Amber Road is off Route 20 in what is technically Marcellus, New York. But once you park your car in the lot, pop up the stairs and walk into this former church, you’d swear you were in heaven. That is, if antique shopping is your jam. It is mine.
Rummage Heaven is gorgeously merchandised. It is so fun to peruse the different rooms filled with furniture and accessories while enjoying the light reflecting from the beautiful stained-glass windows. I wanted to live there.
Everything is reasonably priced to sell and I will say that the items depicted in these photos may not be here next week or even tomorrow. There is a high turn-over due to the fact that this off-the-beaten-path shoppe is hardly a well-kept secret.
I’ve been fan-girling Rummage Heaven on Facebook – loving everything they post. I finally got the chance to visit and I was truly blown away. The space is airy and light, easy to walk around (and there were a lot of customers there for a weekday afternoon). It is a magical place. Everyone was so nice. The employees even call it their happy place.
They are open from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday and 10:00 am – 4:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Rummage Heaven is located at 3165 Amber Road, Marcellus, New York 13108. Call for more information – (315) 272-9236.
The AmeriCu Arts & Crafts Festival is celebrating its 50th year in downtown Syracuse, New York. Located on the streets surrounding Columbus Circle, there are about 150 artisans and crafters represented in this three-day event. It ends around 4pm today, July 25, 2021, so there is still time to check it out!
There’s food trucks, drinks and music too. My sister and I were there for two hours yesterday. So fun!
This is a juried exhibition. Lula Castillo’s booth at the festival won an honorable mention award. Her work is incredible. She uses plants, nuts, seeds and organic dyes to create exquisite pieces of jewelry. I’ve never seen anything like this!
The colors are so vibrant and fun. I loved everything about her sustainable materials collection.
She comes to us from Long Island, New York (formerly Columbia!)
I thought Erin Primerano’s presentation of her handwoven fine art clothing was wonderful. Her tent looked like a real store! The pieces are one-of-a-kind looks, using a mix of fibers from silk to cotton, to wool and can be hand-washed.
Her company is called Haute Made and you can find her on Etsy! She lives in Syracuse, New York.
Booth A4
I met Ted Greenfield from Chittenango, New York, last week at his City Market booth. These wood charcuterie boards are gorgeous! His company is called Bayside Wood Products.
It’s always a pleasure to see the effervescent Barbara Conte-Gaugel (Syracuse, New York) and her mixed-media handbags and satchels. Everything is handmade from recycled fabrics (including leather and old flour sacks). The larger bags are among my favorites with whimsical patterns that inspire positivity. She is selling these bags at the festival but she is also a fine artist – paintings and assemblages.
Devin Mack from Baltimore, Maryland, creates these fun wire sculptures of animals. He was in the process as I photographed him, said he does not use photographs, just whimsy, and the results are stunning!
Kathleen Scranton from Coventry, Connecticut, creates vintage book purses under the logo BeeZ. She comes to us from the business and marketing world. A chance rendezvous with a library eliminating old books sparked this plan to turn their covers into handbags. Purses come with a paperback version of the book.
Michelle DaRin, Pompey, New York, is a rock star around here. Her face is on billboards, as she is currently represented by Cazenovia Jewelry! I noticed that everyone who walked by Montgomery Street was a customer, including me (I was wearing three of her bracelets!).
Michelle DaRin Jewelry is a one person operation – she is the face of the brand. She selects the stones, cuts the metal, does all the metal-smithing and strings the leather.
The look is upscale Bohemian-chic/’70s vibe meets the new millennium.
Wildflowers Armory is a co-op – artisans who share in the responsibility of selling their wares in their store in downtown Syracuse (217 S. Salina Street). Co-owner Michael Heagerty posed for a few pictures with Kathy and me. He is an amazing person who has single-handedly changed the view of the local art scene in Syracuse – a beautiful person inside and out! <3
They have a double tent set-up on Montgomery Street at the festival with an eclectic mix of items for sale.
Merchandise includes clothing (like the awesome Everson is for Lovers shirt!), soaps, notecards, crafts, and artwork.
Finally, I want my Superintendent to buy these metal bear sculptures for our school (We are the Chittenango Bears!). And I want the cardinal sculpture for my back yard.
OMG, Dale Rogers! His work is exceptional. The sculptures are crafted from stainless steel in his studio in Massachusetts.
These BCBGMaxAzria sandals are currently in heavy wardrobe rotation. They are incredibly comfortable. I love them! They seem to compliment everything too – and, I receive compliments every time I wear them. Best $300 (or so) I have ever spent!
I bought them four or five years ago from www.bcbg.com.
I am opting for loose fitting dresses and peplums, as I navigate the end of the school year. I am up a smidge more than five pounds since the school year began. This is due in part to ice cream and most recently, to the spanakopita from St. Sophia’s Greek Fest (so good!).
It is also because I have spent the majority of the school year sitting behind a desk. I will get myself back to normal soon. No – I will not be the person with a closet full clothes that do not fit! <3
Spring 2021 has a T-shirt and skirt vibe – with boots in case of rain. I love the comfort of this look – the crew neck looks best on Zoom video. It does feel like a style that is the most “me” :cotton top/leather skirt. Masks not optional – yet.
Wearing all black is like wearing a uniform. There is comfort to it, and a sort of simplistic language, that absence of focal point, that thing where someone says, “I don’t remember what she was wearing, but she looked great.” Or at least that’s the dream, isn’t it?
I used to do a Black Mondays thing but now it’s just about what feels right in the moment (a.k.a. at 6:55 am).
We are doing an art lesson called “my favorite things”, which is a small drawing illustrating items using pictograms and some graffiti. I see a lot of pizza, video games, pets, and sports teams represented. Yes, there were clothes and shoes in my sample, but I tried not to be so one-dimensional. I also added…other stuff (I can’t really remember, off the cuff).
Many of these clothing items are among my favorite things/newest things – the Theory sweaters, the Coach leather skirts, the Rag & Bone boots…. Pretty much everything!
I had to change my wardrobe this year because it just feels so cold at school. I used to live in cardigans over short sleeve or sleeveless tops – layering to peel them off as the day progressed. I guess I used to get too hot, lol. Oh, and it was also because when I prepped the painting lessons and/or washed the paint brushes I didn’t want my sleeves to get wet or dirty. So there’s currently none of that.
We decided to give each student individual supplies. We are focusing on principles of art captured through sketch book assignments, as well as smaller colored pencil drawings on tagboard or Strathmore drawing paper. We just started second semester.
I was a V-neck girl before Zoom. Now I think crew necks look better for sitting in front of that screen all day. Saks Fifth Avenue to the rescue – they had a mega sale of cashmere sweaters for only $39.99! Craziness!!!
Here (above and below) are examples of the double sweater look. I know. I have a lot of sweaters. I will get them dry cleaned over mid-winter break, That starts in T-minus nineteen hours.
I will probably live in pjs and work-out gear during break. And possibly my art smock? I have several art projects that require my attention. I must take inventory of my Tashkovski jewelry collection – I recently acquired more vintage butterfly pins! I’d like to do more writing. And organize my closet. Maybe I should do that first.
This is how I began the Roaring Twenties. Shimmer-shammer in the form of this magnificent Rachel Zoe top, silver leather Marc Jacobs sandals with rhinestone heels (!) and lamb leather jeans (possibly my favorite item in my closet, as I keep them in heavy rotation and they go with EVERYTHING)!
The theme for this decade is sparkle, shine and animal prints/hides. I am really not keen on the safari look, although that cheetah thing was huge in Wonder Woman 1984. Those pumps look amazing on Gal Gadot (but what doesn’t?)
On second thought, maybe I will add some WW flair (and all it encompasses) to my 2021 wardrobe. <3
