Friday 24 February 2012

Meet Norman

 This is Norman,he belongs to a customer of mine who lives down the road from my shop.
Norman is a cheeky character who likes to push his luck on many levels most of which involve breaking the rules.







We first met last Summer when I had this wonderful French bed in the shop.

Norman LOVED this bed and, since I kept the shop door open in the Summer, he took every opportunity to sneak in and make a bee line for the sumptuous bedding, in particular, the antique French hand croche throw. 
Of course I wasn't going to put up with this and the Human v Feline war had began.
 The battles went on with neither side surrendering.
One day,however, the winning blow was dealt in the form of a grain sack cushion; the target being Norman's bum.
I looked on as Norman flew out of the shop dragging his bruised pride behind him.
It took nine months but eventually Norman decided to bury the hatchet and came over to forgive me.
Well, thats the version I'd prefer to believe as the truth is probably closer to the fact that his addiction to my shop had the better of him and he just could not help trying the old slipping in trick.


Today the cold war came to an end as I extended the blanket of friendship and Norman kept me company till closing time when upon the strike of 5 he strolled off back to his residence like a prodigal son.
On a different note...
Do you ever have these days when you start getting things done; ticking off your 'TO DO' list and suddenly you realise that a vital part you need to continue your project is buried somewhere in the garage. So,fuelled by the urge to complete the task, you dive into the abyss of collected 'collectables'; things you store in case they come in handy; things that have some kind of emotional hold on you; junk!
I'm a hoarder, there's no denying it.
Well,that was me on Monday when I needed a hammer to put some pictures up. I thought that having them propped up against the wall on the floor for the past 18 months was long enough.
After about 20 minutes of throwing things around and swearing like a trooper I gave up on the hammer but was pleased to stumble across my long lost paint sample pots from The Little Greene Company.
I was so exited. I rushed back inside and, like a woman possessed, I started painting anything that stood still long enough.
One of my first victims was this antique French metal wash stand which I brought in to use as a temporary dressing table.



 I could only bring myself to paint the inside of the two little drawers. I love the very distressed original grey paint on the exterior of this stand. It would have some wonderful stories to tell if it could talk, like where has its top gone? It was most likely made of a lovely piece of marble which was damaged at some stage. What a shame.
On my journey through the depths of the garage I came across a bathroom mirror which is doubling up as a top until I find the right replacement. 


The marble shelf may be original, I'm not sure, but the ceramic soap dish attached to it is most definitely not.It works well as a jewellery hold though.



My next target was a vintage letter rack. I had already painted and aged it, giving it a lovely, neutral and 'safe' look with Farrow and Ball's Skimming Stone and Hardwick White.
I was on a mission though and after a coat of the newly found turquoise paint, the rack gained a bit of an attitude.




I was a whirl wind, a tornado with a paint brush; I was on a roll and heading for a long forgotten barley twist side table. Its dark stain gave it a sad and heavy appearance and I was about to change it,pronto !!!
Unfortunately, in  my painting frenzy, I forgot to take those all important before & after photos. So, what you see below is the end effect of 3 layers of paint; TROPEZ BLUE followed by MISCHIEF both by The Little Greene Company and topped with a coat of  COUNTRY CREAM by Annie Sloane.
What do you think? Should I add it to my ever growing stock in the shop? Will there be any interest? I'll let you know.





well, got to go, its my birthday today and my dear friend E has just joined me in the shop bringing lots of goodies and a home made white chocolate and raspberry cake so,you must understand, I have my priorities!

 Wishing you all a fabulous weekend flooded with sunshine.
XXX













11 comments:

Pingere said...

Happy Birthday Joasia! hope you're having a lovely day.....
I loved your tale about Norman - what a handsome boy!
All your pieces look really great, I love the way you have picked out the colours of the table in the hyacinths and their bulbs - brilliant!
Wishing you a fabulous weekend too,
Essie x x

Anonymous said...

What a delightful post! Oh, Norman is wonderful! He reminds me of my dear departed Oliver, although he had white socks and a little white shirt-front. Your painting, too, is great - how funny, though, that years ago we took a table with bobbin-turned spirals on the legs to a furniture restorer to have every bit of nasty white paint removed and it polished to its original wood; quite the opposite of what you have done, painting over the natural wood. Mind you, some tables which weren't of original high quality actually do benefit from a coat of paint!
Margaret P

The Cloth Shed said...

Joasia...I can't believe it is your birthday today...it is mine too! No wonder I love your style.....
Just come home after a trip to the cinema ( The Best Exotic marigold Hotel ) and a lovely meal at an Italian restaurant. Fabulous presents too from my lovely friends, so all in all a great day...
Julie x

The Art of Vintique said...

Well, no surprise there then Julie, I love your taste too. Happy Birthday and many more like it!
Had an Italian too, no cinema but a fantastic evening out with the kids, tenpin bowling.

Enjoy your weekend.
Joasia x

The Art of Vintique said...

Hello Margaret,
My conscience is clear as the table was not of the highest quality and had terrible, deep stains on the top . No degree of sanding would win the battle won by the paint in this instance. I'm glad you liked my efforts.
I'm probably going to tweak the legs a little as I didn't intend to have so much pink showing but that's later on, after my display shelf project.
Thank you for your comment. I'm still waiting for you joining the blog world...
Have a lovely weekend Margaret.
Joasia x

The Art of Vintique said...

Thanks Essie,
Glad you like the table, and Norman, what a character...
I'm hoping to come and visit Station Mill Antiques in the next few weeks. It would be nice to time it when you are there...
Have a great weekend and take some more of your lovely photos.
Joasia x

Evie said...

Cake looks great!!

Pingere said...

Hi Joasia,
It would be really lovely to see you at Station Mill sometime, let me know and I'll call in too!
Best wishes,
Essie x

Poppy said...

Norman looks adorable! This post did make me smile, I have been telling my Mum about Norman.
Next time we are down your way we will pop in and see you!
I love what you’ve been painting!

A belated Happy Birthday.... X

The Art of Vintique said...

Oh, if only one could capture taste in a photograph...
Thanks for your comment, EVE.

Joasia x

The Art of Vintique said...

Hi Lou,
Thans for your wishes.
See you down here soon.
Joasia x