Warrenton/Round Top {Part 3} Conversation

Chris Brown: So, here we are. How does it feel passing the torch of Clutter over after all these years?

D'Ette Cole: Actually it feels pretty good. It's been such a great transition; for the Clutter show, for Staci Schwantz (the new owner), for Shirley Schwantz (my Clutter business partner) and for me. After coming to the bittersweet decision back in January to leave the Clutter Show and the retail side of the antique/junk business, I was thrilled when Staci expressed interest in buying my part of the show and all of my remaining inventory. Thrilled because it made it easy to turn over something that I'd worked so hard to create and build over the past 13 years to someone that is so appreciative and completely 'gets' my style, my merchandise and my customer base. Staci has a great eye and sensibility and is a great addition to the show.


D'Ette Cole: It's funny because I think my friends gave me a broader perspective on my exit from the junk business after all of these years. What I was viewing as just a different turn on my career path they saw as a major 'unfettering' and as an occasion to marked with celebration and threw me a "Farewell to Junk" party on Valentine's Day. Do I miss being out here and working and selling my merchandise? Absolutely. I especially miss seeing all of the great people that I've gotten to know over the year's out here who relish junk like me. And, I can always come back to visit like I'm doing today.

Chris: By the way, the food here at SACK LUNCH is crazy good. What are you having there?

D'Ette: Sharon Bright (Sack Lunch owner) is the best and the food is super good and she's very inventive with her menu. She made me a tuna nicoise salad with extra tomatoes - yummy.

Chris: This goat cheese, balsamic marinaded tomatoes, greens sandwich is a breath of fresh air out here in the country.

D'Ette: I know, it's been such a luxury to have her set up here at Clutter during shows. It was pretty amazing to be out here in the middle of nowhere and get my iced single soy latte every morning.



Chris: So what have you been up to since the last time we got together?

D'Ette: Well, it's been quite a whirlwind in the last 6 months. In the first week of January I got offers to do design/decor for 3 different events which were all in March and April. They were all exciting and challenging and very enticing and two were such incredible opportunities that i just couldn't turn them down. So with the new jobs on top of my existing clients, I knew that Etta Industry (my design business) had taken off to the point that i couldn't focus on it and Clutter too. So that was a really big realization for me and what signaled a turning point in my career.

Chris: This sounds exciting what kind of projects are you working on?

D'Ette: Right now I'm working on such an interesting variety of design projects. I'm doing decor work for residential interiors, design and merchandising consultation for retail businesses, I'm working as a photographer, doing graphic design in web and print media, and I'm doing design/decor for events. And, I'm trying to set aside time to make art.

Chris: Wow, a lot of what I'm doing also with Urban Prairie. That sounds like you have your hands full!

D'Ette: Yea, and it feels very productive and very good. One of my most exciting projects is a wedding event for the end of April set on the grounds of a historic hotel in Kingsland, Texas. I was hired to design the invitation package, do the site design/decor for the ceremony and dinner reception for 250 including floral and do photography and formal portraiture for the event. It's one of my more comprehensive projects and it has been such a delight to work with such encouraging and appreciative clients. My theme is an unconventional yet sophisticated Texas-style garden party incorporating lots of natural elements. I think it's going to be beautiful and magical . . . unless it rains . . . then, it'll be tented beauty and magic. I know from doing Clutter for 13 years, that when planning events at outdoor venues you've always got to have a firmly plotted plan b.

Chris: Can you tell us about the direction etta industry is headed now?

D'Ette: Well, I want to overhaul and expand the Etta Industry website. I want it to be more like an online magazine - making it visually more juicy. And, I hope that the interesting and challenging assignments keep coming my way. Things feel good right now, really good.

Photos by D'Ette Cole

Urban Prairie "Collector Profile" Series (5)

Art School Girl's origins can be traced back to owner, Amy Rowan's days as a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was there that she constructed what would be the first of several stationery lines—a simple blank journal made from recycled books. Fueled by a passion for paper and a love for specialty printing processes, Art School Girl specializes in one-of-a-kind hand made paper goods. Expertly crafted from recycled materials and often sewn or printed by hand, each piece is artisan quality.

Name: Amy Rowan
Location: Chicago, IL
Company: Art School Girl

Influences: Broken books, library discards, wrong answers in old workbooks, handwritten library cards, printing that’s just a little off register, halftones, old mailing labels, typewriters, stitches, linear drawings, neon diamond signs, plants that grow, albino animals, bunnies on the sidewalk, the ocean, the woods, artists (this list is endless but currently I love the work by Caroline Hwang, Camilla Engman, and Lisa Solomon) and of course my ever talented group of friends and family.

Philosophy: Personally I try to consume less, recycle more, and reuse wherever I can. In my work I try to resuscitate surplus, discarded, and ordinary materials by repurposing them. I enjoy making old cast-offs desirable again. As well as creating products that encourage personal correspondence and creative thinking.

Favorite Collection: My library of vintage books

Favorite Piece from Collection: First Aid book collection

Website: www.artschoolgirl.com

Warrenton/Round Top - The Photo Shoot

I had asked D'Ette Cole of Etta Industry to shoot some pixs of me for upcoming projects and promotional purposes during the Warrenton/ Round Top Antique Week. She took about 100 photos of me all over the grounds and fileds. Above is one of my favorites. It was taken at the CLUTTER show.

Photo by D'Ette Cole

Warrenton/Round Top {Part 2} The Fields

"JUNKHUNT.07" was the official title of the mission that Urban Prairie's Chris Brown and D'Ette Cole from Etta Industry set out on. The location? Warrenton, Texas. The starting point? CLUTTER.


D'ette Cole and Shirley Schwantz started CLUTTER 12 years ago. Eager to pursue larger scale projects and work in a broader, more far reaching design arena, D'Ette recently announced her departure from Clutter. {More on this in Part 3}...This was the obvious place to kick everything off.


The first stop, the Mushroom Man. Richard Taylor of Flat Earth Designs has earned the nickname "Mushroom Man" for one obvious reason - he produces some of the most amazing, realistic concrete mushrooms I've ever seen. His attention to color and detail is truly inspiring.


Out in the Bar W field, Chris is drawn to objects and collections in his favorite color palette.


In the blue bonnet field,under a huge white tent with straw on the ground the hunt turns to Becky and Yur's 22nd/2nd Street warehouse. Beautiful things, old and new, perfect for a Urban Prairie lifestyle.


Layers of color, dirt, rust and tatter excite the eye.


Glenda and Jim Ballentine come from Nebraska and set up their tent in the Blue Bonnet field. D'Ette says "They are my secret source for stacks and stacks of old ticking pillows and wonderful smalls. Every show I make a beeline to them first. Plus they're just delightful people."


More cool finds...


It was a beautiful, sunny day in the blue bonnet field. Treasures, collections and oddities were gathered up. Among many things, Chris came away with a vintage softball collection {pictured above} while D'Ette grabbed up every possible thing with 5 on it, her favorite number.

Photos by D'ette Cole.

Warrenton/Round Top {Part 1} Hot Item

Warrenton/Round Top, Texas; Sturgis for junk/antique hunters. What was the hot, must have, seen everywhere item of the show? Vintage anatomy charts. While loading up on some of the coolest of the cool, and the oddest of oddities items that will soon find their way to the Urban Prairie SHOP section, I feasted on prime charts of all kinds. Hearts, lungs, bones and layers of skin. In all sizes and price ranges. Every home or office needs one or two.

And the WINNER is...

Congratulations to Jenny Heid! She voted and won in the Urban Prairie "Crack Heads" book survey. Jenny will receive a FREE copy of Chris Brown's new book about cracked, faded and vintage doll heads available June in PRINT form. Thanks for the great response from all. Visit Jenny's blog at journals.aol.com:80/jennyeveryday/everyday-is-a-holiday.

Warrenton/Round Top Antique Show Update:

Another week of oddities, junk, antiques, BBQ, friends and the junk prom has come and gone. In the coming week, stay tuned for inside looks at the "JunkHunt" with D'Ette Cole of Clutter fame, the "fields" in Warrenton and the Marburger Farm experience.

Pictured Above: Steve Wiman of Uncommon Objects and Chris Brown.

Opening Soon!

The wait is almost over! The SHOP at Urban Prairie will be available May 5th. Cool collections, wonderful oddities, beautiful curious goods and much more will be offered. Don't miss your chance to see what the "new generation" of designers are collecting and filling their own living spaces with.

Warrenton Bound

Off to the small towns of Warrenton and Round Top, Texas for Antique Week. Back next Friday. Full report and photos will be posted next Saturday. Now I'm off - so much junk, so little time.

Postcard

Print or Digital?

Chris' new book "Crack Heads", a collection of vintage doll heads will be released in June. But how? That's where you come in. A Urban Prairie {Survey}...How should the book be released? In a traditional print form, or in digital format? Do you like to curl up on the couch and turn the pages of a actual paper filled book, or would you like to sit at your laptop and drink a cup of java while clicking through a colorful cd? We'd like to hear your thought. Every person who casts a vote will be entered in a drawing to win a FREE copy - in what ever format prevails. Please comment below or email chris@urbanprairie.net, subject: Print or Digital?

Urban Prairie "Collector Profile" Series (4)

Ultra hip blogger and ad exec Victoria Smith describes her style as "bohemian modern", a phase that admittedly caught the attention of Urban Prairie's Chris Brown. Chris says "Victoria mixes new items with vintage finds in her 900 square foot San Francisco apartment. That's the vibe of Urban Prairie." Her most talked-about possession is "Rico Suave," an unsigned portrait of a young man, dated 1954 (pictured above).

Name: Victoria Smith
Location: San Francisco, CA

Influences: Wary-Meyers Design Team, Design*Sponge's Grace Bonney, Kelly Wearstler, Amy Butler

Philosophy: Things to be admired and loved don't have to be expensive. Flea marketing and yard sale hunting is a way of recycling and not being caught up in too much consumerism. I like buying from local artists and small mom & pop businesses as much as I can. Trust what you like and reflect your own personality in your home. Try not to be a chain-store clone.

Favorite Collection: I like Amy Butler's work a lot, because it seems to blur the lines between comfortable, colorful homey pieces and a fresh, clean modern feel. It's not a look that's cookie-cutter or defined and very eclectic. I like that.

Favorite Piece from Collection: I love her quilted pillows.

Website/Blog: www.sfgirlbybay.com

A Day of Clutter

Twice a year, kind of out in the middle of nowhere, this pretty wonderful thing happens. People come from far and wide with their treasures and wares and all weather gear. They set up their goods to sell in fields and yards and barns and on porches and in big circus-sized tents. And this sleepy pastoral countryside is transformed into a bustling marketplace. So goes the Warrenton/Marburger Farms Antique Show in South Texas, March 31 - April 7. CLUTTER, a show in the show itself, is one of the not to miss stops. D'Ette Cole started Clutter 12 years ago. In that time she has gathered a huge following. Eager to pursue larger scale projects and work in a broader, more far reaching design arena, D'Ette recently announced her departure from Clutter. While Clutter will continue by a close friend, Staci Schwantz, D'Ette's vibe and direction will be missed.

On April 2, Chris and D'Ette will meet at Clutter and set out on the fields of the show and bring you a "junkhunt" like never before. Stay tuned to these pages for pictures and a blow by blow account.

Photo by D'Ette Cole

A True Fan (5)

From Carolyn Peeler:

If there are any of you out there who also love doll heads you may want to check out this link. This site has the most awesome vintage doll head wallpaper for your desktop. It's the image on my laptop and desktop computer. Makes me happy every time I look at it. If doll heads aren't your thing, this website still has some great inspiration and is definitely worth a look. Urban Prairie is a site that all lovers of country antiques should visit. Note: This is not your grandmother's country. Chris Brown is a designer/stylist and founder of Urban Prairie and he has an incredible eye. His refreshing and modern interpretations of country style are not to be missed. Definitely worth getting a cuppa java or tea and clicking through his whole site.

Forward with Butler

David Butler; designer, author, a guy who use to produce super cool sections for Country Living magazine as a contributing editor and owner of one of the hippest multidisciplinary design studios around, Art of the Midwest, is getting "Cracked". David has agreed to write the forward to Chris' upcoming book "Crack Heads". David and Chris have long been fans of each others work - they share a lot in common. So it was a no brainier when Chris was thinking of just the right person to introduce his book about cracked and faded, vintage doll heads. Check out David's book "Found Style" and his wife Amy's Midwest modern site amybutlerdesign.com. "Crack Heads", the first in the Urban Prairie ODDITY series, is scheduled for release in June.

What's On My ipod

Waylon Payne, "The Drifter"
The music of "The Drifter" is anything but aimless. It's vignettes play like an unexpectedly gripping first indie film -- rough edges, raw nerves, emotional train wrecks and all, as in the wasted, enraged and obsessive “On and On.” In conversation, Waylon makes constant intuitive connections between a life lived and the music that comes out of it, attesting to the hard-won personal discoveries reflected in his album. Payne says, “My Aunt Yvonne and Uncle Bob raised me in Dallas, Texas, from the time I was about four months old, till I was 17 or 18. Every summer when I was out on tour with my Mama, was the only time we used to hang out. Music’s just always been there for me -- it was the only real thing that I remember. My mama’s record albums, Barbara Mandrell, Willie Nelson, Connie Smith, George Jones, and then there was the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd.”

www.waylonpayne.com

Never Heard of Him.

From jamaica.typepad.com
Okay, so I'm not really sure who Chris Brown is other than it says he's a designer/stylist/collector. Something about the next generation of country design. Whatever, his Urban Prairie web site is beautifully designed. This page took my breath away. I love the typography, layered illustrations and the gritty handmade feel. Very cool.

Bottles Are Back!

Back by popular demand! Available in April. The official "Urban Prairie" vase; crusty bottles from Chris' home state of Texas are adored with vintage and some times rare pins and brooches. Alone on a counter with a single white rose or clustered in a group of twelve for a bold statement, these bottle vases have been a standard in Chris' home for years. Check the SHOP section at urbanprairie.net in April to purchase yours.

Down Under with Urban Prairie

From DESIRE TO INSPIRE {desiretoinspire.blogspot.com}, a Australian design blog:

Chris Brown is the genius behind Urban Prairie. A man with a finely tuned eye for the found and forlorn, Chris' edgy out of the box country style is inspiring the next generation of "found" collectors. Probably the funkiest looking site I've seen in ages. Chris says, “I’ve found that the people that are drawn to my style, my design sense are more than just collectors. They are people who want to live a simple life with things they love around them - in an interesting way.”

Urban Prairie "Collector Profile" Series

Third in a series - Elizabeth Maxson

Name: Elizabeth Maxson
Company: Elizabeth House
Location: Saint Louis, MO

Crew: Elizabeth, God, Ara, Tara, Patrick, and any unsuspecting male figure who wanders into my store just as I need to move, hang, or take down something very heavy and I am working alone. Believe me, I will ask!

Influences: Having lived in Europe for six years plays a part. Another part? My imagination...it rules over logic. It ignores opinions. And it saves me from the mundane. But it can cost me sleep....for it never stops.

Philosophy: Use what you love and love what you use. I truly believe in using everything in my home...nothing is for show. I have no room in my home (or my life for that matter) for things that are just for show. I believe in "livable elegance." Who said "elegance" means all glitter and glam? There is something very elegant about the curve of a tarnished tea pot. There is something elegant about a single rose bud soaking up water from an antique lab beaker or test tube. Just shift your paradigm.

Favorite Collection: Furniture! Yes, furniture. The epitome of recycling is taking something that is ready for the junk yard, and breathing new life into it. My recycled furniture is painted with love, upholstered with care, and used with enthusiasm. Nothing makes me happier than to hear a visitor squeal with delight as she enters my bathroom and discovers an antique baptismal font refurbished into a sink.

Favorite Piece from Collection: My dog bed made from a vintage television set circa 1950. My little pug, Monty, hops through the "screen" and curls up on his custom cushion and Ta Da! I now have HDTV! (Happy Dog Television)

Website: www.elizabethhouse.us
Blog: www.elizabethhousestlouis.blogspot.com