The Life of The Vintage Bricoleurs

Some Details:

(Some of us right before a show.)

Do you ever think about what we have to do to prepare for a show?

 Or to get something ready to bring to the store? 

 Most things go out of the "workshop" or "workroom" different from when they were picked up from an estate sale, picker, someones trash, a private shopping experience, yard sale, the wood pile on the side of the house, yard sale, a very nice antique store. You name it.  It comes from all over.

Next we decide what we want it to become.  Most things are in need of a new "life".

By that I mean it has to be cleaned, painted, mended, fixed to be made stronger, and priced.

Items have to be saved and gathered to create special displays.

It has to be loaded into the truck or trailer and hauled to the location where it will be sold.  And then unloaded and set up.

We somehow come up with creative ideas to display our items.

It is fun to see it all come together.  

Most of the time we have a basic plan.

You get all set up, and in a short amount of time, you have to re-merchandise because thing are selling. On The Spot. 

Fun.  It is a challenge, but I love it.

After a show, the items that did not sell need to be repacked into the truck and trailer and taken home for another show or taken to the store. 

 If we have had a busy day at the store, things need to be restocked or redisplayed.  Most of our items are "found" items, one-of-a-kind, so usually new merchandise is brought in.

This is just a peak into what we do.

Sound fun? Or a little crazy. 

For us it is a little of both.  Mostly fun because we have a passion for it.  We love to create and breathe new life into things.  We love being bricoleurs.

bricoleur:

We get to work together every day.  This is a family business.  Our kiddos (the Jr. Bricoleurs) work right beside us, learning along the way how to take something out of nothing and turn it into something beautiful.

And...

We could not do it without you.  Our faithful customers who support us in this.

Thank You.

We have also met some great fellow vendors, dealers, shop owners and show promoters.  You all are very inspiring to us.

Please visit us:

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca. 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

  

The Vintage Bricoleur Featured Vendor for The Sacramento Antique Faire

We have been selling at The Sacramento Antique Faire for 4 years now. 

 We sell there the second Sunday of every month.  You can always find us at the main entrance in Space M-5&6. 

This month on their website they are featuring us!  Head on over to read the article.

Vendor Spotlight

http://sacantiquefaire.com/vendor-spotlight/

Sunday, April 14th

6:30am - 3pm

On 21st Street between W & X Streets.

Admission is $3.00.

Children under 16 and Parking are FREE.

Plan on having some delicious food from The Food Vendors.

See you there!

(All photos are from previous shows.)

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® Inspired Table

~Antibes Table~

We have been selling Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® for a year now.  Hearing about customer's projects, seeing projects on the Internet, Pinterest, other stockists' photos of projects and reading Annie's books have all been very inspiring for us.  The table I  am sharing with you today is inspired by a project in one of Annie's books.

Before

After

Pretty cute.

Just a plain little table waiting for some love.

Wipe your piece clean.

Brush your paint on. We used Antibes Green.  No priming or sanding needed.

We washed the top with Old White.  

Brush on a thin coat.  Wipe off with a wet rag.

We heavily distressed next and applied Clear Wax.

After that we Dark Waxed it as shown in the photo.

The final step was to buff it.

It turned out great, but we wanted to make it a little more special.

So.. 

We added a little King Gold Gilding Wax to a few spots on the legs.

Yes!

That is just what we were looking for.  It is so unique and special now.

Finished!

A few things to point out:

1. We did this project in the house because the paint is very low VOC.

2. A wax brush allows you to only apply a little wax at a time without using too much.

3. The Dark Wax over the Clear changes the paint color.  It will richen it.  Don't be afraid to pick a bright color.

4. Sometimes going a step beyond really makes the piece. (Like using the Gilding Wax.)

5. Follow us on Pinterest for more of our projects.

6. "Like" us on Facebook.

7. Don't forget that you can buy your Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® from

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca. 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

Tuesday- Saturday 10-5

Sunday 10-4

8. We hold classes the 3rd Tuesday of ever month.  $95, supplies included.  Call (916)663-4663.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)