaks to you. Don’t worry so much about matching the furniture, wallpaper, curtains, china, pillows, etc., etc.. The rug you love will probably find enough resonance with the other things you love for it to create balance and harmony. After all, when judging each thing you have chosen, they have probably added to the overall, visual pleasure that you and others find in your home. So, simply trust your instincts and allow your unique personality to be free to enjoy the sanctuary that you call home.

Furniture’s Black Hole in Our Heritage

At least three times a day, as I meander through our store, I marvel at the inherent beauty of those pieces of furniture designed and made so long ago. Now, keep in mind, I’m not talking about 200 years ago. Things changed big time in the late 1950’s. That’s when the post war machine began to gear up to meet the insatiable demand of a rapidly growing and prosperous nation. Ultimately, from that point, there was no turning back!

Joinery techniques had to be reduced to the lowest common denominator. Simplicity for speed’s sake and streamlining costs began to rule the day and inevitably, by the mid 60's, caused the beginning of the end for craftsmanship. What once took two guys a weeks to create, eventually, could be made, shipped and returned for defects in just two to three days. The new "slap and ship" furniture is sure to leave a gapping hole in a long stretch of world history. How many cultures' heritage will be without a link to the past…that is, without having to climb one of those mounds at the landfill?
Perhaps we will learn to compensate with stories? Stories that will leapfrog over an historic black hole and recall the craftsman of old? Or perhaps, we’ll have to craft new stories as time passes and the memory grows dim as we leave another two year old piece out on the lawn for the local frat house member's next great find?

Rug Magic

This past week has been the week of rug magic. Every house call we went on was an example of how rugs have the power to brighten a room. It makes sense: you are bringing a huge color field into the room. Imagine if you hung a painting in the room the size of your floor!
In each case, our customers came in to scan the selection and choose their favorites. Then we brought the selections to their homes so they could actually see how the rugs changed their rooms. For me the most exciting part is the surprises: the color of walls and fabrics draw certain accents out of the rug so that in a way the room changes the rug too!

Handcrafted Furniture vs. MDF

Someone asked me the other day why most of the new furniture being offered today was so inexpensive. At first, all I could think to say was that it had to be inexpensive just so people would feel compelled to buy it! I guess that’s a bit cynical, but there seems to be a thread of truth in it. After all, why would anyone buy a piece of furniture that you can’t even burn without a hazmat suit?

Today’s furniture is, for the most part, made of what is called “MDF” or Medium Density Fiberboard. Its basically ground up dust reconstituted into a shape with a bit of color added. Although that may not sound like the type of new purchase you will want to invite your mother-in-law over to see so you can brag and show off your refined sense of taste, it could prove to be advantageous. For example, when the drawer face falls off because you slammed it shut while trying to hide the bon bons from your 4 year old, you simply go online and order the replacement. Providing, of course, that the style is still in vogue, or even in production, you can have that shiny piece delivered right to your door and as long as it arrives without any crate rub or a loose leg you won’t have to send it back.

And then I remembered what my neighbor paid for that brown hunk of MDF he proudly placed in front of the couch, where no matter how one tried, you could see it from almost everywhere in the house. As I recall, it caused him to wince at the mention of the price and it cost me an honest moment with my hapless neighbor!

Welcome To Wrentham Antiques!

Welcome to Wrentham Antiques, the weblog for Wrentham Antiques Marketplace. Visit our showplace at 513 South Street (RT 1A) in Wrentham Mass and see our enormous selection of quality antiques and fine reproductions by makers like Sippican Cottage Furniture, Warren Chairworks, and of course our own line of Old World Traditions. Browse our selection of beautiful Persian rugs and decorative accessories too. Drop by today!