Friday, December 3, 2010

The next Mermaid's Mercantile is Dec 11Th and 12Th

 My mom has always said, "Good things come in small packages!"
Our tiny historic cottage is packed full of the best Holiday gifts and suprises!
The Mermaid's have been making all kinds of wonderful handmade goodies for everyone on your list.
The garden will be filled with holiday treasures and the parking lot will be full of tents as our wonderful vendors and artist present their latest treasures!
Come down and spend the day with us, Sat Dec 11Th and Sun Dec 12Th from 10 am to 5pm
Or visit the cottage Tues- Sun 11am- 5pm at 315  Cedros Ave. Solana Beach 858 755 7630
We can't wait to see you again!
Sincerely,
Debi

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Join us for the Next Mermaid's Mercantile Nov 27Th and 28Th



We have lots of wonderful handmade Gifts for all the special people on your list...
20 vendors and artists have been creating the most wonderful things.....
Ornaments, jewelry, clothing and more...
vintage goodies we know you will adore....
The fun begins at 10am, be sure and arrive early, we will be stocked full of a kind treasures that can't be missed.
Several new vendors will be joining us this month. We hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Debi

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Introducing guest blogger and Mermaid: Kimberly Allison!

Happy November everyone! As most of you know, The Mermaid's Mercantile wouln't exist without the artistic creations of our many "Mermaids". Each and every amazing Mermaid has a story of the circumstances which led them to create their own special brand of art. For this reason, I will be featuring guest bloggers, so you can get to know the Mermaids and understand the love that goes into their work and where it all came from. Because, to know a Mermaid is to love a Mermaid. So without further ado, I give you, Kimberly Allison!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is a 5th dimension beyond which is known to man. It is a dimension filled with beads, buttons and thrift store finds. It is the middle ground between creativity and insanity, humor and madness. It is the dimension between imagination, celebration and regurgitation. It is an area we call the Kimberly Zone.


Hmmm... Maybe a better description is in order.

My name is Kimberly Allison. I am the owner, artist and madness behind Lume di Luna Designs. I have a specific disorder known to many artists as AADD: Artistic Attention Deficit Disorder. Simply put, I am a multi-media artist. I work in ceramic, lampwork glass, soldering, fine beadwork, fiber and soft sculpture as well as many other media. In other words, I want to do it all.



Art is my drug of choice. In my case, it is a life-saver. After the birth of my 3rd son, I fell into the deep pit of Postpartum Depression. I was encouraged to follow art as a part of my therapy. For nearly 20 years, I had placed it in a category of “I’ll do it after all my work is finished". As a mom of 3 boys, my work has NEVER been finished! But I slowly started to wade out into the waters of artistic expression. Then, I began to swim. I have never looked back.

I approach my day like an Olympic runner. I wake and begin a slow, methodical stretch of my mind by indulging in a cup of coffee and catching up on my e-mail. Then I begin to sprint: Sewing, felting, beading, supervising homework and mediating brotherly disagreements. I fall into my bed at night totally exhausted and spent only to be awakened by my Muse's call as she hands me ideas wrapped with a celestial sledgehammer at 2 in the morning.

The past year has brought many changes to my work. But, the biggest by far has been a marked effort to start working "Green". I have always been the type of person who hates to throw away an object that might prove useful someday. The down-side is a tsunami of clutter that takes over my work area. But, all great art requires sacrifice! I find it odd that after the technology of the 20th century, we started to abandon the old ways of "use and re-use". We became a disposable society. In this sense, it's time to turn back the clock.

My latest creations are inspired by this idea. Borrowing the practicality of previous eras, along with the dark silliness of today, I have created what I call "Habromaniacs". The clinical definition of Habromania is "Insanity through morbid cheerfulness." I take felted cashmere sweaters, vintage fabric and buttons and "green" wool roving (that I have prepared myself) to make wild monsters with tons of attitude. My menagerie can be seen at my varied shows, in addition to "Art and Soul" in Encinitas, and the Oceanside Museum of Art. In 2011, they will appear in "Stuffed" magazine as well.



One of my favorite venues is The Mermaid's Mercantile. I simply love the creative and inspiring atmosphere. So many art shows have taken on the rabid feel of a Used Car Tent Sale. The “Mermaid” remains upbeat and serene. Everyone is a phenomenal artist within their own right, with so much creativity to share. It's almost a sisterhood.

In the Mermaid Sisterhood, I am the family oddball. Given a box full of wool socks, vintage buttons, glue, grout and a potato; I would put on a Marilyn Manson CD, ignore the grout, glue the potato to the wall, and make monsters from the socks and buttons.

What else could be expected in The Kimberly Zone?

***Editor's note - Kimberly did not mention this, but each and every one of her fabulous stuffed creatures has their own story to tell. Just pick one up and ask her. She'll tell you.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Come join us at the Mermaid's Mercantile today! A few fun photos from yesterday!

So here are a few sneeks from yesterday, it is gonna be crazy today and I must get down to the shop!
Forgive me please, not sure how to rotate the photos and I am running late. Hope to see you all today!
Thanks to all of the great peeps who came and had fun in the Sun with us yesterday.... looks like summer finally showed up at the coast!
Sincerely,
Debi

Friday, September 24, 2010

The Mermaid's Mercantile begins in a few hours! Woo hoo! and a $75 giveaway!




Our Fall show and Sale is just a few hours away, and before I get to a good nights sleep before the big weekend I would like to show you some sneek peeks of what we have in Store!
Tommorow is our preview to the fall season. We are super excited to annouce our new vendors Sicilian Gypsies....
. I am very selective when it comes to great bags, when I saw this amazing collection  I was at a loss for words, the best thing to do is give the words that these very talented designers use to decribe their passion.
Sicilian Gypsies quality style and beauty.
We invite you to enter our world, the kingdom of the Gypsies and find that one of a kind object of desire that allures you.
Maria and Susan
you will not want to miss this sale. 
We also have a tent full of vintage costumes... hundreds of cool frocks and wild get-ups!Jenn Wiley is back with her totally over the top Halloween accessories, Jenns spooky goodies flew out the door last year. I know she has been counting down the days to Oct 31ST and I can hardly wait to see what is in her bag of tricks this year!
We have a whole garden and store full of new treats! I made a halloween chandelier that I had to force myself not to keep for my house! Rachel and Frauke have been buzzing around whipping up black glittery goodness, Valentina and Marie Vollaire dropped off a few loads of treats, one customer bought chairs from Marie before they even made it off the truck! I am sure Marie and Mary are back at home finishing up more goods for tommorow morning!
The fabulous Nicky Glade and Cynthia Bardeen will be waiting to greet you in our classroom as they reveal our brand new and long awaited, fall class schedule! We have Terri Brush coming back for another soldering workshop (sign up fast she sold out last july) and a whole new line up of sewing, needle felting, jewelry making and holiday projects galore! I will be teaching a class on seashell and mermaid christmas ornaments that will make you dizzy with excitement!
Last but not least our New Mermaid ! Michelle Ramirez has just moved into the cottage and she has some of the best blingy jewelry supplies that can be found.this girl is a doll! and she has talent coming from her elbows, welcome Michelle! 
See you all in the morning! This mermaid has got to get some sleep... she has been working her tail off getting ready!
Oh and remember to sign our guestbook this weekend, we will be picking one lucky person to recieve a $75 gift certificate!
Sincerely,
Debi

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A spooky Giveaway, Lot's of Vintage costumes this weekend and....A real true Halloween Story..........

 The moral of this story is: Never rent a Halloween costume, always buy one outright!
Allow me to set the scene. It was the dawning of a new decade: the groovin' 70's, and I was 6 years old.
Halloween night had finally arrived -every child's favorite candy coated holiday. I think I probably looked forward to this night more than most kids. You see my mom was, and still is, very much a health fanatic. There was absolutely NO SUGAR allowed in our house. Mom made bread and even ketchup from scratch! She did not want her family eating sugar, refined flour or foods laden with sodium. This would have been OK except that her early attempts at baking and cooking healthy foods were, um, hard to swallow. I have memories of dense and chewy whole-wheat birthday cakes with honey and flax-seed frosting that none of my friends would eat. Seriously, could you blame them?  Mom made oatmeal wheat germ cookies that would give someone a concussion if used in a food fight. One year we had little boxes of organic raisins to hand out at Halloween. A great many of them ended up floating in our swimming pool the next day. Are you getting the picture yet?

Even though my family did not hand out candy, Halloween was the one exception to our strict diet. Mom very reluctantly agreed to take us trick-or-treating even though it just about killed her. I was a very strong-willed child, and I was determined to get as much candy as possible. This was really my only chance! My Easter baskets and Christmas stockings were filled with carob chips, fruit roll-ups and string cheese.  But one magical night a year, we were permitted to eat the forbidden treats. So, off we went, me, my little sister, and Mom into the dark and chilly neighborhood to get the good stuff. My favorite? The chewy peanut butter taffy wrapped in orange and black wax paper. On this particular Halloween night, my Dad stayed back at home listening to Simon and Garfunkel, drinking beer, and snacking on whole wheat chips and organic guacomole with his buddys. My parents were hosting a Halloween party for their friends, and I knew that we would have maybe 15-20 minutes max to score some candy. At that point we would be allowed to eat two pieces and be put to bed while my parents partied the night away 70's style.

Soon after we set out,  I realized that I had to go to the bathroom. Letting my mom know this would be Halloween sucide. I just knew that if we went back home, that would be it. The trick-or-treating would come to a screetching halt, and my plastic pumpkin would be filled to less than a 10% capacity. Needless to say, I held it. In my head I was chanting, "Just one more house. Just one more house." Mom noticed after a while that I was doing the pee pee dance and  asked me if I had to 'go'?  "No Mom", I assured her. I said that I was just a little cold, but I was fine and wanted to keep going. That particular year I was dressed in a flannel clown suit with one of those plastic masks that made it difficult to breath. Every house was a gamble, but I just had to have one more piece of candy. 

We had made it all the way around the block and we were now at the house across the street from ours. This house belonged to a very cranky and scary-looking old man. This man totally freaked me out,  "Hey little girl!", he would shout across the street to me, "You see these?" and he'd wave these little brown sticks in the air. "These are poisonous sausages. The next time your little dog gets out and goes in my yard, he will eat one of these and it will make him very, very sick!" I loved my little dog Bootsie and I'd be in tears every time he dug a hole and escaped under the fence. 

I don't know if was because I'd pushed my bladder beyond it's limits, or if it was the sight of this man up close and personal that made me wet my pants, but I did -right there on his porch. And it went on for a good long time. I left a giant puddle on his front steps! Looking back now, I feel that justice was served in twisted sort of way. I am sure this guy must have been way more put out by me peeing on his porch than he was by Bootsie lifting his leg on his landscaping. Even so I was mortified and there are pictures to prove it.




OK this is not really me. I don't have a scanner to show you the image of me crying in my clown suit or the look of humiliation as I walked through the front door in a wet costume . But the look on my face was the same. 

For me, Halloween will always be bittersweet. I still love the candy, but after several root canals and thousands of dollars in dental bills, I try my best to avoid it. The costumes are a different story, I adore them! I especially love the really creative ones. I am a firm believer that every costume should be original. You never want to show up wearing the same get-up that some other girl ordered online or bought at a chain retail store. 

The handmade and vintage numbers are a must, and there is no limit to how you can alter them or switch them up. For example, don't go as a regular hula girl, go as Miss Hulaween! Sort of a Goth death-warmed-over hula babe. You take a black grass skirt and a coconut bra that is made to look like giant eyeballs. This is just one idea, I have thousands more and I will be happy to offer complementary costume styling advice this weekend. 

So whether you are thinking Minnie Mouse on the prowl or Twiggy off her diet, we have got  a tent packed full of cool and creative costumes galore and we will be revealing them this weekend at the Mermaid's Mercantile! Oh, I must mention, there will be lots of peanut butter taffy for everyone! (Except me, I never touch the stuff)

Be sure to sign our guest book on the way in, because we are giving away a $75 gift certificate! The winner will be picked at random and  announced in next week's post!
Stay tuned, tomorrow's post will be a vendor preview! Soooooo much good stuff!

Sincerely,
Debi 

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Mermaids are featured in Romantic Country.... Yay!

What a blessing and a super fun experience to be featured in Fifi O'neil's fabulous magazine.
I went to Von's today and bought three copies, the checker looked at me a said "are you in this magazine?"
YES! I replied with a super big all teeth smile!
A few months ago Sunday Hendrickson came out to produce a story on our monthly flea market, it was so exciting to meet her  and see the pictures come to life. The entire process of being published is exciting, from speaking with Fifi, to being interviewed by Kimberly McCole to seeing the joy in the eyes of all the hardworking artists as their work was photographed by Sunday Hendrickson.
 Many of my amazing Mermaid vendors are featured in the article, including Deb Hodge  of http://breathingbesideus.blogspot.com/, Marie Vollaire, Holly Stinnett, of http://hollylovesart.blogspot.com/  Melissa Robinson and Linda Scheitman.
here are some tidbits from the issue but you will want to get  your own copy as this issue is packed full of magnificent articles including dreamy Debbie Dusenberry of Curious Sofa and the one and only Tracy Porter.
not to mention the pages and pages of Halloween and Holiday ideas!
We love you Fifi!
all of the mermaids say...
thank you, thank you, thank you!
We are busy getting ready for our next Flea Market on Sept 25TH and 26TH
It will be a great weekend filled to the brim with vintage and handmade goods Galore!
We have got some of the dreamiest handbags that I have ever seen, perfect for Fall and so beautifully handcrafted.
Stay tuned... photos of some of the merch, info on our talented artists and a giveaway to say prayers for!
hope to see ya all in one week!
Sincerely,
Debi

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Several Truckloads of Dreamy Goods for our next Flea Market, in just TWO weeks!

We are trucking in the Goods for our next Sale from all over the place!

there will be a ton of Sweet deals, EYE candy and treats!So don't let the grass grow under your feet! Get to the Mermaids Mercantile bright and early Sept 25TH and 26TH 10 am -5pm.Because you never know what you will come home with!
Stay  tuned we have some MAGNIFICENT giveaways coming up in the next post!
Sincerely,
Debi

Thursday, August 26, 2010

August Giveaway! Pretty In Pink!



Did somebody say “Giveaway?”



Lots and lots of Giveaways!



The Mermaids have been shopping for weeks

and we scored a boatload of vintage clothing and accessories

and you can get your hands on some of this rare and delicious loot this weekend

Saturday &  Sunday

August 28Th & 29Th
10am to 5pm



As the Mermaids celebrate the

"Joys of just being a Girl"

Pretty In PINK


This weekend will be a celebration of

feminine style and coquettery.

Want to make a splash at all those upcoming holiday parties?

Halloween is only 66 days away!


Among our featured items are:

vintage prom dresses,
groovy clothes from the 60’s and 70’s,
 some AMAZING Victorian pieces,
girl’s dresses from the 40’s and 50’s,
 petticoats, shoes, bags, hats, accessories and more!

All at deep, deep, DEEP discounted prices that'll make you throw your hands up in the air!





But wait, there’s more and I’m not talking Ginsu Knives either

Some lucky Girl will win a



$75 Mercantile Gift Certificate,



Good for anything within the Flea Market as well as inside the store!!



We’re also givng away this gorgeous soldered “Courage Bracelet” from Terri Brush Designs



Every person who spends $100 or more gets a free pink cupcake to further sweeten the deal!



Make room in your car because you won’t want to hold back during this Incredible event of girly pink fluffiness!



Wednesday, August 4, 2010

August Mercantile

Save the date Girls!!
August 28Th & 29Th
Sat & Sun
10am to 5pm
The Mermaids celebrate the
 "Joys of just being a Girl"
Pretty In PINK
Lots of Giveaways!
So keep an eye out here on the blog for some amazing pieces offered by our amazing artists.
Some lucky Girl will win a
 $75 Mercantile Gift Certificate,
 good for anything within the Flea Market as well as inside the store!!
More to come..........

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Countdown to the NEXT Mermaids Mercantile... AND a giveaway to swoon over!

In JUST three Days..... The Mermaids will be coming together Again! Swim on over and join us for a Magnificent day of shopping and Inspiration!
July 24th and July 25th
10 am to 5pm
We can't wait to see all of you!
The mermaids garden will be filled to the tree tops with all kinds of vintage furniture, handmade bags, dreamy linen dresses and shimmery treasures! If you love to create art... you will find a sea of vintage baubles and glittery confections to inspire your next artistic vision.



Race day Hat contest.... come wearing your most creative hat, and enter to win a $75 gift certificate.... and we will take your picture and post it here on our little blog!
Two days of vintage heaven.....
just around the corner!