Classical Guitar Society Sale Benefits STL Schools

Hey, all you string-pickin’ guitar players–here’s an opportunity for you to purchase a quality used classical, steel string or 12-string guitar and do good at the same time. The St. Louis Classical Guitar Society has a selection of used instruments–priced to sell–and all proceeds go to the Society’s Guitar Fund. The money is used to purchase classical guitars for the city’s public schools.

In the past two years, the Guitar Society has donated 60 classical guitars to public schools; this school year, the schools have received an additional 30 guitars. The instruments become the property of the school. If you have a guitar you want to donate, check the Society’s website for more information. http://www.GuitarStLouis.net.

The Guitar Society has an active outreach program to schools. Some of their fantastic, world-renowned performers–people who play Carnegie Hall and other international venues–visit public schools while they are in St. Louis. One duo visited NINE schools before their performance. As a result, two music teachers signed up to offer group guitar lessons.

To me, this is a great example of outreach. The Society is pulling in new listeners, new players and contributing to public education at a time when budget woes threaten music programs. Besides donated guitars, the Society accepts cash donations to the school program. Again, go to the webpage and cick on Donate Now. [www.GuitarStLouis.net]

Membership in the Classical Guitar Society is just $20 per person, $35 per couple and entitles you to a $4 discount on tickets to world-class performances. You don’t have to be particularly knowledgeable to enjoy these artists; one of the two best performances I’ve seen in my life was by the Assad brothers on a dark and stormy night (really) at the St. Louis Ethical Society. Just so you know how great they were, the other concert was John Pierre Rampal at the Paris Opera House.

So, check out their concerts–there are opportunities to attend Master Classes, too, for just $5; consider buying your next instrument from the Society, or just donate to their School Fund.

Now all I need is a trainer and will power!

I stayed home on Black Friday. As a fellow reporter at the Des Moines Register once said, explaining why he didn’t go out on New Year’s Eve: “That’s amateur night!” 

However, I was a Goodwill (imagine that!) earlier in the week. My deal of the day was a Bowflex machine for $35. Even with the $20 I spent renting a truck from Home Depot and the $10 tip I gave the guy for helping me load the machine into the truck, I only spent $65.

Now all I need is a personal trainer to come to the house and make me use it! Any day now, any day!

 

0 for 4 at Modernism Auction

People hear “resale” or “thrift” and often think “cheap” or “junky.” Au contraire, mon ami. Sotheby’s and Christies–the well-known auction houses in New York–are, after all resale emporiums! There are often terrific bargains to be had at auctions, particularly at the regional houses, which may not be as well-attended as the mega-houses. The auction house here in St. Louis is Ivey Selkirk (http://iveyselkirk.com/) and it has both fine arts sales and “Jackson Room” sales, in which the bargains are a bit more “as is.”

I’m trying not to regret missing out on all four items I bid on at Ivey-Selkirk’s Modernism auction  last weekend. If I had prevailed on all four, it would have cost me $700–but I purposely bid very low on two items, so I didn’t expect to get those.

However, I thought I had a good chance at winning the Herman Miller Aeron desk chair. The catalog estimated a sale price of $200-$250; a great bargain since they sell new for about $1,800. There were two in the auction. I left an absentee bid of $250 and spent the weekend anticipating putting it at my desk. Alas, it sold for about $450–still a bargain, but outside my price range.

I didn’t have much hope of winning the Henri Matisse Jazz portfolio art book, either. It’s listed for $499 on a used book site (JAZZ –Slipcase – Portfolio Edition); I seriously considered leaving a bid of $225, but restrained myself. I bid $75, it sold for $110.  Just call it the one (of many) that got away. (Here’s a link to a very informative website about Jazz and Matisse: http://www.henri-matisse.net/cut_outs.html)

I just missed on a 3×5 wool rug for the kitchen (sold for $50, I bid $45) and a gorgeous cherry table that I definitely didn’t need (sold for about $500, I bid $350). I expected to get the rug and the table would have been a stunning bargain if I’d won it but, oh well….

Auctions are great fun to attend but I do find it more prudent to leave absentee bids. That ensures I don’t get carried away in the heat of the moment. Even though I carefully considered my finances, I still left bids that would have stressed the budget if I’d won them.

Nonetheless, as my friend Cynthia once said, “The only purchases I ever regret are the ones I didn’t make!”

 

 

She’s never too young for animal prints

Leopard is stylish at any age

Animal prints are always in style, and she’s never too young to learn that lesson! I found this leopard print little girl’s jacket at a thrift store for $4. How could you go wrong?

Baby, It’s Cold Outside….

Temperatures are dropping–finally! Fall is the perfect time of year, especially when it gets just chilly enough to bring out the fur. In this case, a short and chunky vintage Mouton jacket.

Mouton is  sheepskin sheered to look like beaver or sheared mink. It was popular in the 30s, 40s and 50s, often styled–like this one–as a short jacket or a swingy coat.  It’s warm, it goes with everything and it’s fun–especially if you pin on a vintage brooch. I like this jacket because it’s clearly vintage but looks thoroughly modern.

The jacket is a dark chocolate brown, with cuffed sleeves and a rolled collar. I’ll be wearing it with jeans or black pants this winter.

Another woman could have been wearing it; I found it in the racks at Goodwill but didn’t even try it on because it looked too small. Call me pushy (I prefer the phrase “helpful and generous”), but when I find something fabulous but not my size, I look around the store for someone who could benefit. I found such a woman and I brought the coat to her attention. She tried it on and loved it! She preened in front of the mirror, admiring the fit. Or so I thought. I went on about my shopping, trying not to be weepy about the coat being too small–and such a steal for $25.

Imagine my surprise, then, two days later when I saw the coat still on the rack! Don’t people have any taste? Shouldn’t some lanky teenage girl have snatched up this jacket to wear with skinny jeans and boots. (Okay, I admit my teenage-girl fashion sense may be faulty–I only have a son.) I decided to try on the coat. And guess what? It fits–better when it’s open but I can actually fasten the front, too.

Naturally, I bought it. Better yet, Goodwill was having a half-off sale that day on coats, so I paid only $12.50. The glow from that bargain-basement price was enough to keep me warm for the rest of theday.

You can generally find Mouton online for $100 or less. I found one similar to mine on a site called Trashy Diva for $80.

Goodwill Hunting…

Smoking Angel, by Jim Pegg

My Suburu pulls into the Goodwill parking lot of its own volition,  a modern divining rod delivering an irresistible message: “There are treasures hidden here.”

I’m not one to proselytize for supernatural guidance but I can vouch for Goodwill–there are almost always treasures tucked away  in its over-stuffed racks and shelves of discarded household items. Some are prosaic, a heavy All-Clad skillet for $4 or the stainless steel coffee maker that costs $8 rather than $5 because of its high-end brand name and excellent condition.

But I am more excited by the possibilities of seemingly unneeded or useless items:

• A pair of pristine white matelasse twin bedspreads from Garnet Hill, a measly $3 apiece. Hung from a black iron rod with clip-on curtain rings, they  block the drafts of winter and the heat from summer’s afternoon sun with casual elegance.
• Mismatched glass shades from old chandeliers and modern bathroom fixtures,  50 cents each. Turned upside down on outdoor tables, they glow with the soft light of votive candles while protecting the flames from wayward breezes.
• Heavy crystal ashtrays–once accoutrements of gracious homes, now relics of a reviled habit.  Inverted, they serve as foundations for displaying decorative objects or adding to the height of a flower vase.

Light up the night with candles

Creating a room is, for me, an artistic act. I have a vision of the environment I want to create. If I wanted to (and had unlimited funds, which I don’t), I could go to the mall or the art galleries or a designer showroom and achieve my vision with the wave of a credit card. Where’s the fun in that? There’s no hunt involved, no turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse, no delighted discovery of an imperfect object whose very imperfections  give it charm. No challenge.

Art–whether writing, a painting, a piece of music or the creation of a beautiful  environment–is an act of problem solving, of recognizing and overcoming limits. I browse through stores ranging from Nieman Marcus to Anthropologie; I attend art openings and museum exhibitions; I love a good designer’s showhouse–but only for inspiration. When it comes time to execute,  I prefer  the raw materials I find in salvage shops,  resale emporiums and the cluttered booths of so-called antique malls. I prefer to apply my imagination.