Junk Restore With Tara Finch

2011-11-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to have Tara Finch here as our guest blogger from junkrestore.com. Tara and her band of loyal followers are a new breed of incredibly talented HWD's. As we used to call ourselves back in our generation, HWD stood for "house wife decorator"... us gals who had young families and homes that we were decorating (obsessively!) using every resource available, which back then, was not so much. Most of us were not professionals in the industry but could have been after the DIY experience and knowledge that comes with this passion. Junkers and up-cyclers is a more appropriate name these days.

Hi Tara! We are so happy to have you as our guest! Thanks for GB-ing! Thank you so much for having me!
When I was a kid, my mom dragged me to every garage sale in town and on Monday nights, our family outing was the local auction. (My dad was even into it!) Who was your earliest influence in decorating and restoring furniture? Definitely my mother, as well. I learned at a very early age how to negotiate at a yard sale. I could make two dollars last an entire day, and now I've taught my own children the same thing.

The thing that is so cool about what you do is that you don't just refinish old furniture...you actually give it new life with a modern twist. What do you look for when you are searching for your next piece? Is there a specific time period in furniture that you like? The number one thing I look for is whether or not a piece is solid wood. I don't waste my time on particleboard or pressed wood furniture, ever. And rarely do I deal with veneered pieces, sometimes the repair is just not worth the trouble. I have a tendency to like more feminine lines, but even the mid century modern pieces appeal to me sometimes.

What is your favorite resource for finding cool pieces? Do you have any luck with Craig's list and other online sites? The best place to find cheap pieces will always be yard sales. Unfortunately, you have to go to 100 yard sales to find even one with good stuff, so it can be very time consuming. Thrift stores are also great resources, especially on 50% off Saturdays. Savers and Goodwill alternate Saturdays here in the valley, so depending on which week you go, you will probably hit a good sale. I have had a lot of success both buying and selling on Craigslist, but you have to be careful. Take a buddy with you, and make sure to look it over well before you purchase. Don't feel obligated to buy it once you have arrived, if it's not what you thought it would be. Craigslist can be overwhelming at times, so it helps immensely to narrow down your search before you just browse furniture. One of my favorite searches is just antique dresser, furniture by owner, narrowed down to the east valley, and limited to nothing over $100. This keeps me from having to wade through literally thousands of listings that I'm not interested in.

What is a good resource for ideas? I used to be a magazine girl. I collected hundreds of them, I saved my favorites and tore out thousands of pictures that inspired me. I remember the day that Country Home sent me my last issue. Now everything is online. Blogs just like mine have become a huge source of inspiration for me. Searching Google images for "White Decorating" yields thousands of gorgeous photos. And my newest addiction is Pinterest. Being able to follow people with similar interests, seeing millions of photos pulled from all over the internet, and pinning them to my own boards, just like tearing a photo from a magazine has turned into one of my biggest addictions.

You actually sell your finished pieces...do you ever have trouble letting go? The only time I ever have any trouble letting go of a piece is if it has any kind of sentimental meaning to me at all. If it has spent any time in my house actually being used, then I might hesitate when parting with it. But truth be told, these are all just pieces of furniture. I'm not a terribly sentimental person and I'm happy to move on to the next piece.

The Nate Berkus show really focuses on up-cycled furniture and he talks about flea markets all the time! He has really helped main stream this kind of decorating. Do you watch his show and has his show helped your business at all? I can honestly say I have never seen one episode of his show. I don't have cable TV, and although I used to watch HGTV almost religiously, the fact that it has turned into the Real Estate channel makes me miss it less.

What is you latest restoration passion? Have you discovered anything new and exciting in the world of paints and stains lately? Could we see a few before and after shots? I post a ton of before and after pics on my website. Although I have focused a little more on the barn sale part of my business as of late, I have an archive full of before and after photos of my favorite projects.

I see link parties on lots of different websites these days. What is a "link party" for all of us old people! For bloggers, a link party is a great way to get your latest project out there. Thousands of blogs participate in some of the most popular parties, and the potential for new readers is endless. All you have to do is post a link to your particular project on the page of the person having the link party, and people just click your thumbnail to be redirected to your site. I've gotten tons of new readers this way and have even been featured on some of my favorite blogs!

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk, Tara! You are an inspiration to all of us!

Check out Tara's website at junkrestore.com

Seven, Six, Five - Countdown to Thieves

2011-09-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Opening day at Thieves Market is coming up fast! October 1st this year. We have gotten a lot of applications from new vendors just recently and lots of questions about what to expect at the market. Its hard to explain what you might see so...well...check out these cool photos! It says it all!! Enjoy...

Season 3 Begins!

2011-09-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe we are entering our third year at Thieves Market! Sometimes it seems like we just started and other times it seems like the market has been here for years...a community staple!

When we started Thieves Market, we knew it would be a lot of fun for all and would bring some consistent activity to our fair town. What we did not expect was the unbelievable chain reaction it would have on our community! Evey month we hear stories of people who have met at TM and have formed some kind of relationship whether it be personal or business. It has been a hot bed for creativity, a test market for new products, a vehicle for small businesses to thrive in a crummy economy and best of all, a place where you can socialize while listening to live music and find the coolest dang STUFF in the Valley!!

So...with all of these things in mind, we would like to share with our readers the amazing stories that we hear about connections being made along with the unbelievably GROOVY things we find on a regular basis at Thieves Market! Please feel free to send us your stories and your photos!

So that's it for now! Thanks for checking us out and send us your stories and "Cool Stuff I Found at Thieves Market" photos!

Shop On!

Mickey

Thieves Market

cavecreekthievesmarket.com

Cave Creek Thieves Market

Junk Restore With Tara Finch

Seven, Six, Five - Countdown to Thieves

Season 3 Begins!