Tag Archives: The Coop

Answering The Call

Posted on by
Reply

 

My restless, roaming spirit has called.

“Traveling is like flirting with life.  It’s like saying, I would love to stay and love, but I have to go; this is my situation” Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

The Coop is currently at an all time low in the junk department.  While I love pouring over beautiful catalogs, ordering from a catalog pales in comparison to the joy I experience junking, and meeting up with my friends who deal in the coolest junque!  “Chief Junker” is my favorite hat that I wear at The Coop.  Returning to The Coop with a trailer load satisfies my restless, roaming spirit with adventure.  I hate to leave my beloved Burton, but I have to Fly The Coop.  This is my situation.

The Coop will be closed January 14th – 23rd

Jeff and I are answering the call with a road trip to Ohio.  Armed with audio books and a journal for my crazy ideas, we’ll hit the road next week.  The hours on the road often feel endless.  If I’m lucky, we’ll stop at a few interesting places on the way.

I know once we make it to our destination I’ll have plenty of treasures to pick from.  I have an idea of what I’m looking for, but am always open to the unexpected.  On our last trip Jeff bought a stack of eight foot church pews (the seats and backs, without the ends) from our friend Ken.  I wasn’t 100% sold on the idea.  They took up a lot of room on our trailer.  There were enough ends to make four pews.  Jeff cut the eight foot pews into four foot sections and added a galvanized detail to the ends.  The finished product turned out fantastic.  The owners of The Grand Texana saw the pews Jeff crafted and commissioned him to make eighteen short pews out of the remaining stack of eight foot pews.  I shared this story with Ken.  He laughed and reminded me, “Tiffany you weren’t even 40% on those pews.”  Lesson learned.  Jeff and I will never question each other’s wisdom or sanity when junking.

I am on the hunt for specific treasures for a few of our customers.  I enjoy the satisfaction of finding the perfect piece and their delight when it is delivered.  Email me what you are looking for at eckhardt.tiffany@gmail.com if you are interested in this service.

Remember to stayed tuned to the Flown The Coop Facebook Page and Instagram account @2FlownTheCoop!  We’ll share our adventure on these two platforms.

Flown The Coop Reopens January 28th

The doors will reopen on Thursday, January 28th.  Will you answer the call to fly the coop?Plan a road trip to be the first to pick from the treasures we bring back to Burton.  While your here, show off your wings by taking a picture in front our Gen.U.Ine Free Spirit mural.  Tag them with #2Flownthecoop so we can celebrate all our free spirits!

#BringmetoBurton

Happy Trails!

~Tiffany

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

Traditions

Posted on by
Reply

This Christmas has been an emotion roller coaster for me as I reminisce Christmas memories and focus on creating new Christmas traditions with Jeff.  Doubtful I’ll get through writing this without becoming a sappy mess.

Growing up my Mom made sure my sister and I had perfect Christmas memories.  We grew up making more cookies than our neighborhood could eat, stringing popcorn and cranberry garland, visiting Santa at my grandpa’s Masonic Lodge, driving to downtown Columbus to see the lights, decorating the tree and waking up to a living room full of presents on Christmas morning.  I’m sure it was very similar to our friend’s Christmas, but it was magic to me.  This picture cracks me up… not sure why I was shooting my sister a stern look.

When Jeff and I were raising our little family, I was either really into Christmas or the biggest ba-humbug in history.  I never felt that I could live up to my expectations and was exhausted before I even attempted to gear up for Christmas.  Somehow, we managed to create a few traditions that stuck over the years.  We made cookies (always buckeyes), hunted and cut down the perfect tree, decorated the tree, topped the tree with a lift from Dad, and a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve.  Most years the kids opened all their presents before Christmas because Jeff and I simply could not wait.   Cutting the tree became an all day event, as I insisted on hunting the tree farm until I found the perfect tree, regardless of the weather.  As the kids got older, the traditions were for my benefit.  Yep, the kids were having a blast!

The year before we all flew the coop…. oh boy, did the years fly by.

Over time, I experienced my favorite traditions in other ways.  Like the year my sister and I baked cookies with my Grandma.

My Mom now makes Christmas cookies with Emily, my daughter and her friends.

Emily and Jacob (daughter and son-inlaw) have started their own traditions, including cutting down a tree from our favorite tree farm.  Emily posted to Facebook, “We got a Christmas tree. I was channeling my mom and made us walk all the way to the back of the tree lot, in the cold to find the “perfect” tree. Good memories.”  LOVE that girl!

I LOVE the smile on her face!

Last year Jeff got to place the star on the top of our tree for the first time.

This year I went shopping alone for our trees (yes I said trees, meaning two for our house and five for The Coop) and bought them from a big box hardware store.  GASP!  After all these years I discovered that I can get seven trees for the price of one.  However, it will never have the same magic.

This year Jeff and I started a few new traditions.  He joined me in making buckeyes.

We went to see The Nutcracker at The Festival Institute in Round Top.  Jeff and his mother, Ginger, had never seen The Nutcracker.  None of us had experienced The Festival Institute.  Wow!

This was my first year to decorate The Coop.  I honestly enjoyed transforming The Coop, making ornaments and hosting Christmas At The Coop.  I look forward to Rocking Around The Coop next year.  Great memories to build new traditions upon!

I miss the traditions of my childhood and the ones Jeff and I created with our kids.  It is heartwarming to watch my adult children maintain some old traditions, while creating their own.  Jeff and I have whittled down the traditions in our empty nest and have enjoyed a slower paced holiday.  I’m insisting we wait until Christmas morning to open our gifts, a first for us.

The traditions are fun, but it’s the people I created them with that is priceless.  I’m so grateful for a rich life filled with family and friends!

May your holiday season be full of joy!  In the midst of a hectic season, I pray that you savor time with loved ones and make memories to last you all year long!

~Tiffany

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

 

Rocking Around The Coop

Posted on by
Reply

Getting in the spirit

This year is my first year to decorate The Coop for Christmas.  Sadly, I don’t normally enjoy decorating for the holidays.  It’s just not the same since Jeff and I flew the coop, becoming empty nesters.

I forced myself to start thinking about it in October, already feeling behind the retail schedule.  Saying a little prayer for creativity, I started pinning ideas on Pinterst.  One pin led to another, and then the Christmas spirit took me by surprised.  I was actually looking forward to transforming The Coop with my new ideas.

During the same time, I was putting together our first Christmas At The Coop scheduled on December 6th, 11am – 5pm.  Planning a party is one of my all time favorite things to do.  I am really excited for all the creative people who will be joining the celebration.  The special guests include Pamela Fagan Hutchins (author), John Lowery (artist), T-Roy Miller (musician) and my son Hayden Eckhardt (barista & coffee roaster with Boomtown Coffee)!

A few of my favorite things

I had an idea of how I wanted to incorporate our existing Vintage * Industrial * Homestead goods with a Christmas selection that focused on shopping small.

First I placed orders with my favorite entrepreneurs, procuring an assortment of great gift ideas including tees, bracelet charms, candles, bags, pillow,etc.  Then I stocked up on our local homestead goods, Lazy Bee Honey and Honey jams and Lacey Farms Lavender.

This month we are introducing local talent into The Coop.  We now carry a local author, Pamela Fagan Hutchins with Skipjack Publishing.  We met Pamela and her husband this past fall at our Karaoke Night at The Coop.  Pamela didn’t miss a beat and sang two songs that evening.  John Lowery, a local artist, has been popping into The Coop since we opened in March.  It took me by surprise the day he stopped by to ask if we would display his Engelbrecht Longhorn prints in The Coop.  Of course we would!!!!  You can meet both Pamela and John on December 6th during Christmas At The Coop.

Taking time to create 

Making a list of projects I had pinned, I decided Jeff and I would create a few of our own Christmas decorations {another first}.  Jeff used his new plasma cutter to make wonderful galvanized Christmas ornaments.  He also hand crafted a mantel and some church pews with galvanized embellishments.  I created paper ornaments, paper chains, forced paper whites into canning jars and chalk boards with messages of Christmas cheer.  My friend Carolyn spent an afternoon crafting at The Coop to help me get it all done.

A vision realized

I waited until the Sunday before Thanksgiving to transform The Coop.  The weather was finally cool the day I insisted on pulling everything out for a complete re-do.  It was fun to rearrange and add the Christmas collection to our Vintage and Industrial design.

My excitement ignited when Jeff hung my chalk boards with messages of Christmas cheer.  It was one of those moments when you realize a vision exactly how you had hoped it would be.  We were rocking around The Coop as we added the Christmas trees!

I am proud that The Coop has become an unique shopping experience with Vintage * Industrial * Homestead Goods, and fun gift ideas for the holidays!  The best part is that you can feel good that you are supporting local businesses, local talent and my entrepreneurial friends.

Even Maggie Magenta got dolled up for the holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can honestly say that I am in the Christmas spirit.  I can’t wait to share it with you!

Here’s a sneak peak… check out our Christmas 2015 album on Facebook for more pics!

What is your favorite part of getting in the holiday spirit?  Will you be rocking around the Christmas Tree?  I’d love to see you ideas, hear your traditions and what you are looking for when you shop for your loved ones.

May your days be Merry & Bright,

~Tiffany

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