Blog - Page 78 of 148 - reclaimedhome.com

The Tag Sale Ladies

September 30, 2009 RH 5 Comments

Kristi of Here Be Old Things and I have been contemplating tag/estate sales. We’ve emailed. We conversed over the phone. We even had an in person meeting on the subject. But it never got off the ground because we both take on more than we can handle.

Until now. Well, wait, that’s not right. We’re DEFINITELY taking on more than we can handle, but the universe is lighting a fire under our butts to focus on our tag team effort.

Save the date! We just met with our first Kristi/Phyllis tag sale client yesterday and it’s a go!

The sale will be the first weekend of November in Tenafly, NJ.

Some of the more awesome items include original Americana posters by Howard Chandler Christy and L. Helquera and a pair of mid century Alan Gould string chairs.

There’s also an 8′ Eliminator pool table! I learned something about moving pool tables though. Apparently, you really do need a reputable pool table mover to take it apart and put it back together. Bummer, because I wanted to strap that baby to my back and haul it home.

Sukkah Structures

September 29, 2009 RH 6 Comments

The Cute Sukkah

Driving through Williamsburg on Yom Kippur, I saw the sukkahs starting to pop up and thought what a cool post it would make if I photographed the various structures. Well, I don’t have time to do that, so I’m grabbing some from the web.

For non Jews (or non New Yorkers), a sukkah is a temporary structure with a roof of leafy boughs and straw built for the holiday of Sukkot to commemorate the tabernacles of the Exodus. I cut and pasted that definition, so don’t ask me anything else.

Raise your hand if you’re new to NYC and you’ve seen these “boxes” on people’s terraces and front lawns and wondered WTF. Now you can impress your friends with your knowledge.

The Portable Sukkah

The Modular Sukkah

The Apartment Sukkah

Monday Linkorama

September 28, 2009 RH 3 Comments

Hi kids. As you know, the linkoramas are my cheat posts. I do them when I don’t have time or energy to write. Today, it’s my husband’s fault.

Let me just ask you something. You go a mall. You lose your wife (actually, you wander off) and you don’t have your phone on you. Do you….

a) Wait in front of the last store you were in together?

b) Have her paged or listen for a page with your name?

c) Borrow a phone or use a pay phone?

d) Go back to the car and wait?

e) Continue to shop?

If you answered “e”, you’re a muttonhead just like my husband. Needless to say, I spent my entire afternoon running from points A to E. No time to write a post when I got home last night and I’ve got too much catching up to do this morning.

So sorry…enjoy these other fine blogs.

Insane Interiors. Web Urbanist

Then and Now. Renovation Therapy

Halloween Mansion. Etsy Storque

Modular Rooms. Hudson Goods via Materialicious

Goodbye Summer. Shorehouse Chic

Beacon Tag Sale This Weekend

September 25, 2009 RH

Hold the press! I’m adding another event to the list. Mario, The King of Beacon Garage Sales is having a Saturday sale over at 69 Verplanck Ave.

I went over there today for first dibs because I’m special. There’s still plenty of good stuff left for y’all. Photos on the website. I wasn’t able to take anything too large because I’m giving up on the furniture.

That being said, I was salivating over this chair! Do you love it? If so, better get over there early. If you can’t make it to Beacon, here’s what I’m gonna do (because I want to be a part of this chair’s life)….I won’t tell you what Mario is asking, but make me an offer and I’ll deliver down in Brooklyn or Manhattan for free. It has to be worth my schlepping time and finder’s fee, otherwise drag your ass up here and get it yourself. : )

Local Events: Brooklyn & Beacon

September 25, 2009 RH 5 Comments

I’m staying up in Beacon this weekend where there is a lot going on (plus I have to shoot a wedding). As much as I’m happy to partake in the events up here, I’m kind of bummed about missing out on the Brooklyn festivities.

Such as….The First Annual Brooklyn Bridge Pup Crawl! A moonlit dog walk across the Brooklyn Bridge that benefits animal shelters across the country. The ONE weekend I’m not in Brooklyn, dammit! I know, I can always donate to the shelter, but I wanna do a mass dog walk across the bridge!

The 13th Annual Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival: this weekend. It’s a three day, multi site event featuring up and coming artists working in any and all mediums. An artist by the name of Steve Chen will be doing lights. He bought a bunch of fixtures and other stuff from me for this event. Keep an eye out for him!

________________________________________

________________________________________________

I saw the above post on the Brownstoner forum. Personally, I shouldn’t even be looking at more salvage, but man, I wish I could go to that sale!

Back in Beacon, there’s plenty going on even though it’s not Second Saturday. Beacon Open Studios is a 3 day event. There’s a kick off party tonight, a closing party on Sunday and in between getting drunk, you can look at some art.

Finally: Hey, anyone remember this guy? If not, watch this. He’s still around…and in Beacon on Saturday at the Howland! I hear he doesn’t want to bother with us local girls though.

Blog Action Day Coming Up

September 24, 2009 RH

Etsy + Soopsee = New Store!

September 23, 2009 RH 3 Comments

OMG, my life is complete now! I’m like a 50’s housewife who has just discovered the dishwasher. I used to (until yesterday) spend hours uploading inventory to Etsy, then my Reclaimed Store, then Artfire, then other stores…yada, yada. Ok, not exactly true. I kind of did Etsy sometimes and then got bored with the rest.

But Soopsee! Oh, sweet, sweet Soopsee! It’s an Etsy API, which up until two days ago, I did not know the meaning of. Application Programming Interface. Etsy users can open a free Soopsee account and let them host for you or keep your own domain and upload the Soopsie to work with it.

I wanted to keep my name because I’m a control freak. This isn’t free, but there’s a summer special that costs $4.99 per month. I can handle that. I splurged for another $14.95 to buy reclaimedhomestore.com because it seemed easier to start from scratch rather than messing with my existing blog site pages.

Got the look I wanted. Transferred all Etsy listings in one pop. Set up auto RSS for my blog on the store site. Auto Twitter when I upload a new item. All done in less than 2 hours.

The software is still in beta, so there are some quirks. The only one that really bothers me is the categories on top of the page. The Soopsie default category is “Art” and when I added my own, I came up with 2 “art” categories. There isn’t yet a customized option to get rid of it, so I’m stuck with it.

I’m not a religious woman, but I just want to say “God bless Vanessa over at Etsy Storque for turning me on to Soopsee.” And God bless The Creator of the software. Hallelujah!

Reclaimed store on Soopsie

Reclaimed Home Store

Crown Heights North House Tour 2009!

September 22, 2009 RH 1 Comment

Crown Heights North has some of the most glorious architecture in New York. Yes, I used the word “glorious”. The 3rd annual house tour is coming up next week, so head’s up! You don’t want to miss it (like I always do because I work weekends).

Be sure to check out the Crown Heights North Association’s website for more info.

Tuesday Linkorama

September 22, 2009 RH

Yeah, it’s only Tuesday and I’ve got writer’s block already. Got a problem with that?

Yesterday I Died. Bed Stuy Blog

DIY Framing. Etsy Storque

An army of worms. The Worm Dude

Solar Powered Dollhouse. Enviro Gadget

Yikes! Repubs in Park Slope. OTBKB

From Newburgh to Bed Stuy?

September 21, 2009 RH 5 Comments

**UPDATE 4/12/10. Barbara and Edwin are still very much in business in Newburgh. Although they miss the city, they are sticking it out in the Hudson Valley. Barbara is starting cooking classes and catering both upstate and down.

Sad news for Hudson Valley residents. Newburgh’s Caffe Macchiato is up for sale. Not officially, but owners Barbara and Edwin are itching to get back to the city.

After hanging out with fellow Italian buddies over at Saraghina in Bed Stuy last week, Barbara is eyeing the neighborhood to open her new cafe.

The good news for Newburgh customers is that they’ve invested too much time and money to just shut their doors and run off. Someone needs to buy the business. Barbara is willing to train the new owners in the kitchen and go over baking tips as well as where to buy local produce, etc.

So this could be a win/win situation for me both upstaters and Brooklynites. Lemme just have a chat with my Bed Stuy peeps for a moment…Ok, we NEED this cafe in the neighborhood! We’re talking authentic Italian cafe. Real coffee, small flaky croissants (not those big ass crescent rolls they serve up in America), fresh local produce, home made pasta, imported Italian cheese. Get this woman down to Brooklyn and fast!

But we want Macchiato to stay in Newburgh as well! So, who’s buying? The new owner would have to keep up the quality or else answer to a very large, loyal customer base. They’re asking $165k, which includes a 10 year lease with low rent, all equipment, liquor license (Is that transferable? I’m assuming), and best of all: hands on training from Barbara.

Did I mention the customers?

Did I mention that Macchiato was voted Best Lunch Spot in Hudson Valley 2009?

Barbara says “Show me the money!” Come take a look, ask questions and have lunch, but if you want a tour of the kitchen, etc, she wants to know you’re seriously interested in buying a restaurant.

Come on, kids! Let’s make this happen. Italian cafes for Newburgh AND Bed Stuy. I want to have my tiramisu and eat it too.

You can reach Barbara at the cafe: (845) 565-4616

80’s East Village Coming Back To Life

September 18, 2009 RH 3 Comments

Have you heard? Spike Lee and Robert Deniro have teamed up to develop a series set in 1980’s East Village. Reuters reported that “Alphaville” will chronicle the “bad old days” of the neighborhood.

I refused to see Rent because it looked really goofy, but I do admire Lee and Deniro, so I might have to catch this one.

Will they hang out at The Holiday Cocktail Lounge? Will Mr. Purple make an appearance? Will it star Matt Dillon? Will the main characters shoot pool at Blue and Gold? Will they drink at Downtown Beirut? Play trivia at St. Marks Bar and Grill? Dance at the Pyramid? Will they stay out all night and have breakfast at Kiev? Does any of this make sense to anyone other than my 1980’s East Village friends?

Will “Forever Young” be the theme song? (Get it? Alphaville?)

Park(ing) Day 9/18/09

September 17, 2009 RH 4 Comments

2008 by Flatbush Gardener

You know when you see those hippie dippie hipster types sitting in the street on a plot of grass? Well, that’s an organized thing. In fact, Park(ing) Day is an international event and it’s taking place tomorrow on 9/18. Participants reclaim parking spots and transform them into hang out areas.

Check out the map. The “parks” will be all around the city. There’s even one in Newburgh, NY.

My ex-tenant is doing one on my corner….“1. Our park imagines a crack in façade of concrete and time, allowing a glimpse of the native vegetation that populated our island ecosystem prior to the introduction of invasive species (and Europeans). 2. (We are aware of the irony of white kids teaching invasive vegetation in Bed-Stuy, a gentrifying community).” I can’t wait to hear what the crabby old timers have to say about it.

The biggie in Brooklyn is probably the Cortelyou Road “park” hosted by Sustainable Flatbush.

It’s a daytime event. So, like….why don’t these people have to work? I’m jealous.

The “Make Me An Offer” Sale

September 16, 2009 RH 2 Comments

This enamel top table needs work. I was going to paint her up real purdy like and charge over $300, but I just don’t have it in me…

I’m unloading crap. I mean business. The furniture has gots to go, baby!

Ok, here’s how this works….

I created a Flickr set called “sale“. There’s a number on finished pieces. That was the list price. Offer what you want. I may or may not accept on these items I worked my arse off on.

There are “as is” pieces. Some have prices, some don’t. I’ll probably take anything to get it off my hands, as long as it’s not less than what I paid. I want to get rid of stuff, but I don’t want to lose money on it.

The photos that are question marked are antiques that I don’t know the value of. I’d probably rather not sell them until I do the research, but if it’s a good enough offer, I can be persuaded.

Fire away with questions about measurements or anything else. I also have lots more in my Beacon garage and basement. These need work! If you’re a refurbisher/reseller, come have a look.

Thanks!

Wet Stoop in Front, Hole in Back

September 15, 2009 RH 3 Comments

Guess the husband got bored with our half finished living room so he decided to start a new project. He and the next door neighbor are digging up our backyard and adding some drainage. At least that’s what I think he said. Why else would he have that huge hole back there?

Our basement doesn’t exactly flood, but it gets pretty wet. By changing the pitch away from the house and putting in some drains, the problem should be resolved. The water damage was already repaired on the interior of the house, so if we don’t deal with this soon, we’ll have done that work for nothing.

My husband thinks he’s Mr. Safety, but see that sheet of plywood? I put it there. He had the hole dug right near the back door, no covering and no warning given to anyone else in the house.

Remember our $10k stoop? Yeah, still working on it. The guy is doing a nice job, but he’s taking his sweet time. Granted, we had to wait a few weeks for the cement to set. Granted, it was a crazy, rainy summer. But there were plenty of days he could’ve showed up that he didn’t. Typical contractor, focusing on getting the jobs but not pleasing his clients.

The other night when we got home, there was a wooden stick blocking the steps. We use the garden gate, so no biggie for us, but there was no warning for the tenants. Why not do every other step or half the step so they can go in and out?

Well, we’re used to living like this. I just hope the tenants had no intentions of hanging out on the stoop or barbequing in the back for the remaining days of summer.

Reclaimed Home is Two Years Old!

September 14, 2009 RH 5 Comments

Two and a half years ago I had my mid life career crisis. I shifted my focus from photography to a web based business. Reclaimed Home was meant to be a totally different beast, but I went with the flow.

The mission statement back in August of 2007 was pretty off track. There were to be four functional sections of this website…..

1. The Blog. Ok, still going strong! My initial goal was to keep up the 5 posts per day, 5 days per week. I’m now down to one post and that’s a struggle. It’s just waaayyyyy too time consuming! I guess I was hoping for more tips and guest bloggers. (hint)

2. The Forum. Yeah, nobody bothers with that and I haven’t done anything to promote it. I’ll probably make it disappear real soon. It’s stale.

3. The Store. The bread and butter of Reclaimed Home. Or is it? Well, not the Reclaimed Home Store. I don’t love the software, so I’ve been ignoring it and uploading everything to Etsy. Question to any Etsy folks out there….Do you only have an Etsy store? Do you think it’s important to have my own store too? I’m debating whether or not I should kill my own store or shift to a different software.

FYI, initially I had wanted to represent other creatives here and NOT MAKE ANYTHING MYSELF!! I had difficulty finding reliable artists (I know, an oxymoron) and said “Screw this. If I want something done, I have to do it myself.”

FYI again, I had absolutely no intention of becoming a flea market vendor. It just so happened that Brownstoner held a salvage fest the week before I launched and I did so well there, I jumped on board when he started his Brooklyn Flea.

4. The Listings. Hmm, the FSBO listing service is not exactly working out as planned, but the real estate photography is doing just fine. I love shooting houses. It’s easy. It’s fun. It pays. What more can a gal ask for?

So, what does 2010 hold in store for Reclaimed Home?

The universe has been telling me that I shouldn’t have been so quick to abandon the photography. Luckily, I didn’t and I’ve been incorporating those skills into this business.

The universe, or rather, my pocketbook has been telling me that I’m nuts to pay $200 per month for a storage space. I’ve made a decision to cut out furniture and just deal in small handmade items. It will probably be an entire season before I rid myself of everything, but look for a sale this coming week.

And that’s about it in a nut shell. My biggest disappointment is that I’m not earning enough to hire help. I thought I would be by now, but I’m still working it out, doing everything myself so I can take a profit.

Goals: Organize, for f*ck’s sake! And try to take on some more tag sales.

Page Header

Primary Sidebar