Custom Order for "Sempre Famiglia" sign

Our ITALIAN business' first ITALIAN sign! BRAVISSIMO!

This was a special order in which Tre Amici was asked to replicate an aged, stone-looking sign reading, "Sempre Famiglia." This is Italian for, "Always Family."

Well, in case you haven't noticed, Johnson & Johnson's got nothing on Tre Amici. We are the real "FAMILY COMPANY!" So, with a great quote in a great language, this sign came naturally to us. With the added touch of a crackled finish, our client was pretty impressed with our attempt to make a plain piece of wood look old..... Heck - so are we!

(impressed, that is.........not old)

So what are you waiting for? Place your special order with Tre Amici and let us make your custom hand painted sign. And, in effort to steal yet another company motto, "What can brown.......ehem, I mean, Tre Amici, do for you?!"

Our newest special order....

Buon giorno tutti amici!

We're back with another special order sign! This client requested a favorite movie quote to be painted on a sign for a dear friend's wedding shower. We LOVE these kinds of special orders because the signs are so personal. Even though only the two friends shared the significance behind the quote, everyone agreed that the sign was pretty sharp!

We think black is our new favorite sign color! And we love the alternate straight edge, as opposed to our usual routered & rounded edges.

........so thankful for these customized orders - they're always so inspiring.......

Remember this project?

Tre Amici is SOOOOO busy painting signs, we can hardly find the time to fill everyone in on our last project! You might remember the old steamer trunk that we transformed from trash to treasure?!? Well, it was a complete success and was bid on in the LIVE school auction!

Here's a look at what the finished product looked like - and all the hard work along the way! Since the auction was for St. Michael's Academy, we went with a Saint Michael theme for the outside. The inside of the lid had an enlarged photo of the entire school standing in the formation of "2010." It was really a wonderful tribute to this schoolyear.

We were pretty proud of this project - but equally as happy to say its over! That doesn't mean we're done with projects like this, though. We are already working on transforming yet ANOTHER steamer trunk, and even branching out to refinish some other wood furniture items. This summer will surely be busy:) Keep checking in on us for updates....

Garden Expo Recap

Please note Lorrie's gang sign...apparently "Tre Amici" is more than just a company name. Look for our logo tagged on a cement wall near you.

After being up all night painting signs, I believe Anne Marie summed it up the best, "I hate my friends for making me do this show." We concur.

This was Lorrie's welcoming glance to me at our alarmingly early pre-show Starbucks meeting. I don't think she even said hello to me.....

So I might have put the hooks on upside down...at least I put them on....

Good thing Keith bought us a camping heater. Too bad Anne Marie nearly burned her leg off! Truly, we may be THREE amici, but it is quite possible that we are only ONE brain...

The classic Tre Amici pose

Tent up....

Tent down....

Saturday brought rain and sun and rain and sun and, well, VERY UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER!

I think we set up and took down our tent at least 27 times. I'm also pretty sure Anne Marie pulled something in her back with the amount of times she took her jacket on and off. Honestly, though, the weather was so crazy that day. Even if we tried, we could not have created any expectations to be exceeded or disappointed, for that matter. As a result, we were simply impressed that we made it through the day!

Truly, the weather was not that bad. When the sun was out it was gorgeous and we sold quite a few signs! We even started some big, new marketing plans which we reveal to all of our fans very soon - stay tuned!

As for now, we wanted to show you just how cool the Garden Expo was. After 11 years of doing this, the Expo people have really created a fan base. So many people came and stocked up on gorgeous plants and garden decor. There was always something interesting in every corner. Naturally, our booth looked the best - or was it US that looked the best??? I can't recall...

Don't Miss Us This Saturday!

Tre Amici will have an outdoor booth at the

Spokane Commmunity College's Garden Expo

WHEN:

Saturday, May 8, 2010

9a.m. - 4p.m.

Tons of cool garden stuff, flowers, decor,and even tutorials.....

And to top it all off - admission is free!!!!!

DON'T MISS IT!!!!

We would love to see you there!

It's the perfect opportunity to place your special orders!

Angel's Attic Recap

Angel's Attic has come and gone and it was such a beautiful show. So many great things to look at - we did more shopping than selling that day! But it was still a fun time for us amici. In preparing for this show and the SCC Garden Expo (coming up May 8), we have made lots of new, cute signs! Some of them are pictured here, the rest will be up on facebook for sure!

Didn't the wonderful display at Angel's Attic make our signs look good?!?!

It was a cold and windy day, so we were lucky that most of the display was indoors. As for the picture of only TWO amici, we did the show in shifts and Lorrie didn't make it before my camera died......

(the truth is Anne Marie and I did ALL the work and therefore get mid-year bonuses while Lorrie.....well, she does NOT.)

I hope everyone notices how cute the aprons (made by Lorrie) look on us!

Trying new things....

One thing about Tre Amici is that we love a good challenge. We all get so excited to explore our creativity on all levels, and our latest project is no exception.

Given our inherent love for gently used, vintage treasures, we could not resist two very unique steamer trunks. When we saw them advertised on Craigslist, all three amici quickly jumped in their company van (a.k.a. Lorrie's "Big White") and started on our road trip. This time, Tre Amici dragged the tre kiddos along for the ride. Needless to say, the trip was incredibly loud and full of potty breaks.

Upon safely reaching our destination (despite Lorrie's turret's-like musical outbursts) we were greeted by a very kind older gentleman who gave us a screamin' deal on the two trunks. Naturally, we swooped them up into our "company vehicle" and went straight to work.

They were in pretty good shape to begin with. We gave one a good cleanup, sanded down the surface and primed it.

We have big plans for this piece. We're going to take our eyes for creativity and our (very steady) hands for painting to create a masterpiece beyond your wildest imagination.

Stay tuned for more photos along the way!

.........And you thought we only painted signs........

The perfect sign for tough times

Do you ever have those moments where you think to yourself, "I just CAN'T do this."

For me that happens about every 20 minutes or so. One kid is crying or screaming at the precise moment that another kid's entirely full bowl of cereal just landed on the floor. Then when you think it couldn't get any worse - you're slipping in milk as you attempt to catch the call on the phone that just happens to be ringing at the same time! This is no exaggeraton, my friends - I've been there and it isn't pretty.

Yes, woe is me. Oh, if only in times like these I could remember these words.....

Is anything more true? Yes, the chaos that is my home can be pretty trying at times, but the truth is there's always someone out there who has real problems they're dealing with - and oftentimes much better than we deal with our insignificant ones.

A sign like this is the perfect way to send that message of reassurance to them. What powerful words.

I should really have this somewhere that I can it read every morning.

Then maybe I would clean up the soggy cheerios with a smile :)

...........hmm.......not likely.......

Be there or Be Square - Angel's Attic Show

Tre Amici will be displaying our wonderfully unique signs at this April's Angel's Attic Show. It's sure to be a hit - full of great vintage and refinished masterpieces, tons of one-of-a-kind decor, and the perfect place to meet us in person and make your custom orders!

We would love to see you there. We are so excited to be a part of this show. It will be full of such talent and we are so grateful to Angel's Attic for their northwest hospitality!! Let them show you some at their blog here.

DIRECTIONS:

From the "Y" on Division

Turn WEST on Country Home

Turn NORTH on Wall Street

Turn WEST on Price

Turn RIGHT on Mountain View

Look for the sign out front

Anne Marie saves herself

Well, Anne Marie did it again.

Just when we thought she was hiding at home, completely absorbed in a murder mystery and her weekly game of hide and seek with Kodiak, she was actually hard at work for the greater good of Tre Amici. Go figure.

If you ask me, it's about time she does some work around here. Actually, I had just come up with this perfectly rude yet motivational lecture I was going to give her, when she handed me THIS:

I know....what could I say then?

I guess I'll save the lecture for Lorrie.