A little while ago, when I was meeting with clients Debe and Adam, I mentioned that it was unusual for me to receive true handed down antiques like theirs to work on. Surprised, they asked why. I answered, “Because who wants to give fine heirloom pieces to someone called ‘A Chick & A Chair’, and has a cartoon character for their logo? It doesn’t exactly say ‘fancy furniture’.” 😆

So today, while digging around in their antique chair, and tearing back the layers, I realized there was a common theme in the antiques that I DO work on:

They’re lived in.

They’re not the types of pieces that great grandma kept under plastic in that room that nobody ever sat in. They’re pieces that are in the middle of the spaces we use most – and they get used as well! Kids jump on them, people sprawl in them, clothes get thrown on them, TV gets watched in them.

They’re doing what they were made for. They’re functional. They’re not art pieces made to look at and admire. Sure, they can be pretty, and I think they look amazing when they leave the Henhouse, but they’re USED daily!

In Debe and Adam’s chair, (which had exceptionally tight spaces, explaining why these things were never found), I found all sorts of YEARS of life happening: a pen, chop stick wrappers, receipts, an orange colored pencil, Monopoly money, the back of a remote control, a single pick up stick, a straw wrapper from Arby’s, a dog biscuit, an aspirin, clothing tags, a penny, a bubble gum wrapper, a Cabbage Patch Kid tag from 1984… LIFE!

I can easily imagine the events that took place in this chair over the years: New clothes being tried on, a puppy jumping up, a game that someone tried to win by making a stash, the person frustrated by the remote that always lost its batteries, a TV dinner of takeout, someone with a headache trying to find a dropped pill, grandpa with the coins in his pockets that always jingled… LIFE!

So while my business doesn’t say, “Bring me your fine heirlooms,” it certainly says,

“Bring me your well-loved pieces that you do life in, and I’ll make them ready for more.”

And I’m totally okay with that.

Joyfully yours,