We’ve been busy little elves lately.  So busy, in fact, we’re quite late with our ‘monthly’ newsletter.  We’re sure you’ll forgive us once you stop by our House and stroll through the rooms - now replete with a terrific selection of truly unique gifts! Not everything is shown in the online store and in particular our exclusive line of holiday decorations truly needs to be seen in person. 

Speaking of rooms, for those who haven’t been by the store for spell, we’ve expanded the store beyond the kitchen!  We now have a total of seven rooms for you to explore while you enjoy a complimentary latte or tea ~ and for the festive season we are now offering apple cider!

Once we had the back of the house spruced up I was somewhat worried as to what we were going to do with all that space.  Needless worry, as it turns out, as the fine furnishings up-cycled by local furniture artist, Debby Carling, dressed up the entire store beautifully. In case you missed the Sunday Homes section of the Winnipeg Free Press a few weeks back...

Debby Carling has always had a passion for art and home decorating.  Her career path, however, took her on a different road.  After many years of doing something she didn’t love, Debby decided to explore that which called to her.  She became a home decorator and, in her own words, “After a short stint in a high end design store I realized that type of decorating was not my forte.”

I’m going to let Debby take it from here in her own words:

“I thought about my own home, how our whole home is re-loved furniture, be it my Grandma’s china cabinet, (which now houses my sweaters and purse collection), my Aunt’s tables, my up-cycled bedroom furniture that I refinished when I was 18 years old (and have moved across the country with me and I still won’t part with it!).  I looked at magazines that showed pictures of stunning rooms furnished with pieces from  the 1920’s thru to 2009, furniture from all eras.  Newer clean lines with some antiques as well as a few mid century pieces.  That’s when I knew I finally know what I want to be when I grow up!!!  I want to be a “Furniture Artist”!!!

 I have always enjoyed eclectic decorating and that is why I love the way new and old are being mixed!  Why not take some of the beautiful older pieces and repurpose, refinish and re-love them.  Add our own colors, hardware, and in some cases modify the piece to suit our own needs, not unlike a custom piece!  Why can’t the desk from the Oblat Sisters Convent become a front entrance table, why can’t that old buffet become a SPA cabinet?  Why can’t that hutch become a shoe cabinet?   Not only that, we help the environment by recycling.”

To see the Free Press article featuring Debby just click Here!

Debby, in all cases where possible, uses only earth friendly materials - which is good for the planet and her health!  With a focus on Mid-Century Modern Canadiana (for those crisp, clean lines) and creating modern treasures out of tired ‘antiques’ Deb’s talents are now available for purchase at our house!

Matchy, matchy furnishings and decor is old school now.  Mixing things up with an eclectic flair creates a unique and inviting warmth to a home, especially when you’ve had Aunt Pearl’s old buffet up-cycled to complement your modern dining table!

Dressing up the house for the holidays?  For the month of December, 2009 we are offering only our (local) newsletter subscribers a very special discount to accessorize a room when you purchase one of ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ get 25% off of ??? ??? ??? ???

Not to fret, we have another offer available for all of our faithful readers!  For a quick, and delightful, decor change pick out a wall graphic by Ad-zif or a Wall Tattoo by Surface Collective and receive a 10% discount!  Just use the coupon code "???? ????" to receive your discount if you are an online customer.  For those of you who visit us in house, simply ...... ....... ........ .......... .......... ......... .......... .......... ................

I don’t know how many of you listen to 102 Clear FM, but if you do, you may have heard us being mentioned from time to time.  We’re participating in the Christmas Comes Early event and you could win a $1,000 shopping spree at your choice of one of five sponsors.  Imagine all the goodies you could get at our house for your family and friends!  Imagine how many sweet things you could also treat yourself with!  Visit the Clear FM website for all the details and make sure you get you ballot entry in ASAP as the draw is soon!  Take me there!

Just a reminder that we have extended the Pink & Brown Event and are now including in the offering all of our floor samples of chairs, tables and lighting from Pink and Brown. These floor samples are priced very low and we don't expect our in house stock to last very long.

For your holiday shopping convenience we are now open Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00 pm.  We will be open on Christmas Eve day until 3:00 before we head off to celebrate and overindulge in shortbread and turkey!  Alrighty, then - I’ve got to get back to elfish duties!  We’ll be sure to touch base with you again in December to announce our post holiday hours and some surprises we’re still in the process of dreaming up!

Every newsletter we will ask for your help in reviewing products that you may have purchased from ChiChi  ( or perhaps elsewhere) so that we can provide some insight for your fellow shoppers. Maybe we are being too idealistic about that, but we are going to keep encouraging you. Write 2 publishable reviews and get a $5 dollar in store credit - and in addition you will also be entered into a draw for a $50 Gift Card or online store credit. Just make sure you let us know who you are when submitting - of course we won't publish anyones full name or email address. Draw will take place first week of January 2010. That should allow you lots of time to share some thoughts. We are also well into our second round of "Show Us your ChiChi".  Send us a photo(s) of how you are using your ChiChi purchases and we will publish them on our blog and enter you in for a draw for a $25 Gift Card or online store credit for online shoppers.  We have not had a huge response (yet) on these offers - so we think your chances are looking good.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Kat

click me