A few weeks ago we received a phone call from a UK production company wanting to know if it was ok to film a scene with 2 women coming in to Reclaimed Home to shop. Sure, why not? The documentary crew showed up yesterday and we found out a bit more about the show.

Well, not really much more, just the fact that the host is Jodie Marsh and she does kind of “Day in the Life Of” snippets for her TLC UK series. The woman she was with was a Texan….we know this because she signed our mailing list by adding “TEXAS!”.

The Texan bought some vintage nudie magazines and girlie art for her “naughty” boyfriend while Ms. Marsh purchased the 1980’s band coasters that hadn’t even made it onto our online shop yet. The set of 4 coasters consisted of Madness, The Jam, Morrissey and The Cure. She had to explain to Ms. Texas who these people were, but then I had to chime in off camera when she confused Rob Smith (or perhaps Moz?) for Nick Heyward. Now, I like me some Haircut 100, but come on….not in the same coaster set as those legendary bands!

Also, I found out that the gal realllly likes her Paul Weller.

I sent them down to the hipster end of Franklin (“Make sure you cross Eastern Parkway”) for more cafes and shopping. So, if you were were on Franklin yesterday and wondered what this crew was doing, that’s your answer.

We may not get the series here in the U.S. but I’m sure I’ll be alerted from friends and in-laws on the other side of the pond once my punim shows up on their tellies. Good thing about the internet is that they won’t have to videotape it and transfer it to a U.S. system. Remember those days? Oh gosh. I do. And it was all pretty much tapes of those bands mentioned above.

Boy, it’s no joke about summer being the slow retail season here in NYC! Everyone who can go away, does. Those who are left behind are either working or at the beach. We struggled through. I think there was an entire week that we did not sell one thing. Then, a couple of weeks ago, it just picked up again. Just like that. But dayum, we were nervous!

We are pleased to announce that the store is fairly empty right now. Once we do a big shopping trip tomorrow, we’ll have new fall merchandise! Well, that was a blessing that most of the big pieces that sat around all summer just sold within a week. Now we don’t have to hold any clearance sales.

We bid farewell to those items we’ve been looking at all summer. Hope their new owners are happy with them!

By far, the most emotional sale was the pair of cherub sconces that I priced NOT to sell. They were purchased for a house I was dressing up to the nines, but when I decided to put it on the market, I took the sconces with me. They didn’t work in my current home, so I hung them at the shop where they remained looking beautiful until a guy walked in one day and just bought them. Yes, I cried, but of course I was also happy to be able to pay my expenses after a dreadful summer. The buyer sent photos of the living room where they’ll hang and they will look great! He’s going to give us an update once they’re hung.

When we purchased this mid century hutch we priced it at $295 and thought it would sell immediately. We learned that not too many people have room for hutches in NYC where space is a luxury. It even sat there when we lowered the price to $195. Finally, someone in Astoria, Queens had the space for it!

Same spatial issues with this sideboard. You can’t quite use it as a dresser, so it’s more of a dining room piece and since dining rooms aren’t the norm in these parts, especially with apartment dwellers, it had to wait for the right person. 

Ah, the red desk. So much interest yet nobody took the plunge until another Queens person committed to the purchase online. Yeah, we don’t know why this credenza stayed with us as long as it did. All we can say is “summer”. Glad it’s over and this piece has finally found a new home.

Can’t wait to hit the “pickers” tomorrow!

We’ve added another page to this website! Long time blog readers will recognize most of these renovations as Phyllis has been writing about them and sharing DIY tips along the way.

The renovations page is our way of displaying our style and capabilities to prospective clients, however it does come with a disclaimer that we are not licensed contractors. DIY’ing our own properties does not mean we can gut a client’s home and put it back together. We are happy to sub-contract for your architect, GC or designer, though….especially if they need assistance with reclaimed materials.

Check it out!