Letting go...

Here's the deal.   Sometimes we need to let go.

We hunt, we find.  We scavenge and repurpose.  And in the end we fall in love with all these little pieces in someway or another!

It might be the design, the color, the character the piece holds or the memory it brings back to us.   Last weekend we let go of many "favorite finds" and we are ready to let go of more.

It is a lesson in letting go.  

As Beyonce said, "Thank God I found the 'good' in good-bye".

Saying good bye to each piece and sending off to someone who has found it in their own way and has meaning to them is equally wonderful

...and thus we have finally lauched our Etsy shop!
Serendipity 7's Etsy Shop!

We have gathered so many treasures, many of which sold list weekend and others we have posted to our Esty shop.    There will be more items to share, but for now there are 36 vintage and upcycled items!

Come over to our Etsy shop and do a little shopping...for yourself, for a friend, for Mother's Day!

Here's a little peek at some of the vintage and upcycled goodness!

a little vintage suitcase made into the perfect cat or dog bed.

lovely vintage tray

coffee anyone?

yes, please!

This vintage Norwegian coffee set is amazing!!!

Having a hard time letting this one go!!!

The mugs say "Coffee maketh bright the spirit"...

isn't that beautiful!?

perhaps a unique magnet board, aka vintage t.v. tray?

Or a new dual purpose, totally one of a kind piece, for your candy or flowers?

Or how about this fun "painted lady" to grace your powder room?

 These glasses are true marigold vintage and perfect for a cocktail!

 I love this simple wall flower vase made from found bottles and wood.  

and this quilt....she is a beauty.  Made with love from vintage fabrics.   

Ready to let go of our treasures on Etsy and share them with you!  

Satisfaction...

So yesterday was our debut as Serendipity 7.  The first chance to show off what we have found, created and believed to be special.  It was our first show and really had no idea what to expect.  Would there be a big turnout?  This was the first Vintage Flea and Finds show, what if we haul everything up to Madison and no one comes?  Would our prices be appropriate?  Would the cold, hard world see the uniqueness in our little venture?  Would we be able to part with some of our favorite things?


It turns out that there was very little to worry about.  There was a line out the door before the East Side Club opened at 10am and there was a solid stream of people all day.  Our prices seemed about right since we figured out a range of what we could go down to beforehand and we sold a lot of stuff!  What was especially wonderful however was the love and enthusiasm we felt as people experienced our booth.  It was like kindred spirits coming together all day as we heard story after story of how something they found  was just perfect for them.  One woman had an owl obsession and would eventually get her aunt's collection...her aunt's last name was "Wise."  :)  And how in the world was she going to get that 20 lb owl lamp home on her bike!




Another was how perfect a little yellow bird chair would go in a little girl's room.   I have no problem seeing that chair go after seeing her skip with joy after her mother purchased it for her.  Italian glass lamps being just the thing for another woman who was finally getting to redo her home after her children were grown up and gone.  My favorite reaction was probably the quilter who couldn't believe the king size, hand sewn, octagon vintage quilt.  She just started collecting vintage quilts and this was her best find yet.  Even if people didn't purchase anything we had a lot of people asking for our cards and wondering when our next show would be.

So, of course I'm glad we had a profitable day financially, but I have to say the greatest joy 

was soaking up all that validation!  That the fun, love and creativity we put in could really be felt by others...

and we felt it right back.

good things...

As I am looking at our "set up" here at home 


I can't help but want to 


share a bit more of the goodness before our debut tomorrow!


I have to admit each piece I am about to share with you is going to 


be a little difficult to part with.   They are all pieces we could


 easily find places for in our own homes!!  


This will be one of the great challenges of this venture, 


I am sure of it.


Here are some really

"GOOD THINGS"

We are both UW-Madison grads....

Who can't use a sweet vintage apple pie plate?

Or perhaps strawberry pie? 

Now, everyone may not embrace the beauty of the chick here.    

  But I am telling you this was a scavenging find!!!  

And I am not going to part easily with this chick.

The chick is chic.

And I am loving on this vintage gold chair.   
Its lines are great and it is in wonderful condition.  
I happen to have this pillow that just makes it come together.   
A room needs a little pop of color perhaps?

The amber theme continues with this elegant Italian amber glass lamp and newly covered drum lamp shade.  beautiful.

Or perhaps your like me and love a vintage owl lamp 

gracing your living room?

And then one of my favorite finds.

The Swedish Berggren Coffee Set.

I so love its vintage style and the quotes just brighten your day.  

The coffee mugs all say to you "coffee maketh bright the spirit"....so true, so true

A little cream and sugar perhaps?   "Help thyself"    

And then there is this guy....he is just plain fun.  
I wonder who will walk away with this vintage weiner dog planter?
Whoever it is I am sure will be my kind of gal!   

We are incredibly excited!

There is so much to do for

our debut  

At the Vintage Flea and Finds Pop up Market!!!

TOMORROW!!! 

Head to Madison's East Side Club 10-4,  

A day of vintage goodness....and a bar....and 

cupcakes....What more does a girl need?

Teacup Love

New obsession...teacups...

Which is kinda funny because I don't even like tea.  I'm a coffee drinker.  I'm not fit to be seen by the general public unless I've had that first cup.  (My poor family!)  Anyway, I like a big, sturdy mug for my morning cup of joe, one I can really wrap my hands around.

So why the new teacup obsession?  It goes against everything I believe in in terms of beverages.  I like a big hearty mug for my coffee and I drink beer from the bottle...no glass necessary.


But the teacup goes SO well with my other passion...my flower garden.  Just look at the sweet little bird feeders I made to go in the flowerbed.

I love to walk through my gardens in the springtime with my kids.  Everyday there is a new thing to discover.  One day the bleeding hearts are blooming, another day some last minute deal I planted last fall makes an appearance and surprises me all over again.  It is like finding money in a jacket pocket.

A flower garden on its own makes me happy but a garden with butterflies and birds makes my heart sing! Wouldn't you stop by if you were a bird?

Just put birdseed around the saucer and fill the teacup with water for a little refreshment afterward.  There is even a sweet, scalloped spoon to use as a perch!

Even Tiger can't deny the beauty of the teacup bird feeder!

(Unless he is thinking of his own personal gain if this feeder actually delivers...nah!)

And don't get me started on the variety!  There are sweet, romantic teacups, retro vintage teacups, teacups that remind you of your grandma's house when you were a kid, teacups from different lands and cultures. All different styles of teacups for all different styles of gardens.  Which, I'm hoping, makes it the perfect Mother's Day gift!  So wish us luck.  Serendipity 7's debut sale is this weekend in Madison.  I'm hoping there are lots of teacup lovers there!

tchotchke loving

Don't hate the TCHOTCHKE!

(yes, I had to look up how to spell it)

Here are Serendipity 7 we like to embrace the tchotchke,

 dare I say "love" the tchotchke

in all its many forms.   

We have decided to reinvent all those discarded tchotchkes 

 into something new...

-something that you can set a candle on,

-something to put flowers into,

-something you can put your jewerly in when washing hands

-something you could set your soap in

-somewhere to put spare change or keys....

-something to start a conversation

but most importantly

something to look pretty.

Really the tchotchke options are endless!

I give you.....

(drum roll, please)

The Tchotchke Tower !

 The tschotchke tower is all about creating something totally unique.

Some tchotchke towers have been painted in white to 

simplify it and make it all about its beautiful shape.

While others embrace the beauty of combining 

multiple tchotckes to create a totally one of a kind new piece

This one would be great by the sink to hold rings in the white bowl on top 

and a few sweet flowers from the garden in the small vase.

This one would be perfect for your keys or change.

This one is screaming for a tea light or candlestick.

And this beauty can hold candies, candle or jewerly on top and a tea light in the center.

   We can look at old things in a new and different way.

There can be love for the tchotchke.  

Tchotchke loving!

What We Won't Do....

As Jeni mentioned in her first post, we aren't afraid to get dirty. Our nails are in sad shape and at any given day someone will point out the paint that is either in our hair or on our clothes.  

But we do have our limits!

The other day we were foraging for treasures...sometimes foraging for us means hitting St. Vinny's or Salvation Army but sometimes it literally means digging through garbage and other...ahem...unmentionables.  This was one of those days.

But just look at what we uncovered!  

One woman's trash is another woman's treasure...

Anyway, we were ready to wrap it up.  Tangled was almost over and the toddlers (waiting in the car) were out of snacks.  But we had one more "pile" to dig through.  That was when we heard the "squeaking."  Mice?  No, too loud.  Baby raccoons?  

Where was the momma?

Foraging over... 

even we have our limits and meeting up with a momma raccoon in a garbage pile is where we 

draw the line.

Welcome to Serendipity 7..

Welcome to "Serendipity 7"...
a soul friend collaboration

where you will find

-all things vintage-

-all things up-cycled-  

...with a modern twist!

Why are we "Serendipity 7" ?

"Serendipity" because that was the 
beauty of our lives coming together

"7" because of our children...
our most valuable and unique treasures.  

(the "7" ages: 10, 9, 8, 7, 5,3,2)

Here we are embracing our love of vintage and letting serendipity lead us to wonderfully unique treasures.   

Here we are embracing our desire to up-cycle...to repurpose, reuse and recycle what may otherwise be discarded.

Here we use creativity, our artist eyes and talents to give each piece a new life or new purpose.

Here we will share our finds, our repurposed treasures, before and afters, and we may even share some of our secrets.

We aren't afraid to do some digging, to get dirty, be creative and let serendipity play out in our lives and in this business.

Join us on this journey! 

Our latest etsy shop listings and sales to come!!