Dancing with Furniture

I like to deal with furniture. The oak tool cabinet in the sunroom is from an estate sale foray when I was in 10th grade. The first antiques that my ex and I collected were gigantic carved walnut Victorian bedroom suites. Furniture has never lost its attraction. When I attend an auction it is likely that I will buy the heaviest item there that isn't a tractor.

This desire for furniture leads to another, less desirable, avocation. I often dance with furniture. While Kevin Costner had wolves, Christmas Eve children have sugar plums and TV has stars dancing through their dreams, I have a giant wardrobe spinning around the floor. And that wardrobe is often unwilling to concede that I get to lead.

Prom must be in May because I will be spending a large portion of April tuning up my steps. Yesterday it started. I filled the pick-up with 8 pieces of furniture. I was reminded that none of the junk that I buy at an auction is self-loading, so the process started with grunting these pieces into place. This was the first load for the new shabby shop in Sauk Rapids, Gypsy Lea's. There, these large chunks of wood disappeared into the space. I was very surprised by how big and open the store will be. We mounted 2 Art Deco walnut veneer back bar panels on either side of a huge (5.5' x 4') oak framed mirror high on the horizontal plank back wall. It looks fabulous.


There will be many more dancing lessons this month as I prepare for 3 occasional sales and the traditional antique store that I will participate in during May. I will be the one twirling with the hog while wearing my steel toed dancing boots.

Mr. Flannery