to market, to market

We're making our lists and checking them twice!  What to bring, what to buy, you name it, we've got a list for it!

 In two short weeks Amy and I are taking our first trip ever to Atlanta for AmericasMart or what those who have been doing this for a while simply call "market".  It is THE place to go to find all of the new and/or up-and-coming product lines to carry in your retail shop, from fashion, to gifts, to home decor, they have it all.  We don't really even know what to expect.  We only know what we've heard and it involves a lot of walking, sensory overload, and being overwhelmed by the vast selection of product lines.

Here's a pic I found on Pinterest of last year's market.

Oh my.

So here's what we, as newbies, think we should be taking with us.  Our list may look very different once we get one of these markets under our belts.

1- This may be a bit obvious, but our number one must-have for market is our iPhones. Our main source of communication, but most importantly to take pictures for reference {if we're allowed}.  And of course we'll be Instagramming our way through the market.  Find us on Instagram if you'd like to follow along: @rachel_dbohemia & @amy_dbohemia.

2- Comfy shoes. These lovelies are from Gap.

3- A journal {like this one from Martha Stewart's line at Staples}.  For taking notes and remembering what showrooms we may want to return to for a second look.

4- With 12 hour days on tap, I have a feeling we're going to need to charge those iPhones with this.

5- And since we both got these for Christmas we'll be putting them to good use at market.  We love Baggu bags!  Perfect for toting around all of those catalogs that we're sure to accumulate.

xoxo, Rachel

last-minute Christmas and a peek at the future

I can recall the days when I would leisurely stroll the mall for gifts, have all of the presents wrapped by Dec 15th, and all of the goodies baked days in advance of all the holiday celebrations.  That was me before kids and before running a shoppe {thank God for sending me Amy to take some of the burden off of me in that respect}.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just thinking of how hurried the month of December has become in the last few years, but I wouldn't trade a second of it.  All this really means is that most of the things I used to get done far in advance are now getting done without much time to spare.

Some of the gifts are wrapped, but not all of them. I see a Christmas Eve wrapping session in my future.

You gotta love a gift that already comes wrapped as beautifully as the the ones in the bottom right corner.  If you've never heard of Frog Goes to Market, you can visit them here.

And...as 2012 winds down, Amy and I are looking ahead to the New Year.  We're so excited about what we have planned for 2013!  Here's a little sneak peek...

xoxo, Rachel

wish list: amy

I only make a wish list once a year (since my birthday is only two weeks after Christmas). But this year, I am using my early gift to type this-  my new MacBook Pro (an unintended early gift due to two boys spilling water on my old laptop). So, I guess this is just an early wish list for

1. Ugg Ansley slipper in platinum. I desperately need new slippers, and I love the quality of my Ugg boots.

2. Emma Bridgewater Pottery in Black Toast. I have wanted this stuff forever it seems! And wishes do come true...we will be carrying this line in the shop after the new year (did I mentionI have a thing for dishes?).

3. Faribault wool plaid Soho throw. American product with a fun origin, and you can never have too many throws, right?

4. Le Creuset oval dutch oven. For releasing my inner Julia Child.

5. FavreBijoux sterling hydrangea petal artisan earrings. My favorite flowers!

6. Coach Maggie bag in Punch. A perfect everyday bag, in the perfect "punchy" color.

7. Frye Melissa Trapunto boots. I live in tall boots in the winter (I would wear them in the summer too if I could).

wish list: rachel

Well it's about that time.  Time to make my Christmas wish list.  I actually prefer giving gifts to receiving them, but just in case my hubby or my mom are reading the blog, I thought it couldn't hurt to give them a few ideas ;)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

A few tried and true favorites and few new things I've been obsessing over...

1 - I've been coveting this Madewell tote for some time now.  This is at the top of my list!

2 - When it comes to measuring rooms, walls, furniture, etc., there's nothing worse than a flimsy tape measure.  This sturdy Stanley FatMax will be the solution.

3 - My all time favorite body moisturizer!

4 - Two of these please {one for each of my boys}.  I have not been the best at keeping the baby books, but this simple one-line-a-day journal would be a perfect way to capture these sacred years.

5 - I have a thing for books...especially interior design books.  I've been wanting this one for a while ;)

6 - A staple. The ever-classic LL Bean Tote. Specifically, size large, black trim, open top, with a monogram.  Perfect for toting paint decks, fabric samples, sketch books, etc.

7 - J.Crew Jammies.  I'm in love with J.Crew lately.  If money was no object, I'd go on weekly shopping sprees.

Stay tuned...Amy's wish list is coming up tomorrow.

xoxo, Rachel

shop small

We love Small Business Saturday!

To us Small Business Saturday is so much more than dollar signs.  We adore our customers and love being able to provide personal service that you can't find in big box stores.  It means so much to us to share our passion for shopkeeping, decorating, and home decor with each and every one of you.

Join us tomorrow and shop small in Havre de Grace.  So many great little shoppes to support.  And if you're not nearby, we're slowly adding some of our one-of-a-kind items to our online shoppe.

We have lots of recent markdowns and we'll also be donating 10% of our sales to SARC of Harford County.

Deck the Halls with D'Bohemia

That is what we're calling our Holiday Decorating Workshop this year.  Our first-ever workshop was held Sunday evening and it was a blast!  We had a packed house!

All of our participants got a goodie bag to take home with them filled with gifts and a workshop packet.

Amy showed various tablescapes and vignettes to use throughout your home with a mix of old and new as well as things from nature such as fresh greens and pinecones.

I won't spill all of the details because we still have one more session of the holiday workshop to go.  Gotta save some of our secrets for those folks ;) We do still have a few more openings for our November 29th workshop {7-9 pm}.  If you're interested in reserving a spot you can do so here.

We have also rolled out our schedule of D'Bohemia Design Workshops for early 2013.  We've got some great topics for the new year.

If you'd like to reserve a spot for any of these just give us a call at the shoppe during business hours and we'll get you on the list.

What a fabulous day!

This past Saturday was the day we welcomed Marian Parsons {Miss Mustard Seed} to D'Bohemia for a mini milk paint workshop and book signing.  Marian has been a great source of inspiration to Amy and I for several years now and it was so nice to finally meet her in person.  She is so down-to-earth and easy to talk to.

We started the day with the mini milk paint workshop.  Marian shared her tips and tricks for working with her milk paint line with the workshop attendees.

Then she moved right along to the book signing. This is one hard working woman.

After our morning of "work" was out of the way, we jumped on the chance to sit down and have lunch with Marian. It was a whirlwind of a day, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

I'll be posting more pics from Marian's visit over on the Facebook page and Marian also did a post on her visit if you want to check that out too!

I'll be back tomorrow with a post on our first ever decorating workshop that was held yesterday.  It was a blast!

Flori's linens

If you follow us on Facebook, then you've probably seen the pics of our handmade antique German linen stockings.

The antique linens these stockings are made of belonged to a very special lady and have a very special story.  This story may have a few holes in it because it was told to me a little while ago, but I will try my best to be accurate.  Several months ago, a local couple {Jodie and Nils} came into the shoppe.  They had been in numerous times before and were always great to chat with.  They started to tell me about an abundance of antique linens they rescued several years ago from their next door neighbor's trash pile when they lived up north.  Their neighbor was a little old lady named Flori.  Flori escaped Germany in the 1930's after a swastika was painted on the door of her family's home when the Nazi's invaded her town.  Flori and her family fled to America and luckily were able to take some of their most prized possessions with them.  Flori's prized possession was a steamer trunk full of vintage linens.  Inside the chest was a treasure trove of tablecloths, sheets, napkins, bedcovers, and pillow cases.  Every single item in the chest was monogrammed with Flori's initials.

When Flori passed away, her son left most of her belongings on the curb, the trunk full of linens included.  Jodie and Nils felt compelled to rescue the trunk from the pile.  They donated the trunk to the Holocaust Museum, but have been storing the linens for years.  They weren't quite sure what to do with them, but mentioned after having visited the shoppe a few times that they felt we might be able to do something special with them.

We think these stockings are pretty special.  Thank you Jodie and Nils.  And thank you Flori!

P.S.  This won't be the end of the story for these antique linens.  We still have a pretty good stockpile, so stay tuned in the coming months to see some additional reinventions of Flori's linens.

christmas is coming...

...to D'Bohemia and we're getting in the holiday spirit!

We've been working our little tushies off to get the shoppe in tip top shape for all of the holiday festivities and workshops coming up.  Here's the list, in case the other 57 reminders weren't quite enough ;)

Saturday, November 10th ~ Holiday Open House 10-5 ~ Raffle for a $50 shopping spree!

Saturday, November 17th ~ Miss Mustard Seed Comes to D'Bohemia ~ 9-10 am Mini Milk Paint Workshop with Marian Parsons, aka Miss Mustard Seed {reservation required} ~ 10:30-12:30 'Inspired You' book signing with Marian Parsons

and two dates for this month's decorating workshop:

Sunday, November 18th "Deck the Halls with D'Bohemia" Holiday Decorating Workshop 4-6 pm

Thursday, November 29th ~ "Deck the Halls with D'Bohemia" Holiday Decorating Workshop 7-9 pm

Now that we got all of that out of the way, let's move on to some eye candy.

Amy and I tend to shy away from the traditional red and green Christmas and lean more towards the cooler, icy Christmas decor.  Here's our inspiration board for Holiday 2012 at D'Bohemia.

So what will you find at D'Bohemia this holiday season?

Lots of mercury glass, muted turquoise, boxwood, burlap, vintage linen stockings, ticking stripes, vintage christmas ornaments, kraft wrapped packages, holiday scented candles and much more. Here are a few sneak peeks:

We ship, so feel free to contact us if you see anything in this post that you might like to purchase. And for all you locals, we'll see you soon!

Amy: tailored-english-heritage

It has always been a challenge for me to nail down who I am, for my style is quite a composite of  influences. What I seem to always come back to, however, are elements of English design. That, along with my own heritage, as well as the fabric of the buildings and objects around me have strongly influenced my design vocabulary and sentiment. My most cherished things are those with a story to tell, and well-loved family heirlooms.

My home is classic, layered, and balanced (not quite symmetrical). My signature style is a balanced mix of feminine and masculine- a light neutral foundation with a few pops of my favorite colors (particularly muted aqua). I love design elements that add punctuation to a space, and I like to choose timeless pieces that speak to me. It is important to me that my space be functional and comfortable, as well as beautiful.

Certain materials and shapes speak to me- soapstone, dark stained barley twist or bobbin wood furniture, floral Palampore and damask printed linen, ticking stripes, patina-ed leather, woven baskets,  aqua glass, dried hydrangeas, old books, nail-head studded upholstery, painted wood, aged metals. And did I mention I have a wee bit of a thing for dishes?

In essence, my style is an evolved one, incorporating things from my family's past, old (and new) objects found and culled over the years, and little pops of modern life here and there. Even as my rooms change, they remain grounded in these essential things. I look forward to showing you some works in progress, and plans for future spaces!

 

 

and the winner is...

gina toothe
Nov 02, 2012 @ 6:10 pm

"Thanks for a nice giveaway!! i like the flow blue or the linen :)"

Gina, contact us at hello@dbohemia.com to square everything away!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Miss Mustard Seed Giveaway!   And just in case you were wondering...it seems like Tricycle was the most requested color.

a big boy room: the plan

My oldest son, Dominick, recently turned three and although there may be other three year olds still sleeping in their cribs, I feel like his big boy room makeover is way overdue.

Here's what it looks like now...

Not my favorite room in the house, but it serves it's purpose.

Part of the reason this makeover has been put on hold was due to budget {in case no one ever mentioned it before, the first year of owning a shoppe is pretty lean}, but the main reason was that I continued to change my mind on how I wanted his room to look.  I have no problem making decisions on things to put in the shoppe and I'm fairly quick on coming up with a room plan for someone else's home, but making decorating decisions in my own home always seems to be a longer process.

Sometimes it just takes a little inspiration to get my creative juices flowing.  That little bit of inspiration I was looking for came during a recent trip to HomeGoods when I found these Ralph Lauren pillow cases.

Two pillow cases for $35 definitely wasn't the deal of the century, but they were the perfect pattern and colors to get the ideas churning in my head.

Here's what I came up with...

And here are the details:

1 - I'm planning to frame out a portion of wall space and paint it with colored chalkboard paint.  Loving the red in this pic, but I may end up going with green.

2 - Three euro-shams in blue ticking. Why three? Because of the layout of this room, we're more than likely going to go with a daybed style twin bed so that we can float it on the wall where the crib currently is.  The euro shams will go against the wall. I was really hoping to do a twin bed to the right of the window, but there's only 38" there and almost all twin bed frames are at least 41" wide. Not to mention I want the curtain panels on the window to touch the ground and a bed overlapping the window would mean shades only.

3 - I ordered two of these pillows from West Elm.  Loving the color combinations.

4 - Walls to be painted Martha Stewart's Sharkey Gray.

5 - I also ordered this throw from West Elm.  I just so happened to time my West Elm purchases perfectly - 20% off on all throws and free shipping on all purchases the day I ordered.

6 - The Byholma chest from Ikea.  Perfect toy storage.

7 - Simple linen curtain panels {Aina} from Ikea, but my plan is to put some sort of trim on the edges.

8 - And I'll be painting the dresser or the bed {depending on which bed we end up with} in Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Flow Blue.

One other thing I'd like to do is change out the bi-fold closet door for one of these...

via My Sweet Savannah

That my be a hard sell with my hubby, but I'm going to try.  Should be simple enough, right? ;)

xo, Rachel

the giveaway

In celebration of Marian's visit {aka Miss Mustard Seed} we are hosting a giveaway on her blog!

Here's what one lucky winner will receive:

A copy of Miss Mustard Seed's brand new book 'Inspired You', one package of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in the color of your choice, MMSMP furniture wax, and MMSMP bonding agent!

Here's how it will work:

Simply 'like' our Facebook page and leave a comment on the giveaway post telling us which color of MMSMP you would like to win {go here to see a list of colors}.  If you have already been following us on Facebook, please leave your comment on the post and you will have the same chance of winning.

We'll be selecting one winner at random on Friday November 2nd. Good luck!

Miss Mustard Seed is coming to D'Bohemia!

Amy and I have been chomping at the bit to share this news with you!  Drumroll please...

Marian Parsons aka Miss Mustard Seed is coming to D'Bohemia on Saturday November 17th for a mini milk paint workshop and book signing for her new book 'Inspired You'. We're so humbled and appreciative to have Marian, who we've been so inspired by over the last few years, actually coming to our little shoppe!

From 9 am to 10 am she'll be teaching a mini milk-paint workshop to show you her tried and true techniques for working with milk paint.  This is your chance to learn from Miss Mustard Seed herself!  The cost of the mini workshop is $65 {all materials provided}.  We have a very limited number of spots, so please call the shoppe at 443-502-5690 to reserve your spot.

Then from 10:30 to 12:30 she'll be signing copies of her new book 'Inspired You'.

Books will be available for purchase at the shoppe, however advance orders are strongly encouraged to ensure you receive a copy. Advance orders will be available through Monday, November 12th and can be shipped or picked up at the shoppe. To pre-order, click here.  And keep a look out on Miss Mustard Seed's blog for our giveaway, with a chance to win a copy of 'Inspired You' and a bunch of other Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint goodies!

Join us at D'Bohemia, located at 425 St. John St. in Havre de Grace, MD for this great event!  We'll be providing refreshments throughout the day and special discounts on all Miss Mustard Seed Products. For more information, please contact us or visit the shoppe during normal business hours Wednesday-Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 12-4. We look forward to seeing you!

Rachel: cottage-cozy-chic

Now that Amy and I have joined forces, we're working on defining our design styles.  We definitely know what our styles are, but we're in the process of coming up with a few words to describe them.  Of course I could just jot a few words down on a piece of paper and call it a day, but being the nutcase that I am, I have to make this an all-day activity.  Enter the following things:

✦ cute binders

✦ page protectors

✦ magazines & tear sheets

I picked up the binders and page protectors at Target.

I pulled out piles and piles of new and old decor magazines.  I look forward to the Country Living 'white issue' every year.  The one below is from January 2011 and is still one of my all time favorites.

I tore out all of the pages that I had dogeared over the last several months.  Every so often I do this and put them in a file box labeled 'inspiration'.  There's the box on the right in the pic below.

I filled all three binders and still had a small stack of tear sheets in my inspiration box, which I'll continue to add to as I come across images that I love.

Looking back over all of the images I've collected over the last few years basically confirmed what I already knew to be true about my design style.  I love all things white, warm, and inviting, rooms that look collected over time, a fresh mix of vintage and modern, timeless elements, and a light and airy palette.  I'm going to sum that all up by calling my style cottage-cozy-chic.

If you are looking to define your design style or maybe you're just looking for which direction you might like to take in your own home, I highly suggest this method.  It really allowed me to see what rooms/looks I gravitate towards time and time again.

Amy's up next, so stay tuned for her post where she'll sum up her style in just a few words. We have such similar design styles, but with very slight differences.  Luckily, we happen to think those differences complement one another ;)

it's here!

Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint has arrived just in time for First Fridays!  If you have been on the hunt for this paint it is now available at D'Bohemia!

We are located at 425 St. John St. Havre de Grace, MD.  Our hours this weekend are as follows:

Friday 10-9, Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 12-4

We have all 12 colors in stock along with the entire range of Miss Mustard Seed products!

I'm really starting to see that iPhone pics are not the way to go for blogging.  It looks like I put a fuzz filter over the lens before snapping these shots.  Time to break out the good camera again ;)

howdy partner

This has been in the works for several weeks, but I'm so glad to finally announce the new addition to D'Bohemia!

Say hello to my new partner in crime, Amy Miller!

When I started this business, I planned to go it alone, but I quickly found out that this is definitely not a business you want to venture into solo.  I mean, how many pieces of furniture can you move on your own?  Luckily kismet intervened and after chatting a few times, Amy and I quickly learned how much we are alike. We both have two little boys.  We both live, eat, and breathe design.  We both love one another's style, and more times than not, find ourselves gravitating to the exact same things.

Here's a little peek inside Amy's home.  The girl's got great taste.

Yes, we've both heard the stories about partnerships not working out {especially partnerships between two women}, but we can honestly say that we trust one another's design decisions and feel that we make one another better.  And our husbands couldn't be happier because they no longer have to listen to endless rambling from us about our fabric obsession and that perfect vintage find of the day.  Now we just talk to each other!

So glad to have you Amy!  I can't wait to see where this journey takes us.

pie in the sky dreams

*beware*  wordy post ahead 

I am an avid blog reader.  I check in with my favorite blogs on an almost daily basis.  There are about 30 blogs in my Google Reader feed, but out of those I have only a handful of favorites.  One of those favorites is a name you've seen here numerous times...the beloved Miss Mustard Seed.  If you read her blog today you'll know where I 'm going with this 'pie in the sky' post, if not, you can read it here.  I've always been a little hesitant to put too many goals out into the universe out of fear that I would look silly if they don't come to fruition.  But I'm letting all of that go.

For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of having a little shoppe.  In my dreams, this little shoppe may not have looked identical to D'Bohemia, but I'd have to say the comparison is pretty darn close.

  I feel blessed to be able to say I've made this dream of mine come true in the past year.  A lot of blood, sweat, and tears have been poured into getting this business going, but when I stop and think for a moment, I realize how far I've come.

Even with D'Bohemia up and running I haven't stopped dreaming.  I'm a dreamer by nature.  Always have been and probably always will be.  Now that Amy of HousePrint and I have joined forces {more on that in another post}, we have some pretty big 'pie in the sky' dreams for D'Bohemia that we're ready to share.  Here goes nothing.

1. Have D'Bohemia featured in Country Living and/or Better Homes & Gardens {our favorites}

2. Become a go-to destination for one-of-a-kind finds and home decor with timeless style

3. Begin offering design/decorating services to help our customers bring a little bit of D'Bohemia style into their own homes

4. Launch a D'Bohemia fabric collection

5. Open more than one D'Bohemia location {always local though}

I told you these were some pretty lofty goals, but hey we can dream right?  For now we'll get back to doing what we do best.

Thank you Miss Mustard Seed for giving us the idea to step out of our comfort zone and put this out there for everyone to see.  We'll see what the future holds.