Whoa...Greenville, It's Festival Season! : A Guide To Movin and Shakin The First Weekend in May

Greenville isn't just "up and coming". Greenville has arrived. One thing you can't call it is boring! The problem is not having something to do, it's deciding which something to do. 

It keeps teasing us but Spring is upon us. We have decided. Never mind that frost warning later this week. Sheer will power is going to keep things in the 70s. And if that doesn't work, there's May. May is kicking off with a festival and event bang! A veritable buffet of local, handmade, farm grown, arts, crafts, live music, and produce. Let's be honest, after a winter of locking yourself away in your PJs with your hot chocolate and cookies watching a Honey Boo Boo marathon and the Weather Channel (during commercials of course), it's time for some culture. There are so many things going on, I'm going to help you out so you don't miss a thing in this first welcome weekend to Spring.

First Weekend in May :

Savvy Restyle Market

May 2nd & 3rd, 10 am - 6pm  

325 S Buncombe Rd in Greer

Savvy ReStyle Market Facebook Page

First Friday Taylors Mill

May 2nd, 6pm - 9pm

200 Mill Street in Taylors

First Friday Taylors Mill Facebook

First Friday Greenville

May 2nd, 6pm - 9pm

Various artist studios

First Friday Greenville Website

TD Saturday Market

May 3rd, 8:30am - 12:30am

Main Street in Downtown Greenville

TD Saturday Market Website

Strawberry Festival 

May 3rd, 10am - 4pm

HWY 276 in Slater, SC

Strawberry Festival Info

Sunday Art Market

May 4th, 1pm - 5pm

200 East St John Street in Spartanburg, SC

Chapman Cultural Arts Center Website

Ok, so here's the plan for this weekend. Are you ready? Here we go. 

Friday : Come see us at the Savvy Restyle Market on your lunch break or after work Friday. Read this blog about our very first one by Annapolis & Co. Then head a couple miles down Wade Hampton for First Friday at Taylors Mill. Make sure you stop by Bryan Hiott's Studio. The camera will be set up and you know you want yourself immortalized on glass. Seriously? Who else can say that? Then head downtown and hit some artist studios for First Friday in Greenville. Hydrate, eat, go to bed early. 

Saturday : Get up and be at TD Saturday Market at 8:30am. You don't need breakfast, they have it all; coffee, pastries, produce, pasta. You don't even need to take a shower. You can buy some soap and put it in your pocket. If you didn't see ME at Savvy Restyle Market, you better get out there next. I want to see ya! We will have vintage decor, re purposed and upcycled decor and furniture, and vintage supplies for you to work your magic on. Then head out to the Strawberry Festival in Slater for some strawberries, food, music, arts and crafts, and shaggin. Go home, hydrate, eat, sleep. 

Sunday : Get up, go to church or sleep off your hangover, head out to Sparkle City for the Sunday Art Market where you may see the likes of the fabulous McRose Designs for some art that you can wear!

It sounds exhausting but it's going to be refreshing, I swear. After the winter we've had of fake outs, being "snowed in", crazy 80s weather followed by plant killing frosts...you need this. So get out and celebrate, do it all, leave no stone unturned! Enjoy everything Greenville has to offer and it's a lot.

Keep up with Greenville Events all year round at VisitGreenvilleSC.com and be sure to tag your posts #yeahthatgreenville to showcase the amazing events we have to offer!

Rust and Ruin...Refueled : A Visit To Taylors Mill

When you're trying to put out creativity all day every day, you need a little recharge. Luckily, I had the honor of visiting two very different locations this week that were both refreshing and inspiring!

The first one was Taylors Mill, in Taylors, SC. Greenville is becoming quite an artistic place. Tons of artist communities popping up here and there. If you haven't heard about the latest space in Taylors Mill, you're missing out. Find out more at the Taylors Mill website. The location is simply inspiring, especially if you like industrial space with wood, metal, and rust, like me. Luckily, my guide, Jeff of Memento Antique and Estate Liquidators, does so we hit the good stuff.

Raw, wide open spaces, room to breath, hallways and nooks that beckon, so wonderful.

Naturally, in such an amazing space, there are amazing artists. I got to meet Joseph Everson of Joe's Studio and see his work. Beautiful paintings ranging from classic black and white architectural, to unique portraits bursting with color, and tons of cool guy pieces featuring movie and comic book characters. Just a heads up, he did a Darryl Dixon painting that is signed by Norman Reedus. If you're a Walking Dead fan, you're gonna want to get that. Check out Joe's work at www.joeeverson.com!

Large spaces lend room for large installation pieces. These sculptures were awe inspiring in size and subject matter. 

Here are a couple of my favorites.

First this piece by Allison Anne Brown. Find more about her at http://www.allisonannebrown.com/.

And this piece by Carey Morton. Find his work at www.careymorton.com.

All this creativity needs some liquid fuel and Due South Coffee Roasters have answered the call! Amazing space, friendly staff, and lots of space to sit and conspire. Check out their Facebook page as they work on their website. Enjoy coffee there or grab some fresh roasted beans to go!

I'm sure you can see why my brain was in full on manic mode and almost exploded later that evening and it wasn't just the coffee. Such a cool place with so many amazing things to see! If you are in the Upstate, be sure to keep up with the goings on at Taylors Mill and definitely hit them up on First Friday's.

Just a warning, that feeling you may get is not a heart attack. It's just your creativity being thrown into overdrive.

Vintage Into Art : Creepy Doll Vogues for JRD Photography

Strike a pose, vogue, vogue, vogue. You're singing it now, aren't you? You're even doing the hands. It's ok, I won't tell anyone.

I sell vintage but I started out buying vintage items to repurpose into art. So everything I buy is through the eyes of an artist and much of it is with the intention of possibly creating something with it in the future. Sometimes, that can be in the near future, most of the time it is in the distant future. In the meantime, I can't just let these wonderful items stay hidden away so I give my customers first crack at creating something amazing. I am happy when an item goes to a loving home of any kind but I always secretly hope it will be repurposed into something cool.

One day last month, someone bought one of my creepy dolls. After having used some previous dolls in a photography shoot, I think these dolls make great subjects for expressing a number of emotions through their emotionless stares. You can just imagine my delight when Jace Delgado of JRD Photography shared with me some pictures of how he used the doll he purchased from me on Etsy.

Maybe you can't imagine so let me help you. Ecstatic, mind blown, love it are a few words and phrases that come to mind. So awesome to see the potential of this doll fully realized through the eyes of this amazing artist! His photos are a feast for the eyes, rich in texture and subject, visual and implied. 

Take a moment. Compose yourself. Prepare yourself for razzle dazzle. Ok, check out a few of them...

I know, it's easy to get lost in them but bring it back. Focus. I'm talking here. Could you ask for a better re-imagining of this vintage piece? I think not.

Thank you so much to Jace for sharing his work with me! What a range on this guy. From your portraits, landscapes, sports shots, weddings, and boudoir, to his haunting steampunk work (my personal favorite), this guy does it all. Check out his website at http://500px.com/JRD_PHOTOGRAPHY and be sure to like him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JRDPhotographyOHIO to keep up with and be inspired by his latest and greatest. Warning : Clear your schedule, you're not going to want to stop looking until you've seen it all. 

Find your own treasures and be inspired at Maliasmark.

What I Wouldn't Sell : My Special Favorites

I sell stuff. It's what I do. I think my family thinks I would sell my own grandmother if I could. But everything is not just an object to be sold. Each piece has a personality, a story, a history. I get attached to almost every item, even the ones I sell. I'm sad when they leave me but happy to pass them along to someone that will love them. 

Sure, some stuff is just...stuff but some stuff is special and I wonder why these items weren't special to someone else. 

Here are some items that I will never sell. Some I just love, some have sentimental value, some are just super cool and I want to show them off. 

• Needlepoint Art made by my Grandma, with my Grandpa's signature beer tab hangers on the back. Love these. There is a lot of history and their personalities in these pieces. Since neither of them are still with me, even more special.

• Postcards that my great Grandmother received dating back to 1901. My grandmother just gave me these. I think she thought I would sell them but there is no way. I do love them and will be looking for some that I am not attached to for resale. :)

• Jewelry Box that was my Grandmas. The ballerina is missing. The music doesn't play. But every time I open this jewelry box it smells like my grandma.

• Antique Seltzer Bottle. No sentimental value. Just love the green glass, rusty metal around it, and who knows what the mystery fluid is inside.

• Enamel Gas Station Sign Letter M. A couple years ago I bought a pile of enamel gas station sign letters that spelled out "happy" and "m". How perfect is that? As you can see, I do not clean off my vintage dust. :) 

• Antique Mirror. Bought this at a junk store. The framing in the back makes me think it's old and possibly handmade. No stamps or identifying marks. I don't usually like traditionally antique things but I love the decoration on this and my favorite is how the mirror is fading and chipping away at the bottom. I would never find anything like this again.

• It is downright weird how much I love these corbels. They don't match, the paint chips off daily, they were in a fire and the backs are half burned off but I think that's why I love them.

• Super cool surveyors tripod which my brother turned into a floor lamp. Love the height, the spindly legs, the different metals and that my super analytical brother did something creative for me. This year I hope to learn more about rewiring fixtures. So many cool things to do with lighting!

So there you have it. I do have a soul.

I would love to hear about your favorite vintage items! Feel free to share in the comments section.

Resolve to Organize and Decorate Your Office in Vintage Style in 2014

Your office.  You spend so much time there.  Does it reflect your personality at all or is it your standard clinical Staples office look?

When I worked in an office, I moved in, left it the way it was, and piles started accumulating. After 9 years, I decided it was time. I organized, threw away, filed, rearranged, and hung pictures. It was a great place to be. I didn't mind going there.  All I could wonder was "Why didn't I do this sooner?" As the great comedy of life would have it, my company closed two months later so I lost that office. So now, my office is home but it's still a challenge to claim your space. Mine is in my bonus room. Part office, part studio, part gym, part storage facility. There's a lot going on.

I will be starting off the year re-organizing the old office space into an organized place I want to be, surrounded by my favorite items. Join me in starting your year off organized and accessorized! You'll thank yourself. Productivity and happiness will be on the rise! Browse some of the great vintage office organization and decor items from maliasmark.etsy.com below.

Happy 2014!