Z for Zelda -- On Naming Resurrected Furniture

I've worked on furniture to resell for over 20 years. I once assembled a giant arts & crafts sideboard from a pile of what looked like dried out scrap lumber that was dropped off in my yard.  Miraculously, every piece was accounted for.   Multiple applications of stain and finish revealed the most gorgeous oak sideboard I've ever seen.  Immediately sold it.  No photo or permanent record.  No one knowing how close it came to being kindling.

I work with enough gorgeous pieces of antique furniture that I realize most of these pieces will outlast me.  And that pleases me.  Without having been "resurrected" by me, they probably would either be at the end of the furniture road or have a shorter life.  I'm also very pleased to see them go on to more decades of use.  A few years ago I decided it would be cool to date and sign my finished pieces.

A couple years ago I started keeping a record on "Works" (just mentioning using Works makes my whole family snicker at me).  Type of paint, painting technique, where I bought the piece, how much I paid for it, any hardware I added to it, sanding, finish, etc.  To help keep track of which piece was which (how many dressers have I painted ivory?) I gave each item of furniture a name.  Alphabetically.  And girl names.  The first 26 were names that meant something to me, or made me think that the piece of furniture looked like that name.  I just finished the second round of 26 pieces of furniture, this time using feminine sounding towns from Nebraska (I had to be a little creative at times, like for Zelda).  Zelda was a roadside find that benefitted from a couple coats of chalk paint and a little distressing.

For the third round of 26 I think I am going to name them after "people sounding" streets in St. Joseph MO.   This blog is another way to document some of the great furniture that passes through my hands --

resurrected to a new life.