I’ve been a fan of Lucky Star Gallery for a while now, their website is amazing, chock full of vintage Cowgirl goods that you’ll love. What really makes this mother-daughter team {Harriette & Missy Allison} so special is their authenticity and commitment to keeping the spirit of individuality, American pride and Wild West Fever ALIVE AND KICKIN’!! Here’s a little more about this dynamic duo…

CACTUS: Where is The Lucky Star Gallery located?

The Lucky Star Gallery is a web-based store. Our 3000 sq ft warehouse is located in Reno, NV and is chock full of our American antiques, western collectibles and our fabrication shop for our line of leather accessories/furnishings. We are open to the public by appointment, we work with decorators/designers and do prop rental, as well.

CACTUS: Have you always lived in Reno?

No. We (my mom and I) are from Bishop, CA. We are from a large Italian family base, there in the Owens Valley – cattle ranchers and cowboys! My mom has been in Reno for going on 20 years. I came to be near her after I graduated college in southern California in 1996, I left for San Francisco in 1998, moved to Hawaii in 2000, and have now been here in Reno again for almost 10 years. Reno is a convenient location for us, we are only 4 hours from our hometown and extended family.

CACTUS:  How does living in that region affect your style?

Four solid seasons makes for an extensive wardrobe! I think that our style has less to do with the region we live in and more to do with our passion for the west and for the past. We are inspired by vintage lifestyle, quality of craft and COLOR!

CACTUS: You own Lucky Star Gallery with your mom ~ how did you guys come upon the decision to open a business together?

My mom has always dabbled in antiques, as a collector. Following the death of my step-dad in 1996, she took a buying trip with some friends who were antique dealers. By the end of the trip my mom was officially on her way into the business. In 2001 I joined her on a cross-country buying trip and got hooked, myself. It was on that road trip that we conceptualized The Lucky Star Gallery.

CACTUS: What are the best and worst parts of working with your mom?

My mom and I enjoy lots of the same things, appreciate each others tastes and ideas, and have a good time! We created this business together and share a common vision for success… the challenges that come are sometimes difficult to navigate, our emotional attachment to the business and to each other makes it feel like we have more at stake.

CACTUS: What is the mission of Lucky Star Gallery?

The Lucky Star Gallery began as an American antiques business, and although we have diversified with our design work, our mission has stayed the same. We are dedicated to an active process of restore, reuse & recycle by utilizing American antiques. We believe in the handmade quality of products from yesterday, and in buying American made.

This philosophy continues through my mom’s designs. Her furniture designs all start with vintage pieces, rebuilt and restored she gives new life to those pieces and creates museum quality art furniture. Her handbag, wallet, belt & guitar strap lines all began as ways to use excess leather from her furniture making.

READ MORE After the Break >>>>>>>>>>>
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Also check out the new VINTAGE INDUSTRIAL LIGHTS that Barn Light Electric Co. has introduced to their selection!!

** Click HERE for more LIGHTING **

** Click HERE for more VINTAGE **

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A peek into the Cactus Creek Store…

 All of these things now available on Cactus Creek’s new Etsy site.

Just dipping my toe into the world of Etsy… everyone else is doing it and I just can’t stand to not be a part of the crowd.  Ha… we’ll see how it goes.

** Click HERE for other VINTAGE SHOPS **

** Click HERE for more from the Cactus Creek Store **

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One Christmas when I was a student at Texas A&M I was trying to figure out what to give my friends as gifts.  Being a poor college student I had to come up with something inexpensive so I ventured upon a DIY project that involved materials I had access to, while also being appropriate for my comprades.  The result was a picture frame with beer bottle caps glued to the frame.  This is a true story… I can remember hanging out at a little burger & beer place during the entire Christmas break eating fries, drinking cold ones, listening to the juke box & collecting bottle caps.  Ahhh, the good ol’ days.

Recycled Bottle Cap Photo Frame from La Bella Vita
{NOTE: my bottle cap frames weren’t nearly this cool!!}

I’ve included a few examples of what the ingenious types in the world of UPCYCLED ART are creating with bottle caps.

{Upcycling is “The practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value” From the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart.}

Bottlecap Necklace from Kotik-Design

Bottle Cap Mosaic Table from BottleCapArtWork.com

Bottle Cap Mirror from Around The Bend

Vintage Sculpture Arrows & Signs

Bottle Cap Embellishment on shelves holding a bottle collection.  This comes from Jim Healy Junk Architect and was featured on JunkMarketStyle.com.

Recycle * Repurpose * RE~LOVE

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

** Click HERE for more JIMT ideas!! **

** Click HERE for more about **
Vintage Sculpture & Around the Bend

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“We are those who would rather re-imagine and re-make the old than lust after the new. We are the lovers and re-purposers of the material culture of the past.” Jan Orr-Harter, the new proprietor of the Dolly Johnson Antique & Art Show.

I am acquainted with Jan Orr-Harter from my trips to Round Top Antique Week where Jan sets up her antique business, Hot Tamale Antiques, every spring and fall at Marburger Farm. I always look forward to seeing what Jan brings to the show because it is never happen-stance. Her passion for antiques and her attention to detail always guarantee a brilliant selection of goods {read about her process for selecting items HERE}.

Recently Jan took a leap of faith and purchased the Dolly Johnson Antique & Art Show which will celebrate it’s 47th year this March 12 & 13, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas. The show’s 75 dealers will offer antiques from “Pilgrim Century to Mid-Century Modern. There will be art and antiques from France, England and Italy. There will be American Colonial and Spanish Colonial. Look for Garden, Industrial, Retro, Textiles and Jewelry, as well the top-quality American primitives and western antiques for which the show has been loved all these years by a strong regional audience”.

Sooo… mark your calendars now and stay up to date on all of the vendors through Jan’s new blog right HERE. She is an extremely talented writer and, whether you can make it to the show this year or not, I know you will enjoy getting to know Jan via her forthcoming posts.

p.s. All pics came from Jan’s home… I love the colors, it looks so warm & cozy. I would expect no less. Thanks Jan!! xo,fancy

** Click HERE for more about **
Hot Tamale Antiques

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Round Top GUIDE

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I was at a sale not long ago and found a HUGE BOX of license plates.  Not just a few, but a ton, and for a great price.  Most of them were Missouri plates and not all that old, so they don’t hold a lot of market value, but there are sooo many things that you can do with these plates.  Don’t pass em’ up and don’t throw yours away… here are a few ideas to get you rolling.

I took that stack of Missouri license plates and cut them into stars {actually my super-strong husband cut them with tin snips, but I totally could have done it by myself ~ wink, wink}.  Then I glued Super Strong Magnetsto the back of the license plate stars. Voila ~ hip little magnets.

I also used wire to make a hanger from a few of the plates ~ add the star magnets and you have the perfect magnet board for your mud room.

Of course all of these things are available at the Cactus Creek STORE… I have a few license plates left so you can do it yourself ~ and also a few little magnet stars for your buying pleasure.  Want me to mail you one??  They’re only $3 each ~ just call 816.878.2278.

Recycle * Repurpose * RE~LOVE

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

** Click HERE for more JIMT ideas!! **

Want more inspiration?? Here are what others are doing with their license plates. Try it yourself or, even better, leave it to someone super strong with their own tin snips ~support small businesses & buy it online!!

Super Speedy Space Rocketship – Recycled License Plate Art

Personalized License Plate Necklace

Wyoming Fender Purse

{more after the break below}

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Last week I was at a sale and while scouring through the garage I came across an old AUTO CREEPER.  Now I’ll admit, I had no idea what it was when I first saw it hanging on the wall.  Thankfully there was a sweet little man next to me who explained ever so slowly that it was an AUTO CREEPER, used for checking underneath cars, of course.

This one happened to have  just enough auto grease, the perfect black stain and RICH colored wood, to make me grab it quickly before the sweet little man stepped one inch closer to my treasure. 

As of now this Vintage AUTO CREEPER is propped on this coffee table in the store ~ I’m thinking it would be a very clever alternative to a lazy susan.  Or perhaps ideal for using under a big plant you take in & out of the elements.  Or just hang it on the wall and celebrate all of the cozy memories it brings with images of your gramps changing your oil, even though your Dad told you should learn how to do it yourself.

And that’s my big idea for today ~ in 3 paragraphs.  xo,fancy

p.s. yes, it’s for sale ~ $75.  call 816.878.2278 and I’ll hook you up.

Recycle * Repurpose * RE~LOVE

This idea will be featured on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

** Click HERE for more JIMT ideas!! **

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Surfing Cowboys is a California store dedicated to all of the things that make the West Coast the epitome of the Wild West… whether you are lassoing waves, riding the board walk, or panning for gold, at Surfing Cowboys your mission is to enjoy the last stop on the journey westward.

With a store in Venice Beach, Surfing Cowboys certainly covers the gamut in selection of new and old, rugged and smooth… I, of course, am enticing you with images of all things Western~ish.  But there is also a broad seleciton inspired by the big blue ocean and the carefree life of surfers & skaters.

The trend for GREEN isn’t really new ~ for years “anteekers” have been paving the way for the RECYCLE * REPURPOSE * REUSE mantra…
I especially love Surfing Cowboys’ list of
“5 Great Green things about buying Vintage:”

1. You are producing less waste by saving a perfectly good, handcrafted piece of furniture from the scrap heap.

2. Old wood versus new wood, it is stronger by nature.

3. Lessening the demand for new goods reduces the strain on the environment and our natural resources.

4. Creating jobs for local craftsmen who are expert upholsterers, wood-workers, and refinishers.

5. Keeping that carbon footprint small! We buy locally and do deliveries in our Sprinter van.

Both in our businesses, and in our homes, we should all be so dedicated to our earth as well as our local community.
Thanks for the reminder SCVB!! cheers, fancy

p.s. Be sure to check out the pictures of the Surfing Cowboys STORE right HERE.  I’m thinking that a trip to California is going to be a must-do for 2010!!

** Click HERE for more **
California STORES WE LOVE!!

** Click HERE for more VINTAGE **

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Authentic, quality WESTERN ANTIQUES are becoming more and more difficult to acquire… to me these are the greatest treasures of our country because no other place in the world has the WESTERN history that the United States boasts.  No one else owns Cowboys and Indians, making the relics of that time are incredibly special to our country.

Sooo, you can imagine my delight when I met Jim Williams who, along with his brother Bruce, deals exclusively in WESTERN ANTIQUES.  Whether you are searching for 1880’s Cowboy, Victorian, Lodge Furnishings or Americana, these gentleman are well versed in the marketplace.

The Buffalo Bill banner {ABOVE} is one of my “dream treasures”… Someday I would like to own at least one piece of the original promotional materials from the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, just like this one.  Someday…

Just another example of the fine vendors at Marburger Farm during Round Top Antique Week… To learn more about WESTERN ANTIQUES you can contact Jim at 417.840.2994.

{more pics after the break…}

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Jan Orr-Harter, proprietor of Hot Tamale Antiques, has been in the antique business for years.  Known for meticulously hand picking beacon blankets, folk art and quality furniture that matches the revolving trends in the antique market, Jan has earned the reputation of a top dealer at Marburger Farm during Round Top Antique Week.

I most enjoy visiting with Jan and getting her take on “what’s hot right now”.  As the pictures above exhibit, it’s still “white” and “industrial” that are driving the market.

But that’s not to say we don’t need a little COLOR in our lives.

To learn more about Jan and Hot Tamale Antiques visit her website HERE, and stay tuned to Cactus Creek where we will be unveiling Jan’s plans for the Dolly Johnson Antique Show, an event she has recently acquired and looks forward to revitalizing.

** Click HERE for Jan’s Countdown to Round Top**
{it’s a lesson on how to be thorough and exact in a business that is neither of those, very impressive!!}

** Click HERE for more about Round Top Antique Week **

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