Thank you, dear friends!

Just taking a minute to mention some very special, caring friends who have been cheering us on in our new venture.

Sharon, the huge pot of daisy-like Chrysanthemums you presented to us on our opening day was just astounding and added some needed extra punch to our storefront! Thank you!

Glynnis, we thank you for the lovely, fragrant Stargazer Lilies. Their delightful scent has made the store smell absolutely heavenly and the twin pedestal tables are just the thing for our little shop! Thanks so much to Kevin and Tessa, too!

Didi, the exotic-looking ginger blossoms and birds of paradise (with the perfectly coordinating ribbon, of course!) are so gorgeously over the top, vibrant and expressive just like you! Thanks so much for everything!

Whit and Sky, thank you for your enthusiastic support and presence! We'll be calling on you, Whitney, for your professional photographic assistance in the future! And Sky, you are the best duster and cleaner we could ever hope to have in the store!

P.S. Bella, you have become too smart! Please stop opening the door and running outside to seek adventure in Union Square!

Another busy Saturday at Hope & Glory Vintage...we like to start the day with a little something for our customers to enjoy while browsing in the store...cookies, cider...and my beverage of choice--dark roast coffee! Dancing Goats Blend from the Sherman gives me the buzz I need to run around for many hours! Sadly, I've had to refrain from my highly addictive scone-a-day diet! Karen, your scones are definitely the BEST to be found anywhere!

Our friend, Dorinda, came into the store this morning and assisted our anemic-looking sidewalk display by adding more and more furniture to the scene! We're grateful to her for wonderful, larger than life personality, seasoned expertise and good eye (she was the proprietor of "Home" an absolutely lovely store that was on Beacon Street, in Somerville...we miss it greatly!)

Yesterday we finally got around to filling our empty window boxes. Ricky of Ricky's Flower Market in Union Square welcomed us to the Square by kindly giving us the missing elements, namely flowers and soil! Thanks so much Ricky...you're a true gent!

We have a beautifully-framed old window that needed a bit of securing...Our jack of all trades, Luis, used a sturdy and functional rope to hold it in place safely. We believe in function AND beauty, however, and the unsightly rope wouldn't do! I added some lavender and purple statice (conveniently found at Ricky's!) to disguise the stark, white ugliness.

Yesterday morning we lugged in these two great-looking trunks (see photo). They need just a tiny bit of cleaning and a little paint...we'll get around to that soon...we think they'd make terrific coffee tables for a large space. Anyone got a loft?

That's today's installment. We'll be updating again soon.

A Work In Progress

Today we sold a number of small items...a silver plated piggy bank, a bakelite hand mirror, ten or so lovely old cocktail glasses (I'll really miss them...there's something so special about old glass!), a number of linen tea towels and a pair of Colonial-figured lamps that were made in Occupied Japan. We're still painting, revising and refining. We are forever rearranging the store and have moved so much furniture that at this point we feel as if we could easily work for a professional moving company.

I've taken a few close up shots of the very retro packaging of the C. Howard's scented chewing gum, some really beautiful vintage cosmetics that would look lovely on a dressing table...little cakes of rouge in metal compacts, lipstick in lovely metal tubes, boxes of loose powder...it's interesting to note that so many mundane items had the prettiest packaging.

Tomorrow I'll post photos of the statice and lavender trim I added to some cord that is being used to stabilize an old window as well as our most recent furniture displays...oh, yes! A photo of our newly filled window boxes will be posted, too! Thanks so much to Ricky of Ricky's Flower Market for the beautiful flowers!

See you later,
Deanna

Some Pictures of Hope & Glory Vintage

We've been open for a week and would like to share some updated photos of our store (click on the partial images to see them in full size). We've already sold our favorite pieces and are scrambling to find replacements! We're honestly having a lot of fun while we're hard at work being creative and resourceful...it's almost like play, actually! The process is an ongoing one as items are sold and we acquire new things...there's always something to do and we never suffer from boredom. We are, however, sleep deprived (yawn). Oh my goodness! It's 4:31AM!

These photos show the diversity of our merchandise. We hope to offer something to please to just about anyone who enters the store...colorful, light-hearted items from the fifties, furniture that has been hand painted in lovely pastels, a nifty collection of dime store toys from the seventies, a candy counter filled with Pierrot Gourmand French lollipops, C. Howard's violet-scented mints, old fashioned favorites, like NECCO Wafers and Sugar Babies and free dog treats! We recently acquired a wonderful Marmet English baby pram...we think it's a seventies' vintage...with miles and miles to spare! We'll be adding a women's vintage clothing section as soon as we can, so that we can expand our existing ladies' department...cosmetics from the mid twentieth century, costume jewelry and lovely items to place upon your vanity.

Here's a picture of Bella our resident canine, sitting on my favorite green chair, patiently waiting for a friendly customer to visit. Come in and see us at 253 Washington Street, in Union Square, Somerville...just a stone's throw away from Somerville's Main Post Office, and sandwiched in between Taquieria La Mexicana and The Independent.

We hope to see you soon!

Deanna and Sandra

Hope & Glory Vintage in Union Square

LOVING, REUSING AND REPURPOSING THE STUFF OF YESTERDAY
AND TODAY TO EXTEND IT INTO TOMORROW IS OUR MISSION.

COMFORT, INSPIRATION AND APPEAL IS WHAT YOU'LL FIND AT HOPE & GLORY VINTAGE IN UNION SQUARE. OUR HOME DECOR AND ACCESSORIES CAN BE DESCRIBED AS A STUDY IN CONTRASTS...CASUAL AND ELEGANT, SIMPLE AND ORNATE, PLAIN AND PATTERNED, FUN AND TRADITIONAL.

OUR TIMEWORN TREASURES WERE ONCE OWNED AND CHERISHED BY WOMEN AND MEN OF PAST GENERATIONS...ITEMS THAT HAVE HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE, THE BEAUTY OF IMPERFECTION AND THE ELEGANCE OF FADED GRANDEUR. WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT WHAT WE DO, BUT WE'RE ALSO WILLING TO SET OUR INNER CHILD FREE AND COLLECT QUIRKY ITEMS THAT EXPRESS A SENSE OF HUMOR! WE LOVE TO LIVE IN THE PAST!

IF YOU'D LIKE YOUR HOME DECOR TO EVOKE BEAUTY AND BELONGING, OUR HAND PAINTED, GENTLY DISTRESSED FURNITURE AND UNIQUE HOME ACCESSORIES MIGHT BE JUST WHAT YOU'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR. PLEASE REMEMBER US WHEN YOU NEED A UNIQUE GIFT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO SHOP, TELL US WHAT YOU LONG FOR, AND WE'LL TRY TO FIND IT FOR YOU! WE THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH US. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN!


SANDRA FAILS