I'm boho-busy making my list & checking it twice!

But NOT to see who's been naughty and nice.

My Writer Self feels acutely chagrined that it’s been three months since I’ve posted to this blog. What have I been doing all that time? I thought you might want to know, so I made up another kind of list I first tried out last spring to catch you up on where 2017's wild boho ride is headed. It's called--

'I am currently'

I am currently LOVING…

My new size! As some of you may already know, I had gastric sleeve bariatric surgery about 13 months ago. Six months prior to that I began my weight-loss journey. To date I’ve lost 192 pounds, give or take a pound or two, depending on where and when I weigh in. It’s been a phenomenal journey I hope to write more about, but suffice it to say, I love being smaller. Or should I say smaller?

Here's how I looked before surgery and the pre-surgery diet (left) and progress up through last summer (right):

Chris didn't have surgery, but, as you can see, needed to take off some extra pounds, too, which he did by joining me on the pre-surgery diet.

What’s most important about every person is what’s on the inside, for sure. But weighing less certainly has its perks. I’m completely off blood pressure meds, and sometimes my pressure is too low. I’ve eliminated several other medications, both prescription and over the counter. My legs and feet no longer swell, my knees hurt less, and I don’t need a cane around the house. (I still take it when I go out because I have trouble negotiating steps and never know what I might run into.)

Mostly I find it’s the simple things that make the biggest difference. Driving and riding are constant reminders of how my life has changed. The tilt wheel is in again, and the seatbelt extender is out. I also must move the car seat forward from the all-the-way-back setting where my 6-foot-one husband keeps it.

I no longer require a motorized cart when I go shopping (so I can shop more places for longer times!). I can also slip effortlessly and anonymously through crowds without needing to say, “Excuse me” over and over to gain a wider berth.

I’m also more comfortable in taxicabs, of all things, which I discovered on a recent trip to Chicago. I asked Chris if he noticed cabs had more leg room now. He shot me a puzzled look, then laughed, “The cabs aren’t any BIGGER, silly. YOU are smaller,” which brings us to our next item.

WAITING FOR…

The loss of 33 more pounds, if I'm to reach my goal, followed by six months of stable weight so I can go in for plastic surgery evaluation. The down side of bariatric surgery as you age? You lose fat but the stretched-out skin that covered it often hangs on. Quite literally.

So tummy-tuck, here I come!

WEARING…

A plain old ordinary, run-of-the-mill, everyday, size LARGE. Not a 1X, 2X, 3X or 4X (my previous pant size) or 6x (my pre-diet winter coat. Yes, I was a very big girl!). No more plus sizes for me AT ALL. When you’ve been scouring the Internet for good-looking plus clothes for years, doing a lot of returning, and paying way too much, just being able to walk into a store and purchase something off the rack is an incredible pleasure.

Though most everything in my closet is new, my favorite newby clothes are VESTS. I didn’t look right in a vest before. To balance my bottom half, my arms had to be clothed the same as the rest of my top half. Breaking that up with a vest just looked weird to me.

But no more. I have no less than five new vests, and I love how they look and feel on! Fun fun FUN!!

SHOPPING FOR…

Shoes. Shoes are still a big issue for me because you can take the fat out of Susan but you can’t take all the damage out of her feet and knees from carrying the weight around, falls, aging, and surgeries.

Seems like only one style (Glycerin) of VERY clunky Brooks athletic shoes works for me. I have it in four colors—all ugly. I’ve tried LOTS of other styles with no luck. Either the arches are too high or hit too far back (mine are fallen), or they slip in the heel, or the toe box is too narrow and scrunches my congenital bunions.

Then there's the problem that NOTHING looks all that great in a size 11. Too bad bariatric surgery doesn't impact your shoe size.

Zappos and I have become the best of friends, even though I return most everything. But the Fedex guy must think I’m Imelda Marcos' sister.

NEEDING…

Slippers and the perfect winter handbag. I’ve picked out both and let Santa know my druthers. AND I’ve been a VERY good girl, so I’m crossing my fingers.

EXCITED ABOUT…

Christmas, of course! I’ve been a bit of a grinch the last five years or so when it comes to decorating, and our trees got smaller and smaller and smaller. It’s true that when you don’t feel well you shut down in other areas, too. When I weighed so much I had no energy, eventually even for Christmas.

Although by last Christmas I’d lost about 85 pounds, I was also still recovering from surgery, so getting the Christmas shopping done was about all I managed. My daughter was so disgusted with the state of our decorations that she hosted Christmas Day “so at least there would be a decent tree to enjoy.”

Not so this year. We bought a new tree—finally one that doesn’t fit on a tabletop—and I had it up and twinkling by the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving! Just about every ornament and decoration I own is out on display this year, if only for my own enjoyment. And enjoying it, I am!

READING…

Absolutely nothing, I’m ashamed to say. I've asked for books for Christmas, even though I haven’t read all the ones Santa brought last year yet. (Don’t tell, okay?)

The last book I finished was during my writing retreat in mid-October—Fat Lava: West German Ceramics of the 1960s & 70s by Mark Hill. I also got about 20 pages into Hill’s more recent book, Alla Moda: Italian Ceramics of the 1950-70s.

I suppose you see a theme developing, which brings us to the next item.

WORKING ON…

Developing my personal collection of midcentury modern ceramics, as well as stocking more ceramics items from the “fat lava” era in my Etsy store. The term fat lava refers to the thick, sometimes volcanic, glazes used in manufactured and studio ceramics of this period, particularly from eastern Europe, and more particularly from West Germany.

DOING…

The 3E’s thang: I’ve become a rabid Ebay-Etsy Entrepreneur. I LOVE shopping for gently used and vintage items to resell and making extra cash at the same time. It’s fun cleaning up old stuff, researching the maker’s marks, and seeing what similar items sell for.

And it’s beyond cool to find something at a thrift store—something someone else has discarded—and place it in a new home. I’ve discovered I don’t need to keep to myself most of the beautiful things I come across. Having them for a while satisfies my insatiable appetite for beauty, and knowing they’re going someplace they’ll be treasured again is an extra dollop of boho joy.

PLANNING…

How I’ll restyle my living room shelves with my stash of West German pottery for sale in the new year. Right now the shelves are a bit of a hodge-podge (to say the least!) because of my unbounded Christmas zeal.

ENJOYING…

Stranger Things on Netflix. Whoaa! Can’t think which is more scary—the demidogs or the 80s hairdos.

LISTENING TO…

The dog across the street barking and barking and barking. New neighbors in the last month or so in a rented condo tie their pup up and leave it outside. I mean: ALL. THE. TIME.

It’s not the barking that bothers me—really! It’s that it’s cold outside, and every time I look out that poor dog is standing at its owner’s window, looking in, wanting in, and barking as if to say, “Let me in. STUPID.”

Okay, the “stupid” part I added. Still pondering whether to report the address to animal control or contact the neighborhood association (not the same as ours).

SINGING…

I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, a classic winter song, which always reminds me how lucky I am. I DO have my love to keep me warm--in the person of husband Chris and our much-loved Maisie-Cat (who hid under the bed as soon as the camera came out). It's a song only heard in the winter holiday season, but this year serves as a constant reminder of how blessed I am.

(As well as how that poor dog across the street isn’t so lucky. Honestly, why do people get pets and then not spend time with them?)

Which brings me to the final item…

WISHING FOR…

         
What Snoopy said, but also:

• World leaders who behave like adults.
• An end to mindless tweets.
• A moratorium on stupid.
• Fewer guns and no bombings.

Well, you get the picture.

And I just can't help WONDERING aloud…

If, perhaps, Donald Trump’s diet of Big Macs, chocolate shakes and large fries will make his arteries explode soon enough? And, if we could be so lucky, how to force-feed same to Mike Pence without a constitutional challenge? Call it food for thought for 2018.

Whatever your faith or persuasion, here's wishing you 

a peaceful wrap-up to 2017 & a 2018 packed with beauty & light!

If you want more...

• Shop (and follow!) both my Etsy and ebay stores for vintage finds, a few of my boho DIYs, and next-to-new surplus home decor. New merchandise gets added regularly, so check both places often.
• Sign up to have BoHo Home posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
• Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier at this very merry time of year!

A boho life built on vessels & ebay

Making a life is a lot like making a pot.

Or should I say throwing a pot? Not AT someone or something (though that may be tempting at times). But as in pottery, on a potter's wheel.

As we live and grow, we all fashion a structure for ourselves, a vessel if you will, to hold who and what we are. Some vessels are stronger than others. Some are even prettier or more desirable, depending on who you ask. Most eventually will need refinement, repair, or replacement.

Galerija Amfora

Eglė Mikalauskienė takes that analogy one step further and has built a life—as in a business that helps support her family—around selling the vessels others make.

Again, we're talking ceramics—vases, plates, jugs, bowls, tiles, figurines, and more—on ebay as Tradenexpo and in the brick-and-mortar Galerija Amfora. Once you see what's for sale you'll want to visit, and lucky for you that her hometown of Klaipėda, Lithuania, is a picturesque port city where the Danė River meets the Baltic Sea.

Galeria Amfora

It all started with one unassuming vase Eglė and her husband, Andrius, found, quite by accident, in a local antiques shop.

“The shop was owned by a German living in Lithuania,” she explains. “We picked up a small blue, weird-shaped vase imprinted with W. Germany on the base. It got our attention because West Germany no longer exists. So we bought it for 4 litas—about ₤1 GBP [$1.30 US].

“It was 2011, my husband had just started a financial services business, and we were selling items on ebay to supplement our income until his business took off. Long story short, not knowing what we had, we sold the vase for ₤350 GBP [$457 US].”

The vase was similar to the one shown at left—same maker, same series, similar glaze, different shape. “A very rare matte blue ROTH Keramik vase,” she elaborates. “So rare I’ve never seen a picture of it on the internet, ever. This photo I found with a Google search is the closest to it I could locate.” 

Though the couple made a great return on their investment, their vase was worth much, much more. “Now I know what we had,” she adds. “All ROTH vases from this 1970s series are rare and highly collectible due to the design and because only a limited number were produced. It was worth at least ₤2,000 GBP [$2,610 US].”

The couple used their winnings to buy a camera, which would serve them well in future ebay endeavors, and began to focus their sideline business on West German ceramics.

“There was loads to learn and buy. At the start, everything that had W. Germany on the base had to be in our bag. But due to lack of experience and knowledge, we bought so much useless stock, as you can only imagine.”

Soon after they opened their ebay store, Eglė quit her day job in financial services. “Though I don’t know why. In spite of my education and training, there was no financial reasoning behind the decision other than I didn't like what I was doing. And the reality was that most of our stock was not that special after all, so our company operated at a loss for more than a year.”

Galerija Amfora

But both Eglė and Andrius continued to read and became more and more drawn into the world of European ceramics. “All those different stories about designers, companies, glazes and shapes—oh, it was, and still is, something so special,” Eglė enthuses.

“It’s amazing how many designers had such a talent that they were way ahead of their time. Some pieces were made in such low quantities due to lack of interest from clients back then, but now they fit the most modern interiors and are so difficult to find.”

Which brings us to how BoHo Home linked up with Eglė

Amfora/Tradenexpo employee Vilma measures items for sale and edits photos for listing on ebay. (Galerija Amfora photo)

I was searching for just the right accessories for my own midcentury modern/boho mix of a home and stumbled onto one of Eglė’s auction listings. I was impressed with the quality of her stock and her photos, as well as the detail of her descriptions and overall presentation. 

She always includes complete measurements in metric AND U.S. equivalents (saving me the time of emailing questions, waiting for answers, and looking up conversions) as well as photos of the piece up for auction arranged with other pieces. 

Galerija Amfora

You’d be surprised how many sellers don’t include in their listings ANY measurements of the items they want to sell—AARGH!! And those vase vignettes? A sneaky (and effective) ploy that made me want to own the entire grouping!

Above are pieces I’ve won in Eglė’s auctions, and below are the ones that got away, though not for lack of bidding effort on my part. 

The glaze technique used on the upper left vase reminded me of reed or carved wood, while the retro-mod pattern on the lower left pot positively captivated me. That vase on the right? Well, everyone who knows me knows about my love affair with teal.

After making and receiving my purchases, I decided my readers would enjoy knowing about this ebay store and its owner's entrepreneurial journey, so I wrote Eglė a message through ebay channels, complimenting her and asking if she’d agree to share some of her story and her selling secrets with us.

And the rest is history, as they say…

Galerija Amfora

In March 2013, Eglė opened her gallery in a trendy shopping district in Klaipėda, where she displays and offers for sale ceramic, art glass and porcelain pieces made 1890-1990 by renowned European producers, most of whom no longer exist. You’ll find studio art pottery as well, and everything sold comes with a certificate of authenticity with information about artist/manufacturer and production date.

Sales are so brisk that Salomeja can be found wrapping vases full-time. I've received a few of her packages, and I can attest she does a formidable job making sure nothing breaks in its journey across the pond! (Galerija Amfora photo)

And the ebay store? It has since moved from Eglė’s home to the gallery, where three employees measure, photograph, list, sell, wrap and ship while Egle treasure hunts. She also employs an accountant since Andrius' time is now taken up with his own clients.

“I kind of occupied all the managing space and communicating with clients in Tradenexpo and Amfora,” Eglė confesses. “He always laughs that there is no space for him anymore. The staff calls him our honorary president.”

Galerija Amfora

My first question when I saw these photos and heard Eglė’s story was, Wherever do you find it all?

“I started off shopping at thrift and antique shops in Lithuania, but soon their supply was not enough,” she says. “So Andrius and I started going to Germany. It took us years to establish our supply, and even now that's our main challenge. I spend about a week out of every month away from home, hunting vases in Germany. I drive about 1,000 miles every month and walk on foot 50 more.”

A collector herself, she admits to some angst over parting with the objects of her passion. “Most of my pieces sell through ebay auction. I set low starting prices, and quite often my items sell inexpensively. So if I have an item I know is rare, I do find it hard to list.

“It’s not about the money. I'm just afraid when people pay less they might not appreciate the piece for what it’s really worth. It’s about the designer, who spent hours working on the vase and perhaps won numerous design awards. It’s so important that those artists, many of whom have since passed away, are appreciated.”

Any ebay selling tips for the rest of us?

Galerija Amfora

“The great thing about ebay is that there are no boundaries—the world is my marketplace,” Eglė says. “Though from Lithuania, Andrius and I went to college in the UK. We moved back in 2009 when I was pregnant with our second child, and I was suffocating here, living in such a small province. Now I feel like I’m in the world again.”

Beyond that, she says she doesn’t believe there’s one right technique in choosing what to sell. “The way Andrius and I started is by sitting at our PC and browsing through each and every category with an open mind. We looked at them all, no matter how crazy it sounded to us or how unfamiliar it was. Then we shortlisted categories. And then we watched. We watched how well items sold and whether they sold through fixed-price listings or auctions. Once you see what sells or moves quickly, you may start considering selling that yourself.”

Ebay actually has an application available to help sellers do this research. It's called Terapeak, and it comes with a seven-day free trial.

One thing to remember,  Eglė says, is that a “buy-it-now price” is not always a good indicator of what something is worth or what it will sell for. “People think of various crazy prices. I consider ebay a place where the buyer determines the price. As a rule, lower starting prices on auctions generate more audience. But you have to be prepared for the risk because there will be cases where you’ll lose money.”

Eglė also offers her buyers an option to save money by combining shipping on multiple purchases. “My ebay auctions all end on Sundays. So if I see the same buyer buy on one Sunday and then bid on the following week’s auctions, I offer to hold their winnings until the auctions they’re interested in are over. Since I started to offer this service, I’ve picked up clients from all over the United States. I supply quite a few shops and designers because people like that an item is vintage AND, of course, that the design is exceptional. Sometimes I ship boxes containing 20 to 25 pieces, and all arrive intact. My US customers love German pottery!”

But what about supply? Where does she find such terrific stock she can afford to sell at such competitive rates? “Sadly I cannot help with supply,” she adds with a wink. “That’s a field where everyone has to be creative and communicative on their own.”

If you want more…

Visiting Klaipėda, Lithuania, may not be on your bucket list, but given its proximity to the Baltic Sea (think amber!) and the number of German timberframe buildings there, perhaps it should be. 

Mantas Volungevicius photo

• In the meantime, take a look around Galerija Amfora in this video.
• At age 33, Eglė has become one of the premiere West German pottery dealers in the world, with more than 700 pieces on offer at any one time. Though many of the pieces in the video may have long since found their way to new owners, check out her current stock for yourself on ebay and Etsy. I'm guessing you'll be following and soon buying, too.
• You can also connect with Eglė and Galerija Amfora on Facebook, , Pinterest, Twitter and Linked In.
• Follow the link the learn more about European pottery marks and/or check out some of the books featured in the (affiliate) links below.
• Also learn more about Lithuania, and Klapeida in particular, by through the (affiliate) links below.
• Eglė was my inspiration to start selling online. Shop (and follow!) both my Etsy and ebay stores for vintage finds, a few of my boho DIYs, and next-to-new surplus home decor. New merchandise gets added daily, so check both places often.
• Sign up to have BoHo Home posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
• Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!

                        

An ‘out with the old, in with the new’ boho birthday weekend

In honor of my _1st birthday and the weekend I spent celebrating it with daughter Erin and husband Chris, I've decided to share a few "news" I'm welcoming and a couple "olds" I'm giving the boho boot.

Notice I didn't tell you how old I've become. I will tell you Erin is 31. So you do the math and take your best shot. I'm hoping that way I'll perhaps SEEM younger. LOL!!

OUT with too much chinoiserie

BoHo Home

You may think there's no such thing, but you probably live in a bigger house than I do. Don’t worry. I’m holding on to my first piece--a happiness jar I bought waaaaaaaaaay back when and told you about HERE. I’m also keeping the wonderful rice jar next to it, which I’ve had almost as long.

Everyone should have at least a little chinoiserie.

But the rest is up for sale on ebay, either in an auction or at a fixed price. See anything you like? 

The collection includes jars of varying sizes, vases, covered boxes/bowls, and at least one cat figurine. I’d love for my items to go to BoHo Home readers.

IN with midcentury modern

BoHo Home

Why the change? I’ve become increasingly enthralled with midcentury modern, and in a 1,400-square-foot condo, a girl has only so much display space, you know. Some of what’s pictured here, in my living room, will be off-loaded to the bookshelves in my office, where the chinoiserie was.

IN with entrepreneurship & branding

I just ordered business cards to enclose in orders I fill on both ebay and etsy that plug the BoHo Home brand. The cards tell those who might not know that BoHo Home is first off a blog full of “tips, trends and tours,” as well as an Internet shopping spot for “fun, fab and funky finds.” And it lets those who find me on etsy know about my ebay listings, and vice versa.

My geek hubs was sweet enough to set up each shopping page as a subdomain (ebay.bohohome.com and etsy.bohohome.com) and get rid of all those slashes, letters, numbers and funny symbols, so that actually arriving at the right spot isn't left up to memory, chance, typing skill, or hand-eye coordination.

Tabbed links are also visible just below the blog nameplate. THAT part I figured out how to do all by myself, thank you very much.

BoHo Home

Chris also installed some shelving in our garage to store my finds and shipping supplies. Not so pretty, but hey, it's a warehouse (of sorts), so no styling necessary.

BTW, the plastic bags are filled with packing material I’m recycling. The cat litter bags are filled with, um, cat litter, of course. UNUSED cat litter for, you know, Maisie-Cat, since it's still a garage as well as a warehouse.

BoHo Home

After we discussed several possitiblities, dad also relinquished his workbench for me to use as a photo station, complete with lights. What a guy! If this takes off, we’ll have to add to the “Dad’s Workshop” sign one that says, “Mom’s Gold Mine.”

BoHo Home

The tripod with a cell phone bracket was a gift I asked for last Christmas, which I’m finally using! Almost EVERY DAY, in fact.

IN with a Moroccan lantern!!

BoHo Home

This Moroccan lantern from World Market is a birthday gift from that same sweet guy I’ve been telling you about. Doesn’t it look great on my boho patio?

MUCH better than if I'd made one.

IN with new shoes!

BoHo Home

Brooks Glycerin, you make me feel like I'm walking with my feet hugged by clouds!!

IN with scenic walks

BoHo Home

This city park is also new, at least to Chris and I. We've driven past it so many times through the years, we thought we really ought to stop in and take a look around before we die.

BoHo Home

It was a challenging walk that included steep grades in a heavily wooded area. But these shots were taken along the more leisurely (and level) part of the path. Once in the woods, all we could hear were birds and rippling water. Pleasant Creek is, as you can see, aptly named.

BoHo Home

And check out this tree branch that looks for all the world like an elephant's trunk!

IN with leftovers

BoHo Home

I know this isn't the sexiest food photo you've seen on the Internet, but it works for me. Chris, Erin and I went out to celebrate my birthday Sunday at a long-time favorite local brew pub, and this is what I DIDN'T eat of my fruit and grilled pork tenderloin (Indiana is famous for deep-fried PT sandwiches, but I do the unfried, bunless version).

It was yummy, but remember, I am post-bariatric surgery 8 3/4 months and can only consume 5 ounces of food per meal (I graduate to 6 ounces in another week!), so my birthday leftovers will feed me for another meal or two. That's good because Chris will be in Colorado this week on business. (I'll use the time spent NOT cooking to do some thrift-shopping!)

OUT with excess baggage

No, that's not my weight (I wish!). That's how much I’ve LOST. My current weight is still a number I don't care to share. But I will tell you that I have 67 pounds to go until I weigh the same as I did on my wedding day, and I plan to get there again.

If I continue losing at my current rate, I should be within 25 pounds of my goal on my surgery one-year anniversary in mid-November.

IN with more years together

BoHo Home

A cousin's daughter, who's a pastor, put out a Facebook query several weeks back to get information she wanted to use in a Sunday sermon. She asked people what was on their bucket lists. I read through all the places people wanted to go and the things they wanted to do, and many, many similar ideas came to my mind, but I couldn't respond for some reason.

Then someone asked where she was going with all this, and she replied that we often focus on places and things when we should focus on people. It was then I realized the only thing I wanted enough to fight for was more time with the two people I love most in the world, that it didn't matter where we did or didn't go, or what we did or didn't do, as long as we were in it together.

IN with joy!

BoHo Home

If you know me or follow this blog closely, you know that Erin is not my biological daughter. So even if I hadn't been born, she would have been, which makes this birthday message even sweeter.

All I can think to say back is, What would I have done if SHE had not been born?

Here's hoping life's small pleasures find their way to you in the coming week.

XOXO,

Susan

Want more?

I can't do much to make the weekend longer, but another one will roll around in five days or so. Here are a few things I can help you with:

• Shop (and follow!) my new Etsy store, BoHo Home By Susan, for vintage finds and a few of my boho DIYs. I have vintage and home décor items for sale on ebay too! New merchandise gets added daily, so check both places often. You might even want to make it easy on yourself and give me a follow in each spot, K? 
• And by all means, don't miss a day of BoHo Home. Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place. 
• Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!