Come along with me and Colin to work in Boston!

 Usually Colin and I stay in Malden and operate out of our store there,

while Justin runs Boston Friday-Sunday.

Malden is about a fifteen minute drive from Boston.

This Sunday was Father's Day and Justin was headed to Cape Cod

to meet his GF Madison's grandparents and spend Fathers Day weekend 

with them~and doing a little picking for our stores.

So Colin and I headed into Boston bright and early on Sunday via the T.

The "T" is what our public transportation system is called.

 I usually drive in, but given we would be there all day long

 we figured with parking at a premium we best take the T 

and enjoy a little stroll through the city to our shop located in 

Boston's South End neighborhood.  A view from the T shows the amazing

mirrored facade of the John Hancock Tower. 

 Colin is laughing because I am trailing him like the paparazzi! 

I just wanted you guys to see what our cool city is like. 

There are tons of sidewalks like this one with bricks all 

slightly heaved from frost and often areas done in cobblestones. 

At one time all the streets were paved in cobblestones. 

 Charm galore~park your bikes in a modern bike rack nestled against 

an antique iron fence loaded with pale pink climbing roses 

out in an open courtyard of Hammersly's Restaurant. 

There is a community garden here as well, right in the middle of the city.

 Little shops along our walk~lots of brick can be found 

on buildings, walls and sidewalks. More cobblestones~

this is a design element I plan to use in the new store.

 Getting nearer now~we walk past the food truck courtyard 

which is one block away from our shop. The SOWA vintage market 

takes place every Sunday and during the months from May to October 

there is this outdoor food market as well as an outdoor farmer market

 in another courtyard a few blocks up. 

I would be back here later in search of something for lunch!

 The green banner proclaims SOWA Sundays as 

Colin walks up to our shop. Our Boston shop is opposite that

 lamp post up ahead. We are in an old brick building that was 

apartments but is now condos and there is this one funky space 

on the first floor that the owner turned into a studio shop.

And this is where we opened last September.  

Walk up a small staircase to our front doors painted in brilliant Florence!

  Colin unlocks the shop as I continue to snap away.

After we get inside the shop we turn on the lights and make sure things are set up

with any last minute touches needed~and then out goes our OPEN flag!

We fling both the doors open wide to encourage people to come on in.

Colin sets out the sandwich board that Justin designed and painted.

Almost immediately shoppers come into check us out. 

What is this quirky little store?

The sandwich board tries to give them a clue....

Its not ideal to have to walk up steps...or to have your shop windows 

above floor level, but its part of the charm and we have learned to embrace it.

Our shop is a compact 450 square feet of space. 

That has been a challenge for Justin to work with every weekend. 

We are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We usually sell two 

of our larger pieces of furniture and of course different accessories 

and then he has to bring in new pieces and rearrange the whole store. 

Each week it has a new look, and that has been well received as 

shoppers know to come back and see our fresh finds and offerings.

Colin mans the 'cash register" which is our iPad.  

I decided to go look around the farmers market at SOWA and then 

bring us back something yummy for lunch.  There are just mobs of 

people everywhere as the SOWA market is quite a draw.

All the vendors from area farms set up in this big lot two blocks up from our shop.

 You can buy plants and vegetables and fresh creations like homemade salsas and cheeses.

 Lots of people bring dogs with them~they come in our shop all the time. 

I thought this little shih-tzu was adorable!

 I settled on some great grilled cheese sandwiches Boston style 

at this food truck and headed back to the shop.

This mom made dad wait outside while she checked out our shop! 

Happy Fathers Day Mike!

A cute little Frenchie brought her mother in here for a look~

 And by the end of the day I snapped a couple of pics 

so you could get a better look see of how our shop looks inside.

This was a dresser we just finished in Graphite.

 This is a gallery wall Justin created with vintage artwork

 and one of his fabulous chalkart designs.

 Looking to the store windows you can see a few pieces done in 

Olive, Chateau Grey and Antibes as well as a terrific old 

Columbia girls bike complete with headlight!

And of course our magical paint department that always gets lots 

of interest and questions.  So many have never heard of Chalk Paint®.

But then they feel the furniture and we tell them how it works with

no sanding, no priming, and no prep for the most part. 

That is when I see the lightbulb come on, and they leave with their 

pot of paint and wax to head home to paint that project they have been pondering. 

We had hundreds of shoppers in and out yesterday on that glorious fathers day.

Colin and I were tired and worn out...

there would be no "T" ride for us~we had Mr. Maison Decor come in and park 

 and together we walked to a nearby French Bistro for a nice Fathers Day dinner.

Thanks for joining us on our trip into Boston and 

playing shopkeeper for a day!

Cheers!

New store opening July 15, 2013

150 Main Street, Reading, MA

Lots of new furniture has been added too,

and we post our listings online so you can look before 

you make the trip!

www.shopmaisondecor.com

Summer Inspiration brings Summer Prices!

 Looking for Inspiration?

 We are getting our game on for the move to our new store this summer~!

We will be at 150 Main Street Reading this July~

but until then we have been busy in Malden and Boston.

In celebration, anticipation and offering our shoppers

 motivation and inspiration, we have rolled out our 

Summer Inspiration Pricing 

for Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan!

That incredible paint that inspires us here daily--

we hope to inspire you to try it at the 

lowest minimum retail pricing possible~

$34.95 a quart in all of Annie's delicious colors!

 There is Emperor's Silk

 And sassy Florence~

 Paris Grey with a Graphite Wash~

 Handsome Olive with dark wax for good measure~

 Go gustavian with Paris Grey and Old White~

 or use French Linen and Old White~

 layer on some clear and dark wax with a bit of silver gilding wax~

 Soft spoken Paloma~

 Vibrant Provence~

 Sweet Antoinette paired up with Versailles~

 Country Grey and Old Ochre~

 Custom mix a perfect blue~

 Sprightly Emile gets a Graphite wash~

 Another custom mix of Florence and Provence with lots of yummy dark wax~

 Classy Graphite gets an energy jolt with a blast of graphics in Old White

And last but not least~the classic Old White~a winner everytime!

So come turn your inspiration into reality~

As usual we are fully stocked, so come pick up your supplies!

Monday -Friday 10-5

Saturday 11-4

50 Summer Street, Malden Ma

781-324-0701

or visit

524 Harrison Ave, Boston Ma

Friday - Sunday 11-5

857-250-2516

And get your Chalk Paint® on!!

Our new store~a reflective post

April 2012

 I wasn't planning on this kind of a post today~but as I started to write

about our new store it had me reflecting on how we got to that point.

Its a "we" now, but before it was just the "me"...and when it was the "me" 

I went to take in a full day Chalk Paint convention in Boston.  I knew Annie Sloan

would be there, I just didn't know she was going to sweep me off my feet and turn my life

upside down after we spent the day together. 

 And not only did we spend the day together (well we were both in the Sheraton and she was teaching and I was in the audience)~I was lucky to be asked to come to dinner afterwards to a private affair held for the stockists and Annie and her husband as well as the CEO of Annie Sloan Unfolded, the company that brought Annie's paint to America.  And as it usually happens, being the lucky sort, I had put my plate down at this long country table only to find Annie nudging past me to sit right next to me! We sat elbow to elbow during dinner and it was decided before that meal that I would come on board if they would have me. And have me they would!! It was one of those kind of days~all the planets align perfectly catching you off guard in your unsuspecting mode~you ever have one? They are very rare.  Kind of like the day you meet the person you know you will marry...or the day your child is born and you see their little scrunched up face for the very first time.  Yes, it was a big moment...one of those life changing moments, and I cannot say why or how it happened, but it all made sense that this is what I must do~join in this group of stockists and open my very own store selling Annie's fantastic paint. And little did I know we would meet again and have such a great connection and a chance to expand on it from our first meeting this past April.  I think she is the tops! So in a very quick 48 hours time after I first met Annie I  hunted down

 this spot for my soon to be store, not far from my home. 

 So excited! I was thrilled~I could just imagine it all prettied up! 

I drew a sketch of how I imagined it could be~

 And in a few days we got to work ripping out old commercial carpeting 

and painting the floors and walls and hunting for furniture to put in our new shop. 

 It was a whirlwind and a lot of work, but it didn't feel 

like work because it was so exciting~! 

 Colin was out of school for summer break and he helped me 

paint the inside and the outside. Henrietta was used to create 

a noticeable and whimsical change to the facade. 

 Then we thought if we used some Duck Egg on the screen door

 it would tie in the copper bays above the shop.

 And so in a flash we were open for business selling Annie Sloan's magical paint.

We hung up a pretty sign and got some window graphics 

and suddenly it had become my dream shop. 

 Before I knew it we were poised to open a store in Boston. 

Justin expressed interest in joining my new business venture. 

Now we were officially a "we".

We found a store that was affordable although tiny~

it was in a hip neighborhood in the South End of Boston

 and we thought it could be just the ticket.  With Colin Justin and me 

working our butts off we pulled it all together. 

Justin painted his front shop doors in Florence 

to announce his arrival on the scene~

bringing Annie's paint to a major market! 

How exciting this was for us all!

We worked really hard and had the shop open for business 

in just two weeks!! It was a beehive of activity 

and now we see that this location may be more seasonal based 

around the later spring through early fall months, but we 

love it and our customers seem to love us being there. 

But in just this short year we are learning or trying to learn~what works best,

 and what we think we should do to make our little family business

 grow and prosper.  Colin has joined our business full time too~

so with that we are poised to take on a new location, opening mid July! 

 We will turn our first shop into a warehouse location where we fix up furniture, 

paint custom jobs and take care of all of our shipping needs. 

 No longer will this shop be a retail location for paint~

that will happen at our new shop in Reading, Massachusetts at 150 Main Street! 

And boy do we have big plans for that location!! 

We want to give our customers the best experience possible 

when they walk through our doors.  So stay tuned and we 

will share bits and pieces as we move forward. I won't have 

the keys until July 1, so it will be another record breaking pace 

to get the shop up and open for business in two weeks time. 

We will be up on ladders (like Colin was doing here just a year ago)

  painting the walls and floors and setting up 

some beautiful displays for our customers. 

 In the meantime we will be teaching our sell out workshops on Sundays.

  During the week open for business meeting our customers

 from 10-5 Monday through Friday and 11-4 on Saturday at the Malden shop. 

We have tons of painted samples in all different combinations 

for you to touch and feel and get inspired by. 

We have the answers to your Chalk Paint and Wax questions 

as we are constantly painting and waxing and using this 

paint in the most interesting ways~on fabric, upholstery,

 chandeliers, shoes and of course furniture. 

We are here painting andwaxing and  gilding and doing our thing! 

Like this mirror that used to be gold and  now

 is stunning in Graphite with Silver Gilder Paste.

You may catch us taking stately pieces up a notch~

Like this handsome yet delicate three quarter height

 china cabinet that we are working on as we speak!

It's getting an interior paint job too.

Colin finished this Cobblestone dresser last week and we

 love the custom mixed color in Paris and Graphite.

Boston's Maison Decor is open on Friday through Sunday

 from 11-5 when many shoppers

combine visits to Maison Decor and the

 local SOWA vintage market right next door.

Its heavier on the "mantiques" but many women and men

 love the vibe of our urban rustic shop.

so that is the wrap up from Maison Decor~we hope to

convince you to come check us out one of these days~

be it in Malden, Boston or soon to be Reading~

we will be excited to see you!

And this one year later I want to say thanks to Annie~

for all of the inspiration and natural leadership you have shared with me,

 for the beauty and artistry you create and of course your friendship. 

Oh... yeah...and thanks for that magical paint.