Wool + Twig || A Small Business Collaboration

April 9, 2018 Cate | StyleMutt Home

It's no secret that our generation is flooded with entrepreneurial fervor. By the time I graduated college, a large chunk of my peers entered the workforce with a "side hustle" or two to make ends meet in a bleak economy. We at StyleMutt Home firmly believe that small businesses should band together instead of compete against each other because...

“A rising tide lifts all boats”

— John F. Kennedy

Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for the large businesses that we've partnered with over the past. But it's these small businesses that really make some serious magic happen with nothing more than their personal grit and determination. So it's even more titillating (yes I said it) when you can combine some serious small-business-sized forces to do something really, really fun.

Brittney Rossie

Brand and Business Strategy

The Silk Mill

Event Venue in Fredericksburg, VA

About Blank.jpg — StyleMutt Home

Furniture + eDesign

So what do you get when a curated rug vendor, a brand and business coach, an epic factory venue, and yours truly band together in support of each other? A beautiful display of small business collaboration and...

a really, really fun photoshoot

A while back, my dear friend and business guru Brittney Rossie connected us to a new small business in our area to see how we at StyleMutt home could help them grow. An email brainstorming session later, we had cooked up this cockamamie scheme to do a photoshoot to promote overall brand exposure and also exercise our collective creative muscles.

But to do such a photoshoot, you need an epic location. And I new just the place...

The Silk Mill

which also happed to be my wedding venue

With such a large factory space, we could easily set up some fun vignettes featuring our products:

The rugs were obviously the star of the show.

But one of our made-to-order benches in camel + nude did get to play a supporting role to those delicious imported rugs and kilim pillows.

As if the opportunity to play with some gorgeous rugs wasn't enough, Aly from Wool + Twig was a HOOT to work with! She was seriously up for anything - including some fun headshots.

Both with and without her actual head lol

Scroll through these images to see just some of her amazing inventory:

After seeing her carefully curated collection in person, I couldn't help but bring home another pillow child.

We certainly had a lot of fun behind the scenes

And I'm not ashamed to admit I did a few carpet angels the first chance I got... They were soooooo plush....

But the fun doesn't stop here. Wool + Twig was generous enough to offer us stylemutts a juicy discount for 3 days only!

Just click the image to shop her entire inventory and enter the code STYLEMUTT at check-out to get 30% off your purchase! Happy rug and pillow shopping mutts!

Mariella's Glamorous Home Base

August 26, 2016 McKenna Begin

Our next StyleMutt Spaces feature is a true treat. Mariella, originally from Lima, Peru, has graciously welcomed us into her home. And it could not be any clearer that this is Mariella's sanctuary. That is, if said sanctuary were black, white, and BOLD.

If you take some time to look closely at the way Mariella has put together her house, one thing will become very clear. Her style is seriously her own. I asked Mariella a couple of questions about how she finds inspiration, and let me tell you - she does not disappoint.

“My decor is a mix of influences, places I’ve visited, dramatic color palettes and mostly the places where we come from. I’m Peruvian and my husband is Persian. Mirrors and gold are part of our cultural heritage! ”

There is no fear in this space. I don't see a single ounce of hesitation, or trepidation, or 'but is this what everyone is doing these?' concerns.

“I don’t believe in trends - except for wallpaper being back, which is just wonderful! When we moved into this apartment, there was a huge red ‘accent wall’ covering the dining and living room. It was awful, and I immediately knew we needed to start with a neutral palette and build the room from there. Everything can and should be adapted to create a space that feels truly yours. Paint is one of your best allies.”

Now, time for three rhetorical questions that I just need to throw into the universe: (1) How can black possibly look so bright? I know I live in a basement but STILL. (2) Can we talk about the rope art? You know that Chelsea and Cate are the masters of DIY, and I think this is something we need to quickly add to our StyleMutt roster! (3) Is anyone else sad that watermelon season is almost over? See: those cocktails on the table. Nailed it, Mariella!

At the end of the day, this space is timeless - and Mariella's final words are some to live by.

“I adore sophisticated glamorous spaces. I believe everyday is important and should be celebrated. ”

Thank you for inviting us into your home. For more inspiration on how to 'Hollywood glamify' (I made that up... does it work?) your own home, follow Mariella along on Instagram at @splendorstyling or on her blog.

See you next week!

Small Business Showcase: Christy

September 14, 2015 Cate | StyleMutt Home

This week marks our 1 year anniversary as StyleMutt Home! How did that happen? Seriously. It went by so so fast. 365 days ago, when Chelsea and I first sat down to strategize about what we wanted for our little slice of eAuthorship, one of the main things we wanted to make our site about is supporting and advertising fellow small businesses. And what better way to support our DIY community than to introduce you lovely readers to a fellow local furniture flipper. Christy is a HS science teacher who's been excersizing her creative side by making decor magic in Falls Church, VA. We've invited her to share about some of her pieces that are currently for sale in the DC metro area:

Handsome Desk

Door-Turned-Mudroom

From Christy:

Wednesday night is trash night in my neighborhood. And every once in a while my husband and I will make a date night of driving around looking for new projects. This desk didn’t disappoint!!

The top of the dresser had peeling veneer and the whole thing was stained a dark color straight out of the 80’s.

The top was a bit tough, having to fill in some missing veneer holes with wood filler. When my sander exposed some really cool grain, I tried to figure out how to show that off, and decided keeping the legs and drawers raw (but protected with some wax) would be really neat against a dark grey paint.

How cute is that cubby?!?

I was excited to dress up the cubby with some cool paper (any excuse to get fancy papers!), and I think that the vine detail on the handles adds a classy bit of whimsy. This thing is solid wood, and I can imagine will last for years to come!

Last June (2014) I visited a sweet gem of a place for the first time where items from gutted houses are brought there for resale. This orange door caught my eye, and I dragged it home to sit in our apartment and await inspiration. I knew I wanted it to become some sort of mudroom entry piece, but was struggling to decide what to put in the empty panes.

And so it sat, for one entire year. I had only been married for a couple months at that point, and we were learning to blend our lives in an apartment small enough it requires only one plug to reach every corner with your vacuum. So of course, the only place the door would fit meant we were within 15 feet of it at any time, trying to pretend it matched perfectly with the grey wall behind. My husband learned patience. I learned I have a focus problem as other projects floated in and out of our house. But finally a vision came! And it was time to get to work.

Been there Christy, been there [just ask Caleb]. ;)

I didn’t anticipate all the layers of paint love that had been put on that door. A couple hours of scraping turned into quite a few more hours when my sander didn’t have the gumption I had hoped it would. But after it got to an acceptable level, I threw on some grey chalk paint before the white to add some variation when sanding.

The trickiest part was cutting the chevron board pattern – beadboard proved to be the perfect way to create the effect, and (with the help of my dad and his circular saw) I got to nerd out with a protractor and metal ruler! Geometry class for the win!

The stain was created by mixing both grey and brown stain. I was really excited when both tones showed up on the wood! And my heart loves the little detail of the brass key hole! I have to admit that this is one of my favorite projects I’ve made. I debated keeping it, but as I truly have no space for it, I’m excited for it to become someone else’s favorite!

Dimensions: 31.75"W x 7.5"D x 79.25"H

Thank you Christy for sharing your many many talents with us and for being our first local showcase! Show her some love in the comments will you? If you are in or around Washington, DC and are interested in either of these pieces or a custom order like it, email Christy for more info and pricing!

And if you are also interested in also promoting your business to the StyleMutt community, then by all means let's chat about how to partner up!