I know I complained a little about how our containers always seem to arrive with frenzy during a raging rainstorm, a rare blustery snow squall or the hottest day of the year and figured this one would be no exception. But actually, I was wrong! We greeted this container on the most gorgeous day of the year and calmly but efficiently got to work unpacking and enjoying every back-breaking minute!
This may not look like your idea of fun, but when every package is a surprise treasure, and when everyone gathers around to admire and inquire about it, it's utterly worth every minute of fighting with cardboard, string and crates.
A few hours into the reveal, the sun came around and it turned into the most glorious day. Meg or Trudy had the bright idea to get our photographer Emily over to shoot some images as we unpacked. It didn't take long for every designer to get involved, and before we knew it, they were setting up vignettes of the new found treasures right there in the parking lot, just as though it were a professional studio photo shoot!
Our photographer, Emily, was brought in to shoot
And the designers got to work!
There was the vintage bistrot chair vignette, artfully set up around a crusty "etablit" (antique French workbench) and accessoried with touches of green confit pots
And the crunchy combo vignette, with a Swedish clock, a Dutch enfilade and a French chair covered in a 17th C tapestry
The mix-it-up vignette with a classy 1970's Cassina table mixed with French Louis XVI chairs and the most gorgeous barometer we've ever had
And the orange and black vignette, with some of our vintage Hermes scarves, their boxes and one of the vintage Veuve Clicquot champagne buckets
How about the rams head vignette, with a table base (missing the glass top, which we hadn't unpacked yet), surrounded by Louis XVI style French chairs, a Dutch commode from Paris and a couple of everyone's favorite prune dryers (who knew we'd all be obsessed with prune dryers?!).
And finally the toss it all together vignette with the most gorgeous 18th C. commode surrounded by eclectic friends. Imagine this little mess cleaned up and looking so good, with a few more paintings thrown in, like the room we proudly did at the Cashiers Show House a couple of years back:
Huff Harrington Room from Atlanta Homes & LIfestyles
When the designers finished spinning their magic, Emily went back to shooting a couple of her favorite things like the famous black and white Aptware that we are so proud to carry:
And a slew of our vintage bread boards, in every shape, size and weight
I love this image of the mirrors stacked in a box and reflecting the pretty leaves from the trees in our parking lot! (Not how Louis imagined them, I'm sure!)
We can never resist charming paintings for our Heritage collection, and this one, a 19th C. French marine oil painting with a gorgeous frame was no exception.
Louis XV might not approve, but l love the juxtapostion of these two mirrors, set up against the rough cinderblock wall of our downstairs storage unit
And our friendly French frog, welcoming us with a smile
And perhaps one of my favorite pieces from the container: A series of the complete set of Voltaire's writings, all 75 volumes! It kills me just a little to sell these in sets of three, but unless we have a Voltaire aficionado out there who would like to speak up quickly and buy the whole set, that's probably what we'll do. They do make amazing accessories, and conversation pieces. (In fact, off the record, it reminds me of the time a very famous and brilliant Princeton educated actress (yes, with distinctive eye brows) came in to the store with her daughter and sat down to read to her (in a perfect accent) from one of our vintage French books. It was definitely a memorable moment ... and maybe she'll come back again!)
I always thought the best part of a container is the fabulously fun adventure of shopping in Europe. But in this case, I have to say that the heart-warming pleasure was unveiling the treasures to the oooh’s and aaah’s of our ever-supportive Huff’ingtons right here in Atlanta. They make it all so fun ...
And I'm glad you could share in it!
Ta ta,
HH
P.S. The treasures from the container will make their way into the store shortly and onto the website as soon as they're photographed. If you see anything you'd like to have more information on, feel free to stop by or call us at 404.467.0311 x 1.
