Score of the Century!

Okay, perhaps I am prone to hyperbole, but seriously, I can hardly believe the treasure trove I stumbled upon yesterday.  Feel free to scroll straight to the pictures if you must, but I love a good story of serendipity.  Perhaps some of you will idulge me.

There's is this HUGE consignment store near S.R. Harris, the fabric warehouse that I love and visit often, and sometimes I make a morning of it, picking up fabric and then swinging by Consignment Central on my way home.  Yesterday I hit the fabric store in the morning to pick up 8 yards of a fabric for a client.  There were only 5 7/8 yards left, but it just so happened I had seen the exact same fabric at the Robert Allen showroom the week before, so I persuaded the good people of S.R. Harris to hold the bolt, I clipped a sample from it, ran to IMS to confirm that the fabric was a match, priced it, cleared the extra yardage (with the higher price tag) with my client, and, before picking up my kids, headed back to the warehouse to buy the original bolt. (By the way, to give you a sense of the deals to be had at S.R. Harris, I got the Beacon Hill fabric for $9.99/yard, and retail is $106!).

At that point, I had about 1/2 an hour before having to get my kids, so I thought I would just pop in to Consignment Central to see if I could find any treasures.

Well, Shazaam!  I spotted this brass chandelier.

(It has light bulbs for bot the top and bottom of all those spokes.)  Turns out the guy had JUST put it up.  Price tag?  $99.

This is basically the chandelier on which Jonathan Adler based his Meurice, and that goes for $750.

You often see similar on ebay for big $$$, too.  Right now the closest is this (admittedly cooler) brass and lucite number, 

but at $1499 plus shipping, you get the idea.

I knew I had to get it, but also that I probably shouldn't.  I tried to play it cool while I browsed the rest of the store, but I'm sure my face turned bright red.  I asked someone for measurements, double checked the price, wandered around, all the while making calculations in my head, trying to justify the purchase even while worrying that someone else would come in and buy it out from under me.  By the time I cam back to the counter to say I wanted it, the employees were on to me.  I overheard the owner ask one of her consigners if the chandy "was worth real money."  But it was too late to up the price, and I snagged it.

But that's not all, folks.

About a year ago, I was on the search for a little George Nakashima chair to go with the x-base midcentury desk in the guest room.  There were a bunch on ebay, but mostly in pairs or groups and mostly going for upwards of $250 each.  Oh look, here's one on ebay now:

$495 for the pair, plus shipping.  And these are "in the manner of" George Nakashima, not originals.

But what did I see by the checkout at Consignment Central?  You got it.  A chair in the manner of George Nakashima.  For $24.  TWENTY FOUR DOLLARS.  That's like the cost of a new shirt at Old Navy.

Now, I didn't need it for the desk.  My friend Sara took care of that LONG ago, sending me an extra that she had from a set.  (I have awesome friends.)  So I didn't even have a spot in mind for this guy, but there was NO WAY I was leaving it behind.

Turns out I do have the perfect spot.  Clio sometimes gets up first and comes downstairs to read.  I've been wanting a chair in the corner of the office for just this purpose, and this one is the perfect scale--both for her and for this little corner.

Perfect, no?

And there's more.  Okay, this last one is not of the same magnitude, but special in a different way.

This limited edition print from MN artist Marge Bohlander was 25% off of $20.  Hello.  I've been really drawn to bright and/or acidic yellows lately, and this, too, is great in the office, with the yellow desk lamp.  I looked up the artist and it turns out she lives about 10 blocks from me.  She's about my dad's age, and it appears she is a gallerist as well as an artist.

The print also reminds me of this classic Scalamandre wallpaper

Now, naturally, the chandelier complicates things.  First of all, I need to find a new chain and most likely need to hire someone to hang it.  Secondly, as my husband put it, we already have a chandelier in the dining room.  But much as I love the Maskros, I always intended to replace it with something more substantial and permanent-feeling when I either stumbled upon a great deal or could afford to invest in one.  I want to use the Maskros to fill the cavernous space of our stairwell, so it will be put to good use.

Okay, long story longer.  Yikes!  Can you tell I'm excited?  While I technically should not have spent the money, my birthday is in 8 days, so I decided this would all be a birthday present to myself.  Seems fair enough, right?

Like I said, I love a good serendipity story, and if my day hadn't been re-outed around some fabric shortages, I would not have lucked into this chandelier!