Antiques by Zaar with Tilton Fenwick in Traditional Home

You can’t imagine my delight when I received this sweet tweet from Suysel Cunningham, advising me of the inclusion of Antiques by Zaar in the most recent article produced by Traditional Home announcing the new  fabric line put out by Tilton Fenwick for Duralee. pg 34-35.

In an accompanying email it was evident that Suysel was excited for this exposure for my collection/wanting me to know that Antiques by Zaar would be listed as a resource within the pages of the magazine. Here she was introducing a new fabric line and taking the time to ensure I was tuned into this publicity for my business?!

This personableness is further reflected in how Suysel and Anne chose to name many of their fabrics for the people that have supported their business…ie Quintessence fabric being named after the blog with that same name as penned by Stacey Bewkes. See her comprehensive blog here, on the Tilton Fenwick fabric line intro.

So, congratulations to Suysel and Anne, being the “shooting  stars” that you have been in the few short years of your collaboration….notably acknowledged by TradHome back in May, 2011, and which I wrote about here, along with my own history being on the pages of  Traditional Home magazine, which begins with inclusion in the 2008 article, “Its Good to be Ching”  ..and more specifically for this most recent accomplishment where you simply continue to shine…and with so much style!

My own association with Tilton Fenwick does go back a ways…to the time when Suysel was working for Markham Roberts, when she landed online at Antiques by Zaar  for her project work, and delightfully so, for herself personally as well.  That takes us back to 2005, when she purchased the classic black sideboard featured in the article, where the teams fabric line is so beautifully showcased and the sideboard serves as a relevant accent to complement the ensemble.

From that beginning, where we were introduced by way of our mutual love of Chinese Antiques, followed by a few chatty calls, we have continued to  maintain a salient presence in each other’s lives for these 9 years!  and a friendship has evolved as our paths continue to cross….

…for adding a “touch of Asian” to their decorating schema s is something the team leans towards, as is  apparent from the various projects they have had published, and which  I’ve happily had a hand in and which I’m equally happy to share a smattering of here…

Purposing a Chinese Kitchen Cabinet as a linen cupboard in a bathroom….this trend written  about in my blog posting entitled, Chinese Armoires in the Bathroom? Mais Oui.

Using a Chinese Book/Display case (and porcelain stool) in their well received showroom, a bloggers office,  for the popular  NYC fundraiser Design on a Dime, and written about here.

…and again, at the usage of a porcelain stool, in their Southampton 2012  Show house of which I included in a blog posting, quipping how These Gals are EVERYWHERE.

Again, congratulations and continued success to this dynamic duo. Happy  to be a part of your world and look forward to many more years of collaboration, and, yes, friendship. Just LOVE how such wonderful people come into my world by way of my business. Great stuff!

Ruth

If you haven’t purchased your copy of the most recent Traditional Home you can see  the full article at this link…Tilton Fenwick- Trad Home

 

Chinese Antique Sideboards Perfectly Positioned…

…. in an entry or  hallway,  a living room, dining room or bedroom. Yes, a Chinese Sideboard could just be that which serves you well….   Just check out below how some of my Antiques by Zaar customers have so beautifully worked them into their decorating schemas. …going to have to call this my “touch of Asia” series eh…first window screens and now sideboards.…

Enjoy!

R    

…and if you think a Chinese Sideboard might be what will work for you/your client, be sure to check out the entire selection available at Antiques by Zaar by clicking here.

Look forward to hearing from you….

Ruth

 

Chinese Antiques: Shopping Online/Viewing High Point, NC/a customer testimonial

The business model for Antiques by Zaar was built around the notion that people were drawn to do their shopping  online…yes, even for Chinese Antique Furniture. That was in 2000 and happy to say we called it right.  For the  past 11 years we have continued on in this vein, using our website to serve as our only storefront, building  relationships/our business, creating a niche market for our competitively  priced line of quality Chinese Antiques.  Thank you to ALL of you that have taken the plunge and shopped with us online!!!!

Ruth & Jeff after a day of sorting out the warehouse in readiness for Market.

However, even when we had our warehouse in Maine, we always welcomed the customer that desired to come and see for themselves, what was represented online. And the same remains true with our warehouse now located in High Point NC. Yes, with the assistance of my sales associate Jeff Moore, who is based in Greensboro, we are able to entertain appointments for those that still like to “touch and feel” before they purchase.

Babette Glauner of Pinehurst NC, was just one of those that fell in this category. She writes…

“I  found Antiques by Zaar on the internet while searching for Chinese antiques.  Former expat experience, Golden Retriever puppies and obviously family-oriented people...looks like she read our story…. all drew me to the website as well as the wonderful assortment of furniture and Asian accents.  When my husband gave the go-ahead to look for a few new pieces to furnish our retirement home I remembered Ruth in High Point, 1 1/2 hours away.

The piece Babette spotted online was indeed perfect for her, as shown here in her home.

The antiquesbyzaar website is well-organized and depicts the offerings very well, but as long as I was close by, I contacted Ruth to see if I could see my possible choices in person.  She was warm from the start, very accommodating and arranged a time to meet at the warehouse, now the Design Center.  What a treasure trove it is!  It was hard not to want to toss out everything I had and start anew right there!  But sense prevailed and in no time Ruth and I were chatting like old friends and I had selected the piece I had come for plus another whose possibilities jumped out at me once I saw it.  Jeff Moore, Ruth’s cohort, also was very helpful, never pressuring but guiding me to all of the variations of whatever I expressed an interest in.  It’s easy to see that both women really know and enjoy their merchandise.”

Thank you Babette, for this wonderful testimonial. It was a delight to meet you as well, and enjoy staying in touch with you by way of email/newsletters, and the such.

For those that may be interested in visiting our warehouse, please just let me know and we’ll make the arrangements.

ANNOUNCEMENT: We are moving next month, even closer to the heart of High Point…for those of you familiar with High Point, it is in the old Drexel Heritage Factory, which is at 741 West Ward. So very excited!

P.S. I also wrote a blog on Babette’s decorating mantra Eclectic= Interesting: Chinese, American and French Antiques….

 

Eclectic = Interesting: Chinese, American & French Antiques…

….in Pinehurst North Carolina… that place where Babette Glauner  found herself setting up the couples “retirement” home following a 5 year stint as expatriates in Japan….and in need of “one more piece”, that being black sideboard shown here,  for her dining room.

Yes, she found the perfect sideboard, with us at Antiques by Zaar, and more…

She expounds so well on why she thinks this works perfectly  in her schema and her general decorating philosophy. ..please read on.

The simple lines of the black buffet across the great room don’t jump out and say “Chinese” but I think it seems to blend with the Japanese screen hung above it and the French armoire not too far away.  The tilt-top table and cherry and walnut side tables in the room are definitely earlier American pieces, but somehow the mix seems to work.

I am using a Tibetan painted cabinet as a large-screen television console, and many of my visitors don’t know anything about its origin but they love it.  The blended colors and pattern really draw the eye down from that big black screen that I had been a little reluctant to have in the room.

                             

      I thought that might conclude my Asian furniture shopping, but some remodeling left a gap in a powder room, a space that needed something special.  For the 2nd time, I made the trek to High Point, to visit my new friends at Antiques by Zaar,  and a 10″ deep, three drawer desk in acid green seemed like it would be perfect, and it was. 

I like to think that my home is a reflection of our interests and experiences, and in that way the Asian pieces fit in very well, but I don’t think you have to have lived or traveled to Asia to appreciate Chinese antiques.

Eclectic to me equates interesting….. I read once that every room needs some black and also that no matter the nationality, if your wood furniture pieces are of a similar hue, they will work together – that’s my decorating credo and I am sticking to it!

THANK YOU Babette, for sharing a philosophy that I tend to agree to myself, AND for the accompanying photos.

Ruth

P.S. Babette also provided a lovely testimonial for Antiques by Zaar which I look forward to including in a separate post…

 

Peace & Tranquility/Beauty & Simplicity: Asian infusion in a Long Island Home

….and, the story of a  happy Antiques by Zaar customer/friend .

Katherine Kovins found Antiques by Zaar online in 2006, as she and her husband, Thom Janusz, were working  on furnishing their new Long Island home.  Wanting a Chinese sideboard, to serve as a bureau in their bedroom, was the initial impetus to shop my site.

...looking great in the, main floor, dining room.

She honed in on a beautiful, rich wood toned sideboard which she knew to be perfect in all ways for her boudoir, less the fact that this beauty, gloriously long at 100″, would not manage its way up the stairwell…no way, no how.  Katherine found a solution to her problem…. she would make a place for this piece on the main floor of her new home, in her dining room, and buy a 2nd sideboard to serve her purposes in her 2nd floor bedroom….which worked beautifully, per photos shown here.

...and Katherine looking perfect beside the sideboard that did make it up the stairs to their boudoir.

Katherine continued shopping for accent pieces from Antiques by Zaar, such as the mirror shown here,  to complement the many other Asian pieces of furniture and artifacts that she and her husband had already gathered over the years.

This past February I so very much enjoyed the tour of their home, see some pix here….I simply didn’t take enough photos..think I was in such a state of “awe”   graced as it was, with a delightful infusion of Asian furniture and artifacts throughout…beautifully placed to maximize vantage points. It truly was akin to walking through a museum, and I, the lucky gal that was given a personalized tour by the impassioned purveyors of fine treasure after fine treasure.

In Katherine’s words…”You can say that my husband and I have always loved the Asian decor as it lends peace and tranquillity to the home. We love the beauty and simplicity of Asian art and antiques.”

Thom, a renowned sculptor, showcases Asian sculptures, admist his own creative works...each complementing the other.

Couldn't resist having my pic taken in the elevator, which yes, is accented with Asian themed wallpaper.

Following this delightful visit of their home, which they have obviously poured themselves into, we continued our chat fest at the lovely Mill Pond House in Centerport, NY….where I learned more about the colorful and acclaimed backgrounds of my customers come friends….and left feeling fully infused with a heavy dose of ” peace and tranquility”, wending my way back to Great Neck, smiling from the inside out.

Thank you, Katherine and Thom, for coming into my world, by way of sharing a warmth and love for Asian antiques/artifacts. Thank you for sharing your home and your selves…and treating me to a sumptuous lunch, on that glorious February afternoon.  Thank you for giving me something so great to share with my world.

Ruth

 

Chinese Antique Furniture/Designer Meg Braff

Meg Braff, of Meg Braff Interiors

Meg Braff, the heart, soul, and name behind New York based Meg Braff Interiors…AND happy Antiques by Zaar customer since October 2007, has recently had her work featured in the December 2010 issue of Coastal Living…a project where she did what she loves to do…infuse a bit of Asian into the schema.

In her own words 

 ” I love using Asian pieces in my projects. They add warmth and style to the space. They also mix well with English and European furniture and give a wonderful sophisticated and eclectic look. “

Thrilled that Meg has established a relationship with Antiques by Zaar, and that as such, two of our bamboo pieces, namely a bamboo altar table, and bamboo coffee table, were poised to be part of her Bermuda Villa project, as is beautifully depicted here.

Below please enjoy further examples of  Meg accenting her rooms with a touch of Asian, followed by links to where you can find similar pieces on the Antiques by Zaar website.

Some great bookcases can be found here.

Click here to view what we have for consoles, and here for Chinese Antique Altar Tables.  

Click here to view Chinese Antique Sideboards available at Antiques by Zaar.

Click here to see what we have to offer in Chinese Antique Coffee Tables.

Click here to view our collection of Chinese Antique Chairs.

Thank you Meg…..

for allowing me to share these photos with my audience of readers and look forward to  working with you further on your projects, as a source for your touch of Asian.

Ruth

P.S. If you want to read more on Meg’s Bermuda makeover, you should check out the wonderful and warm Manner of Style blog, dated 12/3.

 

Minta Bell Design Group: Good Customer/Good Friend

Ever versatile Chinese art deco desk used as bedside. (Minta Bell's 1st abyzaar purchase.)

October 2005, Minta and Amy of Minta Bell Design, first visited Antiques by Zaar in our then Market Square showroom.

...and her most recent purchase, a red lacquered sideboard to anchor the dining room in this model home.

Since then the relationship has been fostered by repeated visits during Market, some chatty phone calls in between Markets, and additional purchases of Chinese pieces to serve as accents in her decorating schemes, as they do so…well, so well.

The relationship has always been warm, friendly and professional. I couldn’t be happier that Minta Bell has come to count on Antiques by Zaar, comfortable now to buy from photos alone, as a source for thier touches of Asian….and look forward to seeing them at Market this week….

Be sure to check Minta’s website and also her blog Insights: Musings on Interior Designs…worth the visit/read.

Ruth

P.S. …quite by accident discovered that Minta is friends with none other than Kris and Kathy Coupland of Vanderveer Imports…yes, the same Vanderveer that is showing in Zaar Design Center this Market. My, my world is getting smaller and smaller every day.

 

Designer Elaine Griffin

Designer Extrodinaire...Elaine Griffin

It was back in 2005 when NY Designer Elaine Griffin and Antiques by Zaar first connected. At the time she was contributing editor to the O at Home magazine, doing a regular feature by way of “Good Works Makeovers” and I was 5 years into running my online business, selling Chinese Antiques.

The freshly done lounge at Safe Horizon.

 Her enthusiasm for her then current project, the Safe Horizon Home, was evident from the get go, and it didn’t take but a minute for me to agree to contribute to the project by way of a pair of tea tables that flanked the Liz Clairborne loveseat, topped with Robert Abbey lamps, and a backdrop of 9 Oly mirrors. 

Fast forward to 2010. Elaine is now contributing editor to Better Homes and Gardens and is continuing on with doing good will makeovers, this one being for recently widowed Ann Hanover who relocated from Washington State to upstate New York, to be near her son and his family. Project was to give her an inviting and warm retreat in the bedroom of her new home.

I happened to be hanging at the beach in Langkawi Malaysia with my daughter (blogged about here) when I received a, now familiar, high energy email from Elaine, asking me if I would contribute to her latest project, suggesting the perfect piece…. a piece that she needed by the following Wednesday…in time for the shoot.

Mixing wood finishes/genres keeps things from being "matchy matchy"

Thanks to the ever efficient services offered by Melissa @ Metropolitan, my trusty blanket wrap shipper, the piece was expedited from my High Point NC warehouse to upstate NY, in time for the photo shoot. And yes, I am glad that I paid the nominal fee to check my email twice daily from the hotel computer. Results to be found in the current/June issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

As Elaine states “mixing furniture finishes is the hallmark of a well-designed contemporary room”… placing my Chinese black lacquered sideboard alongside  a wood chair with a limed look, to exemplify this point in her project. And personally (of course) I couldn’t agree more.

So pleased to be a part of this, our 2nd collaboration.

If you’re interested in learning more of Elaines “tips” you can do so, by buying her book Design Rules, which was published late last year….just click icon below and you will be taken straight to Amazon…or you can try your luck at winning an autographed copy, by way of my book giveaway…announcing here and again in my July 4th newsletter. To participate simply leave a comment in the blog and will include your name. Winner of the giveaway will be announced Monday July 12th.. ..

…and if you feel you might recognize Elaine, it may be from her appearances on the Today Show where she periodically does guest appearances offering Design tidbits.

BR 13 Black Lacquered Sideboard: Retail 2,225.00

And, of course, we do have stock of similar styled black sideboards, such that Elaine used in Ann’s bedroom. Click here, to view all that we have available.

Ruth

 

Interiors by Decorating Den: Cynthia Hernandez

“Ruth’s experience in Asian furniture is unmatched. The pieces I have purchased for clients have consistently been beautiful, functional and unique. Ruth is always happy to help with the “search” for a specific type of furniture piece or even a color match to fit my design. She is an excellent resource I will definitely call on again and again!” Cindy Hernandez, LinkedIn  November 2, 2008

Cindy's award winning room with Asian console from AbyZaar

I have for some time wanted to do a blog about Cynthia, and brag about our fostered relationship which started when she  first found Antiques by Zaar online in 2007.   The first sale in 2008 was uneventful (that’s a good thing)  as all went smoothly and by the email received following delivery, the client and designer were both happy.  So Cindy went about her very busy life as a designer and mother and I proceeded to add her to my email list, and thereby communicated with her regularly this way going forward. 

The next time we would “connect” would be through LinkedIn. I had just created my profile and Cindy not only found me (and invited me to connect) but she proceeded to offer the above noted recommendation. (Thank YOU!) 

The room above has really been a hit for my interior designer/friend…as not only was it one (of two) rooms she did where she was recognized and received an International Dream Room Award, but it was also featured in the November 2009  issue of Traditional Home. (I’m so pleased for her.) 

Cindy and Abby, the AbyZaar Poster Pup.

When I announced in my newsletter that I had just had a litter of puppies and several were still available, Cindy and I would further “connect” by way of  adding Abby (yes, named for AbyZaar, my little abbreviation for Antiques by Zaar) as their newest family member. Cindy now has the company poster pup! (If you’d like a peak of Abby and siblings in action, you’ll enjoy this video.)

Whatever Cindy does, she does whole heartedly and with passion. It’s no wonder that her column that she does for her local paper “The Valley Press” is a big hit, nor that she tirelessly supports the work of Autism Speaks…an organization close to her heart as she lives the life of a parent with an autistic child. And you get all of this, and her passion for design, color, and putting it all together for her clients as you read  her monthly enewsletter. 

Am thrilled to have the priviledge of doing business with Cindy and that, via Facebook, LinkedIn and all that, that we can stay as connected as we do…in between sales. 

You can find Cindy on our website in our Designer Directory as well. Be sure to check out her website. 

Most recent purchase for a client was this stunning red sideboard.

 Click here to visit our complete listing of sideboards. 

Console tables, similar to what Cindy used in her award winnning room, are available.

 Click here to visit our complete listing of console tables. 

www.antiquesbyzaar.com 

ruth@antiquesbyzaar.com 

 

A Treat to Share: Chinese Antique Sideboard/Happy Customer in CA

My customers are so good to me!

It is only because of their generosity in sharing photos of their Antiques by Zaar purchases that I am able to boast of a wonderful Home Gallery section on my website. As such I was thrilled to receive the below message and accompanying photos, earlier this month, in my email.

Chinese antique sideboard elegantly placed in Bakersville, CA.

“Finally getting around to sending you a photo of our Hebei sideboard purchased in ’04.  We absolutely love the look in our dining space.  We continue to regularly search your site for the perfect “console sized” table or cabinet for our entry.  I have faith it will pop up eventually!”  8/6/09

 They say a picture speaks a thousand words. For me, a picture from a customer that purchased from me no less than 5 years ago, where communication has continued in the form of my monthly newsletters, speaks mere Volumes.

 I am touched, and looking forward to adding this to my Home Gallery Section.

Note: There may be a delay in such updates as my website manager is now working off site, but he will get to it…I promise. 🙂

 Shipping something as personal as an antique to someone across the country can be daunting to both buyer and seller, particularly when the entire transaction is done online and via the phone. In the early days of my business I would worry when I didn’t hear from a customer, but came to the place where “no news was good news”.  Lucky for me I have plenty of newsworthy notes as posted in the Testimonial Section of my website. These, such as the Howard’s note below, are unsolicited emails receieved after delivery of their purchase.

Ruth,
The Hebei sideboard has arrived and it’s lovely! What an incredible fit with the rest of our pieces. We truly couldn’t be more pleased. Thank you so much for the nice mix of professional/personal service.

We look forward to doing business again soon. 02/28/04

 And here, the Howards have reminded of the very real gift I have by way of customers sharing with me the good news of their satisfaction with their purchase. And the icing on my cake is in the sentiments being expressed afresh long after said purchase has been made.

 Yes, Happy Customers Do Make My World Go Around!

A lovely pair of red decorated chests placed side by side add a further infusion of Asian to this CA home.

 

 Ruth

www.antiquesbyzaar.com

ruth@antiquesbyzaar.com

 P.S. To check out what we currently have in stock for sideboards, click here.