Martin appears as a panelist tonight at 9pm on Goldhawk Live. The topic is “Does Toronto need tighter garage sale laws?” Garage sales shopping tips  is a topic we know something about. I expect Martin to have lots to say.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

Our Grampus and pickle ornaments continue to be popular this year.

In Germany, the birthplace of the Christmas traditions, a pickle was hidden in the tree. Whichever child found it, received another gift. Pickle ornaments carry on this tradition. An extra present continues to be appealing to children today, as families are buying these ornaments to continue this tradition.

Grampus or devil head ornaments were put on trees to remind naughty children that St. Nicholas may be inclined to pass over them. Seems parents from  generations gone by were interested in tricks to keep their kids in line.

We also carry some other ornaments that come from German tradition.

Peas in a pod were given to newlyweds and signifed fertility. Peas in a pod ornaments carry on the tradition.

A purse was given as a good luck charm for a new year filled with money. Purse ornaments are still popular with ladies today.

A small keepsake card is included with these ornaments and tells the story.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

We are busy dusting off our booth for the Canadian Home and Country Show at the Automotive Centre at Exhibition Place October 24th – 28th this year.

Last year was our first time participating in any trade show. I feel that this year will be a success if we do not repeat two of last year’s disasters:

1. Martin’s drill accidently slipped while he was drilling spotlights in place three hours before show time. He drilled a nasty hole into his right thumb. The wound was quite a gusher. Martin got pale. I wrapped a somewhat clean sheet around it.

2. We then jumped into the minivan  and headed to King Street West for a quick bite, to change into our “good clothes” for the gala opening, oh, and to find a band-aid for Martin’s bleeding thumb. This was around 5pm. Due to our exhaustion and preoccupation with the bleeding thumb (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it), we parked right on King Street West.  Not surprisingly, the van was towed when we came out. A $45+ cab fare, no not to the downtown towing centre which was very close by, but all the way up to Keele and Dufferin during rush hour. We needed the car asap as it had our clean clothes in it for the opening night. Talk about stress.  We were pretty frazzled that first night.

Like I said, if we cannot repeat on these two aspects from last year I’ll be happy.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

The summer yard sale season is in full swing. Canadian Home and Country magazine is full of tips for bargain hunters including things you’ll need to bring.  But, there are some do’s and don’ts  you’ll want to keep in mind.

When you have your own sale, you want to make sure you what to trash and what to keep. Another great avenue for buying and selling is your local craigslist.

A Random Act of Kindness

Our three flower laden bathtubs were moved by the kind construction workers who are currently replacing the sidewalks in front of our soon to be old location at 1927 Avenue Road.

Once again, Martin’s charm came in handy as he enlisted some workers and their forklift to move the three bathtubs. The tubs are now securely in front of 2064 Avenue Road. Saved us both money and another trip to Caruso’s Rentals to get a pump truck. Sweet.

This sidewalk construction has put us in a real pickle for the move. Wouldn’t you know it that the sidewalk directly in front of 1927 Avenue Road was ripped out on Tuesday morning with only half the shop moved out. Talk about bad timing for us.

Good news though – the move itself is almost complete. Monday, May 28th was a 9am – 11:30pm night with the movers. Tuesday, May 29th was a 6pm – 12:30pm evening with two trucks this time. Today is a number of runs with our trusty Dodge Caravan equipped with the handy stow away seats (a much needed feature this week. We love our Caravan). Plus a junk removal pick up this afternoon.  Martin is truly beyond tired at this point.

May 31st in the evening I meet with the landlord for the inspection and hand over the keys.

Then Take-A-Boo at  2064 Avenue Road will begin. With an eight-year lease, we can settle in, try to recuperate and forget this whole exhausting process.

More good news – it looks like our marriage will survive this highly stressful life event.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

Yikes… we are moving our packed to the rafters (literally) shop from 1927 Avenue Road to a bigger, brighter location at 2064 Avenue Road (just across from Bruno’s Fine Foods) as of June 1st. We’ll be two blocks north on the west side of the street.

We thought we knew what tired was. Boy were we wrong. Martin has been an absolute trooper. I sure don’t have his stamina. He’s been going full tilt for four weeks now.

It’s been a crazy 6 weeks – negotiating and signing the new lease, cleaning up the new place, coordinating the move and the biggest job of all – the move.

The clean up has been extensive as a Chinese grocer was in the space before us. Thank God for Caruso Rentals on the Danforth. They had a great price on a floor maintainer, shop vac and paint sprayer and seem to know us by name now.

A special shout of to our good friends, Barney McNeilly (who declined a CBC interview on a recent high profile crime so he could man the paint sprayer in the new digs) and Rose Davidson. They’ve really pitched. Above and beyond the call of duty.

Plus, Graham Trimble turned up yesterday to help with some moving. 

We can’t thank them enough for their support. I think they felt sorry for us as the job is unfathomably massive for the two of us.

Denis The Mover is the absolute best. His guys have worked into the night getting the big pieces into the shop.

Now we just have to get those bathtubs up the road before June 1st.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

Alfred Holden’s article on Hans Wegner in today’s Toronto Star caught my eye.  Holden talks about the 501 chairs that have been his family since the 50s.  We have six of the classic Ch23 style in the shop that came from a family that purchased them in the 50s. Talk about durable well made chairs. Don’t know why Carl Hansen & Son aren’t currently producing this beauty.

I agree with Holden that it would be great if Wegner’s pieces were as affordable as Ikea’s and Ikea’s furniture would last as long as Wegner’s.

Sad to see at the end of Holden’s article, that this important designer passed away a few weeks ago. I seem to have missed it in the news. What a loss to the design world.  I wonder who of the today’s furniture designers will  see their work still being relevant and produced in their 90s.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

The Wag out of Westchester, NY loves our handbag caddy. It’s profiled in the December 2006/January 2007 Tips and Trends feature. Always knew those Westchester ladies had good taste.

 Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

We’re back from our Christmas break and looking forward to 2007.

I guess we aren’t busy enough with our cording, rushing and caning repairs, furniture restoration, consulting and custom upholstery because we’re introducing silverplating in 2007.

Why?  Because lots of people have worn silverplate trays, trophies, candlesticks and sorry looking silverplate, and have come in to ask if we can help them. Now we can.

We’ll  also repair any dents that it might have and re-attach any broken handles, feet etc.

Plus, we are able to repair sterling silver; repair any dents or re-attach any broken handles, feet etc. that it might have.

Returning it all to its original sparkling glory.

Phew…looks like it’ll be another busy year.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com

Read in the Holiday 2006 issue of Traditional Home    Jenny Bradley’s feature about Kendall Wilkinson’s shop Threshold in San Francisco. Jenny writes about the pluck it takes for Kendall to breath life into old furniture by stripping off old finishes and lacquering them in bright finishes.

My heart skipped a beat because we’re old school and believe in maintaining original finishes and the integrity of pieces.

Kudos to Kendall for her bravery.

The upside for us is that down the road, we’ll likely see these lacquered pieces in our shop when folks want to go back to a wood finish.

Downside for these folks it that these pieces lacquered, then restored have diminished in value.

Andrea Swinton
www.takeaboo.com