Sneak Peeks!

If you are looking for household and garden items that are unique, have a history and are totally different from all your friends "finds" at Pottery Barn, check out Northwinds Perennial Garden's Antique and Garden Show in Burlington, Wisconsin on June 8th and 9th, 2012.

The garden is one of my favorite places in Wisconsin.  It is serene while still being hip and artful.  I never miss this sale and this year Serendipity 7 is joining in the fabulousness!  Here are a couple of "sneak peeks" we will be offering...

This fantastic patchwork quilt...

This fresh chair is going to be hard to give up.  Such a nice pop of red....my favorite color!

And of course, an owl lamp...one of our signature products.
Wait to you see the sweet poppy shade I'm making to go with it!

This is a distressed, metal door.  

Wouldn't it be awesome leaning on a mantle?  

It is magnetic so you could hang photos, Christmas cards, kid art, dried flowers...anything your

heart desires.  

This my friends, is a unique find!

Keep checking back to see more groovy stuff.  

Maybe something will catch your eye and you will feel compelled to make a road trip to Burlington on June 8th or 9th!

us...serendipity 7

Serendipity 7 is 7 years in the making.

I don't think it is possible that either of us could have imagined this friendship.

One that feels like family.

Somehow our lives brought both of us to this place...

Serendipity.

We, Jeni & Marcie, met simply at our children's preschool.

I had just moved to Monroe after living in France for a year.

Marcie had lived in Monroe for 6 years.

We were both in the thrawls of young motherhood.

We soon saw in each other a sisterhood.  

A soulful connection.

One that is easy, honest, loving.

We realized we were cut from the same cloth...

perhaps a cool vintage cloth!

Within months of meeting we were even vacationing together in Jamaica.  

ahh....
We both love sushi, pedicures, Oprah, anthropologie.

Over the last 7 years we have seen eachother through 

the trails of marriage, motherhood, pregnancies and adoption.  

All of which are better when shared with a soul friend.

There are 7 precious children between the 2 of us.

Which makes for full, blessed lives.

We have had fun, fun, fun... with friends and hubbies

 And now our latest adventure... in friendship and life!
Serendipity7  where we indulge in our love of upcycling and vintage design!

A little bit about "us".... which will always be what Serendipity 7 is truly about!

My Mom...

A couple of weeks ago, my 3 year old son Max and I were at McDonald's playland killing some time in between errands.  It was pretty empty, just Max and a little boy about his age.  They were fast friends and climbed all the way up to the play structure where there was a little spaceship they could sit in.  They could see me from their ship and Max proudly exclaimed, "that's my mom!"  "Have you ever seen my mom before?"  The pride and love in his voice made me feel like a superhero.

That incident got me thinking about my own mom and how in general, the older we get the more complicated our relationships become.  It isn't always the beautiful simplicity of the 3 year old expressing his love and admiration for his momma.  Maybe I don't brag about my mom from the top of a McDonald's play structure but I certainly can here...Just think of this as my spaceship.  ;)

So what does this post have to do with Serendipity 7?  Well, pretty much everything.  My mom is the queen of making something beautiful out of nothing.  I was brought up by a lady who wasn't afraid to put her hands in the dirt, pull something out of the dump and put it on a wall, or make something old look new and fresh.  Check out the dresser she just completed!

My mom taught me how to garden, to sew, to paint, to refinish furniture, and to use color.  But most importantly she has taught me how the quality of my life is up to me.  That creativity is vital to my happiness and whenever something goes wrong she reminds me that only I can pull myself out of it.

She is an artist, a mentor and a friend and my part of Serendipity 7 wouldn't be possible without her.

Check out this quilt she created.

Isn't my mom awesome?!

spring & spring

You probably came here thinking I was going to show you signs of Spring.

Well, I am not saying that won't happen, because that is always a good thing. 

And we at Serendipity 7 love all things good.

But what I really wanted to share is this

bed

SPRING

on my wall.

fun!

Awesome garage sale find from last week!!! yahoo!!!

I had planned on just clipping photos, kids art etc.

but then realized it is metal and therefore

magnetic too.

Cool beans!

See how you can repurpose? 

Better on a wall than in a landfill!

Or imagine in a garden with Clematis growing up it? 

I am so loving this spring that I am not sure it will be for sale any time soon,

but will be keeping my eye out for more!

Now for a few of my favorite SPRING photos....
this flower is so special.

I LOVE fiddleheads....those wonderful blooms that unfurl and become ferns.  To be they represent family.

My godson's (Marcie's son) sweet little hand and fiddlehead=love

My last spring photo....found these mushrooms down my our stream. Here I see my family.

So, there you have it....Spring and Spring!

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?