Introducing... The Junk Girls... Jenny and Melissa

Being surrounded by such magnificent talent is both inspiring and motivating.  You have met 4 fabulous woman and I want to introduce you to two more....they are called

The Junk Girls...but us ladies know them as Jenny and Melissa.

Jenny Kompolt, Melissa James and Me

These ladies focus their energy and passion together and are responsible for some of the most unique creations we've ever seen.  Their story began in corporate America where they both spent time in the Graphic Design & Ad Agency world, then Jenny as the Creative Director for Netflix, and then both of them worked in the marketing department of EBay. Most recently they spent 10 years as the Founder & Co-Founder of Kompolt Online Auction Agency , working with large corporate brands, agencies and non-profits to raise money for charity and bring awareness to their products & causes. They are especially proud of that "past life" and the over $23 M raised, just while they were there - and to see the company continue to thrive, too! 

What started as "art therapy" has blossomed into other areas. Including wall installations, lighting, furniture,  and "Bling"  using antique, vintage, found & recycled objects.


They have a passion for finding the beauty in something common and turning it into something beautiful and changing the way people see it. 

Antique industrial salvage turned into lighting, tables, accessories and wall art

One of a kind water feature made from an old copper tub

Pendent lighting made from antique yard sticks

Jenny's beautiful antique letterpress tables, desks and mirrors

The Junk Girls famous "Bling" line has propelled The Junk Girls to stardom in stores, wineries and boutiques nationwide.  Using recycled spoons to create keychains, necklaces, Holiday ornaments,  labels for wine bottles, cheese markers, tablecloth weights, letter openers and plant markers.

Their latest "Bling" is made from vintage door kick plates made from brass that were salvaged from schools in the Central Coast of California.

Not only can you make a necklace or a keychain from the many varieties of sayings, letters and numbers you can also wear one on your wrist that's been made into a fashionable leather cuff made from vintage leather belts.

This past week the girls paid us a visit and brought us lots of new Junk Girl items for the store.  Including water features for indoors and out, their new "Aviary" pendent lights and lots of beautiful "cloche art".  The new bling and cuffs will be in store in the next week along with a new product that I know you all will be thrilled to use the next time you entertain.  For now I have to remain hush hush but stay tuned.... they're well worth the wait.

 These two ladies have blessed my life in so many ways.  Not only are there creations a huge compliment to the store, but they have become very good friends.  Together we're climbing, following our dreams, inspiring one another, and creating great memories along the way. Thank you Jenny and Melissa for all that you bring to my life and "The Mess"

The Junk Girls, 3 Fine Grains / A Beautiful Mess will be selling at the Alameda Flea Market June 5th in space B21.  Hope to see you there!

Have a Happy Memorial Day!

xo
Kymberley 

Be sure to follow us on facebook to see photos of new merchandise as it comes in the store.  Yes, we do ship in and out of the Country.

The Fabulous Fifi O'Neill's Book Signing at A Beautiful Mess Antiques

Read all about it...

Mark your calender's everyone!!!

Yes, that is right for JULY 5, 2011

The one and only Fifi O'Neill is going to grace,

A Beautiful Mess with a book signing!!

Romantic Prairie Style in the April 23, 2011 edition of The Wall Street Journal.   

 Fifi's book has made it to Wall Street!, 
 

Romantic Prairie Style ranked #6 in sales on Nielsen Book scan for two weeks in a row in the Hardcover House & Home category, as reported in the Best-Selling Books listing (week ended April 17th) in the April 23, 2011 edition of The Wall Street Journal Circulation: 9,963,418 

 

Romantic Prairie Style
Homes Inspired by Traditional Country Life
CICO Books, April 2011
by Fifi O’Neill

 Pre-order your copy on Amazon today!!!

  This book is one of our favorite decor books out there. Fifi is such a

talented and kind women and we are honored to have her

at A Beautiful Mess. We can't wait for the book signing and

for everyone to meet this amazing author!

 
Here is a sneak peak of the book!! Enjoy...

 

ROMANTIC PRAIRIE STYLE

 also made the page of PERIOD IDEAS, 

the beautiful British magazine.

ROMANTIC PRAIRIE STYLE 

 is featured in the April issue of CS

INTERIORS magazine (Chicago).

This book is everywhere!!

This will be a big event!

So don't forget to save the date 

JULY 5, 2011

You won't want to miss it!!
Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served...

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

For those of you that don't already follow us on facebook.  Please be sure to pop over and "like" us, to follow our updates and see "what's in store".  We do ship worldwide.

Have a wonderful week!

Remnants of the Past

We're back at "The Mess" and all settled in after a fun-filled, crazy busy and successful weekend up in Nipomo.  What a show!!!  Thousands of people attended this show and came from all over the country to see some of the best in the business and what an honor to be among them.  Fun was had by all and "Success" and "Fabulous Finds" were the most heard words at the end of the day.  

If you haven't been to the show before than add it to your "To-Do" list today.  It's by far the best show on the West Coast! 

Here's just a few pictures from our booths at the show. Thankfully we were able to grab our fabulous Photographer Lu Tapp who was there shooting the show.

 We all forgot our cameras.....Ooops!  

We hope to see you in October.... we promise.....you won't be disappointed.

Before closing this post we would like to say, "Thank You Judy" from all of us at A Beautiful Mess!  Without you this show wouldn't be what it is today and we're grateful for all the time and planning you put into making it a success not only for the vendors, but for those that come from near and far to shop your wonderful show with Habitat for Humanity being the benefitting charity. 

You're a blessing to us all!

xo

Kymberley

More Vellum has hit our shelf......

This stunning set of 18th Century Encyclopedias from 1747-1748 is perched behind our counter. They contain the early paper label from the Gilmanton Theological Library and are reputedly from George Sale.  Not only is it extremely rare to have a full set of any series, but this complete set dating back to the American Revolution era is all in English, which is very rare since most vellum is written in Latin, French or Italian.  These can be enjoyed in a language that everyone can read, and get a perspective on the latest knowledge as it was gathered and reported in the 18th Century.  

 Another rarity is how the inscriptions were done on the spines of this collection.  It is incredibly special for almost the entire spine to be utilized when labeling antique books.  Most book bindings prior to and during this era were done using a small portion of the spine. These however have beautiful penmanship all the way down.  

This set has the most marvelous boards (front and rear covers) covered in beautiful marbled paper.  Which for those of you that don't know, this marbled coloring was done by hand, by artists using multi-colored paints.  Today these marbled prints are recreated onto modern made fabrics used for clothing and interiors. 

The vellum collection we've all enjoyed at our store, as well as most of the vellum books we've seen elsewhere, all have aged into gamuts of shades from the palest white to the deepest umber.  These however, are a luminous snowy moonlight color, glowing in a beautiful way, almost from within.  

Within this set lies loads of fold out engravings, maps and illustrations.  Each of these is worthy of being framed on their own and hung maybe in a personal library or office. 

In order to preserve this beautiful set we will only be able to release it as a complete one.  Imagine the shelves you could fill or the mantle you could decorate. 

 I hope you've enjoyed reading about this new found treasure.  Stay tuned tomorrow night as we introduce you all to Tina O'Flaherty. 

Have a wonderful Monday!!

xo

Kymberley

And the Trophy goes to...

Our team loves searching high and low for that one stand out "Find" that sets you apart from the rest.  The thrill of the hunt, and the treasure at the end, is so much of what it's about and of course recounting the stories to just how filthy dirty you got,  how far you traveled, and even sometimes how you overpaid for the item, make it even better. 

As a young girl I never won any trophies, thus I don't have my own personal collection. However, I do get to move and clean my daughter's, she has from years of playing soccer. Up until now, I haven't had any particular interest in trophies.  But this past week, that all changed.  I became crazy after seeing this stunning trophy from a bike race circa 1890 amongst many other beautiful trophies. I became a woman on a mission, as I climbed up and over numerous spider webbed shelves, with God knows what else lurking below me.... as I hunted.

 Antique silver trophies in a grouping with creamy antique vellum books..... it doesn't get any prettier than that!

I love this small trophy cup with the religious figure on the front dated 1855.

I'm crazy over this bowling trophy.  The 3 dimensional bowler is amazing!

105 years later and this trophy is still as beautiful as ever.

A few of them are "triple" handled trophies, which I had never seen before from the Victorian Era.  It's dated 1909 and is very rare.

The perfect trophy for the perfect Valentine.  Take notice of the heart on the front.

How about a Regatta cup from 1902?

And last but definitely not least..... this 1890 Bicycle Trophy with a handmade bicycle on the bottom.

This alone was worth every foot that I climbed and every cobweb that stuck to me.

Isn't it magnificent?

It dazzles me to think of the athletes that worked so hard to achieve something great, whom once held these trophies in their hands full of pride and great achievement.  

I've began to wonder how they placed them in their homes.  Were they filled with flowers or just placed on a mantle?  So many uses, yet so full of beauty.  The possibilities are endless.
Please share with us how you've used antique trophies in your home or office?

Have a wonderful end to your week!