When I walk out the door, chances are something I'm wearing is vintage. Whether it's a silk scarf I picked up in a vintage shop in Paris or a thrift store in San Antonio, a pair of 1960's earrings from an estate sale or even one of the vintage designer pieces I scored on eBay or Etsy, my fashion finds are always with me.

The other day I glanced down at the dish on my dresser that holds jewelry and other odds and ends. Looking at the contents, I realized I could draw a map around town connecting the dots from one favorite shop to another.

That's how it is with Treasure Hunters. We see it, we love it, we buy it and we celebrate it.

I wrote about this very thing in the March/April issue of Spokane Cd'A Woman magazine. You can read that column here. And you can always read more about my travels (and my treasure hunting) on my CAMera: Travel and Photo blog.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Spokesman-Review Home Planet and Treasure Hunting columns and blogs and her CAMera: Travel and Photo blog, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

(Image courtesy of Two Women Art & Antiques)

I can't imagine a better weekend to make the short trip to Spangle (just 9 miles from I-90) to the spring Two Women Art & Antiques Barn Bazaar.

In addition to a beautiful drive through the Palouse, you'll get antiques, vintage finds, arts and crafts, homemade goodies and live music all for the $1 admission (Admission proceeds will go to the Moran Prairie Grange resoration project.)

Hours are:

Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm

Sunday: 10 am - 4 pm

Click here for directions and contact information. See you there!

(Photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap)

   When it is time to dress the table for dinner I open the old oak armoire that serves as my linen and china closet and take out the one of the bundles of napkins, table runners and tablecloths I've collected from all over the world.

   Folded and tied with ribbon and stacked in the armoire, the old textiles are more than just pieces of cloth to cover the table or place under the centerpiece. The natural textures and hues, from snowy whilte to soft vanilla to almost burlap-brown, are pleasing to the eye and to the touch. A few pieces are monogrammed, stitched with the initials of the woman who owned them first. Some are sewn with fine stitches and edged in delicate lace. Others are more crudely made, finished with heavy crochet. Some are not decorated at all, simply hemmed lengths of fabric.

   Before I select a piece I run my fingers over the folds and, in my mind, draw a map of the world, connecting one place to another with a trail of purchases. The short piece of very old linen I found in a bin in a Paris shop. The table runner picked up for a song in Biloxi, Mississippi. The woven second-hand souvenirs of trips to Belgium and Germany. The linen tea towel from a thift store in San Antonio. The Irish linen napkins purchased from an antiques shop in Birmingham, Alabama

   These fabrics bring out the hausfrau in me. If the tulips dust them with pollen, or the wine spills or coffee cups leave rings, I shrug. These small sins almost always disappear in the wash. And on the first hot day of summer I soak them in hot water and hang them out to dry and bleach in the sun before bundling them again, tying each stack with a length of white ribbon.

   I am not naturally tidy. I have to work at it. When I open the cabinet I almost always find a jumble of china and crystal and odds and ends that weren't put away properly. Perhaps it is an indication of how much I love these old, worn fabrics, but I take the time and enjoy the ritual of folding and stacking them for the next use. It gives me the opportunity to admire the handiwork of another woman, the beauty of natural things. And each piece reminds me of the place it was discovered and tucked into my suitcase before coming home with me.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance journalist based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country.

CAM is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

When you walk into Roost, the new vintage emporium on Main Avenue and Division, the first thing you'll see is a trunk filled with letters and papers. But what makes the papers so interesting is that they are a lifetime of correspondence, keepsakes and photographs of a woman who moved from France to Spokane after World War II.

Never have I wished I could speak, and especially read, French as when I was pulling out yellowed pieces of onionskin paper and AirMail envelopes covered with small, neat, lines of handwriting.

Owner, Dena Kieffer, told me the contents of the trunk were all from one estate and I spent at least half an hour rummaging through the ephemera.

Finally, when I'd run out of time, I committed to a folded sheet of stationary ($2) and a souvenir postcard book of photographs of the S.S. Normandie. ($12)

I chose the letter because it is the perfect size to scan and save. I'm going to use it for several decorating projects I have in mind.  The postcard book is a miniature history lesson. The elegant French ocean liner was built in 1935 and made 139 crossings to the Untied States before she was seized by the U.S.in 1942 and put into service as the USS Lafayette only to burn and sink in 1942.

The Normandie was one of the last of an era, and as a frequent traveler I love anything to do with the elegant age of transportation.

I brought home my French souvenirs and spent a happy hour or so examining them. The last time I was in Roost, the big box of French memorabelia was still there. I'm tempted to go back and lose myself again in the photos and bits of paper history.

Parlez-vous Junque?

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com
  

(Photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap)

If you were anywhere near the Fox Theater in downtown Spokane Saturday night, you might have noticed men and women in evening wear, wearing elaborate masks as they hurried into the beautiful Art Deco building. It was the Spokane Symphony's first Masquerade Ball and I was there with the rest of the partygoers. It was fun to see the men and women in costume and it was amazing the difference the masks made. Even old friends didn't immediately recognize one another.

Like everyone else I had wanted my mask to stand out, to say something about its wearer. So, after thinking about it for a few days, I went to an unexpect source.

Becky Ellis and Holly Baublitz, of Spokane's All That Glitter, are now located in Pink, the vintage and salvage mecca located just a few blocks from the Fox Theater. Becky's elaborate creations—crowns, wreaths and other exquisite displays crafted of ephemera and found objects—are beautiful one-of-a-kind collages. I've long admired her work and it occurred to me she was the perfect person to make a custom, vintage inspired, mask for the ball.

I stopped into Pink one afternoon and talked to Holly. She asked a few questions about whether I wanted a mask to wear all night or one on a stick that could be worn or carried. I chose the former. I reminded her that I'm not a particularly “blingy” woman, prefering my pearls to over-the-top sparkles. After that, I left everything else to Becky and just waited for the call.

When Holly opened the pink (naturally) box and showed me the mask, I was thrilled. The sepia tones of old Spokesman-Review newspaper pages, clipped and decopaged onto the mask form, accented by ostrich feathers and vintage faux pearls and rhinestones, glowed. A dusting of German glass glitter finished the effect. Just enough sparkle for a ball, but not too much. Rather than an elastic band, Becky had crafted a clever headband to hold it on comfortably.

It was perfect.

On Saturday night I slipped on the mask and joined the party. After the ball, it became a unique piece of handmade art for my home office. Now, every time it catches my eye I smile, celebrating the creative talent of a local artist. And I remember a wonderful night spent benefitting a great cause.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

Once a month I spend a half an hour or so at Spokane Public Radio recording several Home Planet columns for my weekly Sunday Morning Essay program. ( Listen to the Podcast here.)

I always try to make sure I have enough time to record three or four essays and then prowl around the The Vintage Rabbit Antique Mall on the street level of the building, before I have to make the after-school pickup. This was my week to record, and as it happened, it was also my week to discover a great find.

For years I've been picking up old wicker-covered bottles. Long before Pottery Barn decided it was the perfect accessory, I was adding to my collection one old bottle at a time. Today, thanks to a dealer at The Vintage Rabbit, I brought home one more.

It's in great shape, showing the expected wear and age but the wicker is still intact and the exposed lip of the bottle isn't chipped or broken. And the bonus? I paid only $5.50.

Friday is usually a good day. But a sunny Friday with all deadlines met, a great find and a fun weekend ahead is a very good day.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is the author of Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons.  She also blogs at Home Planet and CAMera: A Photo Blog of People and Places. CAM can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

(Photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap)  

   So often when we bring home an antique or a vintage find, we’re left to imagine the history it might have. That’s part of the fun after all, speculating where and when an object might have been used, and in whose hands it might have been. But occasionally, if we’re fortunate, we are gifted with an heirloom with a story that is our own.

   In 2007 I wrote a Mother’s Day Treasure Hunting column for the Spokesman-Review HOME section about an antique wooden crib hanging in my garage. It was, I wrote, the symbol of motherhood for me.

   I’d found the little bed in pieces in my mother-in-law’s basement when I was pregnant with my first child. It had been my husband’s grandmother’s crib when she was born in 1898 and at some time, when households were sold and moved, it had ended up in my mother-in-law’s basement as a family heirloom with no real expectation of ever being used again. But I had to have it and we were fortunate enough to have a family member who was an expert woodworker. He made repairs and reinforced it, adding slats to replace the wire mattress holder, and I can still hear the excitement in his voice when he called to tell me he’d found 1895 written in pencil on one of the pieces. In March of 1985, exactly 100 years after it was signed and dated, we gently placed our newborn daughter in it on the night we brought her home from the hospital.

   That crib served us well for many years. My son and two younger daughters spent their first months in it as well, and when there were no more babies it sat in the youngest daughter’s room for years as a place to hold her stuffed animals and baby dolls. And then, finally, it was put away.

   A lot of splendid finds have come through my house, some to stay and others to be sold or given away when they were no longer useful or necessary. Or, when the big house was sold, when they no longer fit our downsized lives.

   But the little bed was too precious to let slip away, so it was put away until until another generation arrived to claimed it. Which is exactly what has happened.

   My husband climbed the ladder in the garage and lifted it off the hooks on which it had been resting. He brought it into the house and we cleaned and polished the wood and slipped the sheets over the mattress. And last night when my daughter brought our month-old granddaughter over for a visit, as we watched her sleeping in the place her mother had been only a heartbeat ago, it was as if the years were a length of ribbon, tying one generation to another.


Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

(Photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap)  

   I’m in good company, I know, but I have this tendency to put my head on my pillow, completely exhausted by the events of the day, and then find myself wide awake, unable to sleep. The words I couldn’t come up with earlier suddenly pop into my head without warning, or one of my children crosses my mind or I am so excited about a trip or a project my brain is buzzing with ideas. I’ve learned over the years to not fight it. Instead I get up, make a cup of Chamomile tea and sit down in the dark living room, relishing the quiet.

   More often than not, if I am wandering through dark rooms when I should be in bed, I am guided by a small lighted globe that sits on my desk. A thrift store find, it is used as a night light as much as a travel reference.  

   Tonight, as I walked by, I looked down at the globe and noticed the story that could be told with the other items around it.

   The globe is surrounded by a souvenir model of the Eiffel Tower  I brought home from Paris, a clay dish made by one of my children which holds a handful of Euro coins, and a purse-sized pocket atlas, a gift from my daughter last Christmas.

   When I look at the globe at night, shining in a dark corner of the room, I remember the maps and globes of my geography class when I was a girl, the way they intrigued me and opened a world  of possibility, inviting me to explore and dream and go.

   Sleepy at last, the tea finished and the cup rinsed, I headed back to bed. On an impulse, I grabbed the camera that is always sitting on the desk and took a photo. I think I'll put it on my computer to light my hotel room when I travel.

   It’s funny. I’ve brought home so many things over the years. But this little globe means the world to me.



Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com
  

Last week while out making my weekly treasure hunting rounds, I stopped by the Antiquarian, on Division between First and Pacific Avenues.

The antique mall has been a Spokane staple for a number of years and is a place I always recommend when asked where to shop for fine antiques, especially larger pieces of furniture. (I was there because I'm always searching for a set of oak barrister cases to match the ones I have, knowing it's a long shot.)

Before I left I caught sight of a big bowl filled with small crystal and china salt dishes. While a few were priced a bit higher, most were only $6 each.

I snapped a picture and all the way home I thought about the tiny crystal bowls, imagining ways they could be put to use. I remembered seeing an idea on Pinterest for using small berry bowl-sized dishes arranged in a drawer as storage for little odds and ends. What if you were to adapt that idea to a smaller scale?

Tiny crystal salt dishes on a silver tray on a dressing table or in a dresser drawer would make a pretty way to separate and store earrings, necklaces, rings and other pieces of jewelry. On a desk they could be used to hold stamps and paper clips, or to sort coins for parking meter change. If you already have a collection of crystal salts, you could do what the Antiquarian did and fill a big bowl with them. It would make an interesting centerpiece.

Of course, if you're the practical sort, I suppose you could always just fill them with salt and set the table.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

A week or so ago, on my Friday Treasure Hunting rounds, I stopped by Orphaned Decor in the Gonzaga district. I made a quick swing through the shop and was on my way to the car when I stopped for one more look in the front window.

The heart of the display was a large metal crown-shaped centerpiece. Since exploring the American Southwest and the beautiful old cathedrals in Europe, I've had a thing for the ornamental crowns one might find on the figures of saints. The antiques, many centruries old, are expensive and rare, but there are plenty of reproductions and adaptations around. I'm often tempted but, as I always say when writing about my finds, whatever follows me home must have some practical use. I just don't have the room for (or any love of) clutter.

The thing that appealed to me about the crown-like object in the window was its size. The piece was big enough to make a nice display feature without getting lost on a tabletop. And, because it was essentially a round tray with an ornamental canopy, it could be used in any number of ways. So I put it right to work.

Guests were coming that evening so I pulled a pillar candle out of the closet and then poured the rest of the nuts from the holidays (my kids always like to have them around) around the candle and put it on the coffee table. The golden hues of the almonds and other nuts echo the neutral colors and textures I like so much, and they keep the candle from sliding as I move the container. A few days later I moved it to the dining table to replace the orchid that was no longer blooming. Right now it's on a ceramic Chinese garden stool in the master bathroom.

I can see the container filled with excelsior and my hens' brown eggs for easter. Or overflowing with the hundreds of agates I've brought home from the Oregon coast over the years.

So often, when chasing the next great find, we rush in the front door and forget to take a closer look at the window display. I guess the lesson is that everything is worth a second look. Sometimes that's how you bring home the crown.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

The best finds are not only bargains that catch the eye and stimulate the imagination. The real treasures are objects that are useful.

Years ago I spotted this wooden box in a Spokane thrift store. It is basic and beautiful, solidly constructed out of tongue-in-groove pine with traces of white paint. At some point someone attached modern casters to the bottom so it rolls smoothly.

Over the years the box has served many purposes in my home. I've filled it with magazines, used it to hold firewood and even stacked wrapped gifts in it under the Christmas tree. These days it holds three Pottery Barn Kilim floor pillows that are used as extra seating when the house is full of company, as it was last weekend, or to stack by the fireplace for a warm and cozy place to sit by the fire and read.

Now, with the birth of my first grandchild, I can see a new life for the old box. Soon it will be used to hold toys and books for a little girl I am hoping will spend many happy hours with me.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet , Treasure Hunting and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

(Photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap)   

    The little book, dated 1894, caught my eye. With its rich turquoise, red, and gold filigree cover and the title “About Women: What Men Have Said” it was impossible to resist.

    I couldn’t help but wonder who had purchased it first. Was it some heartsick young man, seeking to find in the words of the poets what he couldn’t find a way to express on his own? Or, perhaps, a long-married man in search of a romantic token for an anniversary. It might have been a mother, hoping to curb the rebellious tendencies of a wayward daughter by reminding her of the virtues most desired at the time by the opposite sex. There was no inscription or message on the flyleaf so I’ll never know the book’s journey before it arrived at Anita Trinkle’s new shop “Eye Candy,” but it doesn’t matter. The book, wrapped in tissue and with a scrap of lace as a bookmark, came home with me.

    Even in an age of constant wireless communication, there is something about a beautiful book that is hard to resist. And the little volume filled with verse and scraps of poetry singing the praises of the “fairer sex” is a peek into an age when women were valued for their purity, demure manner and motherliness above everything else.
.
    Organized by months of the year, each day of the month features a few flowery lines from poets and authors like Shakespeare, Ruskin, Thackeray and Byron.  Flipping through the pages, I stopped, for no particular reason, on August 18. The passage for the day was from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

    “The glance of a woman resembles certain wheels which are apparently gentle but are formidable…You come, you go, you dream, you speak, you laugh, and all in a minute you feel yourself caught, and it is all over with you.
The wheel holds you, and the glance has caught you.”

    Ah. Obviously, as the book makes clear page after page, there forces that never change. And, as was the case with the book in my hands now, love at first glance is nothing new under the sun.


If you go:
Eye Candy Antiques
3017 N. Monroe Street, Spokane, WA 99205
509-434-8146
Mon. - Sat:10:00 am-5:00 pm

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance writer based in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her Home Planet and  CAMera: Travel and Photo blogs, her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com
  

(Photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap)

We all have our own way of traveling. Some want to hop on a bus and then hop off at the next big attraction. Others like to explore on their own. Some prefer to watch the world at every new place from the comfort of a sidewalk cafe, cappuccino on the table in front of them.

I go for all of the above. But one way I visit any new place is to try to keep one eye open for a secondhand store. A place the locals go for odds and ends. And it always surprises me how often those quirky little places are right in the middle of things.

I was just in Belgium, spending a few days in Brussels, and one afternoon as I was making my way back to the hotel after having walked through the Gallery and across the Grand-Place, I noticed a little shop at the end of one of the narrow streets. It was full of students and young adults.

I walked in and discovered it was a vintage clothing store. There were the usual racks of 70s sweaters and glittery evening gowns but I spotted several wool jackets hanging near the front door. They were vintage military jackets made of heavy wool and they were beautifully tailored, nipped in at the waist and subtly ornamented with red-trimmed epaulets, looking more like a designer piece than surplus. I tried one on and it fit as though it had been made for me. Sold.

 At the back of the store there was a big pile of luggage, duffles and carry-on bags. Just what a student would need to get home after a long semester. Most were vinyl or fabric, but tucked under a big plaid bag I could see the edge of what turned out to be a buttery leather satchel. I pulled it out and took a closer look. It had obviously been used but it was in good condition. There were a few marks but no scratches or tears. There was a luggage tag and in it was the name and address of the physician who’d carried it. Sold again.

Treasure hunters know that there is a vibe that goes out when you find something really good. Suddenly, people were coming over to look over my shoulder, admiring the bag. A few followed me, waiting to see if I would put it down, ready to grab it if I did.

My last find was a beautiful silk scarf, my favorite travel souvenir. I have dozens of them and wear one every day.

I paid for my finds, 60 euros for a vintage wool jacket, gorgeous leather satchel and beautiful silk scarf, and walked back to the hotel.

I filled the satchel with all the Belgian chocolate I was bringing home to my family and carried it aboard each plane. It was heavier and not as easy to maneuver as my usual Swiss Gear rolling bag, but it had a certain style. And every time I look at it I’ll be reminded of one happy hour in a funky little shop in a grand old European city.
  

Cheryl-Anne Millsap writes for The Spokesman-Review and is a contributing editor at Spokane Metro Magazine. Her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

If you need an infusion of shabby, chipped, re-purposed and recycled creativity in your home, today's Junk Salvation Show and vintage market may be just the ticket.

Vendors will be selling vintage furniture, textiles, home-goods and other funky finds and, as always, there will be plenty of fun for everyone.

Where: Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

When: Today, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m.

    I try to travel light. I don’t like a lot of luggage and I don’t bring a lot home with me. In fact, most of my souvenirs tend to be things for my children. But my weakness gets me every time. Textiles. I love fabrics, especially vintage fabrics.
    I recently spent a week in Iceland. I was on my own and had no itinerary or agenda. I wandered the streets in any direction I chose.
    On one street, just off the main shopping district in Reykjavik, I noticed a small red building, decorated with a red cross. I could see the words, in English, “Second Hand.”
    My kind of place.
    I opened the door and walked in. The tiny shop was full of locals looking through the racks of hand-knitted Icelandic wool sweaters. The sweaters were beautiful but what caught my eye was a bundle of fabric in the window.
    I tried to get the attention of the two women working in the store but neither spoke English. Finally, a young woman realized I needed help and translated for me. She had the women bring out the fabric so I could get a closer look.They were four old woven flax or linen curtain panels in a soft, golden, natural color. They were clean, soft (obviously laundered many times) and in wonderful condition.
    “How much?” I asked.
    The young woman asked the two older women.
    We finally determined that there were four curtain panels at $8 U.S dollars each.
    “Not much, eh?” the young woman asked with a smile.
    “No,” I said. “Not much at all.”
    I measured the panels and realized that there were at least 8 yards of wonderful fabric selling for much less than it all would have cost in an American shop. Vintage European fabrics are very popular now and can command high prices in antique shops or at flea markets.
    “I’ll take it,” I said, gesturing to the women.
    They wrapped the fabric in paper and I carried it out of the store.
    Of course, when it was time to leave my luggage was considerably fatter. Not only two bulky Icelandic sweaters (one purchased later at the same shop) crammed in, but eight yards of fabric, as well.
    The remarkable thing? When I got home I discovered the curtain panels were exactly right for the two large windows in my living room and dining room.
    I haven’t hung them yet. I don’t know if I will. I may repurpose the fabric in some way. But simply looking at the material gives me pleasure. Every time I see it I remember my adventure in Iceland and how I brought home a suitcase full of vintage gold.

(To see a photo of the fabric, click Continue Reading)

Cheryl-Anne Millsap writes for The Spokesman-Review. Her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

(photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap) 

   This weekend, if you want to have it both ways, you’re in luck. For those of you who love to spend hours trolling for vintage bargains each spring at the Custer’s Antique and Collector’s Sale, but would really love to know just how much that family heirloom Great Aunt Sadie left you is worth, the Spokane Fair and Expo Center can provide one-stop entertainment.

   The 13th annual Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture's Antique Appraisal Days will be held at the Custer’s sale again this year.

   Experts and qualified appraisers will be available both days to consult. Items are limited to hand-carried items only and no firearms are musical instruments are permitted. The cost is only $5 per item (Limit 5 items per person) and all proceeds will go to the ongoing restoration and support of the historic Campbell House.

   I’ve been to a number of the MAC Appraisal Days and I always have a good time. It’s fun to see what people bring in and there are always surprises and unexpected discoveries. And, if you pick up a great treasure at the sale and would like to know more about what you’ve found, well, the experts will be just around the corner.

Details:
When: Saturday April 30: 10am-7pm and Sunday May 1: 11am-5pm
Where: Spokane Fair and Expo Center
Fees: Admission to Custer’s Antique and Collector’s Sale is $6.
  

Take one Air Force kid with a Moroccan mother, mix travel, careers in nursing and graphic design, stir in a big romance and a love of antiques and you have the story of Kris Mack.

After graduating from Eastern Washington University, a stint in nursing, graphic design and marrying back into the military, Kris Mack landed back in Spokane. And she’s landed with style. She's working with partner Wendy Allen and their new shop, Artemis, is opening this weekend.

I was able to get her attention long enough to answer a few questions about the road to Spokane and what we can expect from Artemis.


What brought you to Spokane?

“(My husband) Brian received orders in 2009 to Fairchild AFB where he is a pilot in the KC-135.  We moved here in January of 2010. My parents now live in the Tri-Cities, so it's nice that they are close.”


What made you decide to start a business here and open a store?

“With my own business, I could create an environment of positive energy and help other people.  I learned these principles from my own grandparents in Israel. My grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Morocco and they owned shops there.  My grandmother Simi had a restaurant.  I don't know that grandma ever made a dime from her cooking.  They fed Muslims, Christians and Jews and really lived this incredible life.   They touched a lot of people's lives regardless of religion with their generosity and sense of community.  This shop symbolizes so much for me.” 


What can we expect from Artemis?

“You'll see a lot of new artists, funky antiques, vintage clothing, upcycled furniture and an expanding clothing and jewelry line.  Artemis supports local artistry and craft. One hundred percent of our new clothing, jewelry, furniture and art is made in the USA.  We are committed to spending our dollars locally, buying wholesale from and promoting new designers from the USA.”

How did you find just the right vendors for your store?

“The deal with local vendors was really serendipitous.  Last year I bought a desk from Al and Lynda Rogers of Yesterday and Today Antiques and I just kept coming back.  Once we had begun construction on the shop, I heard that they were closing up and it just gutted me.  I sent Al a quick note and asked him to get in touch with me and from there we had a series of conversations that lead to them putting their antiques in our shop!  I started searching for other vendors. I found Ronni Ryno of Glamarita and Kadra Evans of  Assassin Apparel.  I just sent them a note and they responded.
I found Jessica Fouche and Rachel O'Brien on Etsy.  Artemis will have their jewelry and soaps and lotions.  
 I also met a lovely woman, Judy Rosier of Frosting, that will be providing Artemis with our free cupcakes on Saturday.  We are also looking into carrying some items from Gladys Hanning of Junebug.”  

With Artemis launched, what’s next?

“Our new website artemishop.com coming in 6 months We also have  a daughter business called 'Pickn' Chicks.'  We will sell your estate (buy your estate in some cases) or help you clean out your garage, barn, house.  We're developing that side of the business currently.”


Artemis Grand Opening Details
Where:3109 N. Monroe
When: Saturday, April 16
Hours: Mon - Fri: 10 am - 5:30 pm; Sat: 9 am- 5:30 am; Sun: 11am-5:00 pm
For more information call: 509 995 8860  
(Vendor inquiries welcome)


Cheryl-Anne Millsap writes for The Spokesman-Review. Her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com
  

Put away that list of spring chores. Forget about cleaning out the garage and tidying up the basement. It's time to go out and play.  And by that I mean out to Chattaroy for the Spring Funky Junk sale.

The sale is going on this weekend at the Irish Dance Hall Grange in Chattaroy and Hollie Jantz Eastman and Jennifer Wood have filled the hall with all kinds of treasures of her own and other dealers. Hollie's been posting tempting photos on her blog and so has Jennifer.

I drove out to the sale last year and took a few photos (I even snapped a few local treasure hunters with happy hands) and I can't wait to do a little treasure hunting again this year.

Here is the list of this year's vendors:

Apropos (Kathy Simmons)
BallyHoo Girl (Christy Dunham)
bizi (Jamie Anderson/Paris Flea Market, CD'A)
A Brush Stroke Away (Denny Wuesthoff)
The Catalog (Ashley Reynolds)
Hudson's Holidays (Shirley Hudson)
Iona's Antiques (Traci Brush)
Junebug Furniture and Design (Gladys & Celia Hanning of the Mad Hatter Flea Market)
Joey Vintage (Shawna Moran/Jenna Burgener)
Joy Harvest (Funky Junk Hollie Eastman & mom Gail Jantz)
LadyBird Jewelry (Erin Campbell)
Nestting (Ann Caster)
Orphaned Decor (Leslie Willmann)
Out of the Woods (Tudy Kvenbo)
Pauper's Candle Company (Krista Webber) Playhouse Soaps (Funky Junk Jennifer Wood)
ReVamp (Dore Schiller)
Rustic Radiance/Burnett Photography (Cary Burnett-our photographer!!)
Rusty Pine Junk Co. (Barbara Ackerman)
Shabby Stems Furnishings (Holly Dalke)
Scout Vintage Clothing & Accessories (Robyn Pirie)
Sisters Creed (Kristin Johnson & crew)
Sophia's/Angel's Attic (Kristen Dobsen/Linda & Jon Gardner)
Touched by Time (Kathy White)
Two Women Art & Antiques (Dianna & Fielding Chelf of the Two Women Barn Bazaar)
Unexpected Necessities (Jennifer Walker)
The Vintage Show (Coquille Gallagher)
The Wren Nest (Nicole Froemming/Vicki Penna)
Yesterday's Connection (Funky Junk Jennifer Wood)
  

The details:
Funky Junk Spring Antique Show and Sale
When: April 9 & 10, 10 a.m.—4 p.m.
Where: Irish Dance Hall Grange: 8216 E. Big Meadows Rd. Chattaroy, WA 99003

Directions: Go north on Newport Hwy (which becomes Hwy 2.) Follow Hwy 2 past Cat Tails and turn right on Elk-Chattaroy Rd. (at the Solid Waste Transfer Station).Right on to Big Meadows Rd for three miles. Look for the pretty pink signs!

Admission: $2 (kids 12 and under get in free)

Dear Cheryl-Ann,
I have read everything you’ve written since I moved to Spokane in 2002. I especially love your pieces on antiques. I’m a true collector and find myself drawn to flea markets and thrift stores. I can spend hours looking and imagining how I would recreate a rusted piece and find a place of honor for it in my garden. Everything in my house has a story.
I loved your “Home” section especially your Treasure columns and I wish I had saved more of them. I recently discovered your blog was back and couldn’t wait to write you. Glad to see you back.
Who knows, maybe we will meet at a sale some time ~ Kathy.
 

Dear Kathy,
Thanks for the sweet note and the kind words. You made my day. Thanks for reading and for following the blog. I’ve decided to post several of my favorite Treasure Hunt columns from HOME. Hope you like seeing them again.
Let’s not wait for a happy coincidence. Let’s make a date to say hello at the next big sale. See you there!
CAM

Treasure Hunt

It’s difficult to turn down a good read
By Cheryl-Anne Millsap
This piece was previously published in The Spokesman-Review.

    My books, some of which have been with me since childhood, are as beloved to me as a few of the people I know and care about. And I turn to them almost as often.
    There is comfort in the faded illustrations, the dog-eared pages and worn bindings. And the familiar words.
    I like to have those books nearby, on a shelf by a comfortable chair or stacked on a table beside a lamp, so that when the mood strikes, I can tuck into a book of poetry or a quaint reference volume on botany or birds or travel. Or, I can revisit a character from a favorite novel.
    I have a friend who uses old books to decorate every room of her house.
    “I could drown in old books,” she once told me. “I love the way they look and the way they feel in your hand.”
    Old cookbooks line the shelves in her big kitchen. Biographies and memoirs are stacked in the sitting room.
    Each time I go to her house, usually to have a meal, I am drawn to the books she has chosen to keep. Sometimes, I pick up one and sit down to read a bit. Eventually someone misses me and calls me back to the kitchen, but no one can blame me.
    The smell of good food, the sound of laughter and the warmth of books bound in cracked leather are the secret ingredients to her hospitality.
    I love books, but like everything else, I try to keep only the ones that mean the most to me. So, occasionally, I edit. I pick those I think my friends might like and send them along. Or, I drop off books at fundraisers and used bookstores. If we’re having a garage sale, I always have a box of two of books to sell.
    Books come and go. But some stay forever.
    Those are the old friends I love the most

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance columnist for The Spokesman-Review. Her essays can be heard on Spokane Public Radio and on public radio stations across the country. She is the author of “Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons” and can be reached at catmillsap@gmail.com

You know there's  a diamond in the sandbox. Somewhere. All you have to do is find it.

That's what it feels like to shop for one small thing in a crowded market or antiques show. There are so many things to look at, there is so much to catch your eye, it's hard not to be distracted and overwhelmed. Treasure hunting takes patience and persistence. You have to be willing to reach in and feel your way. Ah, but when you find what you've been searching for, it is all worthwhile.

Last weekend, at the Farm Chicks show, I spent a couple of hours shopping for two small cards. I had a couple of special thank-you notes I wanted to write and I wanted the paper they were written on to capture completely the spirit of the message. I knew that somewhere in the packed booths filled with everthing from furniture to fly-fishing poles, I would surely find two perfect cards or the materials to make my own.

I looked at a lot of possibilities: Funky vintage greeting cards and sweet antique postcards. Colorful retro children's flash cards with charming illustrations. Bits of vintage wallpaper. Scraps of ribbon. Old notebooks, yellowed with age.

Finally, stepping into Amy Prince's “Clothespin Cards” booth, I knew I could stop searching.  Prince, a creative crafter who lives near Portland, OR, mixes lively words, vintage paper and fabric and tons of creativity and the result is a fun selection of paper goods.

I selected two tiny notebooks made of vintage paper board bound with bookbinding tape and decorated with a quote absolutely perfect for the short handwritten message I would add. The hunt was over.

Now, the rest is up to me.

Cheryl-Anne Millsap is a freelance columnist for The Spokesman-Review. You can reach her at catmillsap@gmail.com

You can find more Clothespin Cards on Etsy.