The Mercantile Register

A Few Days Ago A Cute Little Toddler Came In With Her Mom After Class At The Gym.

bradfordmercantile — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:53:33 +0000

REPOSTED - This post was selected from our previous web site’s blog. Original post date May 23, 2007.

I asked her mother if I could give her a beanie baby from my stash of beanies I rescued from a bag my daughter was taking to the Salvation Army. The mom said yes, and that her daughter really likes bears, and cats. I looked through the basket and found a leopard beanie, and went to hand it to the little girl. Well she let out a holler and started backing up and shaking her head no, no. She was clearly terrified.

I asked the mom if she was afraid of the beanie I picked, and she said that her daughter had been taught “stranger danger” and that was what she was reacting to. Well, she did a good job of teaching her because she had me startled!! I gave the beanie to mom and the little girl still wouldn’t take it. Mom set it down and they shopped and made their purchase. As they were leaving mom asked if she could still have the beanie and I said certainly so she picked it up along with her daughter. Mom placed the beanie on her shoulder, and the little girl was trying to knock it to the ground!! I wonder if she ever did warm up to it.

Eric H. of Brookline, MA – Fireplace Mantle for the Seasons

bradfordmercantile — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:34:05 +0000

Eric recently moved to Massachusetts to pursue a degree in Interior Design – he used to work in event planning. He can’t resist decorating his New England mantle in a style that evokes his colonial New Orleans heritage.

Eric’s mantle is filled with color and shimmer. This kind of full and bountiful decor is not likely to be found in the most primitive of homes, but it sure fits well into the historic home he now lives in in Brookline.

Decorated for Halloween, the same mantle that was so formally decorated for Christmas is filled with fun and whimsy. The witches of Salem must be jealous of those shoes!

Thanks Eric for sharing your seasonal decor on your historic mantle. We look forward to future holidays!

Linda M. of Riverside, RI – Lilly in the Bathroom

bradfordmercantile — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:04:12 +0000

Linda’s eclectic display and bright paint colors in her bathroom prove that Lilly the frog doesn’t just have to live in a primitive room. Linda’s choice of wall color accent’s Lilly’s rosy cheeks, and the vintage victorian lamp mixes up the styles to create a refreshing blend of old, new, and vintage.

Thanks Linda for sharing with us Lilly’s new home!

Send us your photos – Mercantile@Home

bradfordmercantile — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:24:14 +0000

Introducing Mercantile@Home. Share your decorating and home improvement projects with the Bradford Mercantile community.

To participate, send your photos to web@bradfordmercantile.com and we will post them to the blog.

Photo ideas:

A decorative painting project – did you repaint a room, stencil your floors, or choose the perfect colonial color for the exterior of your home?
A vignette – whether it is an unused corner of a bathroom’s counter, shelves in a living room, or a dining table center piece, vignettes are wonderful collections of wares that show off our favorite styles, seasons, and things. Halloween, Christmas, Americana, Spring, or any other holiday themed displays show of your favorite season. Non-seasonal vignettes are perfect for sharing too!
A whole room – perhaps your decorating project started out as a piece or two, but it grew to include the whole room (or the whole house)… we would love to see it all!
A garden project – whether it is a primitive wooden birdhouse, a simple bench, or a recycled metal bird feeder that sets your garden off, we want to see it – and all of your plantings as well!

All that we ask is:

The photos are yours.
The decor is in keeping with Bradford Mercantile’s style or you inventively used a product we sell in a different type of decor. If you aren’t sure if your style is our style – send us the photos anyways – we will let you know.
You understand that the pictures become the property of Bradford Mercantile.
We will respect your privacy. Typically we will post the photos with the following heading format: Jane D. of Warren, RI. We will never use your last name. We can provide less information to the blog readers than this if you prefer.

We look forward to sharing your hard work and decorating passions with everyone who reads this blog. Happy decorating!

Introducing Timeless Lighting

bradfordmercantile — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:57:49 +0000

Timeless Lighting offers a full selection of ceiling lighting (wood spun and wrought iron), matching table lamps (wood spun), sconces, and exterior lighting for your home.

Completely customizable at no additional charge – choose from hundreds of paint combinations, several metal finishes, and dozens of different styles.

All of Timeless Lighting’s products are handcrafted in Vermont by a single family using centuries’ old tools and techniques. The family stands behind their lighting and offers a Lifetime Guarantee.

If you have a lighting project coming up, this is the perfect time to buy. Spruce up your dining room, bathroom, or over your kitchen sink and island.

Introductory Discount – 20% off entire catalog (order by May 31, 2009)

The average savings per fixture is $60. With the discount, wood spun maple and wrought iron chandeliers start at $167, solid maple painted table lamps start at $143, and sconces start at $143.

We have several example pieces in the shop. View the Timeless Lighting catalog here: Timeless Lighting Catalog

20% discount applies to orders only (custom fixture designs or catalog orders). All in-stock fixtures are discounted 10%. A non-refundable 50% deposit is required at time of order and remaining 50% is due when fixture is delivered.

All fixtures are UL rated. Chandeliers are rated for 75 watts per arm.

Daffodil Days

bradfordmercantile — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:43:21 +0000

Today we visited Blithewold to see the beginning of Daffodil days. It has been such a long time since I have been there. It was beautiful. The daffodil’s are about 1/3 out… it will only get better. I have attached a picture from our visit. Enjoy!

Visit: http://www.bradfordmercantile.com for a selected list of events for Blithewold on our shop calendar. You can also visit http://www.blithewold.org

Launching a web site – Part 1

bradfordmercantile — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:19:31 +0000

So, we (meaning my son) have been working very hard to launch an entirely new web experience. This includes a new look and feel, adding shopping functionality, and showing off our ever changing displays. I never knew how complicated shipping tables were!

Today, Jonathan and I spent almost the entire day studying UPS shipping tables. We are striving hard to figure out how to ship our products to our non-local customers the most economical way. Did you know that weight AND dimension factor into shipping costs?

I am sure you will find our shipping rates on our new site as reasonable as they come (they are calculated based upon your location in the country based upon UPS shipping tables). There are no exorbitant flat rates.

The best part is? Since we are unable to extend the point’s system to our online customer… we are offering a rebate on shipping on purchases over $250. (Restrictions apply, visit our yet to be launched web site for details.)

Tomorrow brings a new day, hopefully I will be able to move on to another aspect of our amazing new web experience!

A bird in my microwave??

bradfordmercantile — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:04:17 +0000

So my husband failed to tell me we have a bird problem. Don’t get me wrong. I love birds! But, why do they have to make a home in my stove/microwave vent? I guess one of our modern conveniences in my colonial style home is now a nuisance? What did they do in centuries past?

Unfortunately we didn’t get any pictures of this incident. My son and I cleared out the cabinet over the microwave, rigged a bed sheet and some other objects to direct the bird to the window of the sink (all while I am standing on a rickety stool) and slowly pulled the vent pipe apart. In the split second that the pipe separated (I was about to pee my pants!) the bird bolted for the open window and then it was gone.

So, if you showed up to the store right at 10am today, just know I was a bit preoccupied! Mornings like this remind me, we just aren’t along for the ride in our homes… they require constant love and care.

Bonnie Lester/Holiday Hours

bradfordmercantile — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:20:18 +0000

I just want to let you know that beginning Monday, Dec. 1 we will be open on Monday from 12-5 and also on Thursday evenings until 8 pm. I am frequently here way past 5 pm on most days so if the big black door is still open feel free to stop. Feel free to call before you head out if you want to make sure I will be open later than 5 pm on any given day. If I don’t have plans, and lets face it, this is all I do anyway, I do try to stay later most nights!I also want to announce that I now have many items from primitive folk artist Bonnie Lester. Many of you may know her from the Congregational Church Bazaar in Raynham that she has been exhibiting at for many years. Bonnie heard about my shop from Denise, the former owner of Brayton House in Somerset. Bonnie came to see me last Saturday morning and I have quite a few of her wonderful pieces here. Each piece is signed by Bonnie and is of exceptional quality. I also have many nice pieces from a few other area artists, including a Dear Santa letter that can be ordered with your children or grandchildren’s names on, but hurry, there is an approximately 2 week delivery time. This item is absolutely adorable along with the scrap basket angels and primitive town pillows that Mary Lou makes in addition to the Dear Santa letter.

We are raffling off a $200.00 gift certificate to the shop to be drawn on December 14. The proceeds from this raffle are to help send a group of nursing students to Africa in May to work at clinics, orphanages, and schools in Uganda. The nursing Students are from The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and my daughter Theresa is one of the students going on the trip. A check will be written to their student group, Service Nursing Abroad, to help defer the cost of the trip for the group, which is estimated to be approximately $60,000. The tickets are $1.00 each, or 6 for $5.00.

May all of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Rebekah is back!

bradfordmercantile — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:18:02 +0000

If you were ever a customer at the former Old Glory shop in Bristol that I managed from June 2002-March 2005 you may remember Rebekah, the young woman who worked on Fridays and Saturdays. SHE IS BACK!!

She doesn’t have a regularly set schedule as she also has a few other irons in the fire but she will be here helping throughout the holidays and hopefully beyond until she decides if she is going to move to Colorado in the spring. I am so happy to have her in the shop, and we have been having fun catching up. Rebekah went to high school with my son Jonathan.