Some dairy for me!

by the Artist

We are just back from our annual fall camping weekend. It always takes effort to get there. The Carpenter has to make sure our current projects are in order before he can take off. I always wonder if we will really get to go. Just about anything can come up. I breathe a sigh of relief when we shut the camper door and head off down the road.

Only recently have we been able to get cell phone signals from the camp. We used to have to drive to the bridge or take the boat out on the lake to find a weak signal. A few more towers must have been built because that is no longer the case. Darn. Now the Carpenter can keep in contact with our crew and customers. He does try and keep it to a minimum though which I'm grateful for. 

We camped in the best spot in the campground. We had a grand view of the lake. We enjoyed many fires, good food, a trip out to the "Robin's Nest" for breakfast and a couple of trips into the town of Hayward.

The highlight for me was visiting West's Dairy (ice cream/coffee shop) while visiting Hayward. I'm reading a book called "Scoop" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0873519434?keywords=scoop%2C%20notes%20from%20a%20small%20ice%20cream%20shop&qid=1444682987&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 about two guys from London who bought the dairy and revamped the business. It was so fun to "see" what I am reading about. We met the new owner (not the author of the book. Sad to say he sold the dairy in May) and we also met Vivian who has worked at the Dairy for a number of years. She was a blast to talk to and gave us some behind the scene stories. 

I'm not normally the type to introduce myself nor seek this sort of adventure out. I'm really quite shy. As we entered the door the Carpenter who is not shy asked if the guy behind the counter was the owner. That broke the ice for me. I'm glad that the Carpenter is a "people" person. He is just very friendly and interested in hearing people's stories. (he takes after his Dad that way)

We enjoyed some really good made on the premises ice cream- me Maple Nut and Mint Chocolate Chip for the Carpenter. 

Back at the lake on our last day a couple drove up to our site. They have camped on the site for the past 27 years. Always the second week in June. They are Wisconsin Dairy farmers. Do I see a theme here? They wanted to see the site in full fall color. They weren't disappointed. They are very sentimental about their time at Lake Chip. Probably more sentimental then us and that is saying a lot.

We headed home under glorious skies yesterday. I'm ready to tuck the camper in for it's long winter's nap. I'm surprised about this. Usually I get choked up just crossing the bridge over the lake. I think I'm ready and anticipating a busy prosperous fall. I hope you are too!


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Just pick up that brush!

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by the Artist

I started. I didn't want to write about this till I knew it would stick. I'm painting that mountain of furniture in the cabinet shop. I picked a sale date and I'm now painting every chance I get. But.. I do not think the date is realistic for how much work there is to do. I feel rather desparate.

For those of you who do not know… two years ago or so I decided to start a tiny division of Applewood which I named "A Painted Apple". My plan… sell selected pieces of furniture through this website to boost traffic (just being honest here), and scratch a creative itch.

I had no idea what I was getting into. No. Idea. Notta. Nope. I don't know myself very well. I don't like to paint (walls and old furniture mostly). Really. I don't like old furniture. I grew up in a house full of antiques. They smelled. They were ugly (to my youngness) and they were everywhere. I slept in a four poster bird's eye maple rope bed which sagged terribly. I had a "school masters" desk, I had (and this was the worst… a "chamber pot" that featured soaring bluebirds sitting right by my bed and it smelled faintly of ammonia.) It was hideous to me. I have no idea why I didn't remove it from my room. We had "indoor plumbing". I wanted all matching white brand new bedroom furniture. I did not care that my dresser featured hand painted beautiful flowers on the front of the drawers. 

It has taken me two years to decide to move forward. And I have to admit.. the Carpenter's threats to put the furniture out on the curb spurred me on, along with the unexpected demise of my car (I need the funds). And.. I don't quit anything that I start. You can ask the Carpenter about that.

My main issue with painting the furniture was I did not have a vision for it. I could not see it finished. I didn't want to copy anyone else. I was paralyzed with possibility. Three things helped me over this huge creative block. I ran across a blog called The Weathered Door. http://www.theweathereddoor.com/before-and-after I just loved the colors. They resonated with me. I thought.. I can do this. And second. This past weekend after trial and error with subpar wax.. I drove to "Mama's Happy" http://www.mamashappy.com and bought good wax and "studied" the chalk painted (a painting technique very popular right now) furniture that was for sale. I was making it harder then it needed to be. And three… support.  Some good friends and family are picking up a brush to help in the trenches. I can do this.  

Yesterday I had made real progress for the first time. I got paint on five pieces. First coat. I filled my brush with a color called "Gambol Gold" which I had researched. It has been one of Sherwin Williams most popular golds. I can see why. It made me sing. Inside. Not out loud. 

I want to finish this post and get out to the shop to paint! This is a miracle. Is it enough of a miracle to make the sale date? Not sure. Right now it's a secret sale. In my heart. If I pull this off you will be the first to know. Pinky swear.

 

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For real.

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by the Artist

C&A_test.jpg

At a recent interview the Carpenter was asked if there really was an "Artist and Carpenter". The Carpenter looked at the guy and said.. are you serious? You are looking at the "Carpenter". It made me think about that. What is obvious to us isn't ever as obvious to someone else. And in this digital age.. what you see on a screen is not necessarily real or true. 

Well I just pinched myself. I am real and as of this morning.. the Carpenter is too. I am an artist- trained in graphic design. I now work in our company doing all the marketing, and I assist with any design needs for our projects. And the Carpenter has been pounding nails and loving what he does since age 18. We are married. We work every day to make it in this digital world, to be a presence, to keep the work that we do relevant and hopefully from time to time.. fleetingly interesting to you.

This week we started a large exterior remodel. Click on this link to see the album I set up on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.924098774343969.1073741922.342655239154995&type=3 These are our favorite type of projects. We are excited to share with you. Prior to starting this project we both spent quite some time meeting with the homeowners to gather information, present design concepts– to be given the opportunity to partner with them to achieve the goals for their home. This is a huge responsibility. We are up for it!

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Tuning in.

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by the Artist

I love the show "Flipping Out" on Bravo. Mostly because I get to see how Jeff Lewis the owner relates to his employees, and how he manages multiple projects at the same time. I particularly love Jenni his main assistant. I admire her sass and how she handles the subcontractors and clients. The show for me is more about human interactions then the end product. 

Recently I watched an episode where Jeff and crew were updating a home's interior from the walls (remodeling) to the furniture (interior design). Towards the end of the project Jeff realized that the homeowner wasn't happy with how the project was turning out. But his wife was very happy. 

I suddenly saw behind the obvious of the episode. I couldn't believe that it had gone that far in the project. Who wasn't really listening? Did they sit down and talk prior to the project start? Or did they all just get caught up in the momentum of the process. Jeff and his crew were syncing with the wife on all the design decisions. But the husband wasn't and had checked out of the process. And it appeared that no one took the time to ask him what was going on– they knew he was unhappy but didn't deal with the elephant in the room. Yet. At least this is how it appeared from how the situation was presented. 

I thought about this. What if this happened to us? I would feel terrible. What did I miss? It made me pause. It confirmed to me that we always need to "know" our customers before any larger project begins. To have a clear understanding of what they like, don't like, what their "style" or lack thereof is, what their dreams are for their home. We do this. I do this before I offer a single suggestion, sketch or wall color.

The issue on this episode was resolved. An honest conversation ensued where Jeff and the wife admitted that they had neglected including the husband in on the decisions, and had ignored his apparent unhappiness. And the husband was honest about how he had been feeling– that he felt like a stranger in a home he no longer knew– all his favorite things gone–replaced by sleek contemporary. From that point things improved. The husband was given the voice to choose what he wanted. And ironically in being given the freedom to choose he came around to embrace the newly designed interior, along with a comfy chair for his office!

So here's to starting off right. Staying in communication and always checking in, and mostly.. listening.



Making of a carpenter.

by the Artist

I was at the library recently and this title caught my eye "Hammer Head: the making of a Carpenter" by Nina MacLaughlin. I brought it home. It's the story of a newspaper journalist who made a decision which changed the trajectory of her life.

"I used to be a journalist. Now I work as a carpenter. The transformation, like the renovation of a kitchen, happened first in big bashing crashes and now has slowed as it gets closer to complete. In college, I studied English and Classics and engaged in the abstractions of ancient history and literary theory. A journalism job followed, and with it, continued interactions with intangibles (the internet, ideas, telling stories with words.) The world around me, material reality— the floors and cabinets, the tables, decks and bookcases— all of it was real enough to knock or kick, but it was an afterthought, taken for granted, obscured by the computer's glow. After nearly a decade working at a desk in front of a screen, I longed to engage in the tangible, to do work that resulted in something I could touch, I grew more interested in making a desk then sitting at one".

I dare say there aren't many stories on this subject! Not only making the choice to change a career path from words to wood, but also being a woman choosing this. I don't know any female carpenters. I think Nicole Curtis of HGTV's Rehab Addict is the only female carpenter I am aware of. And I think for her.. it's more about saving older homes and rescue dogs!

I have often thought about getting more involved with the business. But not as a carpenter- I don't have the physical strength nor the mathematical abilities. No I think in terms of helping to manage the projects- like Jenni on Bravo's Flipping Out. She checks in at the projects and keeps track of details, she helps to maintain the best interests and vision of Jeff the owner. I can see myself doing that. It would help the Carpenter when we have multiple projects going (which we currently do). But… I realize I need to know the craft and the business. I need to at least have a solid working knowledge of what I'm checking. I do think popping in at a job site unexpectedly would be a good thing. At the very least I can get some nice pics!

I'm already gaining insight in the first chapters of this book as the budding carpenter learns the trade– all the ups and downs. She knew absolutely nothing. I'm seeing the craft anew through her eyes. She is making me appreciate the smallest of details. Her story is engaging because she IS good with words. I believe her creative abilities will be an asset to her job. On vacation this past summer I watched our lead Carpenter Adam paint a rock. He saw the rock as a turtle and painted the most beautiful exquisitely detailed shell. Subtle shades of ochre and sand. I had no idea he could paint like that. That is why he is good with details– he makes sure everything fits exactly. Yes being creative is an asset to being a carpenter.

We are currently looking for a new carpenter to join our team. It would be fun to meet a female carpenter. They must be out there. In the meantime we will keep looking and I will be seriously considering how to assist the Carpenter more. I did already suggest starting to do project check-ins.. the Carpenter was at least open to the idea.

I will end this post with one last passage from the book that symbolizes to me the joy in what we do.

"We'd built a way to get from the door down to the ground, a passage and a place to pause, to pile groceries, to stomp snow off boots on the way inside. What a thing!"

Yes what a thing!

 

Blue memories.

by the Artist

I received an unexpected gift last week. I invited the Carpenter's cousin over for dinner. We are creative sisters who like to hang out from time to time. She had wanted to paint something for me for awhile but just never got around to it. Unexpected gifts are so fun. And a gift that is hand crafted is that much more special isn't it? When someone takes time out of their busy life to think of you. 

As soon as I saw the painting I was overwhelmed and flooded with memories. It is a painting of the laundry room window at the last spec home we built. I loved that window. It happily lit up the interior of the laundry room. I bugged the Carpenter to add an extra detail- the window box. Now adding a window box to a spec home is frivolous really. It doesn't add to the value and only adds to the cost in both time and materials. 

Well I got my wish. And just in time for spring.. I filled it with the most cheerful magenta cascading petunias. It made me happy just looking at it. Well that window box certainly did not speed up the sale of the house. It had gone on the market at the cusp of the national housing market crisis.

A year before when the Carpenter brought me to see the sad little cottage, that sat where the Blue House now sits, I walked in and looked out a tiny window. There was the lake sparkling at the end of the street. I was hooked. Beyond hooked. I swallowed the hook. It would take surgery to remove it. Well figuratively speaking.

We moved forward with our plans. The Carpenter built the house to sell. I built it to live in. My blue dream. I picked out every single detail from the roof to the floor. We designed the floor plan together. It was exhilarating. Secretly I continued to plan to move in. I was enamored with the small town lifestyle. I could step out my front door and walk anywhere to many interesting destinations very safely. I could walk to the post office, or to the lake or crash the weddings at the gazebo at the park (which the Snack Manager and I did quite regularly) or sit enjoying conversation with neighbors. It would be like living in a warm hug.

Eventually we moved into the what we call "The Blue House" so I could stage it. I convinced the Carpenter that sitting empty and unloved was not helping matters. So we packed up many of our belongings and moved in. I was in heaven. Blue heaven. The Carpenter… well not so much. He knew the clock was ticking. And tick on it did!

The first and only Christmas we lived there I looked out my window one day at dusk.. there was a family walking down the middle of the street pulling a tiny sled with a small Christmas tree.. snow was falling lightly. I thought I had died and landed in a Norman Rockwell painting!

The plusses of the house not selling were very few but significant to me. I gained lifelong friends, I got to enjoy the fruit of our labor- a fine designed incredible home, I got to live the small town lifestyle if even for a very short while, and I did learn a lot from the entire experience both good and bad.

Well the house did sell and we packed up and moved back to our "real" home. It took awhile to recover from "surgery". I felt like my heart and soul was ripped out when we had to leave that house. I could barely look at it. One day I was across the street at a friends house and I could see through the living room windows the late afternoon sun streaming in the front door… the soft golden light. I wasn't there.. but I was there. It was a huge ache that has taken me years to get over.

But I'm healed. I appreciate my "real" home and have left my blue dream behind. I know now that my home is where the Snack Manager and the Carpenter live. That is where my heart lives.

 

 
 

by the Carpenter

The good, the bad, and the ugly. Ok, Ok, I know you have missed me! Have not been around again for over two months. The Artist has once again threatened things if I don’t write. Its not that I don’t want to write, it’s just been a good, bad and ugly stretch of time.

The good has been like this:
In April, work started coming in and it has not stopped. If you read this blog, you remember the oak tree project. That was in between regular work. In between regular work was all the meetings and bidding. Well it has not stopped since.

The good:  
Fun jobs, interesting customers, lots of referrals.

The good:
Unexpected jobs coming in between the expected jobs.

The good:
Had our usual week at the lake.

The good:
It won't be long before we will be scheduled up to Christmas.

The good:
We sold our boat.

And we have some bad (well maybe just not so good):
Still looking for help. We are in need of at least one experienced remodeler, maybe two.

The bad (not so good):
Not many guys out there looking for work, good for them, bad for those who need them.

The Bad (not so good):
The snack manager blew out her ACL the second day of vacation. She spent a cool week in the air-conditioned camper. Me, I spent the week lifting that 60 pound load up and down the camper steps.

The bad (not so good):
We sold our boat (it was a sad day, but good now).

The bad (not so good):
Schedules are getting harder and harder to keep. Had a sub get injured, and another not able to give the time in September we were hoping for.

And the ugly:
As you know, again if you have been reading here. The business over the years has taken a toll on a certain carpenter. The shoulders have been getting progressively worse and I think this coming winter will be the time we make the change for me to transition from carpenter to full time manager. I shouldn’t say it’s the ugly. It should be a good thing if it gives me the time to heal and turn over responsibilities to others on the crew. Its only ugly when it hurts.

I can say the good really out weighs the bad and the ugly. It’s always worth it to see the glass as always half full, not half empty. We always find a way to figure things out. Customers for the most part understand the scheduling challenges we can run into and employees and subs know when its time to kick things in high gear, and go the extra mile or two to get the job done.

So, forget about the bad and the ugly, its all good!

 

 

 

 

 

goodbye tiny camper...

by the Artist

Last night I watched our tiny 5th wheel drive away. I felt sad. Even though we made the decision to sell it in order to buy a bit larger and bit newer rv… I still felt sad. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted my very own "playhouse".. well this was my playhouse. It certainly fit the criteria. It was 19' long with no slide! Cozy. We bought it back in 2006 quite used and not very loved. I gave it new life. 

I covered the window valances with an updated fabric, sewed curtains and the loft privacy curtain, from striped canvas curtain panels from Target. (I asked the Carpenter if we could replace the countertops, flooring and carpet- they were all a lovely shade of mauve. I wanted to update the cabinet hardware too. This didn't happen.) I decided to embrace the mauve and pale pink countertops by introducing navy blues, reds, burgundy's and hints of gold.

Every time we camped I would bring decor items from our house, even towels to match my color palette. I loved to create our home away from home on a budget. It was challenging and it was fun! 

We enjoyed our camping vacations for 10 summers and falls in that tiny house on wheels. We made do and then some. I burned scented candles (to get rid of the winter dryer sheet odor-which keeps mice out) and brought in little table lights. (I have overdone it with outside canopy lights… this past summer I had so many lights going it was a beacon for about 10 miles out for all bugs in the area… was a long night swatting the lovelies who decided to spend the night in our camper. Nothing like waking up with squashed bugs on the pillow!)

But this summer the Carpenter and I realized that we needed an easier set-up and a larger space. (our snack manager can not jump up on the bed or sofa anymore and we had no floorspace for her to sleep).

So a couple of weekends back I removed all our stuff, deep cleaned and staged for sale photos. We had that tiny used camper sold within 24 hours with a bid war to boot! We were simply amazed. The Carpenter said it was because of the size- easy to tow a boat and the price. I knew better.. it was the staging. I just know it. I've never seen a camper staged like a model home. And of all things.. stage an old tiny camper?? Crazy. Call me crazy. It worked.

Tomorrow we head to look at a potential camper to buy. I look forward to making it home. It's a bit bigger and a bit newer. The snack manager will have room to spread out, we will not have to use the table area for a bed… it will be a very good thing. 

I look forward to the challenge ahead. It won't be quite the same challenge and I will sort of miss that… but it will be fun to make it ours. 

Don't ever think staging doesn't help sell. Or that there is no value in that. It does.

PS We sold our fishing boat too. I told the Carpenter that if it hadn't sold I would have been happy to "stage" it for him. A pack of beer, some fishing poles placed just so. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't get a chance to do this!

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Thirsty anyone?

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by the Artist