You Got Mail…

Every year, on the same weekend, we journey South on a trip to Bellevue, WA, to go to the Bellevue Artsfair.

So we have just returned from our annual pilgrimage to all things artsy and crafty.

The range of artisans is astounding, and shall, in a few days, be the subject of another post.

But, in the meantime, I have been taunting folks on Twitter and on Facebook with what may (IMHO) be our greatest find ever.

On the same weekend, in the same “neck of the woods,” there is a store at the CrossRoads Shopping Mall in Bellevue.

On the outside of the Mall is the Common Folk Store.

They are a store that defies description and convention…

It is a retail store, that has some of the sensibility of a pawn shop for special “remember this” items.  It also has new and re-purposed items.

Think of a Restoration Hardware store, only with WAAAY different items !!!

And EVERY year, on the same weekend, the owners clean out their barn/warehouse/home.

And so it was, on a sunny Saturday morning, we found ourselves looking at this beautiful piece of old world technology.

From the back, it doesn’t look like much…

From the front, at first, it looks rather plain…

And then when you look closer…

You can start to appreciate why this gorgeous piece will soon take a place in our home.

But, first it needs some cleaning, and a case built around its current rather “rough hewn” exterior.

But, once it has a base, sides, a top, and the dead wood bugs have been removed, we are going to have a place for our friends and visitors to stop and talk about.

I’m looking forward to posting the finished images in a month or so, once I get the project done.

In the meantime…  ????