The one that got away

Everyone has that experience in life where you see something *or someone* that you fall in love with instantly. It may be a handsome bearded young man listening to Holy Grail on his Beats headphones you saw riding the subway, or that vintage Chanel purse that was on sale but you couldn't spend your rent money on it even though it was marked down by 50%! Or even, it could be that last piece of cheesecake you eyed at a restaurant but someone beat you to it. Well, mine was a coat rack. Wow! How boring did that sound? This coat rack is insanely unique. I saw it in Anthropologie years ago. You know how they have random pieces decorated amongst the store? Items like vases, art, vintage textiles, or even pieces of furniture that you didn't know was for sale since they use them for displaying merchandise. 

There it was, a rainbow wired coat rack, it was the phrase that made me fall in love.

"It's Beautiful Here"

I inquired about the price, hoping it was within my paltry budget. Well, this is Anthropologie, the place where a tank top can set you back $118 clams. The salesperson took an eternity finding the price but when she said $500, my heart sank. Sigh, my dream of hanging this rack in my home that would one day be lovely enough to boast that "It's indeed Beautiful here" began to fade.

I later came across the same coat rack on Oh Happy Day in her son's closet bedroom! This gave me the info I needed, who made this piece of whimsical art? I discovered it's a very handsome artist from South Africa named Heath Nash who uses recycled materials. This was back in 2011, so I knew I had very little chance of finding the coat rack. One night while perusing Pinterest, I saw the coat rack was pinned by a shop in New Zealand. The store was taking pre-orders but it wasn't available for shipping yet and the price was NZ$429 which converted into $352 USD. I would also have to pay a heft shipping/customs fee. Oh well, it didn't seem like it was meant for me. I still would daydream about how perfect it would look in our house.

Then a few weeks ago, I asked Antz *my husband is super talented and creative* if he could make the coat rack for me. He told me possibly could but where would we find the materials and he wasn't so keen on the idea of copying someone else's art. I agreed, so I randomly Googled the coat rack just out of curiosity and was surprised to find a shop had just received several in stock. I did a little research and found the shop was called Vamp and located in South Africa. They don't have an online shop so I contacted them through Facebook. It took a few days for them to get in touch with me but she told me they had the Heath Nash coat rack for sale for 1,400 South African Rand. Whoa, that sounds expensive. I went to the XE currency converter totally expecting anywhere from $300 - $1000 USD. To my delight, the conversion was $131 USD. Yes! Totally in my budget and I would be buying from a shop that supports local artists. I had to wire the money internationally which was a little tricky but the ladies at my bank were super helpful. At first they were apprehensive when I said I wanted to send money to South Africa. I told them not to worry, I wasn't sending it to a Prince who wanted my bank info to deposit millions into my account. They also told me many elderly people did fall for that scheme and they couldn't do anything about it, so sad.

Well, I paid a little more *$85* for expedited shipping and insurance and held my breath waited for ten days. Monday morning my doorbell rang and I saw a postwoman holding an oddly shaped package, I knew it had arrived. She even asked me what was in the box coming all the way from South Africa while I signed for it. This guy is sparking such curiosity.

So, you wanna see my precious...?

I have a post about the skirt I'm wearing coming soon!

I feel like my persistence, patience and good luck was worth it for under $220. I finally got my lovely coat rack/art. I love it so much! Turns out I'm not the only one itching to get this guy, the lady I've been corresponding with said a woman in Singapore bought one and two others were sold that week too. What do you think? Is there an item you've been lusting after that seems to always be out of reach, or budget, or stock? I have my sights a few others on my Pinterest I'm hoping to one day add to my collection.

I am not a fan of soda *maybe Sprite* but this would be SO RAD in my future guest house/party palace. I have no idea where I would ever find this, let alone in working condition!

I found this guy at an Antique shop called Inheritance. It's a Shako helmet on a wood hat mold and I adore it! That fringe tassel makes me so happy. I don't heart the $500 price tag.

This lovely floral record player has been on my wishlist for a long time. It's sold exclusively at Urban Outfitters and I almost bought it last Christmas. Then it sold out but now it's back in stock on backorder. Here's the thing. I feel conflicted with buying a record player because records are expensive *at least the ones I want* I am trying wait until I find a few decent LPs on sale or at garage sales and we have some space before I get this but it would make a lovely birthday gift.

Thanks Antz for the lovely photos. Happy Valentines day!