OPEN HOUSE - Hand Made in the 254

For 2 Days, Our Store will Bee Stocked Fill with Made in Waco Products (area code 254)!

July 31 and Aug 1 from 10:30 - 5:30

In conjunction with all of our other Made in the 254 products, these LOCAL artists will bee presenting trunk shows this weekend only!

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Paper Wings Designs

These gals are such creative and talented paper artists. Stop by to see all new birds flying in! Come meet the artists themselves on Sat from 1:00 - 4:00 http://paperwingsdesigns.blogspot.com

Summer has been with us almost since the beginning. She has grown so much over the years and I am so proud that her jewelry in now beeing offered in fine boutiques all over the country and in Canada. She created many special lines that can only bee seen at Bloom & Bee Swanky. She and her husband Peter, are soon leaving us to do mission work in Northern Africa for three years. Although we will continue to offer her jewelry, this will bee her last trunk show with us. If you want to meet her in person to have her custom design something special, bee sure to stop by as she will bee here all weekend offering some new designs too! summerellis.com


Kim Whitney is the owner of Whitney Ridge Art Glass located here in Waco at 6325 N. 19th Street. She will bee set up with us all weekend offering Hand Made Custom Designs in Stained and Fusable Dichoric Art Glass.

Golden Keys Parsons, now a Waco Resident, will grace us with her presence both Friday and Saturday from 1:00 - 4:00 to perform a book signing of her novel, In the Shadow of the Sun King. See what people are saying about this book here. There is even a short trailer you can view. This book kept me reading and I couldn't put it down. The complexity of the characters left me wanting more! Luckily, a sequel is due out this Fall. Please join us for this special event!

goldenkeyesparsons.com/

Daphne Nicole's line of Original Vintage Western Purses and Pillows will also bee on display again with us this weekend only!

Our Store Will Bee Closed this Thursday July 30th as we spend the day twirling the displays and bringing out some special new items we have been saving for our Open House! You will also find New Markdowns and Sales throughout the entire Store. DON"T MISS IT! BEE SEEING YOU!

What's New This Week?

I have ust a few quick minutes to show you a few new vintage arrivals this week that are already out for sale. We are busy getting ready for our upcoming open house (details soon to come) and will have so many new unexpected finds you'll have to stop in to see.

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Vintage lamp made from an assortment of old light fixtures

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Large East lake frame that used to hold a mirror on an antique dresser. This has so many decorative uses. Wouldn't it look great over a mantle?

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Leaded and beveled glass lawyer's bookcase filled with wonderful old books

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An assortment of vintage hand bags and at least a couple dozen fabulous vintage hats

New Bee Soap made from Goat's Milk, Organic Honey, and Oats - Available in bars and giant one pound slabs

Sunbonnets

In continuation with my theme all about downtown Waco, I wanted to share with you some activities that are not as well known in the general community as a whole. There are so many things to do in our city within blocks from our store that you can plan a trip to visit us and truly make a day of it. One such activity to do is enjoy an exhibit going on within the historic Fort House. The Fort House was built right here in downtown Waco around 1868 and is literally located only one block behind our store on S. 4th Street. They are open every Saturday and Sunday and give very interesting tours for only $3.00 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. This house is owned and operated by the Historic Waco Foundation who preserves four more historic homes all in downtown Waco. You can tour them all!

"Historic Waco Foundation persistently reminds succeeding generations of how the city came to be what it is today".

Walk past these ionic columns, which are original to the house, and through the front doors to the Fort House to take a step back in time and view the Sunbonnet Exhibit. It will only be up for one more weekend so go see it while you still have the chance. The next exhibit will be all about Aprons. The following photos are just a sampling of what you will see!

This bonnet wad dated 1835 by the fashion curator of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

Notice the Stitching and the tatting on this bonnet all made by hand.

This Bonnet was probably used in a wedding and the black one in the background was worn during a period of mourning.

This fine embroidery looks as though it was done on a machine, but amazingly all done by hand.

Another close-up of hundreds of hand stitches

This bonnet belonged to Claire Masters Grandmother, the exhibit designer. It is probably made from cotton feed sack or flower sack material.

If you decide to see this exhibit before it closes, hopefully you will get a tour by Claire Masters herself. What a character ... She was a wonderful host to me and so knowledgeable.

You'll have to go see the rest of this historic home for yourself. I leave you with a photo of the play house (shown on the left) and what will soon be the Cooks Quarters (the next project shown on the right).

45 Best Stores In Texas

We are So Humbled by your Votes

From a six week survey on ShopAcrossTexas.com, 45 store emerged with the "Top 45" brand. The survey was released to 45,000 Shop Across Texas devotees submitting hundreds of Texas favorite stores. "We were surprised to find our followers voted almost exclusively this year for "independent retailers", said JoAnn Dealey, founder of the Shop Across Texas Project.

I must admit, I knew nothing of this website until YOU, my loyal customers, voted for us. This came as such a surprise and we truly Thank-you all for your votes. Congratulations to Spice Home Furnishings (a future post about them to come), another FAB Downtown Waco Shopping Location, who apparently has won this title for several consecutive years. If your planning a shopping trip anywhere in the state of Texas, you must check out this website.

http://www.shopacrosstexas.com/BestStoresInTexas.html

A Few New Things This Week

Remember we put out new things in the store every single day. These blog posts are just some of the weekly highlights of what recently has arrived to our revolving door of unexpected finds.

SOLD Adorable Tufted Vintage Chair in Original Fabric

SOLD 1940's Sapphire and Opal 14K Gorgeous Ring

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Antique French Hand Painted Trumeau Mirror

Claus Porto by Lafco European Soaps
These scents are incredible - Once you try these, you'll bee hooked.
They are wrapped in original archival engravings from the turn of the century and hand stamped wax sealed. They are milled 7 times and they Make a Scrumptious gift.

Peas in a Pod Necklaces
Each Hand Made in the USA with sterling silver around fresh water pearls. Can bee ordered in green, white or black pearls. How many peas are in your pod?

Vintage Style Show 2009

It is time for the 4th annual Vintage Style Show. I will bee hosting this year's event again. We have grown from 5 models to over 20 with 80+ dresses being shown. This is a very special event you won't want to miss. Every year it keeps getting bigger and better. Since all the clothes and accessories are authentically vintage, you must be a size 2 or smaller to model so that leaves me out. This year Bloom & Bee Swanky's very own Rebekah Trimble will be sporting some fabulous ensembles. Matt (my husband) built us a runway that goes out over the audience. It makes for a very interactive showing and is a truly unique experience. If you have never been to the Palace Theatre, it is worth the trip within itself (only a 30 minute drive from Waco). Elvis once performed there and the history of the building is amazing. Please join us!

Vintage Style Show ~ Somewhere in Time

The Palace Theatre 133 Heritage Row Marlin, Texas

Saturday, July 25th - 11:00 am

$15 Donation/Ticket

To purchase tickets or for more information call: Pat Smith 254-883-2084 or

Bloom & Bee Swanky 254-753-2292

Get your tickets this week as this will bee a sold out show!

Below is just a tiny sampling of some previous year's shows

July Third Thursday Event ~ OPEN LATE

It's time for the July Downtown Waco Date Night Again. Join us for late night shopping before you head out to the FREE Third Thursday Movie, To Catch A Thief, with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. All you have to do is shop with us, any other retailer or dine in any restaurant in downtown Waco on Thursday July 16th. Take your receipt to the Hippodrome box office and receive 2 FREE tickets to the movie. Third Thursday Events are proudly presented by the Waco Downtown Merchants Association and the Waco Performing Arts Company. We will bee open all day until 7:00 PM and will have special drive home sales from 5:30 - 7:00 Only you won't want to miss! Come See Us!

What's New This Week?

We actually got these in a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to share them with you ~ Antique framed hand colored family of four. The frames alone are outstanding! The man is do debonair and haunting making it hard to take your eyes off him and notice the bow on the little girl.

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Vintage Swoop Back Chair in a great soft Neutral Fabric

Rolling Metal Top Table ~ Would Make a Fabulous Island

As with much of our inventory, these items are one-of-kind, and when they're gone, they're gone!

Dwell Studio Bedding

Now Offering Dwell Studio Bedding. We are thrilled with this line and hope you will bee too. It has been featured in multiple publications including, Domino, House Beautiful, Elle and seen in the Sex and the City Movie.

Below are photos of our take of it in the shop. It can be used with or without bed skirts and the set comes with a duvet, two shams and can bee ordered in your choice of size.

Antiques Are Green

Just Out ~ This article was profiled about us in the July issue of the Wacoan Magazine all about local business being green. This photo was taken "Painstakingly Funny". The corn is growing right down the road from our home. For those of you who know my husband, imagine him on the side of the road at the edge of corn rows standing on a table (he custom built) holding a chandelier steady so it won't move with a camera crew all around holding up reflectors and such. He was such a great sport about the whole thing. Everyone who drove by slowed down and honked. Guess you had to bee there!

Bloom & Bee Swanky
An Ensemble of Unexpected Finds

Antiquers are the original recyclers! Just imagine the immeasurable amount of stuff we've saved from the landfills. Reusing Antiques to decorate makes a very green statement both from the recycling standpoint and your wallet! If you are finding yourself with less discretionary money these days, NOW is the perfect time to purchase antiques! Buying Antiques, you receive an item of far better quality, for less money, than purchasing a “New” or “Made Overseas” item. Going Green can also keep your dollar in our local community. Bloom & Bee Swanky proudly offers unexpected finds that can be repurposed in your home. Custom tables are made from locally reclaimed wood and a wide selection of vintage chandeliers can grace your homes as they have for others of decades past. They have a vast assortment of vintage linens and china. Starting at only $2 each, you’ll feel great about piling them up yet reusing beautiful items from the bygone era. Go see Bloom & Bee Swanky’s ever-changing inventory of the original recyclables!