working at Whim House

Last year I started working part-time at a little home and garden boutique in our quaint down town. It’s right on the Main Street amongst other boutiques, restaurants, wine bars, etc. Sounds awful, right? lol. I love it! It’s only a few days per week and Mr. Masterpieces actually calls it my hobby. I love working at Whim House.

I really don’t work many hours and I do not make all that much but it is my happy place. The store is surrounded with housewares, pretty things and lovely inspiration. There are only three of us that work there {one of them being the owner} so it’s pretty intimate and I’m involved with many aspects of the business.  It’s super fun.

Anchor lines at Whim House

• Farrow & Ball Paint {English household paint}
• Fermob {French outdoor furniture}
• Wonki Ware {South African ceramics}
• Loloi {Rugs and Pillows}
• Napa Home and Garden { Home Decor}

The store carries everything from furniture to rugs to pillows to table linens to decor items to too many things to mention everything here.   Merchandising the store through the many sale cycles and seasons is one of my favorite tasks.

And although the total aesthetic of the shoppe is a bit more contemporary than my personal style,  I still appreciate all the beautiful things.   There are plenty of items that I absolutely love and have come home with me.  I have to be careful because I could actually bring home way more than I do.  Being surrounded with all this beautiful merchandise every time I go to work is hard and easy all at the same time.

See why Mr. Masterpiece calls it my hobby?  : )  Most things that I gravitate to are more rustic and organic. Although the shoppe owner does a fantastic job of curating around the globe and she’s very deliberate about what to bring into the store.  There are marvelous things from all over the world and it’s a fabulous destination for the perfect gift item. There are beautiful large wedding or anniversary gift options to a small hostess gift token.

The owner of the shoppe just visited market in LA and Las Vegas. I am super jazzed to see all the new merchandise that will start trickling into the store.  Sometimes I just want to redecorate my entire house, but that is not realistic of course.  Besides we really need to renovate and remodel parts of the house before we do any redecorating, which is an entire topic for another post.  Also I love most of the stuff I already own so I’ve become very deliberate about anything new I bring into the house.

I have been invited to attend a show with her next time around and I’m contemplating it.  She always encourages input on product selection, mix and display.  It’s absolute fun for me so it hardly seems like work really.  I’m only giving you glimpses of the store here, but really there’s so much more and it’s always ever changing.

As soon as the weather gets better and the rain stops we’ll start bringing the outdoor furniture outside.  It’s an extra showroom outdoors.  Outdoor living in Northern California is long so it’s a huge category for the store, hoping to expand it this year.

If you’re interested you can check out the website @ Whim House.  You can actually shop around if you are so inclined.  Everything is not on the website but it shows a good cross section of the product lines and you will understand more why I love working at Whim House.

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

Pablo Picasso