The Stillroom

uh oh…I think I have a new hobby. I must have been a hat maker in another life. Lol- Anyhow, my latest interest is vintage hat rescue and restoration.

Fall and winter collection in store just in time for the Antique Appraisal Fair!Don’t miss this really cool and informative annual event brought to the local area by #Diamondantiques in #Tarentum

Sunday, September 29th from 10-2.

Have a treasure you need to know more about? At a super reasonable fee of $5.00 per item, the charge has stayed the same throughout the years.

That’s the benefit of having a treasure like Diamond Antiques in your neighborhood.

The store is packed with beautiful shades and flavors of autumn. As the mornings start to grow chilly, warm up with a nice cup of Stash tea from the tea shop. Discover the flavor of the Pumpkin dessert tea which has been on The Stillroom shelves for the last ten years! (Way before the pumpkin craze) Yaaaas! Add a splash of milk and a touch of shugah and you are in business! Who needs the pie when you have this with just a cup of hot water?

Coming soon The Stillroom will have Aunt Anna’s seasonal flavors of biscotti. As soon as the weather cools enough to not melt the icing.

These coupled with a box of tea, some of Michelle Wright’s local honey and perhaps some Curly Tail coffee and you have just scored an awesome host/hostess gift for the holidays!

Welcome fall! Ry Ruv ru. (Astro)?

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Nick Lowe with Los Straightjackets at Mr. Smalls😊

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Birthday card for my sister. The only sibling out of five that still goes to church. Fortunately, since we are apparently made in his likeness, he has a sense of humor. #disfunctionalcatholics I mean, how can he think this is not funny?

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RIP Daniel Johnston. This sunset was in Villas NJ the other day.

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rando pics of the shop and sun and moon crystals. I’ll be stringing up the stars soon. (Yes, they are Swarovski and the are petite and pretty)

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some of my dia de muertos collection

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This is the kitchen art I bought from local Pittsburgh artist Ryan Numair. You can catch his work at deadofnightart.com

deadofnight.art@gmail.com

Good stuff!

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When I find something I really like, be it another shop or a good piece of truffle cheese or an artist, I find the need to share.  Especially if it is in the Pittsburgh  area.

Let me start from the beginning. Wayyy back in 1985 when we lived in Baltimore, Cape May became a destination we enjoyed going to as a day trip.  

Back when we didn’t have two pennies to rub together, we would jump in the car early Saturday or Sunday morning (no kids, full time jobs) and get there in time to get the prime parking by the sea and pump quarters in the meter by the hour. By mid-afternoon we would hit up the fifty cent weenie wagon for lunch and when we ran out of quarters, we would pack up and drive back to the city.

Before leaving we would sometimes walk through the open shopping mall. On one of these walks I found a really cool shop called Trade Winds.  Inside of this shop I discovered these awesome little skeletons that were hand made.  (This was before “the google”and social media and also well before the presence of sugar skull kits in the big chain craft stores you see now).  These little guys were representing the Catholic Mexican holiday of Day of the Dead. I immediately fell in love with these figurines and bought one and that started a small collection. I would buy one every time we went there. I felt as if I had discovered something I wanted to share.

When I opened The Stillroom in 2002, I actually managed to find the family in Mexico that made these awesome little figurines. These little pieces depicted pretty much everyday life.  (I will follow up with some pictures of some of my collection). This happened after I tried to make them and let me say it was an epic fail.

Unfortunately or maybe fortunately the only people that recognized these awesome little figurines were a couple of local Spanish teachers.  We soon realized that we needed to create little tags that went with each figurine explaining what Dia de Muertos is. It really is a very special holiday to me.

This year Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) will fall on Thursday, October 31 and end on Saturday, November 2nd.  These are the days that small home alters will be created to remember our deceased loved ones and I can’t think of a better way to do this than to buy a terrific piece of artwork from Ryan Numair right here in Pittsburgh!  Here is what you should know about The Day of the Dead.  It is not the same as Halloween, it originated in Mexico and Central America, it is a celebration of life, not death, the alter is the central part of the celebration and flowers, butterflies and skulls are symbols used to decorate. (yes, I got that off of the internet).

Oh dear, I guess this is about me!

NOW ABOUT RYAN NUMAIR

This brings me to a local Pittsburgh artist named Ryan Numair.  His artwork depicting this holiday is stellar.  To find Ryan’s art, please go to

deadofnightart.com /   to contact-deadofnigt.art@gmail.com / @deadofnightart

After a few email exchanges, I discovered that Ryan and I had a common love of Grateful Dead and Phish. It is fun when a retired senior citizen can connect with someone young enough to be a grandchild through music.

I will post some random pics my collection and of the really lovely piece of art that I purchased from Ryan recently for my kitchen. It reminded me of my husband Mike and me in our Baltimore days as newly weds and how we would cook together after we both got home from work.

Mike says now I just basically elbow him to get out of my way. lol

Ahhh, love.

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Looking Claire Burke Original spray? I love this heady and aromatic fragrance. Always available at the shop! Plus the adorbs sleeping girl with goblins and fairies keeping watch. A small, festive Halloween decoration. (Made in USA)

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Welp.  It’s that time of the year when we start to smoosh all of the holidays in the last four months of the year into one long celebration.

Sometimes I think I have a problem with that but when you think about it, what else is there when the daylight hours grow shorter?

Party planning, naturally!  You don’t need a house full of people for a party and remember, lonliness is NOT good for you!

Yes, the shop did have a lovely transformation this past week and we had a few comments like ” fall already?”  You know, we are not far off of the mark.  When I was leaving Pittsburgh Mills at dusk on August 15th, the late day sun was shining ever so slightly on the steep hillside across the highway and across the river and let me just say, the leaves are already turning.  That makes us on point.

If you are still shopping for great pieces of furniture or decor for a dorm room, new apartment or just looking for a fresh seasonal touch in your humble abode, Diamond Antiques is the place.  Folks that come in and shop almost always leave with something  wether it’s a pack of tea or a long table with seating for eight.   The furniture quality at Diamond Antiques and Gifts is really good and the turnover of pieces is quite remarkable.

And the prices?  Don’t get me started.

Hey, guess what?  Diamond Antiques and Gifts has new hours and they are so easy to remember.  We are now open Tuesday through Sunday 10-5.  That is sooooo much better for everyone.  You now have not only and extra day to come in, but if you are an early bird on Sunday mornings, we open at 10!

Looking for tea?  The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop has you covered!  Fall florals and tiny pumpkins, pumpkin tea and the usual awesome tea selection is still happening at the tea shop.  Stop in and have a look around.  It is a relaxing place to get your steps in.  We have two floors of amazing home furnishings and so much more waiting for you.  Cards, tea, honey, coffee, jewelry, gift certificates…really, Diamond Antiques and Gifts is a shop where you can come in and put together a whole gift basket full of goodies!  With the holidays approaching, what a perfect place to come for a one of a kind host or hostess gift.  You can pull it all together under one roof.  That’s the advantage of a real neighborhood store!

Our anniversary sale runs through the rest of August so try not to miss out on a 20% discount on any purchase over $10.00.  That’s a great sale when you consider we are not a huge conglomerate!

Look to September for our annual Appraisal Fair!  I can’t even believe we are back here again.  How fast these days seem to roll by.  UGH!  It is on Sunday, September 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..  This annual  event at Diamond Antiques with Jeffrey Poole of Victoria’s Looking Glass has gained popularity over the years.  Is it trash or treasure?  Come and find out.  The cost is STILL only $5.00 per item for appraisal.  This is a great opportunity to really get an accurate handle on that special item you have always been curious about.

That about wraps up the current situation as we put a wrap on summer.

Diamond Antiques and Gifts

311 E. Sixth Avenue, Tarentum PA

724 224-4687

NEW HOURS – Tuesday-Sunday  10-5

The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop  (we are in the window)

311 E. Sixth Avenue, Tarentum PA

412-721-6357

@lequitalee for rando pics

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