Project Smid: A Surprise Visit To the LA Ghetto

1.12.15

There aren’t many things I wouldn’t do for a score. A score by my definition is something that is charished, worthy of interior praise and usually in my case, vintage I can’t live without. I have been convinced by one of my friends to tell the story about my unexpected furniture pick up in the LA Ghetto. That’s exactly where I ended up with this piece.

As for a little background, I always drive a truck for my flea marketing trips. For my larger projects, I have rented a 14′ Uhaul. And baby, I have filled that truck from floor to ceiling. Don’t doubt it. I have gotten pretty good at putting puzzles together. Occasionally, I’ll purchase more than what my transportation is able to carry. You may have seen in my recent post, that I’ll even throw a large couch on the top of our SUV to get a good find home.

There is one other thing I seem to love to do. I’ll fall in love with a piece after I have purchased my maximum capacity or have reached my spend goal for the trip. If the piece is killer, but I don’t have the perfect fit for it yet, I will tell the vendor to call me if they don’t sell it. I might want to buy it from them. This way, if it was meant to be, it will come back to me easily.

Of course with this piece, my vendor friend didn’t sell it. Of course I still had to have it. It was haunting my thoughts since I left it. My vendor offered to deliver it to me in San Diego. I was being a little cheap however and didn’t want to pay the delivery fee. I also had a client meeting the following week just outside of LA and another pickup about 20 minutes from her location. So we arranged for a pick up the same day. I figured it made sense to kill two birds with one stone.

I had planned to borrow a friends pick up truck for the trip. My ole’ vintage one couldn’t quite handle the long haul up there. That morning, my friend canceled on me…so I took our SUV. I went to my client meeting as planned and then to my first pick up in LA at TINI. I called my vendor from there to let her know I was on the way. Things were going smoothly. I was having fun and trying to make the most of my trip. So I was taking pictures of dream houses and things that gave me inspiration along the way.

As I was driving to my final pick up, the scenery/surroundings were changing very rapidly. Things weren’t as cute or as hip as the few blocks before. I kept thinking it would be fine because the location was only a bit further and kept driving.

Well, it’s amazing how much the area can change with only a few more minutes of driving. All of a sudden, the grass wasn’t green anymore. There were no more cute shops. In fact, these shops were boarded up, long forgotten and spray painted over. I’m not exaggerating when I say it looked like a scene out of a gangster movie. I lived in Brooklyn for gosh sakes. I knew a ghetto when I saw one and would be just fine cruising in and out of one. But the LA ghetto is different. It’s next level.

As I turned down the street where the pick-up was, I noticed barbwire on every fence in front of these family homes. I was in a different world. It was then that I realized I was still in a dress and stilettos from my earlier client meeting. I was a FREAKING FLOWER driving a shiny escalade into the ghetto. What was I thinking? I started to second guess my pick up and contemplated turning around, when I saw my lady waving me down the street. As she waved me down, I could see her head shaking in disbelief.

I hopped out of the car and said hello while shaking everyone’s hand. She and her family took one look at me and mumbled, “mmmm hmmm.” I had a freaking dart on my head of stupidity. I knew better than to show up to a location without scoping out where it was, especially without dressing the part. So I broke the ice…said something about a nice afternoon drive and my ridiculous outfit. We had a good laugh, then put the head board into the truck. As I was hopping in the car to leave, her brother said to me, “Now Smif. You’re heading straight home from here. Right? Not gonna hang around these parts?”

“Yes Sir! Headed straight home. Thank you so much for your help.” “Mmmm hmm,” he mumbled, “Thats good. You go straight home now. We’ll see you in Long Beach next time.”

Once I reached the freeway, I laughed so hard and nearly all the way home. A surprise visit to the LA Ghetto. It’s such a good score.

-Smid

Flea Market With Me: Go In With A Plan But Prepare For Flexibility

1.2.15

This year, I am starting a new column on my blog; Flea Market With Me. I plan to share this column monthly or just after any of my flea sprees. I love flea marketing. You probably know that by now. I look forward to every trip I have planned, sick or exhausted, it doesn’t matter. I am there with bells on…Or my case, I am there with vintage on! This is such a fun time for me to treasure hunt, a time for me to search for inspiration, a place where my ideas run wild and a personal escape.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll already be familiar with #FleaMarketWithMe. I have loved sharing pictures on instagram this year of some of my favorite finds. It seemed to receive a positive response. I have really enjoyed the interaction with people on instagram as I shop through markets. I have not shared all of my finds however nor have I shared all of the unique things I have come across. I thought it would be fun for you and for me, if I share a little more from my trips. This column will give me an opportunity to share additional pictures/finds, a snapshot of my experience flea’ing, and the kind of treasures you can find. I’m also willing to share some of my top flea marketing tips. 😉

Tip #1: Go in with a plan but be ready for a different one.

It’s important to have a list with you when you go flea marketing. I always suggest a quickie just to help you stay focused on what it is that you had been hoping for in your own home or a space that you may be designing. Flea markets are very exciting. They can also be incredibly overwhelming. Typically there are people everywhere and there are also things you would never have dreamed of seeing. Each vendor packs their section full of treasures and crap. The list you prepare will help you scan each vendor’s section thoroughly but quickly enough to move on if you don’t see anything that you have to have.

The trickiest part about flea marketing is when you find what I call an “I can’t live without this piece” piece. You may think this is ridiculous but these pieces DO exist. When you find them, they might make you come close to crying, from being that moved. Ok, maybe that is just me. My point is…these pieces will likely not be on your list. This will make you feel like you shouldn’t buy it because you need other pieces first.

Wait! Did you hear that? Those were alarm bells going off! Or at least they should be going off. Snap out of it! Are you ok? You might never see a piece like this again. This a talking piece. Well, yes it might be talking to you now but it’s also one of those pieces that will become a great topic of conversation at your next party. This might be the “investment” piece that will change the look of your home. If you feel this way, dont you dare leave that piece behind! What? You aren’t sure where it will go? You already have a couch? or a table? If this piece moves you more than what you have now, buy it, get it home, and figure it out. Sell your current couch on ebay or one of the other ones. My point, if I must stress it again, is that this is a change your life piece and you should not put life off like that.

This couch was an example of that type of moment. In my case, I’m going to sell it to a client. But you should know that was not part of my original plan. I am designing a kitchen for this client, and a couch wasn’t part of the plan…clearly. But this….This was not a ‘TUFT’ decision. 😉

XO

Smid

This clearly was not my plan given, I didn’t bring a flat bed truck. Take no prisoners! Make it happen. 🙂

Here are the rest of the treasures from my trip two weeks ago.

Can you guess what I would choose out of this pile? Ok. I’ll tell you. The glasses and the little case. Everything else is just not unique enough.

I liked the tortoise bracelet. The leather strap with the gold charm and maybe the gold corkscrew/pocket knife. The other stuff is just mediocre.

These were still in their original wrapping. Eeek!

Smid Haven: SD Mag’s Holiday Fete

12.8.14

As you may have learned in my most recent post, Smid partnered up with Hostess Haven to design dining spaces for the major Holidays through out the year. There were several reasons we made this move. One of them, was to share different ways you could style the same table/same room for the holidays. Another, was to show ways you can revitalize your own dining space by adding a few unexpected accessories and mixing up the chairs.

San Diego Magazine was planning a Holiday feature for their December issue and asked Smid Haven to style one of the rooms for their article; Three Ways To Style A Holiday Fete. They wanted us to show viewers something with a bit more edge, nothing too over done with glamour, and avoiding something more typical of the holidays. It was a perfect fit for the Smid Haven concept. It was also perfect timing! We were already planning our Thanksgiving shoot. It made great sense to combine both shoots on the same day, utilizing the same space and the same table with two very different looks. We only had 15 minutes in between each shoot to restyle the room and felt a bit like chickens running around with their heads cut off. Pun intended (see below ;)). Although these chickens kept their head of course!

You’ve already seen the first Smid Haven look for Thanksgiving. If not, you can find it here. Below you will find the second look of the series we styled. To learn what went into the design for this shoot, check out the magazine’s feature; Rustic glam.

-Smid

P.S. I love the last picture showing the behind the scene’s details. We had four dogs, two chickens, two little human chickens, and a baby nugget in the house. Not to mention, all the cooks in the kitchen. 😉

Beautiful photos by Jamie Street Photography

Food by The Vetted Table

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