Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Barn House & Willow Nest - 2009


Goodness Gracious! What a time we had this past week...lots of stories to tell...but The Boys of Barn House are exhausted after two weekends of BIG back-to-back shows and really need to get ready for a special photo shoot later this week...so more to come on our journey AND our Season Finale on September 12th. Our friend, "A Girl Named Timi," is even arranging a Fancy-Schmancy Tour Bus from the Seattle/Snohomish area (including an elegant VIP luncheon on Wisteria Lane here at BH, a VIP home tour here at BH, a VIP raffle for some BH gift certificates AND some special stops at some fantastic other shopping venues along the way. Shoot...Timi is probably going to kill us for putting that out there already--more to come).

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the pictures and slideshow....























If you weren't able to make it to Barn House last weekend, The Queen of Tarte will be hosting Annie, Fannie & Abigail AND Willow Nest THIS SATURDAY...don't miss the next big celebration!!

J & J
Barn House

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Willow Nest & Barn House Collaboration - Sneak Peek...


Ma & Pa Willow are here!! And goodness-gracious...with a lot of blood, sweat and the inevitable BH Tears...Magic is upon us! Linda and Ludmil have traveled all the way from Texas to be back with us, AND, most importantly back with many of you who have followed them on their journey here in The Great NW for many years. We LOVE them and are so inspired by not only the creative vintage/antique/grand-show movement They created here, but also for both of their amazing talents. One of our favorite things to do after a show is to call Ma & Pa to discuss what went really well...and the things that we can improve on...AND the behind the scenes disasters (BH award winning DRAMA). The conversation usually goes something like..."Yes, Ma & Pa, you did tell us that...and yes I know, Ma & Pa, we probably should have taken that advice...and yes, Ma & Pa, thank you for warning us about that-and-that!" The Boys of Barn House are so thankful they are here with us...take a little peek...we hope to see you Saturday...but, if you can't make it to Barn House this weekend, Willow Nest will also be in The Magical Land of Tarte NEXT Saturday on August 22nd...









Come out to see us! PLEASE note there is a road closure in our area resulting in a detour...so if you didn't get our email, please contact us at barnhousebh@yahoo.com for directions. I have a 7am meeting at my other gig and just can't re-re-format the directions (blogspot drama that I am sure many of you know about) for this post. BUT, there will be many (and I mean MANY) BH/Barn House signs...making it very easy to get here.

J & J
Barn House
The Boys of Barn House
Barn People

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Clayson Farm, Flutterby AND This Weekend - Willow Nest!!

SOOO much to share, but sooooo little time! And let me apologize upfront for not being thorough in the story telling as I should be (there's a lot going on with two shows back-to-back). BUT, let me start by saying our trip to Yakima/Naches was incredible AND was a much needed break away from home. The Clayson Farm American Primitives show was even better than we could have imagined!

Leslee and her family have undoubtedly created one of THE shows of ALL shows in the NW. Their property is the perfect setting...the grass was SOOOO green and lush that I literally had to take off my shoes at certain times during the day so my feet could enjoy what my eyes were envious of.

Joe and I came to the conclusion they must cut and water and nuture it blade-by-blade. The vendors, treasures and food were awesome. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take as many pix as normal (Joe left me in the booth alone with only a portion of the money and the camera for most of the day while he was out shopping and lollygagging).











Special thanks to The Clayson Farm Family for the wonderful invitation and hospitality this past weekend! This show is definitely one of our favorites and certainly one we would never miss. Take a look at some extra pix from our slideshow below...


But what also really made this trip feel more like a vacation than anything else was where we were so priviledged to stay. Kim of Flutterby (one of our favorites stores in Yakima) invited us to stay on her ranch with Joy (and the Bayer Family). Spending time with Kim and getting to know her was such a pleasure. The Ranch soothed our spirits in ways we could have never imagined. AND our dinners with Kim, Joy, Terri, Dave and Little Sammy were a bit out of control as we were loud and obnoxious way beyond their normal hours of operations. If they thought bringing that vacuum cleaner out was going to stop us, they were pretty much wrong. Do they know our Auntie Joy can holler over a vacuum cleaner without skipping a beat???? I was laughing so hard most of the evenings that I didn't have enough napkins to wipe my eyes dry from the all the tears from Joy's funny stories. Our Auntie is something else!!!! We just can't get enough of her. :o)
But the entire time I was at The Ponderosa, we felt the peace of being home with family. AND we just couldn't wait to get out in the morning with our camera to do OUR version of "My Morning Walk." -- Take this LB/RD!! ;o)

What made this trip even more wonderful is the fact that we came home and were welcomed by our dear friends, Linda & Ludmil of Willow Nest. They had been here unloading and setting up for the show this weekend...and, WOW, did they bring some great stuff from Texas...french gowns (1860s-1930s), honey suckle wreaths, German glass glitter, french linens, and of course, several of Ludmil's amazing creations. I promise to post some sneak peeks and directions tomorrow...Stay tuned...


The Boys of Barn House

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Willow Nest and More...

Barn House & Willow Nest here in Battle Ground on August 15th!!! Linda & Ludmil of Willow Nest (Ma & Pa Willow) are in route from Texas with a wagon full of treasures!! Their legacy here in the NW is something we could only aspire to reach in the next 15 years or so...they have been published in more magazines than you can imagine, including Country Home. As a matter of fact, the only magazine BH has been in was last year at the show we did with them!! We are sooooo proud and honored to have them as our friends and mentors. They left the NW last year to move to Texas to party with The Big Dogs of our little industry/sub-culture. IF you know anything about this here business, the shows in TX are undoubtedly the best in the country (if not some of the best in the world). So for Ma & Pa Willow to come back to the NW to visit us AND to do a show with us for the 2nd year in a row is absolutely mind-blowing! Well, we can't take all the credit for their visit because there are a few other critical factors like also doing a show with our friends The Queen and King of Tarte, as well as visiting their other BFFs like The Withies (Julie and David), as well as taking a break from the TX heat (well not really considering it's following them all the way here to The Great NW). These are some pix of our show together last year...



This show will be our most intimate of the season. Just Willow Nest and Barn House. And if you are wondering why/how we could do a show with only the two of us after our flea market, click here and here AND here ANNNND check out our August 7th post here. OH, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, don't forget to check the link to their special slide show for the Willow Nest Inn in Burton, TX!!! Did we mention that they would be bringing their treasures from THE BEST place in the country/world to shop??!!???!!! Hmmmm, you might want to think about joining us for this Texas Style Party here at Barn House. AND, we sure hope Ma & Pa have brought us back a little Suga from our TX friends Debbie and Theresa (hint-hint)! Ma and Pa are arriving soon, and there will definitely be more to come on this very special show.

So in addition to trying to rest a little after The BH Flea Mkt, we have had a few irons in the fire. We really needed to take care of our somewhat neglected children during the chaos of this last show. Just imagine, being covered in WOOL when it's 110+ degrees in the normally rainiest/coolest place on earth. "Papa, please get it together and take care of us!" And guess what, on the HOTTEST DAY IN RECORDED HISTORY in our neck of the woods, we decided to shear our sheep ourselves (for the first time instead of paying someone else)!
In full crisis mode we bought apparently THE MOST expensive sheep-cutting-rocket-science-mechanism on the planet (b/c that's all the store had left) and started a completely new chapter in our lives. Shearing sheep in 110+ degree weather. Pay back is something else...

Without a doubt, we will certainly have to take this up as a side job to pay for those expensive a$$ shears! But, our babies were clicking their hooves after it was all said and done. Needless to say, there were a few BH glitches along the way. First, I took a tiny little notch out of Shug Avery's ear (our black sheep who was first in line), THEN took an even bigger notch out of my right middle finger causing me to just about pass out before ALMOST needing to be rushed to the hospital (maybe a slight exaggeration). Poor Shug and poor Jermonne! BUT, our babies look good (except for the one Joe finished when I was dealing with paramedics--see Odessa on the left). Next on the list are those sweet (sometimes spitting) Llamas--wish us luck with that one.

BUT, that ain't it!! We are ALSO getting ready for VERY SPECIAL show this weekend in Yakima! Y'all know we had a life changing experience in Yakima several months back that inspired a bit of BH Duck-Mania. Well, one of the big reasons we love Yakima so much is because of the American Primitives at Clayson Farm Antique Show.
We attended as shoppers last year and came home with our Suburban packed to the brim (including the roof rack was dangerously stacked with stuff). The hosts are amazing, the setting is breathtaking and the treasures to be found are out of this world!! We changed our entire schedule in 2009 so that we could be a part of two shows -- The Farm Chicks and Clayson Farm. Please be sure to check out the slide show on their site for pictures from last year's show!!! We know and love several of the vendors and it will certainly be a show you should not miss!!
Until we talk again...

J & J
The Boys of Barn House

P.S. - Thanks Calamity Jane for the wonderful gifts from Curious Sofa on your recent vacation. We LOVE you...and the gifts too. :o)