Will I see you?

I am so excited to hit the road and do some traveling! I wanted to let you all know what the book schedule looks like for the next few weeks....and  I sure hope I get to see some of you and hug your necks at one of these fantastic locations!First off...... Jon, Brynn {my daughter} and I will be headed to Frederick, MD to do a signing at the Stylish Patina Barn sale on May 17, from 10 am-12 pm. The address is 4051 Stanford Ct, Frederick, MD. Books will be available for purchase, or you can bring your own book!Next up is New York City! I will be signing at Pink Olive in East Village {pinch me!} on Saturday May 18th from 1 - 5 pm. Pink Olive is located at 439 East 9th Street, New York, NY. There is an Eventbrite link here for you to sign up....and the first 25 people to sign up get a super sweet goodie bag! If you already have your book, feel free to bring it with you for signing, but if you are planning on purchasing a book be sure to sign up through Eventbrite!Last, but certainly not least....I will be selling and signing books at the Maiedae Mixer in Rome, GA. The event will be held from 6:30 pm - 10 pm at the 7-Hills Fellowship Hall 538 Broad St, Rome, GA. There is a wonderful informational page about the Maiedae Mixer here, and only 50 tickets are being sold.....so if you want to come to this fantastic event don't wait to sign up! I need to start looking for my dress! It's going to be beautiful!I will keep you all informed as to where I will be throughout the Summer....but for now I hope to see your beautiful faces at one of these upcoming events!Yay....and Wahoo!xo,Barb

Found Goodness: The light of day

As I was going through literally hundreds of photos that I shot from behind the scenes during book photo shoots....I pulled a few of my favorites.It is amazing to look back....I remember exactly how I felt as I shot these photos....which was super thankful, and excited to be gifted with this opportunity....and also in awe of the beauty of light and color.This is how the studio would look before a shoot....pieces of furniture and styling elements scattered here and there.....set up in partial vignettes of how I thought I wanted them......always subject to change......but  just waiting for their moment in the spotlight! My painting drop cloths even made the cut! Did you guys see those in the book?I am so very thankful for the wonderful friend and amazing photographer that I worked with on this book project....Aaron Greene......I will talk more about him tomorrow :} In the meantime you all should check out Aaron's website if you have not already.....it is breathtaking and you will find yourselves inspired!xo,Barb

Found Goodness: Looking Back on the Book Process

Pictures 1& 2- The beginnings of "Calvina" {pg 132 of the book} . Picture 3- The beginnings of "Lottie" {pg 124 of the book & the book cover piece}. Photo 4- Floral beauty on photo shoot days. Photo 5- Paint colors for "Lottie". Picture 6- Colorful little stools and chairs. Excuse the bit of blurry...I'm sure I was in a hurry! Picture 7- My awesome shot list for the book and organizational board. This was hugely helpful....not to mention fun to look at!Over the next few weeks as I look forward to the Furniture Makeovers launch party....I also want to look back on the last year and a half. All of the experiences, all of the memories, all of the photos.....all of the everything! It was such an amazing experience, and so much personal growth happened for me along the way. I was stretched in ways I never knew that I could be stretched.....but the other side of that stretching was reward.Some days it was so physically demanding that I thought I would collapse from exhaustion......and some days my mind felt like it would explode with the giant sized "TO DO" lists and shot lists....some days I was flying high......and some days I wanted a complete do over.......but I would not do any of it over.....not for one second! This experience was truly a blessing and I am humbled by it and thankful for it....every single day.I hope that you all will enjoy these next few weeks of talking about the book writing process, learning more about the people who helped me throughout the entire process, and enjoying a sneak peek "behind the scenes".... shot mostly from my IPhone.If any of you have specific questions or requests about the process, shoot me an email {barb@knackstudios.com} and I will try to make sure all of the info is covered! This is going to be fun!Here we go!xo,Barb

Found Goodness: Lovely Lighting

photos via one forty three

I came across these beautiful and simple wooden light fixtures while reading Anna's blog..and drooling over her kitchen redo. If you do not read Door Sixteen, you should.....this girl tackles major projects with complete courage and the results are always gorgeous! I admire Anna's home projects so very much...and she directed me right to the Etsy shop of one forty three.I have been trying to figure out where to put a collection of these in my home or studio.....ever since.Darn you Anna......xo,Barb 

Found Goodness: A little flip through preview of my book Furniture Makeovers

I was on Amazon the other day checking out a couple things for my book....Furniture Makeovers....and I noticed  or rather, found that someone sneaky has now put up a flip through preview of the book! You can skim through several pages and get a small taste of what is inside the book! How cool is that?!I am just so excited about these next few weeks as Furniture Makeovers will finally be making its way into your homes and hands! Amazon releases Furniture Makeovers in just 12 days!!! WOOT!I can't even believe this is happening.....{All photo credits belong to J.Aaron Greene, and may not be used without permission. Using these photos without permission is a copyright infringement. Please email Aaron or I for photo permission.}xo,Barb

Found Goodness: "Hello" by Little Golden Animals

I have a wonderful friend, Angie..... who has started working the shop for me on Saturdays.....and this past Saturday was her first time to work the shop. Angie is a super talented artist, loves people, knows everyone, and is an absolute pleasure to be around!When I came in bright and early Monday morning of this week.....I found  these happy little golden animals greeting me with their "hellos" ........gotta love great people!Totally made my Monday. Thank you sweet Angie!These little lovelies are for sale in the Knack shop, and I would be happy to put a listing up in the new online shop if you are interested in purchasing! Set of 6 is 12.00.xo,Barb

Found Goodness: A Rug and Some Boots

I was digging around in my buddy Trey's shop last week, and he was attempting to show me several pieces of furniture {which came back to the shop with me!}......but first things first.......I got completely sidetracked by this rug that was folded up in the corner. I started unfolding it and asking at the same time "what is this piece of gorgeousness?".....to which Trey replied...."oh, that.....is a hand looped and bound rug from Iran"......Seriously.....It now lives in my kitchen......BOOM!Also, I had to include my latest boot conquest. Zara boots in distressed gold leather.......ridiculously inexpensive due to a friend having two pairs that she found on sale, sale, sale.......They are now on my feet......BOOM!Temporal treasures I know......but when said treasures are such good deals....and so beautiful.....xo,Barb

Found Goodness: Ben Shahn, and my wheat print from the Goodwill

I am super excited to tell you all a story today about a print I found a few weeks ago at a local Goodwill store for $3. It had been an exceptionally great day of finds, and I was on my last stop before having to pick up my daughter from school. I always glance at the pictures and artwork...mainly looking for great frames...so it usually only takes me a few seconds to give them a glance and I am on my way. Well, on this day a particular piece caught my eye ....and it was this one pictured above. I found it incredibly simple yet appealing and tasteful. I loved how the artist added a little bit of geometric modernism to stalks of wheat....and the soft water colors won me over. The brown frame and country pink matte did not win me over however....and I knew I would change that asap. But, I was drawn to this piece somehow.....someway.....and knew it had potential.I dropped the piece off with my friend Teresa to be framed.....and when I picked it up last week, boy was I ever in for a surprise! The man who framed the piece is an art history buff who decided to look up the piece and see if he could find out more about it. Come to find out....the piece is called "Wheat Field" and is a signed print by the famous artist Ben Shahn. {click on the "Wheat Field" link to see how much my signed print is worth!} If this had been an original it would be worth lots and lots....but as a signed print, it is still not too shabby considering my mere $3 investment. Maybe one of these days I will have it appraised.....but for now I am just happy I picked a winner and will enjoy it being in my home.Happy hunting! I hope this week brings interesting finds your way! You just never ever know what treasures await!xo,Barb