it’s been a while since i’ve posted anything but that’s only because a lot of good things are happening at modmood and RETRO Consignment.

did you see our profile in both the denver post your hub and the wheat ridge transcript?  it was totally ironic (or someone is bugging our office) that we were approached within days of each other by both publications and they were published on the same day….hmmmmm.  we have also been nominated Business of the Year in Wheat Ridge, keep your fingers crossed for us!

world furniture market las vegas

we recently took to the road and visited the world market in las vegas.it’s our twice a year “vacation” , sort of like this little “retirement project” or ours (modmood and RETRO Consignment).

it was fun and inspiring to see what’s new in the furniture and home decorating industry.  although it’s not the largest furniture market the show offers a lot to those of us who like modern and contemporary.  we purchased many new things which will start receiving in the store in the next few weeks and into late fall.

las vegas tiki

neither pat nor i like gambling and have found other entertainment after spending time in  the buildings and showrooms at the market.

we came across this fabulous little place called frankie’s tiki room…omg it was crazy, like stepping back in time. the decor was fabulous, the bartender had lots of dreads and was totally “rasta” looking and they were playing old casa blanca type movies on the tv’s.

the drink menu was a treat in itself, you may want to bring a flashlight if your not accustomed to reading in the dark.  definitely a must see next time your in vegas!

we hope you are following us as a fan on facebook.  samantha has the difficult and daunting task of posting the new and vintage items as they come into the store.  the only thing is that often the items can go out as quickly as they come in, that’s good news for us but not necessarily for those of your looking for these pieces.  also as a friend of modmood we post our estate sales and you are invited to come to the properties the day before the sale goes public to get early pickin’s.

…if you’re following us on facebook then you know that not only did we purchase NEW modern and contemporary, we also did the “clampett” thing and brought back a lot of vintage pieces.  las vegas is loaded with the 50′s and 60′s furnishings and we always take advantage of our little excursion to bring some home to share with our modmood and RETRO friends.

...and we didn't lose a thing!

here are a few of my favorite vintage pieces that are hidden in the truck!

i also want to show you a few of my favorite NEW things we have coming in:

and best of all pat went crazy over the modern kid’s furniture…coming soon!

there’s so much to share, but going to run.    the next two weeks will be busy with another estate sale and getting ready for the denver modernism show, we’ll have a nice representation of our products at the show.  get your tickets soon and don’t miss the vip party on friday, august 26th.

it is going to be a very busy week for us at modmood and RETRO Consignments. one of the greatest things about this job is the diversity of work…and one of my favorites is estate sales.

we have done quite a few since we officially opened our doors last september and the sales always prove to be totally different each and every time.  we are never disappointed in any of the sales since we have such a diverse love for furniture and accessories whether modern, contemporary and the 50′s and 60′s era and there always seems to be a lot of those type items.  we really enjoy sharing them with our customers and clients.

since all of the estate sales we have done have been for older people who are liquidating there homes we always try to approach the sale as a celebration of the life of that person rather than a rapid liquidation of the stuff nobody else in the family wanted.

we spend extra time merchandising and reviewing the items. we also found a few things tucked away that the family had somehow overlooked. we feel so honored to be selected to delve so intimately into the lives of the parents of our clients.

please feel free to come and experience one of our estate sales soon! as with all things at modmood and RETRO Consignment a good time is always a part of the adventure!

ESTATE SALE

RETRO Consignment is hosting another estate sale on june 16th , 17th and 18th at 7980 melrose drive, wheat ridge, co 80033.   the sale is open for pre-sale to our modmood and retro friends on june 16th and will become a public sale on the 17th and 18th.  hours are 9:00 am until 4:00 pm all three days.  hope to see you there!  click here for photos and more info…

arvada center for the arts and humanities partners with kirkland museum of fine & decorative art presenting “Time Travel”, june 9-august 28, 2011 in the main gallery.

“Time Travel” – will feature works from the kirkland’s international decorative art collection of over 15,000 objects.  presented in salon settings the exhibition will show representation of the Art Nouveau, Wiener Werkstatte, Bauhaus, Art Deco, Modern and Contemporary eras.  a must see!

SAVE the DATE

june 20th – new issue of modern in denver arrives at modmood

july 1st-4th - modmood and RETR Consignment’s sidewalk sale and 4th of july celebration (more details to come)

august 26th, 27th and 28th – denver modernism show , western complex

september 24th – wheat ridge modern home tour:  for more information on june 17th the www.tourmodernwheatridge.com website will be live!

september 24th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MODMOOD AND RETRO CONSIGNMENT-LET THE PARTYING BEGIN!

what would you pay?

as owners of modmood and RETRO Consignment we are always on the look out for great values for our clients.  whether it is new furniture or accessories or vintage consignment we all like value.  as a retail business owner i find it interesting to see the different perception people have when perusing our merchandise.  one person may comment on how inexpensive something might be and a few minutes later someone walks by commenting on how high priced the same item seems.

so cool but at what price?

our own staff has their own perceptions regarding the value of an item. recently during a store meeting we showed a piece from our store and we all wrote down what value we would place on that item.  the range was huge;  to someone who didn’t want nor need the item it had no value (they wouldn’t pay 1 penny for it), while several others gave it a medium value and one even placed a very high price on the item as it was something they had been wanting for quite some time.

in modmood it’s easier to place value since we understand the quality of the product, we have an idea of what the “market will bear” based on the quality and usefulness and we have a current and fixed cost for the new item .

at $3,000 does it matter whether it's leather or vinyl?

in RETRO Consignment it is an extremely different story from the pricing of the item by our consignors to what value the shopper places on that item.  many have emotional attachments to a piece and it’s much harder to place value, while someone else may have paid a lot for a piece but as “used” it has much less value.  placing proper value is important and we have many pieces that are a great value.  take a peak at some of those items.

as we’ve mentioned before there are always exciting things happening and new additions at modmood and RETRO Consignment.  however the latest addition came in the form of a new grand daughter; mio nicole yoshida born to my son jake yoshida and his beautiful wife and our daughter-in-law kotomi yoshida.

we love modmood!

being a grandmother is one of the wonderful things of life!  i think the greatest thing is that i enjoy them with no expectations.  when you have a child you always have dreams of what they will be or what you want them to be.  after having grown children you realize that as adults they are going to be who they want to be, and it’s alway a surprise (in my case a pleasant one) as to what they do become.  i hoped but never dreamed my son would become a wonderful father, husband, dad, artist and strong supporter.  my daughter who was head strong and independent has become a beautiful mother of 3 great sons and wife to will bobo.  she’s also a very important part of modmood.  as a grandmother i am excited to see what the 5 children will become!

i know this is a bit personal but i feel so lucky to have such a lovely family and to be a grandmother of 5 so i wanted to celebrate and show off a bit!

WOW! although we haven’t had our official grand opening party (save the date for the week-end of may 20, 2011), we are open and having a lot of fun.  tuesday, march 8th modmood and RETRO Consignment was THE LOCATION for the alphabet networking group event.

alphabet networking meets quarterly

this quarterly networking event is for the members of several leading business associations of the west metro denver area. the recent event, hosted by enterprise wheat ridge at modmood and RETRO Consignment, had representation from approximately 150 members of the following associations:applewood business association, arvada chamber of commerce, alameda gateway community association, conifer chamber of commerce, edgewater enterprise, enterprise wheat ridge, evergreen chamber of commerce, golden chamber of commerce, south lake business association, west chamber of commerce, west colfax community association.

along with the usual networking by business professionals the wheat ridge business district presented funds through a federal grand to pat gooch and jeanne nichols owners of the property and business modmood and RETRO Consignment for the facade and signage improvements to the exterior of the building at 7700 w. 44th avenue wheat ridge, co.

in honor of fat tuesday, co-owner of modmood and RETRO Consignment, pat gooch, shared beads (requirement of raising of the shirt/blouse was waved).  sliders and mini-dogs, salmon and capers, along with a bit of louisiana gumbo were prepared and served by will and samantha bobo employees of the business.  wine, beer and water were provided by wheat ridge local businesses (first bank, home instead elderly care, loretta ditirro-realtor, dan ryan the window man).

loretta ditirro asks: what do i need to do to get some of those beads?

although the weather was a bit chilly we were all kept warm by the fires of fireplace outlet supply and planika fires. heidi haas sheard of swiss flower and gift cottage helped spread the love with some gorgeous arrangements.

this event reminded us all of how important business connections and networking are to the development of each of our own businesses.  networking is a great way to meet new friends and share the many great products and services your company offers.

thanks to blu and katie of blu iron photography we have some great photos of the evening, see a few below or connect to see all the images!

while this event is over we are still having fun providing  professional services such as estate liquidations, sales and consignment along with modern, contemporary and vintage furniture and products to the metro denver area.  with the warmer weather looming we are looking forward to opening our vintage and new lawn, garden and patio furniture area and having a great spring and summer.  come and visit!

i know, i know, locavore is a term given to those who eat foods locally produced but i couldn’t find a term for those of us who find great pleasure in buying modern and contemporary furniture that is locally made.  we are proud to show some of these great craftsman at modmood/RETRO Consignment.  some of the work is  contemporary, but a lot of it has a vintage feel for that mid-century modern era.

if we are looking for an upturn in our local economy (that of the denver metro area) it would make sense for us to support our local craftsmen…don’t you think?  i’ve read many articles about the positive impact “buying local” has on the economies of an area, one by sustainable connections had some good information.  although modmood/RETRO Consignment is a locally owned business this post is to create awareness for our local craftsmen and some of the work that we are privileged to showcase.

when you visit our showroom you will find a small card on each piece done by local craftsmen. we have a special area for our colorado vendors in our vendor listing and we also have a special page set-up under our products menu for the colorado craftsman.

colorado is honored to have so many talented furniture craftsmen, come by and see some of these great pieces or visit their websites!

once you come here you’ll see!  my husband and i made a slight compromise on the front of the building since orange is his favorite, but one thing for sure, you won’t miss the store.

i also wore a red suit back in the the early ’90′s for a job interview (big no-no of course).  one is suppose to wear the corporate dark suit but i just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  i thought that if i had a flamboyant flair they needed to know going in!  as it worked out, the boss liked it and i had a great career working for this italian company for over 17 years!

not only do i love red but i love to snuggle, so i couldn’t resist this wonderful double cuddle chair by lazar.  looks like fun, don’t you think?

ohhhhh… there are so many RED things from our great collection of vendors, below i’ve posted just a few.

hope you enjoy images and also enjoy this great day and the beautiful weather!

btw, happy valentines day to my wonderful husband…to us!

recently pat and i took a road trip, headed to las vegas for the world market furniture and gift show.  of course on our way we got distracted by the many opportunities to find some great 50′s – 60′s things for our denver customers.  this photo shows the result of the adventure.

beverly hillbillies?

on our trip we connected with a great guy who has a lot of mid-century modern furniture that he uses for sets of movies out of los angeles, so we couldn’t resist and had to bring some of our great finds back to denver!

we unloaded the truck at the store on sunday (jan 30) and had a great response to some of our items…we looked like a flea market selling them off the street!  it was great and exciting to be able to bring some of these gorgeous and iconic pieces back to modmood/RETRO Consignment. here’s a look at some of the items:

one of the things we hope the visitors and clients experience at modmood and RETRO Consignment are pleasant and unexpected surprises.  one of those unexpected surprises came to two of our clients:  jennifer boone and daryl muchow.

while visiting the store we were able to introduce jennifer and daryl to each other, both women are daughters of two distinguished and notable architects that practiced architecture in denver during much of the mid 1900′s; eugene sternberg and william c. muchow.  

jennifer and daryl spent several hours reminiscing about their fathers work and shared their interest in mid-century modern furniture and architecture…and of course their love for modmood/RETRO Consignment!

eugene sternberg practiced architecture in denver and is most recognized for the work he did with edward hawkins in arapahoe acres where sternberg was able to explore his “interest in the creation of socially conscious modern housing combining quality architectural design and eco- nomical construction”. other notable projects include the arapahoe community college and many of the buildings in downtown littleton.  although he had a strong interest in residential design most of his works included commercial projects designing more than 400 buildings in colorado, nebraska and  wyoming.

william (bill) c. muchow practiced architecture in the metro denver area from 1950-1991.  according to the biographical notes from the denver public catalog some significant projects he has been credit for include currigan hall (denver, co), jefferson county justic center (golden, co) and the expansion and renovation of denver center for the performing arts (denver, co).   he also built an award winning “A” frame which was recently discussed in an article published in the autumn issue of modern in denver.  muchow, through his firm w.c. muchow and partners, designed a total of 833 projects.  40 of his designs won national awards, he was a member of the american institute of architects  and a lifetime fellow of the international institute of arts and letters.

this chance encounter for jennifer and daryl at modmood/RETRO Consignment was exciting and fun for them and for us!  hopefully you’ll find an unexpected surprise when you visit, whether new friendships, your mom or grandmothers vintage sofa, an iconic contemporary piece or a great piece of art done by local artists .