Bring it on!!!

Johan is ecstatic and nervous tonight because the container arrives tomorrow so he can load it up with all our goodies. I am definitely going to try to be there for the loading of the fall container. Poor Johan has to deal with all of the details, which are not easy. He has to prepare all the treasures to be ready for loading: selecting, crating delicate items, wrapping, etc. We have to use every nook and cranny of space to make it worth our while since it is quite expensive to bring a large container from Europe. But even before that, he has to prepare all the paperwork and documentation with details for shippers, brokers, customs, etc

For those of you who think we have a dream job, it's true most of the time, but there are little 

nightmares in between. Smile! It takes months of searching for items, cleaning, fixing, painting, etc. 

Then it takes 3 to 4 days to load it all up in a safe and sensible way.

 

Thank you Johan for all your hard work on that side on the Atlantic. Be safe as you load up 
and we look forward to having you here soon when the container arrives on our shores. 
Big hugs from us and I am sure from all our friends who read this.

And to those of you who are reading this, take a stroll through our web site here
for a preview of some of the beauties that will be loaded up tomorrow.

Trino

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

For us it feels like Valentines Day everyday 

because we get beautiful messages and comments from you daily, 

here, on Facebook, on Pinterest, and via e-mail.

We feel so lucky to hear and read how our style, our treasures, etc. inspires others, 
which in itself inspires us to continue doing what we love and spurs us to reach new heights. 
We are also inspired tremendously by the many of you and your unique gifts and talents.

Photo by Southern Life Beautiful

We love meeting many of you when you come to our events or find us at the antique fairs 
throughout California. These personal interactions with all of you makes us feel like the corner shop, 
the small town business where you get to know the names of people 
and make time for sharing about the day, family, life.

Image found by Harmonies du Soir 

Thank you again for being our Valentines all year long!

Team Atelier

Trinidad, Johan, and Martin

Our First Month

AAAAHHHHH!!! I feel like I have just surfaced from being underwater. January has been quite a month full of both responsibilities and opportunities for re-creation as well as recreation. We have spent some time refining our New Year's resolutions as they apply to our business, and also working on the personal ones. One of our resolutions related to the business is to be more constant in our posting here and we have not done well. Sorry for the long absence!

One of my excitements is to find pieces with old paint and patina 

when I'm shopping at antique and brocante markets 

We are constantly searching for more events and better opportunities to reach our customers. During this first month, we participated in our usual Alameda Antique Faire on the first Sunday of the month, which happened to fall on the first of the year, which means we couldn't partake in any of the New Year's Eve festivities. We also participated in the Sacramento Antique Faire which takes place the second Sunday of the month, and on the third Sunday, we participated in the Long Beach Antique Market. It was nice to go back to Sacramento and we got a great reception and Long Beach was outstanding!

On the fourth weekend we took a short trip to Mexico to join Martin's family in celebrating his niece's Quinceanera, and on the fifth weekend, we took a little trip to the dessert to celebrate Martin's birthday. That gave us some time to relax and re-create as well as have some fun, dance, sing, and eat some excellent Mexican food as well as visit some national parks.

Johan, on the other side of the Atlantic, has busied himself gathering more treasures at fairs, brocantes, and flea markets, making sure we have plenty of goods to fill up our container which is scheduled to arrive in our shores early April. Note: mark your calendars for the second weekend of April as we will be having our Container Unloading Sale!!! More information on that later. We are including some photos here, but you can also always follow the link to our web site here so you can get a preview of the treasures arriving. Hint: you can already start reserving items by sending us an e-mail.

Team Atelier

Wanted to share this picture I took in our garden 

at the warehouse in Belgium this morning of the snow 

that came down last night