Sticks and More

The Real Deal

2011-09-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

One day a couple of years ago a nice man walked in our store and asked if Mollie and I would be interested in an old mantle. Sure we would...how much? We didn't understand...he wanted to give the mantle to us. He had hopes of putting it in his home but his wife had other decorating ideas in mind. He even drove home and brought it back to us just to get it out of his way.

It was THE REAL DEAL.

It has that kind of time worn chippy paint finish that

comes with years of wear and repainting.

We don't know how old it is

BUT we love it!

We have other furniture and display pieces at Sticks and More

that are THE REAL DEAL.

We have lots of shutters, old cabinets and junk that have

layers of chippy paint and patina that

we can't reproduce with paint no matter how hard we try.

I am NOT an expert on anything...especially painting furniture.

I've never taken a painting class...just learned through experimenting and alot of reading. I don't follow all the directions on the labels of paint cans and if I don't like what I paint, I start over and repaint . Quite often, I get painting questions from customers. The most common questions are: where do I get all the stuff I paint and what kind of paint do I use.

Here's my answer to the latter...

I use all kinds of paint,

but I most often use

flat, exterior paint...and I use alot of different brands. I try to use what I have, blending paints I have to get the colors I want. Sometimes the best paint isn't newly mixed paint.

It's paint I've had for a while or cans of paint that I've left slightly ajar and it's become thick like "budda."

About a month ago I began experimenting with

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

I ordered mine from Tammy from

Periwinkle Pass in Banner Elk,NC. She was the closest stockist to me at the time. Tammy spent time talking with me on the phone before I ordered and answered all my questions. I ordered the paint one day and it was there the next. It was $34.95 a quart.

I bought three cans.

If you like a distressed look and want to paint your furniture, it is probably one of the easiest paints I've ever used for 2 reasons....You don't have to sand and you don't have to prime before you paint. Did you understand what I just said?...NO SANDING OR PRIMING BEFORE YOU PAINT!!! Just start painting. I'll leave all the details about this paint to the experts. Just visit Tammy's website or give her a call or just search the Internet...you'll find plenty of information. Tammy's information is:

The Periwinkle Pass Studio

226 Periwinkle Pass

Banner Elk, NC 28604

www.periwinklepass.com

www.periwinklepassstudio.com

www.periwinklepass.etsy.com

Can Chalk Paint replace THE REAL DEAL? Absolutely not.

But if you don't want to wait years to get a distressed look, you should give Chalk Paint a try. Your paint finish may not be chippy,but it will look time worn. If you want to see a sample before you buy yours, stop by the store and we'll be happy to let you play with ours!

Happy Painting!

What are those "sticks" you speak of?

2011-07-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

The roots of our business,

Sticks and More, began

with tobacco sticks.

Our connection with them started way

before we were born.

If you grew up in eastern North Carolina, you probably already know what a tobacco stick is.

For those of you who don't,

here's a quick explanation

and a little about what we do with those sticks...

It's been said that

"Home is where your story begins."

Our story began on tobacco farms in

Greene County, North Carolina.

Every summer of our childhood

was spent putting in tobacco.

This is Daddy in a tobacco field in 1968.

The green tobacco leaves that he's

standing by were "primed"

and then sewn on to tobacco sticks.

The sticks were hung in

tobacco barns and cured.

Then the tobacco was taken off the sticks,

taken to a tobacco warehouse and sold.

The tobacco sticks, however; were saved and used over and over again...year after year.

Today, tobacco farmers for the most part

do not use tobacco sticks.

BUT...those tobacco sticks,

many of which are over 100 years old,

are still stored in packhouses

all over North Carolina.

For the past 15 years, we've been recycling tobacco sticks in to gifts.

We make...

Tobacco Stick Angels

Tobacco Stick Crosses

Tobacco Walking Sticks

Tobacco Stick Snowmen

Tobacco Stick Stars

...just to name a few!

We love all the "MORE" that we sell in our gift shop, Sticks and More, in Snow Hill.

BUT...as we gear up to produce our

Christmas inventory of "stick stuff,"

we pause and reflect that

home is truly where your story begins.

We're proud to share a bit of our

tobacco stick heritage with you!

2010-02-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

We've recyled! See more at our store!