A Fine, Non-Feathered Friend's, New Book!

A just-released book, "The Birding Life: A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield" (Clarkson Potter, $50), is notable not only for the glimpses into the homes and lives of noted U.S. birders, but also for something else!

Co-author Carol Sheehan penned the hybrid design/birding book with Laurence Sheehan and Kathryn George Precort. Sheehan was the editor in chief during Ki's Country Home magazine years, but that's not all! Flea Market Style's art director and writer, Stacey Willey and Christine Hofmann-Bourque, worked with her, too!

So we tip our collective hat to Sheehan, a fine, non-feathered friend to FMS! And we congratulate her on this latest achievement! If that lovely cover, a pastiche of vintage bird images (some look like the old baking soda collectible cards!), is any indication, there is a lot of lovely content -- photographs are by veteran shooter William Stites -- inside to appeal to those who love all things avian!

FMS wishes her well as sales, holiday and otherwise, begin to take flight!

Kim

Mystery Box Ready to Mail!

One of the many behind-the-scenes moves in prepping for Flea Market Style magazine is getting the projects ready to photograph, and sending them to where that will happen!

While the spring edition won't be available until perhaps early February, FMS team members are hard at work creating the projects you'll see when you crack the mag's spine to find the bounty within!

Check out this weighty cardboard vessel!

In it are multiple pieces of five kinds of projects, all pieced together by Minneapolis sew-pro Nancy Polacek! That's her trusty Rusty in the foreground. He is one of two canines who caper at her heels while she sews (the not-so-shy-or-retiring Otis did not appear for his cameo when this pix was snapped)!

"I'm pleased with the way it all turned out," Nancy said. "I think I made Ki's drawings 3-D!"

Speaking of dimension, the box was two-foot square and cost $75 to mail to Des Moines, where several shoots are taking place the week of Oct. 31.

Five guesses what's inside!

Kim

Chair Winners...and a New FMS Project!

Remember these chairs from Flea Market Style mag's fall edition?

They were part of the "Chair Lifts" feature, where three identical $5 thrift store castoffs were transformed with new looks!

We hauled them to the Junk Bonanza in September, where they were featured as giveaways in a drawing at the booth of Arc's Value Village, the nonprofit that owns the thrift store where they were purchased!

We wanted to let you know who the lucky winners are!

Meghan H from Hudson, Wis., who went home with the flirty-skirt bark cloth turquoise chair in the far back; Amy C from Minneapolis, who received the stamped burlap and nickel black chair (in the foreground, barely pictured! The middle chair you see is our ratty "before" example!); and Mamie L from Zumbro Falls, Minn. Mamie won the green chair constructed from a vintage striped camp blanket (with the original blanket stitching!), souvenir flags and a beaded Wall Drug leather belt!

Looking for a fun winter project? Directions for how we transformed these chairs are in the fall edition. We're already hard at work on a new project for the spring magazine, and can't wait to share!

Watch this space for updates and for profiles on the Flea Market Style team, starting soon!

Kim

Behind the Scenes: Cool Suitcase Shelves

Here's the scoop on how this stack of cool vintage suitcases became oh-so-clever shelving in Ki's new Los Angeles apartment!

The idea:

"It came to me by accident," Ki said. "I was looking through old design books and at a glance saw suitcases on a rack and I thought they were cut down. Not so. They were full suitcases, intact, just stacked on a rack. My eyes played a trick on me. When I realized they were the entire suitcase, I thought, maybe I could cut them off for ledges.

"I got out my paper and markers and sketched a drawing including attaching a wood insert in the back, which works to hang, but also gives the shelf stability. I scanned and emailed to Cammie and she got on it ASAP! I would guess half of my projects turn out the way I envision and this was one of them. Yeah! How-tos are in the back of the September issue!"

The execution:

"We had less than a month to find the cases and they arrived just hours before the shoot at Ki's apartment," said Cammie Metheny, FMS jill of all trades and high priestess of projects.

"Yes, they were cut with a saw. You could use a hand saw, circular saw or a band saw, depending on what you have available. Just make sure and wear eyegear for protection!"

Cammie shopped flea markets and send out the call for suitcases to vendor friends, "except for the blue and white one. It's been hanging around my shop for years, so I thought it was time to give it a new life. Now it lives in LA in a great apartment with a lot of unique items to keep it company. It is alive again in its new life!"

The pitfalls:

"I didn't have a level and hung them all crooked," Ki said.

"I then bought a level

and rehung and yes, patched the holes and repainted!

What is that saying about it

is easy if you own

the right tools?"

Finally, a tip:

"I have vintage plaster walls and since

the suitcase backs have keyhole-style hangers

for a flush mount, I needed to use screws

with anchors, two per suitcase.

Of course, that made changing them even more difficult."

They now are level and very sturdy.

"I dread the day I move out and have to rehang in a new place.

Maybe I will just stay here awhile!"

Whether you are staying put or on the move,

these ledges could give your place, present or future,

some seriously savvy style!

Watch this space for more

behind-the-scenes tales from the latest

Flea Market Style mag!

Kim

Last Call for Reader Vintage Sale Recommendations!

Last call for reader nominations! The time is now to suggest your favorite vintage sales for the spring issue of Flea Market Style! We’re looking for:

* small sales

* barn sales

* occasional sales

* flea markets.

We want big, small and everything in between! There are only two criteria that must be met: The sale must sell at least 90 percent vintage treasures, and it has to have been operating for at least one year.

Please let us know your suggestions by the end of the day Friday, Oct. 7!

If we use your nomination, we may quote you in the magazine. All submissions should include a sentence or two about what you love about a particular vintage sale. Great prices? Nice vendors? Fantastic food?

To submit your suggestions, send an email to:
fleamarketstylemag@hotmail.com with “FAVORITE VINTAGE SALES” in the subject line. In your message, include the name of the sale, the city and state in which it’s located, and a website or Facebook address.

Don’t forget to provide your full name and contact information (and your blog/website, if you have one) so we can get in touch with follow-up questions.

Christine