And that's a wrap! Our first year in business is complete. Here's the recap!

The difference a year makes: 365 days ago a lot was going on! I changed jobs and moved from an established company to a startup, I was selling off my antique inventory, moving out of my space in the antique mall and without knowing it, starting my own business. When the startup failed, my back up plan was already in full swing. Reflecting back on the last year, I'm excited about how far Eddy Street Vintage Market has come and there is no doubt in my mind it's because of you. Growing up here, leaving for college and coming back, I realize how great our small community is. You have helped spread the word by coming to each sale, bringing a friend, referring a friend, and in the process becoming our friend.  Each person who walks through our door helps us continue to bring you the "Eddy Street Production" each month.  To commemorate the last year, let's take a stroll down memory lane. Here are the highlights from each sale!

Year 1 was a blast and I'm looking forward to all that Year 2 has to offer: the opportunity to meet new friends, bring you even better vintage treasures, the possibility of an antique fair Eddy Street Style, the introduction of the Eddy Street Express and I'm sure a few surprises along the way. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us! Cheers!

Managing Magazine Mania AKA Magazine Storage

If you are like me, browsing through magazines is one of your favorite things to do. I can't help but purchase some of the magaines that motivate me but I get a little twist in my tummy when I think about how many magazines I have at home already and where I am going to store all of them. 

Magazines over the years have definitely increased in price and most I like range from $10-$15 each! (Ouch) Here is what I have learned to do: 

For magazines that only have a couple of WOW ideas, I usually just take photos of the ideas I like with my phone and then return the magazine to the news stand. It's easy to scroll through the photos and the best part is no physical clutter!

But for those magazines that tug at your heartstrings that you can't live without, what are you supposed to do?? I took to Pinterest to find out what others are doing and here is what I found: 

There are some really unique DIY ideas out there for storing these periodicals. If you have the space, I thought the magazines on hangers on the wall was a clever idea. I would use old wooden hangers to keep with the theme. 

I also really liked the wire basket made into a rolling caddy. This could be great for storing so many things. 

I perused a few more ideas before deciding on what concept I would use in my home. I found the console table with the baskets underneath. I liked how it looked and felt it would fit nicely with the design in my living room.  I didn't want to use a traditional basket though so I found this awesome galvanized metal tub at Target. It was definitely spendy but it can also double as an ice chest for Summer BBQ's so I splurged.  (It's on sale right now which is great too!)

Once I made my purchase, I decided to go through all of my magazines and select what I wanted to keep. Then I  alphabetized them and put them in the container. They all fit perfectly and no more clutter!  Here are the pictures of it in my home. 

I'm loving it! What do you do with all of your magazines? Let us know. For more ideas about magazine storage, check out my Pinterest board. 

Magazine Storage

Spring Living Room Makeover

Each season I get an itch to change up the decor in my house. There is something about moving my furniture and adding new pieces to make it feel like a completely new space.

I love looking at Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs and Restoration Hardware for inspiration but I don't really care for the amount it would cost me to makeover my living room using their stuff. You can create the look (for significantly less) with a little bit of research, creativity, paint and determination.

So here is a tour of my Spring Living Room Makeover! I forgot to take before pictures (a common problem I have). I will be sure to remember for next season's make over. 

My living room is a long and narrow shape. One of the hardest spaces to decorate in my opinion. We have an entry table to the left of our front door that serves as a catch-all for our keys which live in this adorable little trophy from 1933 I came across on one of my treasure hunts.

I love using salvaged elements. I have several chippy white doors as decor around my house. Two smaller doors sit behind the entry table along with a beautiful piece of tin ceiling, a stack of vintage books and an Essence of Peppermint bottle with dried roses that have a hint of pink. 

I just received the latest Ballard catalog and I am loving some of their cabinetry, especially these grey and white pieces.

And even though items are currently 15% off... You are still looking at over $1000 for each piece! (My wallet hurts) So I decided to go about it my own way. 

I found two matching cabinets with beveled glass doors, lights, and covered storage on bottom (JACKPOT!). The structure was great, they were solid wood and they weren't  $3000. They weren't the color I wanted but I knew I could fix that. Yes, it was Super Bowl Sunday but Derek was willing to go with me to pick them up. What a guy!

I had the vision for them. So we sanded both and painted them. Knowing we had a looming deadline for game time, I may have sanded a little faster. The chosen color is called Brook Trout. It's a grey color with a hint of brown. Wanting to highlight whatever items I stored in the cabinets, I decided to paint the inside white...Swiss coffee to be exact. I changed the hardware from a mismatched wood knob to a rectangular antiqued brass knob. 

I'm a sucker for symmetry so these cabinets became the perfect frame for my fireplace. Inside I decided to showcase some of my favorite vintage luggage, a few art pieces, an ampersand and a figurine. Boy am I happy with the end result.

Where do you find your inspiration? I find inspiration in so many different avenues that sometimes I feel like I need to take a cold shower just to calm down. I want to share with you where I find some of the inspiration I use to create new vignettes at Eddy Street Vintage Market, redecorate my house, or put in my back pocket for later use.

Insider Tip: I find it helpful to keep a journal in my car to write down great ideas because nothing is worse than forgetting that awesome idea you came up with and can’t wait to try!

I keep it in the car because uninterrupted time is a hot commodity these days and somewhat rare to find. My uninterrupted time usually comes when I am driving to and from the shop. There must be a creativity spring in the drivers seat. I can solve all kinds of queries, design my next custom piece and create events I want to do at the shop in that hour of uninterrupted time, playing my favorite music and rocking out ideas!

Do you keep an inspiration journal? As much as I have tried to organize mine, it tends to be a bit scattered with chicken scratch writing due to the pace I try to get my ideas down on the page.

When I am looking for a jumpstart to my inspiration, I turn to these resources to get me to think outside of my box.

Magazines: Publications like Cottages & Bungalows, Vintage Style, The Cottage Journal, and Where Women Create are a great way to see what others are doing, how they put displays together, and what items are popular. If you are like me, you have a pile of these little didies on your living room floor or a trunk full in the garage that are just waiting to be visited. I love to put page tabs on ideas I like so I can quickly reference them when I am revisiting the magazine.

The Fixer Upper: Have you seen this show on HGTV? It is one of my all-time favorites. Chuck and Joanna Gaines help people find homes in the worst condition on the best block. No, I don’t have that backwards. Some of the homes featured definitely aren’t for the faint of heart. But the Gaines’ vision is incredible, they take these discarded homes and make them into coveted masterpieces. I have contemplated moving to Texas just to be on The Fixer Upper and because their housing costs are sooo reasonable. I must confess that I record the show so that I can “binge watch” the episodes. One episode is never enough. A new season just recently started and I can’t wait to see what is in store.

Pinterest: I’m a bit of a Pinterest-aholic. There is so much inspiration on this site. Type in the keywords of what you are looking for and go…………on………..for……….hours…….browsing through the ideas. Whoever invented Pinterest is a creative genius and I thank them for making my life full of creativity…. 5,200 pins and 165 boards and counting. I’m like the Duggars of Pinterest, I add one board and another is already on the way.

YOU! Lastly, I find inspiration from you! The people you surround yourself with can be a great source of inspiration. When you get together with someone and let the creativity flow, it can push you outside of your box to create new wonderful things.

Where do you find your inspiration? Share in the comments. I can’t wait to discover new sources.