The full tutorial for this brand new beauty is up on the FrogTape® blog today! Check it out, and create a beauty for yourself!
xo,
Barb
Introductions
My book deadline was this past Nov 1. and for the 8 months or so prior to that date it was “full steam ahead” zero to one hundred kind of action. We hit the deadline and hit it hard, producing gorgeous work that I am super proud of…and it felt really, really rewarding.
But…..I was also really, really tired. Tired in a blissful sort of way, but still in a way where I wanted to give my body and hands time to just chill.
So, for the past few weeks I rested, and then I produced little miss Titania. Everything about her is sweet and soft and gracious……and exactly what my soul needed. Pink herringbone detail, jade green paint, flower knob, and glittering liner all came together perfectly just as my mind designed.
All is well.
If miss Titania speaks to you, she is available for purchase ( in shop only) at Knack. Knack is located at 11 Lois Ave. in Greenville, SC. Stop by and shop with us Tuesday – Saturday from 10-3!
There is one thing that I love about Southern summers, and it is the cicada’s singing in the trees as I drift off to sleep each night. Growing up on the West Coast I had never experienced this, and will never forget the very first time I ever heard it.
The Cicada song is an unmistakeable sound, and when combined with the sparks of the firefly in flight it makes for a magical evening.
I have wanted to do a bug piece for a very long time…..and I finally found the person to collaborate with on this piece! Angie Thompson { shop manager; mover and shaker at Knack} did an amazing job capturing the detail of the cicada with her beautiful charcoal strokes….and we couldn’t be more proud of how this piece turned out!
We were going to list miss Tympana in the online shop….but she sold before we could do that! We are already planning another one though…so never fear…more bugs are in our future!
This 
This lovely little gal is my newest beauty…..that I can share with you that is :} I cannot even tell you how exhilarating it is {and completely exhausting too!} to be creating new furniture designs for Knack book two. Designing furniture is my passion, and still gets my blood pumping even after all of these years. I cannot wait until the day that I can show you these new designs I have come up with. I am creatively full, and completely challenged….and I love being in that place. So, whenever I actually have time to create pieces outside the work for the book it is an extra special day for me……and I hope for you as well.
I think most of you know that I am a huge fan of FrogTape®. It is the only tape that I recommend in my first book Furniture Makeovers, because I truly find it to be superior to any other tape on the market, and it has been my only tape of choice for years now. I promoted this tape way before I received anything monetarily from FrogTape®……{ I was accused of working for them the moment I stated it was the only tape I used…..because everybody assumes in the blog world that if you promote something specifically….you must be getting paid to do so, right?} Not so with me folks. I am a small fish in a big pond and I only promote something if I can get behind it 100 percent. I have turned down so many promotional opportunities due to the fact that I could not honestly get behind a product or event. FrogTape® is a product I can get behind, and since I believe in this product and use it in my work on a daily basis, it felt very natural to say “yes to the tape people” when they came calling about 6 months ago.
For this project I chose to use the new Shape Tape in the scallop design. Have you all tried any of the Shape Tapes? If not….you should! They are so great!
I wanted to create something pretty, but not cutesy, and knew that this would be a challenge with scallops. So, as I am known to do…I chose rich colors and kept it simple. You can never go wrong with charcoal gray and gold can you? I don’t think so! I finished off the piece by lining the drawer with pretty Rifle Paper wrapping paper, and attaching a brass floral knob that my dad brought back from his latest trip to India.
I think Siolella is gorgeous, and I am so happy with her and her pretty scallops. I want to celebrate and give away a little happy……So, I will give a roll of scallop Shape Tape to the first two people who comment here on the blog! {United States only please}
Here are a couple tips to remember when using FrogTape®:
> don’t stretch it too tight or you will distort the shape
> use a squeegee after applying the tape to make sure that it is adhered properly
> water activates the tape bond in order to keep paint out, and lines sharp. So, use a damp rag {not soaking wet} to wipe along the edges of your tape to activate the seal before painting. {do not do this with milk paint….. ever.}
Let me know how you all like using shape tape in your work!
{* gorgeous florals by Julie Dodds of Willow Florals}
Althea is, in a word, sweet. Her floral papered drawer fronts and simple curved edges come with a pleasing grace. She belongs next to a big fluffy bed, adorned with objects both useful and ornamental.
A gold-spotted pink ceramic dish to hold rings; a lovely stationary set and a sturdy lamp for late night letter-writing; and this cosmic kitty print, just to make you smile.
Well folks….Angie and I have decided that painting and creating wall art panels is a lot of fun! I saved these two square panels from a previous shelf project a couple of years ago. I knew that I wanted to use them as panels for wall art…but the idea for what I wanted to put on them did not come to fruition until a couple of weeks ago when discussing our monthly FrogTape® project! Angie and I looked over several inspiration pictures and decided on our own design. We had so much fun creating these that we decided to do more in the very near future!
We chose a geometric design for this first installation but as you well know…the possibilities are endless as far as what designs you can create. These panels are simple squares cut from a 4×8 pine sheet of plywood, and we used paints and stains that we had around the studio….so the cost was very minimal. The full tutorial will be up on the FrogTape® blog later on today so if you would like to see the full process check it out!
These beauties are available for sale, so if you fancy them let us know!
We finished a new piece this week! Yippee! It felt good to get the paintbrushes out and swipe them across some smooth wood! Lately, we have been happily busy with secret book projects and shopping with customers….so it is nice to be able to actually show you a piece of furniture that we finished!
Angie and I both said that it is dangerous to have such a bed on the shop floor, because she beckons us with her soft curves and her sculpted finials! We may just decide to make sitting reclining on her softness a daily activity…while we still have her!
Sweet dreams!
* Viviette is available for sale in the online shop here, or you can always come by the shop at 11 Lois Ave!
“So here is the story of our desk. There were many changes going on in our lives. We had just had our third son, we had moved to a beautiful new home and we had decided that I would “retire” from the restaurant world and become a stay at home mom and manager of my husbands business. With the new home came some much needed space and the need for furniture to fill that space. With managing the business came the need for a designated work space. Being the ever-practical women that I am I saw this as an opportunity to “kill 2 birds with 1 stone” as they say. So the search began for a nice piece that would be not only be beautiful but also functional. It was not an easy search. All we found to begin with was flimsy particle board or ugly, over sized industrial desks. We finally found it in our wonderful “Evadne”! I now have a space that is dedicated to work, and a piece that makes my work space beautiful and functional! I love the details, the size and subtle femininity of the desk. I also love the functional drawers and organizing space. “Evadne” has been a wonderful addition to our home and lives.” -Rachel B
p.s. If you all would love to see the beautiful work of Joseph Bradley click here…..and don’t blame me when you want to buy every painting! I love to see a successful artist doing what he loves…and a wife who partners right along with him! So cool!
** Send us YOUR Knack stories! Show us how you are living with what you love! **
” Barb says “live with what you love”, and I happen to think that she is pretty spot-on about that. I am very particular, to a fault, and carefully choose each piece that goes into my home, whether it’s a kitchen utensil or a piece of furniture. This piece was originally chosen because I loved its lines, and the rich color of the wood. About 6 years ago, we built a new home, and through that process, my style evolved a bit.; some old pieces had to go, and some new pieces were brought in. This chest made the cut, but it wasn’t quite the perfect fit anymore. So of course I turned to my friend, who I knew was a master at giving new life to old loves. Being an artist myself, I arrived at this project with some of my own ideas, but Barb knows furniture like no one I know, and I let her lead me through the process of this makeover. Seamlessly, both of our ideas married themselves together, and I couldn’t be more happy with the end result.
I felt like this chest, with its clean lines and flat drawer fronts, was perfectly suited for her color blocking technique, and I chose a favorite throw pillow from which to build the palette. I was also dead set on changing out the drawer pulls, and had already decided which ones to use. That’s usually a big part of Barb’s furniture makeovers, but this piece spoke differently to her, and I’m so happy with her suggestion to leave the originals. She also suggested we leave one of the drawer fronts in its original, warm wood finish that I was so drawn to when I purchased the chest. It’s unexpected and so perfect. The last part of the makeover was the casters. We both love casters on furniture, and knew replacing the original curvy feet would put the finishing touch on giving this piece a personality more aligned with my aesthetic.
I’m so proud of this piece of furniture, now a work of art. It sits in one of my favorite spots in the house, where I can see it all the time. Mostly, I’m proud that it was transformed by my friend, because I know that its makeover was more than a job to her; she puts her heart in every single brush stroke. “Artemis” is my fist Knack masterpiece, but I know for sure it’s not the last.” – Jennifer B
This was such a fun project to work on with Jennifer, and we absolutely love the way Artemis looks in her gorgeous home! You all may {or may not} remember Artemis from the book? This is how he looks there:
….so you can see , that even though Knack pieces have much personality and color, they are still so versatile and easily incorporated into multiple types of home environments. This thought process is really going to get lots of attention in Knack book 2! We are so excited to show you more of the “how” to live with what you love, and how to incorporate color and personality into every room in your home!
“We were first introduced to Barb Blair with Knack Studios when we wanted to reuse several pieces of furniture while renovating our home. It was an unbelievable experience. Not only did she transform each piece of furniture into something new, but she gave each piece its own personality. So, when we decided to build a new house in Greenville, we knew that she should be a part of this one too. We had several pieces of furniture that we loved the form and function, but not the look. Once again, Barb to the rescue! Almost every room has a piece that Barb painted, but the neat thing is that you would never know that because each piece is unique. I keep telling Barb, “This is it, the last piece” but we both know that’s not true. We can never have too much Knack in our home.” – Renee
These lovely people have become dear friends of mine, and are the most loving , giving people you will ever meet. Between their city home and mountain home, they now have 11 Knack pieces! I could not be happier about this lifelong friendship that has developed and the beautiful environments that my furniture gets to call home.
The entire interior of this home is beautiful indeed, and was designed by Marian McCreight of Marian McCreight Interiors.
Send us your Knack stories! barb@knackstudios.com or angie@knackstudios.com. We want to see how you are living with what you love!