The Foundrie

Hooray!  Spring has finally arrived in the Lou!  What perfect timing for all of our vendors’ to be dropping off brand new goodies for the store.  There’s something about warmer weather that just makes me want to freshen things up.  I suppose that’s where the term “spring cleaning” came from.  While I’m not necessarily in to the whole cleaning part, I can certainly appreciate wanting a new start.

If you’re a regular shopper here at The Foundrie, I’m sure you’ve noticed that we move things around……a lot.  So, it will come as no surprise to you that things are different again.  We can’t help it!  Look at all these great new vintage pieces we have!  Tables and dressers and trunks, oh my!  While it’s hard to let them go, we love seeing them go off to a new home.  And when that happens, we’re forced to switch things up and re-display everything.  In fact, vintage has been such a success for us, that we brought on 2 new vintage vendors this season!  Hip hip!  One of our regular customers, Bonnie, was always coming in with stories of her great finds on the road as she traveled with her job.  We are so pleased to have talked her into sharing her finds with us, and all of you!  She has some real stunners.  Then there’s E.W. McCall, the brother sister team behind amazing vintage and re-worked clothing, hats, bow ties and more!  It doesn’t get much more earth friendly than that.

Or maybe it does……..cue 1933 Designs.   Designer, Kurt, is making the most gorgeous lamps, stools and wall hooks from re-purposed whiskey barrels.  His motto is even “waste not, want not”.  We love it, and so will you!  Come on in and check them out!

If vintage isn’t your thing, that’s okay, we still have plenty of newly handmade to go around!  How about these amazing prints from Beloved & Co..  All good things are wild and free?!?!  Yes, yes they are.  And although they’re not new vendors, Black Birch has some spectacular new leg tint.  I used it the other day, and trust me, it works.  And it smells divine.  Yes, please!

As always, we also have some great make and takes and events coming up this month.  April 13 is The Perfect Pom Pom Class taught by the amazing Laura Miquelon.  She is a craft goddess, so you’re sure to learn a thing or two.  Bring Your Own Craft Night is scheduled for Friday, April 26.  April 27 is a great Handmade Mother’s Day Market at Urban Chestnut, which I will be vending at.  And Sunday April 28 will be our DIY Dry Erase Board Make & Take.  All of the info for these events can be found under our classes and events link.  Or, just click here.

Hope to see you all soon!

Whoooo……March was a busy month here at The Foundrie.  We had so many amazing things going on, and it was our highest sales month since November and December!!  If you remember, we were closed all of March last year while we worked on getting the new space in order.  We had a sneaking suspicion that all of those Spring Breakers would be making their way in here one day, and they did not disappoint.

It wasn’t just the sales that kept us hustling all month.  We also hosted some amazing events, making use of our expanded retail area and private room in the back.  Oh, you didn’t know that we had a private room in the back for classes, parties, etc?!?!  Well, just click on our event rental tab for more details!

We kicked off the month with a “For the Love of Lovies” photo shoot benefiting the St.Louis Crisis Nursery.  This is the second year that JJ Lane of Be Lovely Photography has hosted this event at The Foundrie, and we are so proud to be a part of such a great cause.  Keep your eyes peeled for another one of these shoots in the future.

Our second monthly BYOC night was a hoot as always.  We’re already starting to get some regulars!  You should be one of them!  It’s such a great mix of friends, vendors and customers.  We learned our lesson from last month and brought less food this time, but the fun is always on overload.  Our two featured crafts were clay antler magnets and lace jewelry holders.  I wonder what April’s crafts should be?!?!?  Email me at elizabeth@thefoundrie.com if you have any ideas!  Our next BYOC night is scheduled for April 26 from 6-9 pm.  Hope to see you there!

On March 16 and 24, The Foundrie partnered up with Courtney of My Vintage Addiction in Belleville, IL for our East Coast/West Coast Trunk Shows.  We had temporary tattoos by the amazing Lauren B., tasty treats, and cool block printing for leggings, shirts, and the like.  Courtney brought her set up to The Foundrie the first weekend, and I traveled to her store the following weekend.  We had a good laugh about how I live in Illinois and she lives in Missouri, yet we were representing the opposite sides of the river.  I think the lesson learned here is, don’t be afraid to cross the Mighty Mississippi for great shopping!  If you’ve never been to My Vintage Addiction, you should definitely make the trip.  They have amazing vintage finds and a smattering of handmade goodies.  The entire store has such a cool mid century modern feel, and downtown Belleville is really coming up.

To round out the month, we had a double whammy on Saturday, March 30 with an in store photo shoot and a crafty Bachelorette Party!  When Rhonda, of Rhonda Jean and Savant Photography contacted us about doing an Easter photo shoot at our store, complete with live lambs and bunnies, we couldn’t even imagine the fun that would be had!  Of course, our first reaction was, “Who’s gonna clean up the mess?”  Lol!  But we had nothing to worry about.  The animals were on their best behaviour.  With a straw bail from the Hahn Farm, vintage props from the store, and our amazing statement wall, the store was easily transformed into the perfect setting.  Emily’s bachelorette party girls were great sports, as our chevron curtain provided little protection from the baaaaaaahhhhhsssss.  They even got their pictures taken with the animals when they took a break from crafting.  Customers were coming in from the mall halls to see what all the ruckus was about.  They were shocked and amazed to find REAL lambs in the store.  There was quite an audience by the time it all was said and done.  I’m not gonna lie, Shelah and I geeked out just a bit.  We love to see cool things happen at the store.  Keep it coming!

Although April isn’t quite as hectic as March was, we still have some spectacular things going on, so be sure to click on the classes and events tab to see what’s up.

Hope to see you soon!

Even though the snow has been falling all week here in St.Louis, Shelah and I have been uber busy gearing up for Spring.  March at The Foundrie is packed with fun activities, so be sure to check out the classes and events page for more details.  We’ve got photo shoots, trunk shows, and craft nights galore!

In addition to the store occupying our time, we’ve each been working hard at refreshing our etsy shops and preparing for all of the amazing indie craft shows coming up this year.  We’re even sponsoring Green With Indie, which is this weekend at Webster University’s Grant Gym.

For all of the goodies you see above, stop on by the store.  If you can’t do that, check out our online shops!!

Shelah: The Foundrie

Elizabeth: Just Liv 

One of our amazing artists, Laura Miquelon hosted the most adorable Valentine Party on Saturday, February 9.  She and her guests created several sweetheart inspired crafts, and the snacks and decor were to die for!   Don’t worry, ladies, we heard your requests, and Laura will definitely be back to teach you more amazing crafts!  We’re already in the works for a spring crafternoon on April 6, so mark your calendars!  More info to come.

Friday, February 15 was our very first Bring Your Own Craft night, and man was it a blast!  So much so that I forgot to take pictures until the end of the night!  Oooops!  I promise to do better next time.  Hopefully you can still get an idea of the fun that was had from the moments I did capture.  There was definitely plenty of food to go around, and I loved seeing all the projects our attendees were working on!  We’ll also be offering supplies and instructions for 2 projects each month, so if you don’t have a craft of your own to bring, you can try out ours.  This would be a great girls’ night out or just an excuse to get out of the house on your own.  Everyone is welcome, and we encourage to join us on March 15 for our next crafty night!

All of the information for upcoming classes and events can be found on our website by clicking on the classes and events tab…..duh!

Hope to see you all soon!

If you’ve been to The Foundrie lately, you may have noticed a few changes.  Walking in, you’ll  first see the amazing vintage trunks that we thrifted while on our trip to Washington, MO.  When we spotted them at Waterworks Antiques, Shelah and I knew that they had to be ours.  We could already picture them living happily in our store!  Look up from there, and you’ll see the various area code flags that Shelah hand stamped and suspended from the ceiling.  There seemed to be a bit of a travel theme going on, which led us to dressing our mannequins like a handsome hipster couple going on vacation.  We all wish our menfolk would wear more plaid and bow ties…..right?!?

You’ll notice lots of other little changes around the shop…..like t-shirts in the shelves and necklaces hanging from bicycle tires!!!  But, the biggest change…..the one that gets everybody gasping and exclaming, “Did you make the store bigger?!?!”…….is the expansion!!  That’s right!  We’ve opened the middle section of the store, so we have more room to offer you even more amazing goodies!  The  most exciting part is that we now have room for vintage and re-purposed furniture pieces.  Shelah has a great eye for these gems, so be sure to come check out her finds!

I love everything about the new space, but I have to say that my favorite is the wood panel wall that Shelah post about a couple of weeks ago.  Be sure to come by and check it out!  I’ll be posting about our new and improved event space in a few days!

Until next time! -E

Since we are in the process of expanding our retail space at The Foundrie to carry more antiques and salvaged furniture pieces, we have been hard at work transforming the space from a blank, boring, white room into a room with a little fun and character. Our biggest challenge? A large 25ft paneled wall that serves as the focal point of the entire space. We needed something to make a big impact while sticking to our always minimal budget.

After a little brainstorming sesh, Elizabeth and I settled on a plan to use some extra shelving from our stock room to re-panel the wall in a fun pattern. We painted some pieces with black chalkboard paint, some with a pretty mint color (Savannah Mist by Olympic),  some with a gold shimmer, and our favorite out the bunch? The panels we hand-stamped with a horseshoe pattern.

With inspiration from Elsie and Katie at A Beautiful Mess, as seen here and here, we created our very own stamp out of craft foam and after covering the panels in kraft paper (Thanks again for your help Steph!), we stamped our horseshoe pattern on with a gold acrylic paint. The stamp doesn’t come out perfectly each time but that is part of the charm in our opinion. The pics really don’t do it justice but we are in love with the way it turned out and only spent about $100 on the entire project.

We also had more spaces that needed covered in book pages (that project never ends!) and needed a little help with the new table saw to get our wall done so we recruited some of our fave vendors, The Turneys, to help us get the biggest projects done. Thanks again for your help Courtney, Mike, Keegan, and Celia!!

Our excitement to get the space finished up and open to the public is overwhelming.  The plan is to have everything ready in time for our Valentine Crafting Class with Laura Miquelon on February 9th. Speaking of which, we have a couple of spaces left so if you have not signed up yet don’t wait much longer!! Call us at 636-730-4130 to reserve your space. Hope to see you there!

Here are some pics from last month when Elizabeth and I spent a much needed day together road tripping and treasure hunting.  We took my new-to-me van (aptly named Kat Van D thanks to Elizabeth) and hit up thrift stores and antique malls in Eureka, Pacific, and Washington, Missouri.

Treasures were found, fun was had, shop cats were befriended, and Burt’s Bees lip-balm was used in place of WD-40 (which doesn’t really work in case you were wondering). All in all it was a successful and fun trip. We got lots of display pieces for the store and maybe a few odds and ends for ourselves.

Once the van was full we headed to Webster Groves for a meeting of the minds with the St. Louis Craft Mafia. The Foundrie is  sponsoring an awesome eco-friendly craft show they put on in March called Green with Indie. Several of the artists we carry at the store will be there with new spring goodies and there is rumor that the often elusive “Craft Yeti” may even make an appearance. Mark your calendars for March 9th from 10am to 5pm at Webster University. You won’t want to miss it.

I have another blog post in the works about our soon-to-be-expanded retail space and some fun projects we have been working on so check back again soon. February is going to be another amazing month at The Foundrie!

I love the beginning of a new year!  It’s so exciting to think about what the next 12 months will bring.  For The Foundrie, we know that 2013 will bring an expanded retail area, monthly craft nights, and some amazing new vendors!  In addition to the 70 + vendors already featured, we’ve accepted over a dozen more for the Spring 2013 season!

Shelah and I are gearing up for a big floor move at the end of this month, so that we can freshen up the store and highlight these great new artists.  In the mean time, I’ve grabbed some pics from a few of the new artists’ websites so that you can get a sneak peak of what’s to come!

In an effort to expand our clothing options, we’ve added local designers Suzanne Lay and Trang Nguyen.  Their dresses and tops will be hitting the floor this season, along with our current clothing designers Victrola, Blue Bird Apparel, and Angel Rox.  And, of course, we’ll continue to carry all your favorite screened t-shirts and vintage finds!

You’re gonna love the adorable new cards from The Patterned Owl and the instagram photo magnets from Jill Giordano.  And who could possibly resist Binx Ceramic‘s animal figurines……collect all of her furry friends for display at home or the office!  If you prefer your animals a bit more cuddly, come check out Yarnies by Mikey!  Their over-sized heads and big brown eyes are sure to make you smile.

Hanley Fold Farm joins our other handmade soap vendors with new options made from goat’s milk.  And rumor has it that current vendor, Black Birch will be offering handmade leg bronzer in the next few weeks!  Love, love, love that our body products area is expanding!  These make great gifts for yourself or your friends and family!  Don’t forget that we have soaps for men as well!

With the expansion of our retail area, comes more space for larger home goods items like these great lamp shades from Illuminating Design.  But have no fear, we’ll keep plenty of space for unique jewelry designers like EVRT Studio and Blue Quail Design.  And don’t forget, your favorite tried and trued artists are also bringing in new designs, so there will be plenty of great new product to see!

I’m sure you’re just itching to plan your next trip to The Foundrie…..and I don’t blame you!  Why not use one of our upcoming classes as an excuse to come see us?!?!  We’ve got Valentine’s Crafting with Laura Miquelon on February 9 and Bring Your Own Craft Night on February 15.  Find more info on those events here.

Hope to see you soon!

The 2012 holiday season proved to be record breaking at The Foundrie, and we couldn’t thank you all enough.  All of our friends, family, vendors, and customers truly have helped make our dreams come true!  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

While we are working hard to revamp the store for our new Spring 2013 vendors, I wanted to take the time to tell you all about the great music that helps set the tone for your shopping experience here at The Foundrie!  ;-)  Customers are constantly oohing and ahhing over the sweet tunes that filter through our speakers, and that is certainly music to my ears!  I LOVE music, and nothing makes me happier than sharing what I love with you.

It’s funny because some of our favorite vendors, Courtney and Mike of Hypercraftive, were just having a facebook discussion about what genre to put some of my favorite bands in.  I think they decided on Mo(dern) Folk.  But, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just good music if you feel it in your soul.  Some you may know, and some you may  not, but I hope you take the time to check out some of these amazing bands.  Click on their names for a link to each of their websites!

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Chamberlin

Dawes

Delta Spirit

Deer Tick

Middle Brother

My Morning Jacket

Fort Frances

New Multitudes

Monsters of Folk

Of Monsters and Men

Mumford & Sons

Band of Horses

Shawn Mullins

The Temper Trap

Fleet Foxes

The Avett Brothers

Bahamas

The Black Keys

Blind Pilot

Bon Iver

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

The Civil Wars

Calexico

Trampled by Turtles

Creedence Clearwater Revival

The Daylights

Fitz & the Tantrums

Gayngs

Kings of Leon

The Lumineers

Willie Nelson

Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real

Pink Floyd

The Kinks

John Lennon

Milo Greene

Neil Young

Old Lights (they’re local!)

The Steve Miller Band

Yellow Red Sparks

ZZ Ward

I’d love to hear which ones are YOUR favorites!

Until next time!

-E

Okay, okay….we couldn’t resist doing ONE more floor move for the holidays.  We have so many exciting things going on in the month of December, that we just needed to freshen up a bit!  Plus, many of our artists were able to restock after the amazing Thanksgiving shopping weekend.

Before I get into December, I just want to give a shout out and a huge thanks to the peeps at OnStl.com who came to the store and shot a promo video for us in conjunction with  Small Business Saturday, which was November 24.  Thanks, Callie, Kathy and Grant!  We couldn’t be happier with the results!  Click here to watch!

Now on to December events!  Hooray!  First things first, for the entire month of December, we are offering chances to win a gift basket full of over $200 worth of goodies from The Foundrie!  For only a $1 donation, you can enter your name into a drawing that will take place on December 21.  The basket includes a $25 gift card to The Foundrie, a stainless steel  necklace by Shelah, a Just Liv bow by me, a Cristin Rae infinity scarf, The Jane soaps and lip balm, a zipper pouch from Happy Solez and handmade chocolates by Ococoa!!  You can enter as many times as you’d like for $1 each!  And the best part is, all proceeds go to Tenth Life Cat Rescue!  Good luck!

We’ll also be hosting designer trunk shows on the Saturdays before Christmas!  This is your chance to meet our artists in person and hear all about their design process.  Each weekend will have a different theme, so be sure to plan accordingly!

Artists and vendors will bring in additional merchandise that isn’t normally stocked at The Foundrie to sell during this event.  You’ll have the chance to speak to each artist about their design process.

Saturday Dec 15th, 12p to 4p: Custom Gifts

This is a great “last minute” gift item that doesn’t look like it was purchased last minute. Examples of custom gifts for this event might be stamped jewelry, personalized art prints, add-a-charm type jewelry making, monogrammed items, etc.

 Saturday Dec 22nd, 12p to 4p:  Last Minute Madness

This is a sales event that will combine any of the above elements. Meet the artists and let them help you choose the perfect item or create your own custom gift!  You could even find last minute stocking stuffers!

Saturdays aren’t the only days that get our love here at The Foundrie.  We are happy to introduce DIY Sundays!!!  Our holiday DIY projects include 4 different ornaments made from pine cones, jute, twigs, clay, and felt.  Check out the top picture for examples.  You can make as many as you want for only $5 a piece!!  We’ll also have some special kid friendly projects so you can shop while we watch your little ones!  Be sure to watch Shelah on Great Day St.Louis this Wednesday for a demonstration of my favorite ornament.  You’ll have to tune in to see which one!  ;-)

We hope to see you all at The Foundrie this holiday season!