Monday, June 30, 2008

Mix and Match





I purchased this charming piece of furniture a few days ago. It' a marriage of two like pieces of furniture, a mix and match, making one truly creative, cottage style hutch that really has a HiHo look. When I purchased the piece I was told that the owners Grandmother painted the flowers on the sides and doors. It makes me wonder how it came to be...did a leg get damaged on the china cabinet? Did someone need more room , so they put the two together to have more space? Was it just a love of projects and the wish for a new look? I am sure the true story is wonderful, but we will never know. We have another piece for sale in the shop that I wish could talk and tell us it's story. A few months ago Claudia and I took a trip to one of our favorite hunting grounds, where we found a treasure. A large baby doll, she has beautiful eyes, pretty clothes, is in good condition, but best of all...she is a misfit toy. We decided to purchase her and when we brought her up to check out, the sales woman asked us if we were sure we wanted her, because she has two left feet. We were delighted, how could we leave her behind now, at that point she was a must have. We have her featured in the Highchairs and Hiccups room and we priced her so only someone in love with her will be taking her home. Many people have commented on how pretty she is, but one customer ( a toy collector) shared her thoughts on what possibly could be the dolls story. She said often dolls from large families have a number of mix and match parts. She explained older siblings would pass down toys to younger siblings. Often dolls have replacement parts from a number of hand me down toys, making a new, mix and match toy for the younger child. HiHo has a number of mix and match fixtures in the shop. Our candy cane counter has a base built from two old doors while the top is all new lumber. I even have a book case in my home that began as two small cases and now fills the upstairs hall standing well over five feet high. I'm sure in this age of "green" these items would all be considered ,reused, recycled, re purposed or some other trendy "re" word. However so many of these wonderful pieces were put together, "married" long before the "green" movement. So when a friend saw the charming country hutch made from two pieces of furniture and she said " a match made in heaven" I laughed. But now a few days have gone by and it doesn't seem so silly to call attention to the perfect match. Someone took the time to thoughtfully paint the flowers, piece together two left feet, stack and bolt two cases together, maybe all these things were destined to spend a life time together. I encourage you to try your hand at match making, you may just be part of a match made in heaven.