We have Visitors

Not really a visitor... daughter Claire plays dress up in our accessories and poses at our new entrance way.


Our friend Dorothy Price, a retired clothing designer from New York gives us lots of encouragement.


My college friend Marsha Pritchard visits from Colorado. She's looking for land in Washington County. As a kitchen and bath designer, she's seen it all and is very helpful with advice about how to work with a shall-we-say difficult contractor.

Peter Harrison, a furniture designer from Galway, checks in on our progress. You can see his gorgeous pieces at http://www.lavassa.com/

Final Stages

Mitch and Darrell finish up the pipe railings, seems like there are miles of them. The rainy weather is not helping finish up this job!


We have a sign made up with our new "dba" name. Love the font on this and it will read well from the street.

Since code requires we have a smooth walk from sidewalk to ADA ramp, we decide to have other concrete walks as well to front entrance and from driveway

to Beekman porch entrance. More dirt piles....

Settling In

I'm weaving in our new space! Feels good to treadle a loom
again even though we're still in unpacking mode. Where did I pack
the tape measures??


Schuyler walks over from the High School after Regents exams to
help unpack yarns and wash windows. What a good son!
Notice the rainbow effect of the yarn shelf...

Trying to get a good "After" shot, not quite there yet till the porch gets finished up. But we're making progress. The final stages just seem to crawl....we're so ready to be done with this project and get back to work!!


Here's our finished ramp- waiting now for another concrete pour for steps, then metal railings will be installed. It was nice to have the ramp for the load-in with 500 lb. looms on dollies.

We've Moved!! By June 1st, all the heavy looms, sewing machines, and equipment gets moved in. Richard and I and many van/trailer loads finish the job 3 days later. How did we ever accumulate so much stuff in 8 short years?!?

Gary finishes up the wood trim end of May. We love the accent blocks at the corner with contrast grain. This is the front gallery space which will feature our clothing and accessories. We'll display some knockout pieces in the triple window for all the diners at The Local across the street to notice!

Wainscotting in the back cutting room, salvaged wood from 19th century buildings. We'll put a light coat of poly sealer on it. I think this is going to be my favorite room because of the north light and all the windows....

"I could have danced all night!"

A corner of the front gallery space. It absolutely glows!


Nick and Gary are finishing up the flooring in the back room which will house our cutting table.
We only wish that we didn't have to cover any square footage with equipment. This floor is meant for dancing!!


Gary arrives to install the gorgeous floor boards he salvages
from old Pennsylvania barn beams. He fabricates tongue and groove lengths from these strips,
then finishes them with 3 coats of poly before installing them. We love his artistry as much as his 200 year old reclaimed flooring.

An Exciting Day at 143 Grand!

Sam has been doing a fabulous job on both interior and

exterior painting. As you can see, there is some fussy

detail on our trim. We are making good progress with

good painting weather this spring... let's hope it continues.

We've been waiting for Jeff to be available for the pour.

He's been working non-stop on a hotel in Lake George set

to open May 1st with 400 guests booked for the first night!

Cement truck arrives onsite to pour the ramp.

Siding and Trim

Starting to look like something! We're happy with the

soft teal siding and mustard trim. It's going to get complicated

when we get to the frieze boards and dentils high above.

We're playing with color samples now trying to stay one step ahead of the painter...

Some neighbors and friends....

This is Michelle LaLonde, owner of Mimosa Gallery at 70C
Beekman Street. She has fabulous taste and we asked her
to help us with color selection for the interior walls. We are going
with different shades of light yellowish to blueish greens, from spring willow
to pistachio. You can see her lovely collection of objects for home at
www.mimosagallery.com Thank you, Michelle!!



This is Amejo Amyot sitting in the front gallery of her
79 Beekman Street studio. We call her the "Diva of Beekman Street"
because she started this whole movement of local artists
renovating run-down buildings in the area and using them
for live and work spaces. We credit her with inspiring us to undertake
this project many years ago....You can see her work and upcoming
events at http://www.beekmanartists.com Thank you, Amejo!!




Front facade facing Grand Ave. Need to add another
shed roof portion on the right to balance. Metal roof to match
original is ordered and on it's way.

Mud Season!

Front porch and entry way starting to take shape.

Front stoop poured and back filled. Will we ever
find the front yard again?!

Walls for the Basement entry doors are set.

More Drywall, More Taping

Back room downstairs facing the interior of the building


Pretty purple drywall in the bathroom


Taping upstairs on its way

Old stairway needs a lot of TLC!

Pouring Walls

Ramp on the West Side


Bilco door basement entry walls

Here comes the Drywall...

Upstairs front room facing west.


Downstairs back room facing north.

The Big Dig

Without parked cars lining the street, it really is a
Grand Avenue! We are making a mess with the
backhoe to lay down footings for the ramp, bilco door
and front porch.


Forms to pour footings for ADA Ramp.




Forms to pour footings for Bilco Door Steps

Some Neighborhood Buildings

Here's a photo from our West Side Festival which takes place every September. The red building is 70 Beekman St which was completely renovated early this decade and houses an Art Gallery and a very special shop called Mimosa owned by Michelle and Michael LaLonde. One part of the shop specializes in fine craft accessories for home and wear, the other is a painting and art furniture gallery. It is a must-stop on Beekman Street. www.mimosagallery.com




Our next door neighbor on Grand Ave. Needs some TLC, nice Victorian details...




Beekman Artists Co-op at 79 Beekman St.
This building houses clay artists on the first floor and painters on the second floor.
Beautiful outdoor sculpture garden, perfect for pleine air events in the spring and summer. http://www.beekmanartists.com

As requested from one of our followers, here are some other buildings in the neighborhood.

You can see they range from mid 1800's federal style to Victorian to 21st century! It is an eclectic mix which is what we love about the West Side...

Here is the home of Phinney Architects www.phinneydesign.com (built in 2004), Feast Gallery, and on the bottom floor, The Local Pub and Teahouse. http://www.feastgallery.com/thelocal2 142 Grand Ave across the street from us.

Nick works the backhoe to prepare for ramp footings. It's frozen about 2 feet down but he digs a hole about 6' deep along the west side of the building for the ramp footings.

2,4,6,8 Now it's time to Insulate!

Next big step; Drywall.




It has been an entire month since my last post (busy with design work for our trade show in Baltimore.) The wintery month of February has come and gone but the intrepid crew at 143 Grand springs forward...Rough electrics, plumbing, and heating were completed, inspected, and approved. Framing to accomodate the insulation and drywall was finished up.

My Mom and Dad visit from Skaneateles. Having been through old house reconstruction themselves they are very encouraging and supportive of our project... They have already volunteered to help paint trim and plant gardens this spring!