Passing by recycled furniture store, Worthy of Love on Petaluma Boulevard North, I was stopped in my tracks by the nostalgic scene of an old-fashioned laundress at work. Striking window displays speak of Spring and memories of grandmothers and freshly laundered clothes dried in the breeze.
I just had to stop in and have a chat with store owner's daughter, Amanda Sanchez, a new resident of Petaluma, who grew up in Humboldt County. "I lived in a town the size of Cotati," said Sanchez, "when there was more than three cars at a stop sign, we all wondered what was happening in town!"
An eye for the slower paced aesthetic of yesteryear is evident throughout her mother, Crystal Lunsford's new store, which opened in early October of 2012, next door to another top pick of mine for affordable home furnishing and accessory finds, French Hen Antiques.
Turns out the vintage Maytag washing machine that inspired this darling window display was one of Lunsford's fortuituous finds, first spotted at a yard sale last year, prior to opening her store.
"My mom had spotted it during a sale in the area and it reminded her of the same machine her grandmother had used when she was a child. Six months later, after opening the store, she decided to go back and knock on the old man's door to see if he still had it. He did and she was able to buy it from him."
I recall my own Mum toiling away at an old twin tub washing machine in the 1960s, back in the UK. My grandmother kept to a strict routine her whole life of washing day on a Monday, and ironing day on a Tuesday. Aren't we happy the automatic washing machine was introduced?
Lunsford's Worthy of Love store and art studios is well worth crossing East Washington Street for a browse around. Hit up French Hen Antiques while you are over there (post to follow).
Also worth mentioning, for those who'd like to park out front but find it a busy spot, there is a little known parking lot by the side of the Mexican restaurant next door. Pull in and you're good to go window shopping or in-store treasure hunting to your hearts content!
Worthy of Love Furnishings & Art Studios is located at 226 Petaluma Boulevard North.
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