February 20, 2013

A New Home

Spinet desk now at the Copper Quahog
It's been several weeks since my last blog post. Closing the shop in Black Rock has finally sunk in - both for us and many of our customer/friends. The calls and emails that I have received have been very gratifying...and touching.

There have been lots of questions and concerns about the closing of Redeux: Am I o.k.?  What will happen to the furniture from the shop. Will I continue finding and restoring vintage furniture? What will I do now? The answers to some of these questions are now known.

Yes, I am fine. When we opened the shop it was an opportunity that presented itself totally unexpected. The owners of the building, our dear friends, Joe and MaryLou Formato, gave us the opportunity to do something with Redeux that we could not have done without their encouragement. It was the right time for this to happen. Closing the shop, while somewhat bittersweet for us, was also done with the belief that it was the right time to do so. I had accomplished what I had set out to do: Find, restore and make available to many, American made vintage furniture. I did the best work I could and kept learning every day. What a joy it was!

I doubt anyone reading this has never not had the sense of when something is finished. Whether it be job situations, projects or personal relationships, when you have done all you can, it is finished. Sometimes, though, you are done when you are being called to something else. Many of you had the sense that Redeux was something more than a vintage furniture shop. I am convinced of it. I have pictures of almost every piece I worked on in order to remember them. Yet, it is the people who stopped by and conversations that took place that will be remembered most. It is with this sense of being called to something or somewhere else that I knew Redeux was finished. It is more than o.k.

The furniture in the shop has taken on new lives. Some have gone to new homes, some I cannot part with (at least yet) and some have gone to a new, temporary, home awaiting adoption. Ms Pamela DaCosta is the owner of The Copper Quahog, a lovely shop in Bristol, RI. Pamela has taken many Redeux pieces to her shop to sell along with her excellent array of glass, pottery and metal gift and functional ware. It is a very wonderful shop and is located only about a 2 hours drive from Fairfield. You may call Pamela at 401-297-7749 to inquire about what furniture pieces she has in stock or go to the Copper Quahog website click: Copper Quahog 

For those wondering if I will continue finding and restoring vintage furniture, the answer is a bit less clear. I'd like and intend to. When or where is still unclear to me.  We'll just have to wait and see.

For now, I'm just waiting for "directions".

Bill & Granddaughter working on chess table now available at Copper Quahog
As always, Tea is on. Send me an email; we'll set something up. Maybe The Redhead will bake a little something!

Bill