It’s not unusual for someone to “throw their two cents in” when visiting my workroom to give me their opinion on fabric options for a refurbished trade I’m working on.
Taking trades through The Pawning Planners that are flipped and sold at Texas Twins Treasures, the investment to “turn a trade around” is actually a hefty expense.
While many of my friends think they have “good ideas” for the stain or upholstery, my product knowledge was earned with more than fifteen years in upscale furniture sales. I don’t take advice from anyone who “doesn’t have any skin in the game.”
I know what buyers want from experience and often take risks by mixing more than 2-3 upholstery coordinates because my unique designs sell.
The more unique a piece is, the higher the price that’s fetched. Quality never goes out of style. We use only the best hand loomed silk chenille upholstery fabrics which are then treated to resist stains.
The best (and most expensive) furniture fills and foams ensure that the seat of furniture never “bottoms out.” Cheap fill or foam sink while cheap fabrics fade, tear and show wear. You get what you pay for so buying it once and making a good investment gives you a high quality and durable piece of furniture that lasts a lifetime.
Occasionally when I’m deciding on what fabrics to use to refurbish a trade from The Pawning Planners, I make bold decisions.
My “take” on flipping items is “if you haven’t seen it before, it’s expensive.” No one wants what they can buy anywhere. Creative flips sell because they are so different.
I met the freight company picking up a beautiful Duncan Phyfe sofa that had been reupholstered in red brocade Monday morning.
It’s unusual for me to use a solid upholstery “all the way” without using a contrast band and welt but, the ornate legs of this piece had enough character (in my opinion) to carry a solid upholstery option. 
I was right and it sold less than twenty four hours after listing to a repeat buyer in New York.
The same buyer also bought my refurbished with a corduroy stripe piece last year. My twin sister and partner, Cindy wasn’t thrilled about using a stripe velour fabric on this piece but, I had fourteen yards of this luxurious fabric and loved the overall “gold tones.”
Cindy and I appraise trades together and often decide on how to bring a piece “back to life” together.
From contrast banding and welts to the primary fabric, the upholstery is an important part of making a refurbished item profitable.
The wrong fabric on a piece will turn it from a lucrative Flip to a Flop. 
It’s rare for me to strip a piece that has already been refurbished but, I have before. The expense of fabric and labor is a substantial investment on a club chair and ottoman set or even a sofa or loveseat but, if I’m not happy with something and, it won’t sell, I “do over” certain pieces when I’ve got an item that won’t “move itself” by selling quickly.
The differences between both pieces tell me that this buyers home must he as eclectic as my own.
The red brocade sofa will be used in her formal living room while the striped sofa is a staple in her master bedroom.
Linda must have a very large home. She’s also interested in my Baroque curved sofa with tub chair and ottoman for her library and planning to “pull the trigger” and buy the set for a Christmas gift to herself.
The Baroque set is substantially heavier than the Duncan Phife sofas mainly because the base has adjustable springs as do the cushions.
I used a Leopardo Gold on the Baroque set for the welt and a stripe for the banding and accent on this three piece set.
The spring loaded cushions also feature Leopardo Gold giving the chair and sofa a fresh spin by simply flipping the cushions.
Whenever possible, I often use a coordinating fabric on the flip side of cushions but, sets that include an ottoman won’t work with reversible cushions so I use the same fabric on both sides as I did with an antique chair and curved ottoman set that I pulled from my storefront and decided to keep instead.
Nothing in my home is actually “matchy matchy.” I love rich fabrics and animal prints and don’t stick with similar items throughout.
My dog, Foxy Wortham loves moving from room to room on his favorite pieces which aren’t sold at Texas Twins Treasures. It’s rare for me to sell an item that’s been “bumped” to my home at WorthamWorld from my workroom.
It’s happened though when a client from Texas Twins Treasures or The Pawning Planners comes to my home office to discuss their upcoming event and “sees something that they can’t live without.”
I once sold an antique chair to a production crew member filming here for a segment on Texas Homecoming Mums. She just loved that piece so much that we “made a deal” on the spot.
Since I have a dog and many people struggling with allergies, I carefully store items for sale in my workroom and only move other pieces to our home when something sells right out of it.
There’s no shortage of pieces to “fill a hole” in our home when something sells right out of it. When an item sells as I always have antiques at my upholsterers or waiting for refurbishing in the workroom.
My husband thinks I’m a furniture hoarder but, I’m picky about the pieces I fall in love with. 
I have several pieces waiting for Cindy and I AKA the “Design Divas” to make a final decision on the mix of fabrics we plan to use to refurbish and refresh these antique pieces.
I had seven yards of antique tea stained fabric that I mixed with my tried and true striped silk fabric and decided to use the 50’s themed fabric to reupholster a rattan bench.
The bench needed a higher cushion so, I stripped the existing foam and rebuilt the cushion with dry foam hollow fill to give the piece more character. Not surprisingly, it sold quickly.
While running to the Chateau At Forest Park to meet a new Client, my sister in law once again called in to give Cindy and I advice on helping dad.
This type of advice continues to bother me. Why? Because Michelle is in North Carolina. She isn’t dropping everything everyday to drive thirty minutes to Wellbridge to “cheer dad up for an hour” while other patients try to escape. Then we leave Wellbridge to go cheer my niece Stephaney up and watch more crazy people wander around.
One lady, a patient at Wellbridge, Alma, watches the door to the visitation area trying to find a way out and although she never quite makes it out of the visitation area, continues to “give it a shot!”
Her funniest comment I overheard yesterday when trying to follow a nurse out to the freedom she so desperately wants, Alma yelled “hold the elevator.” There aren’t any elevators at Wellbridge.
Cindy and I have been (we think) really patient on phone calls from my brother or his wife or aunt regarding my dads stay at Wellbridge or my niece at Sundance. But, even I have limits.
Perhaps because it’s been Cindy and I are visiting my dad and my niece daily and not my sister in law or brother, my patience with these “helpful advice” phone calls finally broke yesterday with Michelle.
Family members who aren’t juggling their schedules to visit a Psych Wards everyday and sit for an hour surrounded by patients have no idea what doing this everyday for over a week can do to your spirits.
It’s emotionally debilitating and, you leave one visit knowing that you will be forced to return the next day since visitation is everyday.
I advised Michelle that since “you aren’t visiting everyday and disrupting your schedule to go be a cheerleader and visit relatives everyday, you should hold your advice because we don’t want to hear it.” I meant it.
Everyday from 4PM-5PM my sister and I drop everything to go visit my dad. Leaving there, we drive another thirty minutes to go visit my niece. Approximately four hours everyday is either spent driving to or from a Psych Ward or sitting in the visitors area trying to be entertaining and optimistic.
I advised my sister, Cindy that the hours we’ve spent the last nine days driving to or from or even on location at Wellbridge or Sundance have actually become a part time job due to the amount of time involved and, I was going to start “bitch slapping some sense into my relatives idiotic suggestions or theories.”
It’s easy to sit on your butt and make a phone call to tell us what you think when you aren’t contributing.
Cindy quickly came up with a few #Cindyism Quotes regarding this latest burden of visiting my dad or my niece and the family members who aren’t visiting our dad or my niece telling us what they think. Here they are…
“If There Was A Paid Internship At The School Of Hard Knocks, We Would Be Rich By Now From Repeating The Courses.”
“Don’t Be Like A Blister Showing Up When The Work Is All Done.”
My TDCJ Linda Woodman State Jail Groom called my yesterday to tell me that the July 26th Wedding date was “off” and, asked for a refund. I don’t refund Clients from Texas Prison Weddings With Wendy Wortham or Texas Twins Events. Why? Because I’ve spent so much time talking or emailing them and more importantly, my schedule was blocked off to accommodate their event which prevented me from booking another Client.
I suggested contacting the Courts in Huntsville to find out why his wedding was canceled and work on rescheduling it instead. After all, I’m happy to reschedule an event but, if I have turned away new clients because I had you on my books, I’ve effectively lost an opportunity to book someone else which is why I don’t offer refunds.
Cindy and I are currently exhausted from juggling clients and visits to Psych Wards while I prepare for my surgery next week to remove a cyst on my ovary. Following my surgery, my grandniece, Makenna is having the same surgery. The irony isn’t lost on me. When it rains, it pours!
The release date for my father is up in the air. The release date for my niece, Stephaney is also up in the air. Hopefully, their release dates don’t interfere with my surgery but, with my luck who knows?
My dad needs someone to come in a few days a week. While walking Foxy yesterday, my neighbor on the corner stopped us to ask about selling her handcrafted designs. The problem, she wanted Cindy and I to inventory and list them. We decided to “teach her how to fish instead.”
Selling items for others is time consuming and we don’t have time to sell for others. She did ask about finding part time work and since dad needs help, decided to give Mary an opportunity to work for dad. It’s a win-win for Cindy and I.
Freeing up our slammed schedules to spend time with the twins on their summer vacation has been up to this point impossible but, by having dad hire Mary and teaching her how to use FB Buy, Sell, Trade and EBay, Mary can generate new income and dad can have someone coming in to cook a few times a week.
Dad needs an aftercare plan and by walking Foxy, we just found one. Although my brother and his wife want dad to visit, after a stay at Wellbridge, my dad will need time to recuperate prior to flying off to North Carolina.
Michelle believes that dad should be released already because “they know he isn’t crazy.” I answered “yes, that’s why he’s still a patient.”
My smart comments regarding her idiotic claims or ideas continue to go right over my sister in laws head.
Explaining to Michelle on these daily phone calls to “check on Pop,” while listening to what she thinks we should be doing are the last thing I want to look forward to everyday.
Last week, my aunt Shirley suggested calling our congressman to get dad released. As usual, no one in our family understands that dad isn’t going to be released until Wellbridge and his Ad Lidem Attorney feel he’s ready to be released.
Surprisingly, my aunt (dads sister) lives less than an hour from Wellbridge but hasn’t been to visit dad at all and continues to give us advice on the situation. Aunt Shirley and Michell are “full of advice but, seriously lacking in action.”
A few of my clients from Texas Twins Treasures have read my blog, “What About Dad” but, if you missed it, here’s the link–Caregiving Requires Patience, Compassion And Humor- What About Dad?
Between Mercado Event Center and other bookings, the continued requests for services or items we don’t offer continue to roll in. If you are looking for chair rentals or a piñata, I’m happy to direct you to vendors who handle these services but, we don’t.
Our services are listed at Texas Twins Events and while we encourage creative requests, we do not rent furniture. Taylors Rental in Fort Worth has a wide array of rental options.
From photography to Event Coordination, Party Planning and Officiants or Celebrants for Religious Services and Ceremonies as well as Floral Design, we offer a wide array of services but do not rent tables or chairs, linens or tents.
My Texas Twins Events Team is compromised of three generations of my family. We have two photography teams, six Officiants, Event Coordinators and Floral Designers on hand to serve you.
Since I work with my family at Texas Twins Treasures, Texas Twins Events, The Pawning Planners and Texas Prison Weddings, my blogs often “merge” family and business which is why I’m guessing I have so many subscribers.
The truth is that even I don’t know what I will write about next because my life is often unpredictable as Wendy’s World Swirls…