Lessons learned in 2012

Flown The Coop will take part in Folk Magazines year long Journaling Agenda, a community journaling/blogging project. Here’s to the first blog of the year!

Dear Tiffany,

It is safe to say, 2012 is over and you can move on.

Looking at your 2012 ~ Goals, Mantras and Dreams Board on Pinterest, the message is clearly the importance of pressing on. You are a dreamer. You always will believe that you can create the life you want.

2012 challenged that belief.

The year started with a move to Houston, Texas. This was not your choice. Leaving your two grown children in Ohio was difficult.  Fulfilling Jeff’s dream of living near his family, you made the move with the love of your life and was hoping for the best. You didn’t do so well.  You missed your family back in Ohio and the best friends in the world! You learned that you are a small town girl, who enjoys knowing your neighbors and walking around a historic downtown with lovely old homes. You missed The Depot, your favorite coffee shop, where the community gathers for their daily dose of Java and everyone knows your name.

With a wounded heart, but not a wounded spirit, you pressed on.  Not many people in your new home understood that you were having a crisis of belief.  You questioned, “Could you really be happy and fly free when you didn’t have the ability to choose your circumstances?”

Despite the Houston traffic, you managed to find your way around the “fourth largest city in the US.” Exploring a new city is always fun! You even managed to find a new coffee house to frequent, Boomtown. You enjoyed decorating your little flat in Rice Village, but parking tickets and loud college students made it clear that it wasn’t the ideal situation.  You longed for community and a feeling of place.  You and Jeff decided to end 2012 by placing a deposit on a rental house in the Heights.  The Heights is a neighborhood inside the loop that in many ways feels like your small town and is the only thing like it in Houston.  The cost of living is drastically higher than we are used to, but the decision felt like a leap towards creating the life that you wanted.  After your move in January, you will be able to make new friends, get involved in community and even walk to Boomtown!  You learned that given time, you can find what your heart longs for if you are willing to pay the price.

You hustled in 2012 and will need to hustle some more in 2013!

Flown The Coop made the move to Texas too. It was a scary move for you. How would you find ways to buy and sell, restore and repurpose wonderful Junque?  You rose to the challenge and Hustled.

You set up at several shows in Texas. You did Canton, Warrenton, Junk Salvation, Discovery Green Flea Market and the prestigious Urban Market Houston. In July you opened a booth at Chippendale Eastlake Antiques on 19th street in the Heights. Your were even invited to help out The Seed Box at the Dallas Market. All of these opportunities inspired you work harder at Flown The Coop. You learned a lot about merchandising from the pros in the business. You were encouraged to discover a niche, which is still a work in progress. The best part in stepping out in the various opportunities was making fabulous new friends! You have the best colleagues and customers who continually support your dream of flying free!

Creating a life on purpose is very important to you. In 2012 you learned that even when life isn’t zesty, you don’t have to be caged. You can fly free! The happiness you long for isn’t in a destination, but is in the way you travel. You’ve proved to yourself that you are strong, willing to persist and that you have the ability to start over!

Life is a journey, come travel with me!

 ~Tiffany

“And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!”

 

 

Flown The Coop has a new roost

I can finally spill the beans…

The adventure continues

I am very excited to announce Flown The Coop has joined the antique co-op at Chippendale Eastlake Antiques on 19th street in the Heights.  You will be able to shop Flown The Coop at our new roost beginning in June!!!

Serendipity!

For months Jeff & I have toyed with the idea of finding a shop location.  We love the Flea, but also like the idea of a permanent location to roost in between shows.  The idea seemed like a distant dream… but ya’all know we dream TEXAS SIZED DREAMS.  🙂

Saturday afternoon Jeff & I set out to explore our options.  We love the eclectic, funky, fun-loving Heights area of Houston and ultimately want to live there.  I thought we should start by driving around looking at houses.  Jeff wanted to shop… who am I to argue with that?  Strolling through the shops on 19th is always fun!

I had already talked to a few shop owners on 19th and was leaning more towards a booth space with a co-op instead of a full fledge shop.  A co-op space would provide a coop to roost in, with the freedom to continue flying off to junking adventures… remaining true to our dedication to those who can’t be caged.  Earlier in the week I checked with one antique mall in the area who only could offer me a display case as a way to get my “foot in the door.”  I wasn’t excited about that idea.  Admittedly, I was thinking there was little chance of finding a space anytime soon.  We walked in Chippendales Eastlake Antiques to inquire about getting on a dealer’s waiting list.  To our surprise, we learned that there is a space available for the first time in three years.  Serendipity!  (Jeff loves that word)  After talking to Heather, I was sure this could be a good fit for Flown The Coop!

Chippendale has been located on the corner of 19th and Rutland in the Houston Heights for twenty three years.  Previous to Chippendales, the location was home to a gas station, Lewis and Coker grocery store and a green stamp store.  Currently there are twenty one dealers who make up the antique co-op.  Jeff and I are excited to be apart of such an established group of dealers and love the idea of locating on 19th street.  There is so much scope for imagination!

New space/ new friends

The ideas just keep coming… shifting my paradigm from filling a 20X20 space in the field to filling our new indoor space will be a fresh challenge.

I am excited about getting involved in a new community of “junk” lovers and developing new friendships!  One of my first friends at Chippendale… meet Carlos Antonio, the shop dog.  He is a rescued long haired Chihuahua.  Isn’t he handsome with his summer cut?  Seemed to pose when I got the camera out.

BTW:  Chippendale Eastlake is a pet friendly shop!!!!!  Most of the antique shops on19th have at least one “shop dog” and  are open to dog walkers and pets 🙂  Pretty cool.

Our Coop away from Coop….

We haven’t flown away from the Flea all together… the Flea will remain our “coop away from coop.”  This month we will be set up in our regular spot at Canton Trade Days (May 30th – June 3rd).  However, this will most likely be our last month in the “field” at Canton… we are exploring pavilion options.  Please come visit our beloved corner in the field!   (Row 52/ Row 98 by the creek between the Civic Center and the Pavillions)

Our flight pattern will also include Warrenton at Cole’s Antique Show twice a year and other possible shows.

Sign says “Walk.”

Jeff and I are enjoying our Flown The Coop journey… we are flying free, taking tiny steps forward and loving where it is taking us.  We are thankful that we took the time to explore our options and stepped into Chippendale.  Feels like a huge leap, but there is no doubt we will love our new coop!

There are more dreams to dream (Texas size)… all of which build on what we are currently doing.  With each step we take I am beginning to believe the sky is the limit… really!

And the birds fluttered around them writing “yes” in the sky!

~Tiffany

Tiny Steps… TEXAS SIZE DREAMS!

 

We started our Flown The Coop journey about year ago.  July will mark our first Flea Market gig at the Springfield Antique & Flea Market.  Many of you will remember images from our maiden voyage….

 

Kristie Herlong and I felt like a million bucks after our first weekend!  We were told July was a horrible month for the Flea.  Yet we left exhilarated by the cash in our pocket & new friends we met… ready and determined to take flight on more adventures!

Our first tiny step seems like a million years and a million miles ago!  In less than a year Flown The Coop has taken a succession of tiny steps with extreme highs and lows, flying between Ohio and Texas many times.  Yes… living La Vita Loco e La Dolce Vita at the same time.  

….and we have settled nicely into our Texas “coop”.  

Rest assured we maintain our dedication to our original mission…

Flown The Coop is dedicated to those who can’t be caged! On our journey, we find treasures to repurpose, reuse, rethink & upcycle! We aspire to inspire creativity and a zest for life along the way!

Flown The Coop will always be about being creative… living our dreams… being authentic… flying free… thinking outside the box… living a real gypsy story.  

With our mission in tack, we have developed some “Texas Sized” dreams for the future.  Each tiny step seems to be leading us towards amazing opportunities.  We have some VERY EXCITING NEWS coming soon.  

Before we can spill the beans about upcoming adventures… we want to pause to revel in our journey.  Wow!  So grateful!    Let’s just say… if we can do it… you can do it too!  What tiny steps will you take today towards your “Texas Size” DREAM?  

~ And the birds fluttered around them writing “yes” in the sky!

 

Flying the coop….

Gallery

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Welcome to our adventure in flying the coop….  It’s mainly a “Tiff” gig, but I couldn’t do it without Jeff.  We are livin la vida loca pursuing a junk passion! While I still have a lot to learn about the industry, … Continue reading