Snatched Another Treasury West

I am at it again! This one was compiled using the term "urban." Click on it to see it in more detail. Leave a comment. Visit featured shops. Share the Etsy love! Alternates are shown in screenshot, and I will try to rotate them in the treasury this evening. I am waiting for the main Treasury to open later today. Of course I will blog it if/when I get one.

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Loft Online!

Urban Synergy has been doing some updating and marketing for their Sterchi's Lofts. This is where we live. As a family, we have had fun looking through the pictures on the web site finding "our sink" or "our bedroom." They have even posted a video on YouTube. We've had just as much fun watching it and pointing things out.

We wanted to share with you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kADCc4J0yQ

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Sneak Peek at the Loft

We have been in almost two weeks now. It is so hard to believe. It has been a whirlwind, a flurry of activity, a ... okay, no more cliches. Let me just say that, running the gallery, filling orders from our Etsy shop, Michael getting studio time, taking care of Quinn, visiting daycares/preschools, working my "nurse" job full time, etc., has made it VERY difficult to get settled. We have continuously had workers in the loft as well, after we moved in, for problems with the master shower, both with the tile and the plumbing, building custom storage doors, painting, hanging mirrors, moving towel rods, hanging glass in the second bathroom, cleaning windows, etc., and that has left the loft a mess--a dusty, dirty MESS! We had the "final" walk-through today, more issues were addressed, so I don't think that the dusty work-boot-prints across the hardwood floors are going anywhere... BUT, Urban Synergy has been fantastic to work with! John, Angela, Stephen, and John Z., have done their absolute best to pull it all together (oops, another cliche) and make things just right for us. It is amazing... They are amazing. The loft is amazing. Obviously, thoughwe will be relieved when things are truly FINISHED throughout the building, so we can have a clean, relaxing home, a block away from the studio/gallery, and not be woke up every morning at 0700 to construction noise. I will show you one photo. A sneak peek at the kitchen, still a work in progress (as we still are missing our island), and mind you, you can't see the boxes on the floor or paintings leaning against the wall due to selective cropping of the photo. By the way, photography hanging above sink is by a fellow Etsian, Everyday Eros.

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Fake Flowers

I share my distain for fake flowers with a friend and co-worker, Cheryl. Let me explain. I don't like fake, or better yet imitation flowers that are trying to look real, but are obviously FAKE. One of my biggest pet peeves, people who put FAKE flowers OUTDOORS!!! I mean, gimme a break! Plant some REAL flowers! Sorry for the rant...

Obviously, I do like REAL flowers, fresh flowers. I belong to my local florist's Friday Flower Club, getting a bouquet of fresh cut flowers weekly. I like dried flowers as well. I try to dry my fresh flowers. I like unique fake flowers, not immitation flowers, but fake flowers that aren't trying to look real. Maybe some pictures will help me clarify. These are some of my Etsy favorites:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27278601

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27101663

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23932977

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21062627

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27261324

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22077258

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21963546

I hope to make these above items an addition to our new downtown loft someday. I am also crocheting some flowers for Cheryl now, I hope to be able to crochet some for myself as well. When I do, I will share some more pictures with you.

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Countdown on Hold

Well, we are unsure of move in date. If you read our previous post, it was supposed to be tomorrow. We now are expecting later in the week, but since we have The Blue Plum festival Friday and Saturday, regardless, we can't begin moving in until Sunday.

These photos were taken during our last walk through on Saturday. This is taken from the front door into the open living space which includes dining, kitchen and living.

This is the corner of the kitchen, you can see the concrete countertops, large upper wall cabinets, refrigerator placement, and pantry. Can you believe above the pantry is the water heater? They do all that they can to maximize floor space.



The unfinished CONCRETE countertops. Are these not AWESOME? When finished or sealed, they will look wet. WOW! They are a muted orange, which will go GREAT with the orange pendant lights Michael let me pick out for the island area.



The master bedroom. I let Michael pick the wall color--green of course! As you can see, baseboards have yet to be placed. We are lacking LOTS of finishing touches.



Have you ever seen a rusted metal shower surround? This is for the master bath. It has a clear coat over purposely, chemically rusted metal. The shower will have two shower heads. I am thrilled about this feature!



Michael has been scrambling to get vanities done, moving them from studio to loft, and meeting up with the plumber. We are using substitute sinks until he can throw pots for the sinks. The sink for the master is a borrowed glass vessel sink--it is BEAUTIFUL! The sink for the boys' bathroom is a stainless steel bowl that we purchased at a kitchen specialty shop! I said I wasn't going to show the vanities until they were installed, but they look sooooo good! The vanity pictures were taken today in Michael's studio.

Master vanity with ambrosia maple top, unstained, just finished with a waterproof clear coat. Poplar base stained dark and sanded edges. Michael will (eventually) make some wooden boxes for use as bins to organize the shelves... Maybe one for him, one for me, and bottom shelf with folded towels?



The boys' vanity made out of poplar. Top was stained with a mahogany color stain with a contrasting honey oak for the base. Since we have four boys, we have four spaces for hand towels to hang, four shelves to the right for their personal stuff... Again, I am hoping Michael can make wooden bins for them. As far as the bottom open area, we are considering a metal door of some kind to coordinate with the metal rods that separate hand towels. The top shelf will be used for folded towels.

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Date Pushed Back

Our loft move in date is now June 2nd. So we have 6 more days. I don't believe I have shown you the artist's rendering of the facade. Let me show you the "before" photo, so you can get the maximum "wow!" effect of the after photo.

Go ahead and say it, "Whew! That is S-C-A-R-Y!"

This is the artist's rendering/sketch, then the computerized version:

Are you WOWED??? I was. I can see slow, steady progress on the outside. Windows are only in on the third floor. We will actually be moving in before the building is completely finished. The third floor will be done, the second will follow 2-4 weeks after, then the first floor will be finished last. It should be interesting! I can't wait! We got to pick ceiling fan blade shades (dark vs. light) and our pendant lighting over the kitchen island. We have bathroom faucets purchased. Michael is helping the plumber install the master vanity today. I will share pictures, likely right before we move in. Again credit to Urban Synergy. :)

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Loft Update -- The Countdown Begins

10 days to go until planned move in! It is hard to keep track of the progress because things are moving so quickly. Floors finished. Or at least here is a picture of them with one coat on. I was told the second coat will be cured in the morning. And below are pictures of the master vanity Michael is building and the loft with the windows in and base cabinets in the kitchen installed. I can't wait for more of the "pretty" stuff to get done. This is when it gets EXCITING!

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Loft Progress

Wow! Things are moving fast, now, and we are told that inspection will be May 25th! Michael is working on our bathroom vanities as I type. Yesterday morning we walked over to Urban Synergy to look at paint samples. I then went to the loft and snapped these pictures. The lighting is terrible, so forgive me. Windows are going in! Yay!

The ambrosia maple vanity top for the master bath (it's unfinished):

A peek at the hardwood floors sanded, but unfinished... Yep, original.

Windows going in...

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Promised Pictures

Well, still no good news about inspection or permanent power hook up, so as far as opening, we don't know when that will happen. Yesterday, we did a lot of cleaning. More cleaning still needs to be done! Where does all of the dust come from? Today, we are running to Lowes to check out some additional wood equipment. We'll probably come back to the studio/gallery to work some more, or at least Michael will. I have to work 3-11 as a nurse today. So goes another day in the life of the Rippers, and the adventure of living our art!

These pictures are of us yesterday: in front of the gallery, Quinn in pack-n-play, Cindy's studio, which we did most of the cleaning in...

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Today is THE Day!

Michael and I are here! Working in the studio/gallery. It's not like we are making art as of yet. Heck, we are still operating on temporary power and waiting for final inspection to get our occupancy permit. But, we are both off today, and officially made it our first day working together in the studio/gallery. Granted, we are just sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, organizing, but we are working, HERE! It's official! It is SO exciting! I will post more pictures later today, so stay tuned.

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Sitting in a Parking Lot

I am sitting in a parking lot typing this blog entry. It is only 10:25 in the morning. Michael and I met a notary earlier to sign the lease on the studio and gallery. Michael went to work (it is his last week working in the gallery in NC). Quinn and I drove to the county offices because not only do we need to file a business license with the city, which I did in November, but we also have to file a business license with the county. After filing with the county, Quinn and I drove back, stopping at apartment for a diaper change. We loaded back into the car to go back before the notary to sell a piece of property. That is where I am now. Sitting in the parking lot while he naps in the car, waiting to meet the buyer and exchange the deed for a cashier's check. After that, I have to drive to downtown Kingsport to meet Cindy Saadeh, to exchange the lease agreements and give her deposit and lease payment. AND after that (busy day, huh?), I have to go to the insurance agency to write a check for our business property insurance... Then, I will be running Quinn home to meet the sitter, so I can go to work my 3-11 shift. Whew!

I am sharing some pictures that were actually taken LAST weekend of the studio/gallery and the loft. We had three youngest with us when we walked through. As you can see, the boys were being quite silly.

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This Weekend's Loft Update

Me, Michael and Quinn spent Friday in downtown Kingsport. We met with the owner of the building where our studio and (future) gallery will be. We met with the bank regarding our small business loan. We also took the time to stop by neighboring merchants after getting lunch at The Kingsport Grocery Company. We met neighboring artist (she has her studio on the same city block) Suzanne Barrett Justice. We also went by the loft to check progress. We met the project forman who walked us through the space.

Since we had walked through last, the ceiling studs/joists were moved opening up the ceiling more. The ceiling studs/joists were moved opening up the ceiling more. You can see the finished effect in the first photo. The framing is almost complete! We now have a better sense of size. We both realize that on paper the space seemed bigger than in reality. The loft is over 1300 square feet, but it feels smaller than we imagined. You can see the curve of the walls. This is one of our favorite features. Tomorrow I will post pictures of the studio and gallery. The studio and gallery space will be finished before the loft. The loft and the building that the studio and gallery are in are on the same city block, just around the corner. Maybe I can Google Earth it and show you tomorrow. Click on picture to see larger.

Please look at the weekend's posts. New products posted! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

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Another Loft Update

These pictures were taken with my iPhone last week. Demolition is finally complete. Things have been a bit delayed, but framing should begin tomorrow. I also have some pictures of Michael's studio and our future gallery. They were taken on the same day. Both the loft and studio/gallery are being restored by Urban Synergy. The studio/gallery will be finished first. We actually met with the electrician yesterday to plan to add some additional electrical outlets. Workers had primed the walls and were cleaning up the exposed brick walls. It is all so exciting! Next time we walk through, I will take some photos with my REAL camera.

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Bagherra and Quinn

Last week we (Quinn and I) were in downtown Kingsport. We checked out a daycare, ate lunch, walked through the gallery, walked through the loft, and looked over blueprints at Urban Synergy.

Angela has a cat in the office with her, his name is Bagheera.Quinn was in total awe. Bagheera tolerated Quinn's curiousness. Their interactions were so entertaining. I snapped a few photos with my iPhone.

Quinn has his one year check up today! Off to the doctor...

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Our Downtown Loft--Demolition Stage

We are working with an amazing couple who have been the catalyst for downtown revitalization. You may visit their website and see completed projects/examples of their work at http://www.urbansynergy.net/. We have been waiting on one building to be completed (inspection is this Friday) for the current commercial tenant of our loft to move out completely. The current tenant has allowed some demolition to begin with the exception of removing plaster from the brick due to the noise. We will be in the biggest loft on the top/third floor. Don't let these pictures scare you!

We are excited about our future and urban living! The walls will be exposed brick. The floors original hardwood. Open living area: kitchen/dining/living with curved walls... So tell us what you think!

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