Southern Sonoma Country Life

Springtime at French Hen Antiques

French Hen Antiques at 218 Petaluma Boulevard North, in Petaluma's historic boutique shopping district is bursting with primroses, floral pottery and fresh, Spring colors. Always such a pleasure to peruse.

Banish Those Wash Day Blues - Fresh Laundered Windows Worthy of Love

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. 

Love and Scandal Are the Best Sweeteners of Tea

Britain's prolific designer Emma Bridgewater is my favorite potter. New collections never cease to appeal. I'm currently most charmed by her new farmyard collection (see mug below) and the Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red and Silver Spangled Hamburgh Red chicken egg cups would be perfect for boiled eggs at my Petaluma kitchen table. But best of all are Emma's cheeky tea-towels and I'll have to put in an order for this new one.....

Introducing B Street Mercantile Co, Petaluma's Newest Purveyors of Fine Goods

Brand new eclectic B Street Mercantile is all set to open its doors to Sonoma County shoppers in one of historic downtown Petaluma's prime retail locations, this Spring. 

The meticulously planned (rustic modern) boutique shopping emporium pays homage to the agricultural heritage of Petaluma - a hub of promising creativity celebrating hand selected independent designers, regional craftspeople and artists.

Founders Patti Looper and Jenny Paisley are Petaluma business women as well as artist/designers with that rare, shared quality of the sorts of right and left brain sensibilities that launching a retail store requires.

Harnessing the good energy of the former Tuscan Gardens space at their 316 B Street store, Looper and Paisley recognize former business owner Sharon McAuley's devoted following and plan to incorporate several of Tuscan's most beloved merchandise ranges including the ever-popular Petaluma clothing line.

If you are a Petaluma brand enthusiast, you'll be shopping in the right place for all sorts of delightful quality items embossed with your favorite city's stamp. "We want customers to know that they can continue to find their most-loved products here," says Looper, "and we suspect they will discover many new favorites along the way."

Veterans of the greater Bay Area independent craft scene, graphic designer, Looper is the owner of Patti Lou Designs and Paisley, a printmaker, owns Blockhead Press. Many south county shoppers will be familiar with their signature products sold at the Petaluma Farmers Market, iIeoni and Knitterly. With a wealth of combined professional experience, the business partners have been working together as co-organizers of the popular Petaluma Holiday Crafterino for the past several years. Each has an extremely discerning eye and has carefully juried all of the exemplary hand crafted products to be featured in the store's launch

Look out for the store's own B Street Mercantile Co line of goods, alongside stationery, bath and body products, items for the home, personal accessories and gifts. Part of the space will be reserved for workshop space, featuring DIY kits and craft books.

Opening during the first week in April, B Street Mercantile hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, Noon to 5 pm. A grand opening will be announced and will likely take place some time in May. Click here to join the mailing list for B Street Mercantile special events and happenings. 

McAuley's adjoining studio Clay Gallery retains its thriving clientele, now occupying its own stand alone space . 

Jenny Paisley (left) and Patti Looper (right) photographed on the steps of the Petaluma Museum opposite their new store, B Street Mercantile. 

Alphabet Soup@Home - Gently Used Home Decor in Downtown Petaluma

One of the best aspects of living in the small city of Petaluma is the simple fact of people looking out for one another. Taking care of their own. So many great organizations working together to make this a better place to live and work and raise families. Petaluma Educational Foundation doesn't just look out for a few of our city's school kids, it looks out for every single K-12 student in all of its area schools.

And one of the major ways that PEF is able to raise monies for funding major impact and enrichment grants and other programs in Petaluma area schools is through its very own benefit thrift store, Alphabet Soup.

Since Alphabet Soup moved store locations not too long ago, sales of donated household items, furnishings and clothes have rocketed to record new levels. In part due to the fact that repurposing clothing and furniture is the smart thing to do these days and also because more and more Petalumans have cottoned on to their donations directly boosting the coffers of local schools.

Furniture is the big ticket item for raising monies for PEF's excellent work. Because it takes up so much space in an already busy store, Alphabet Soup team hasn't been able to display as many household items as it would like. 

That's all changing this Spring with the addition of a second Soup store, aptly named Alphabet Soup@Home. Located just down the street from its flagship store, the home decor and furnishings store is set to open in the retail space recently vacated by former tenant, Jacqueline's Tea Room. 

For full story on the new Alphabet Soup@Home, see sister site, West Petaluma Living. In the meantime, please do consider donating any used household items, furniture and decor to Alphabet Soup@Home and help make a difference in city-wide classrooms.

Score Big with Blooms by Fleurs de Fallon - A Pop up Flower Shop in Petaluma, Valentine's Week

If most Valentine's Day's come and go without a lot of fanfare in the floral department, go big this February 14th and treat your sweetheart, or yourself, for that matter to some extra-special, beautiful blooms, up for (delicate) grabs by the first savvy shoppers at a special three day Pop-Up Flower Shop by Petaluma's Fleurs de Fallon.

I visited floral designer Fallon Shea Anderson for a post on her exquisite arrangements, last summer.  I do hope that Mr. Rivetti will be first in line!

Nifty Erasable Ceramic Bottle Stoppers - A Stylish Way to Keep it Corked!

Now, here's a simple, sweet and stylish bottle stopper that I'm happy to give a home to. Some of the silly whimsies that people stuff in perfectly good bottles of wine do take the dignity out of the pour.  

These nifty little PlaceTile Erasable Ceramic Bottle Stoppers, with their erasable ceramic tops, make it easy to write and erase any message. Great for identifying dates for when wines were opened, flavors of wines, reminding oneself to put the bottle back in the fridge until Friday other such wine tasting/presentation notes.

They come in a variety of styles and designs. Retail for $13 per 3, they can be purchased online at www.placetile.com.

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String ........

Lisa at Petaluma's Paperwhite Stationery shop wins again with some of my favorite of this year's holiday windows. In order to capture more pics of other stylish window sets around town, I'm going to have to do a LOT more shopping.... Oh well, duty calls!

Red Barn Studios Holiday Sale - More Than A Few of My Favorite Things!

Shop For One Planet Fair Trade Gifts & Save on Small Business Saturday, Nov 24th, 2012