oh the stories they could tell

Although we make some things from scratch, we also have lots of things that start as something else or that we find, clean up, and sell. In all cases, we often find ourselves wrapped up in the stories the items tell.

Take this cafe print with a gold frame. I thought it was a cafe from "somewhere else" and admired it for the colors and artistry. A quick search on the internet informed me that this is a real Parisian cafe that is open and thriving. Now I admire it even more!

This trunk has seen a lot in its ~60 years, and when we encountered it, it was covered in brown textured tape. Underneath the tape were several interesting story lines. It turns out that the manufacturer, Belber Trunk & Bag Co., has a great story that's easy to research online. And there are at least two names written on the trunk, one is military, and the other appears to be a relative of the military person. It also has old shipping stickers still partially stuck to it. Who knows what kinds of things this trunk has been a part of!

We don't have a lot of history on this mirror, but we do know it was previously part of a dresser. We can't research that, but if we're not careful, the imagination takes over. Did this live in a couple's bedroom, did they have kids, did the lady of the house use it to check her reflection one last time before heading out for evening? Who knows!!!

And these irons! We have yet to properly identify their original story (one is marked with a star & a number, and the other one has a star and a different number), but we will start the search soon.

Finding, researching, designing, breaking down, cleaning up, repurposing...all of these things are part of what makes this venture worth it. And of course, sharing the outcome with our fans & patrons too!

Sunshine @ TPH