New Years+Table Linen=Disaster Averted!

One of the things I hear a lot of at the store goes something like this: "I love linen table cloths but my friends get a little carried away with the red wine and well, you know . . ." Being the celebratory time of year that it is I though that now might be a good time for a post on tips to keep your linen in good shape without resorting to white wine only dinner parties.

It certainly is heartbreaking to find that your best linens have been permanently stained but don't fret. Heartbreak can be avoided with a little extra effort at the end of the evening a keeping a few easy supplies around. This biggest mistake we make when dealing with soiled linens is leaving the clean up for later. I know that it's a bit of a pain to have to deal with stain removal at the end of a fabulous party when you'd really rather sit back and put your feet up for a few minutes, but if you take care of your table linens right away you'll save yourself a lot of work later on.

The most common culprit in the ruination of tablecloths is red wine but the up side is that if you can treat it immediately it will come out very easily. For tiny little drops don't sweat it, you can rub a little salt on them and soak the cloth overnight in cold water before it goes in the washer the next day. For larger spills however, you best bet is to have a clean cotton terry towel and a can or two of club soda handy. Lift the cloth up from the table and place your towel underneath then pour the soda over the wine until it's removed. It will be a little awkward with your guests around the table but it can wait until the course is cleared and it really can save the cloth.

Other common stains are covered in the list below. A few things to keep in mind is that you'll generally want to err on the side of caution in order to avoid damaging the cloth. So where the list says "rub" go gently, you don't want to scrub the fabric. Additionally keep in mind that the following tips are generally geared for white or natural colour linens and using substances like peroxide, bleaching agents and borax on bright or dark colours is not always a good idea. Borax can be found in the laundry care isle of your grocery store.

In general I recommend washing your table linens in a luke warm wash with cold rinse then hanging to dry. If you are going to press your linens the job will be easier if you do your ironing while the cloth is still damp.

BERRIES AND FRUIT: If the stain is still wet, sprinkle with salt and gentle liquid soap. Let sit for a couple of hours, and rinse well. If the stain is dry, a solution of borax (one part borax to six parts water) may remove the stain. Soak until it has disappeared.

BLOOD: Attend to bloodstains immediately. Rinse well in cold water (never hot—it will permanently set the stain), then try one of the following: a) sprinkle the stain with unflavored meat tenderizer; or b) blot on hydrogen peroxide with a damp cloth, allow to bubble, then wipe with a fresh cloth. Repeat if necessary. For dried bloodstain: soak overnight in cold water and two cups of salt. Wash as usual.

BUTTER OR MARGARINE: Mix one teaspoon of detergent with warm water. Apply to spot and blot. You may need to repeat a few times. Or mix one part white vinegar and two parts water. Saturate the stain and blot until dry. Wash as usual. You can also try the method for old or set grease stains as listed below.

CANDLE WAX ON TABLE LINENS: Gently peel away the wax that can easily be removed with your fingernail. If the wax is soft, harden with an ice cube. Place the item between two sheets of brown paper, and press with a warm iron; the remaining wax will be absorbed by the paper. If the wax is colored, spot clean with a very mild, diluted, bleaching agent. If grease residue remains follow the directions for set grease stains as below.

COFFEE OR TEA: Apply a borax solution (1 part borax to six parts water) directly to the stain, then wash in warm, soapy water.

GREASE: Do not allow grease stains to set! Sprinkle fresh grease stains with baking soda or cornstarch and leave for a couple of hours until the powder gets thick. Scrape away and repeat the process. Brush off the powder and launder as usual. For old or set stains spot clean with a mild, clear dish washing liquid then launder normally. If the stain remains try the following: using baking soda/cornstarch and an iron. You'll sprinkle the stain with cornstarch and press it between two clean lint free cloths (linen for preference but cotton is o.k. too) with an iron set at the highest heat but with no steam.

GRASS (on tablecloths): Mix one-third cup vinegar and two-thirds cup water. Apply to stain and blot. Or pre-soak in hydrogen peroxide and launder as usual.

LIPSTICK: Scrape off as much as you can with a dull knife. Use a pre-wash spray or mild liquid dish liquid and rub with a clean white towel. Wash as usual. You can also use the grease treatment if a colourless spot remains after the first treatment.

MILDEW: Apply white vinegar and lemon juice to kill the mildew. Let the item sit in the sun for a few hours. Wash as usual, but separately.

SCORCH MARKS: Treat the same way as mildew, but drying in the sun is not necessary.

WINE: White wine is easily removed with normal laundering. Red wine stains can be handled two ways: a) rub salt on the stain, and soak in cold water or b) saturate the stain with club soda until it disappears. I recommend the second way while the stain is still wet and on the table. Use a cotton terry underneath the stain to absorb the soda and the wine.

But really try not to worry too much about your linens, they are intended to be beautiful and useful, to help make your home the lovely place it is. If you can't get a stain out there is a pretty good chance that a professional cleaner can and if even that fails there are always table runners and placemats to camouflage the problems.

Have a great holiday and a Happy New Year!

Yay! & Boo!

I probably should have started doing Yay! & Boo! for traffic and parking updates ages ago, but better late than never right?

Yay! After almost a year of Sussex Drive being an almost unnavigable mess of torn up street, sidewalks that looked more like trenches, shouty construction workers and the odd excavation explosion there is finally hope. The new sidewalks have been laid and there is asphalt on the road! You can walk all the way down Sussex without risking life and ankle. There are still lane reductions in effect, but traffic is moving much more smoothly than it has in a very long time.

Boo! From 11 p.m., Friday, October 29 to 5 a.m.,Monday, November 1 there is a ramp closure and detours are in effect. The Nicholas exit of the 417 is closed for repair of the Transitway overpass. The city advises drivers to use either the Vanier Parkway exit or Metcalfe Street exit.

If the Vanier Parkway exit is better for you I would take it to St Patrick Street which will lead you straight into the Byward Market. The other option is to turn left onto Montreal Road where it crosses Vanier and follow that through Rideau Street turning right on Dalhousie into the Market.

If you're taking the Metcalfe exit (which is exit 119 Metcalfe /Catherine) you'll follow Metcalfe to the right and then the left around the Museum of Natural History then continue right on Metcalfe all the way down to Wellington. Turn left at Sussex Drive then right into the Market.

As far as the parking situation goes, as of 11 am this morning Saturday October 30, from my front door I can see four open spots on Clarence before Parent/Byward Market and a few more on Murray close to Sussex. From the back door across the Jeanne D'Arc Courtyard there are quite a few open spots (10+) on York Street. And as always there is city parking available. Follow this link for a map to the city's interactive traffic map.

The surprise sale ends on Monday!

It's almost over! Our surprise sale ends on Monday October 25th.

Our "surprise sale" is winding down and we're running out of sale stuff but you still have the weekend to take advantage of some great deals.

We have some beautiful Amenity duvet covers, pillows and prints at 30%off. For the first time ever Talesma waffle towels and Archipelago's pomegranate bath collection are 50% off. There are still a few floor model steals to be had and we've got some very cozy blankets for a very good price.



See you this weekend!

Sale!

We're having a sale!

Oleander for Home is doing an end of season clearance. It will run from today, September 20, until I'm not sure when!

We're clearing selected summer and floor model bedding, our organic towels and bath accents. The amenity collection, bedhead pyjamas, archipelago pomegranate bath products and our talesma waffle towels are also on sale.

As a thank you to our blog readers, mention that you read about the sale on our blog and you'll receive an extra 5% discount on any sale merchandise and a 15% discount on regular price table linens.

See you soon!

Folding a Fitted Sheet

It's been ages since I did a tips and tricks post, so here goes. I'm using a king size fitted sheet with shower cap construction (elastic all the way around) to illustrate. After laundering (cold water with mild detergent and low dryer until just dry) remove from the dryer promptly and shake out the sheet over a large flat surface and fold as follows.

1. Place your hand into the pocket of the sheet with the underside of the seam facing out.
2. Bring the next corner on the short side of the sheet, the width of it, to the inside out pocket on your hand so that they are one over the other with the underside seams together. You should be looking at the good side of the sheet.
3. Repeat with the remaining corners so that all four corners are folded into one. Place on a flat surface and smooth until the edges sit as flat as possible. Don't worry if you find yourself pulling the elastic quite far into the the middle of the sheet. Smooth flat.4. Fold the side with the longest of the two elastic edges into the middle of the sheet. Smooth flat.
5. Fold the opposite side into the middle so that the two edges meet in the centre of the sheet. Smooth flat.

6. Fold in half lengthwise. Smooth flat.7. Most of the elastic is now in the top end of the length of sheet. Fold the top third of the sheet into the middle. Smooth flat.

8. Fold the bottom third over the rest of the folded sheet. Smooth flat.

That's it!

The Winner Is . . .

Kelley is the winner of the Oleander for Home + ecochick Giveaway. She has been notified by e-mail and will soon be enjoying her bucket of lovely Ginger Pomelo goodness.

Thank you to every one who participated and I promise (yet again) that the powers of our mailing list will only be used for good and never evil. I'll keep the mailouts relevant, exciting and worth the time you'll spend reading them.

A big thanks to the fabulous ecochick for coordinating the giveaway. Keep reading her blog! She's informative, funny and likes to give stuff away!

This picture is a dramatic re-enactment of the very low tech, old school style draw we did to pick our winner.

Thanks again!

Oleander + Ecochick = Giveaway!

For my first ever giveaway I'm going to send you the fantastic eco-friendly shopping blog that my friend ecochick writes. In her own words "ecochick is a consumer who's tired of "environmentally friendly" really meaning "expensive, inconvenient and ugly". It's time to make living green mainstream, fun, fresh and cool. Here you will find the latest in trendy, stylish fashion, beauty, home and more - all with the lovely aura of green." All that and she is awesome with the giveaways too! So when Caldrea sent me a bucket of Ginger Pomelo goodness I knew who to call to help me give it away.

Head over to www.ecochick.ca for all the details!

Edited to add: Today (April 9 2010) is the last day to sign up to be eligible for the giveaway. Do it! You could win!

Easter Holiday Hours

With a beautiful forecast for the holiday weekend and lots of great new arrivals in the store I'm looking forward to seeing lots of happy people in the Byward Market this weekend. I'll be open the following hours:

Friday April 2 12-5
Saturday April 3 10-6
Sunday April 4 12-4
Monday April 5 10-6

Now, I've said that I'll be closed on Sunday, but if it's crazy nice out and the Market has been busy on the Friday and Saturday there's a chance that I'll open for a few hours. It would be best to give me a call (613.789.5999) to see if I'll be there, o.k.?

Edited to change the Sunday hours. It's been crazy busy, mostly due to the unbelievable weather we've had, so Oleander will be open from 12-4 on Easter Sunday.

News and White Sale!

Things have been a little hectic around here lately. A few posts ago I wrote about the damage the store sustained due to flooding and that we would be undergoing a bit of renovation to repair the floor. Well, I've been in a bit of a holding pattern since then as the repairs and work all needed to be approved by my insurance company and then co-ordinated and scheduled by the contractor. That has taken a lot longer than I expected it to. I had been hoping that the work would be done late January or early February in order that I could still start my annual White Sale on the usual February 15th start date. Not so much. So without any idea of when the repairs would begin I put off the sale until the 22nd, started it without as much fanfare as it usually gets and hoped for the best. For better or worse, I'm not completely sure which, I got an e-mail just a few days ago letting me know that the repairs would begin after hours on the 8th of March. I'm optimistic and hopeful that Oleander will remain open and relatively normal during store hours and that the replacement of the damaged sections of my wood floor with shiny new tile will go quickly and without problems. Hey, I said hopeful and optimistic didn't I? I'm going to hold on to that!

In the meantime, the White Sale has been on for thirteen days and there are lots of great deals to be had until the 23rd of March or I run out of stuff! My beloved Organika towels have been discontinued by the manufacturer and I have all my remaining stock at 50% off. I've also decided to move away from the OhSo Soft bamboo rayon/cotton towels and robes to something new so the last of my stock in that line is also 50% off. I have some great bedding by Revelle at fantastic clearance prices, they have discontinued a number of collections and as always I'm passing on the huge discounts to you. I am letting go of floor model bedding by Bella Notte, Alexandre Turpault and a few Canadian manufacturer at discounts between 15% and 30%. I have a few Bedhead flannel robes, one pair of flannel pj's and a great little cotton gown all at half price. Half price Beadhead! There are also sales on Talesma Turkish waffle and waffle/terry towels and robes, White Moss and 1869 by Acca Kappa, throw blankets, accent cushions and Brome Lake duvets.

Trade Show Talk

Over the last month or so I was able to get to four shows, two of which were new to me. First up, I hit Dallas for Dallas Market, which is a medium sized show with lots of large permanent showrooms and a few temporary booths, but unfortunately without much interesting product for me. I was able to see one of Bella Notte's big showrooms, which was really quite nice. Usually I see new collections from Bella at a small booth New York or when my rep comes to visit with samples, so it was really great to see a big room with many beds dressed in the new fabrics and colours. I took a couple of ideas from there that you'll see on my floor later this spring and summer.

The next stop was at the California Gift Show in Los Angeles. This show was unfortunately another slight disappointment. It was a very small show with only one or two interesting stops for me. One of them was highlighting Italian made organic bedding by Muse. It is really quite pretty, beautifully made and at a reasonable price point, but it's a new-ish collection that I think needs a bit of time to fill out a little before I make a decision to bring it to the floor. One of the highlights of the LA trip was a quick visit to the Amenity workshop. I've been dealing with those talented women for years so it was a real pleasure to get to meet them and get a sneak peak of their new spring patterns. I'll have lots of the new duvet covers and cushions on the floor by the middle to end of March.

After a few days back at the store I was off to the CGTA in Toronto. This show is where I check in with almost all of my Canadian suppliers to see what's new and what's changed. This time out I picked up a pretty printed sateen collection from St Geneve, two new patterns from Revelle and a great new pattern by a French company called Essix. I can't wait for it to start arriving!

After just a day and a half in Toronto, I was off to the NYIGF in New York. This show has been the place to find the newest of the new, and some of the most exciting things I bring into to the store. The last few seasons, given the economic situation in the US, the New York show has been a little unpredictable and occasionally disappointing. Vendors have been scaling back their collections and sticking to safe colours, some manufacturers have been downsizing their booths and others not going to the show at all. In August last year I was only able to find one new company - Alexandre Turpault, and had a bit of a difficult time filling the days I had allotted to spend at the show, so I went into this seasons trip thinking that it would be more of the same. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. This show was one of the best I've ever been to. Due to the down scaling of the larger manufacturers there were many new companies presenting collections. There were tiny little vendors, some of them more artisans than manufacturers, introducing collections for the first time and small scale manufacturers showing three times as much as they had in the past. It was amazing. I bought more new product this season than I have in a long time and I am very excited about all of it. I have gorgeous organic robes and gowns on the way, hand loomed organic Turkish towels and linen bath towels arriving this spring! New collections from some of the old favourites were also very strong and I'm really looking forward to the fuchsia Onam bedding I bought from Alexandre Turpault.

It will be a hugely colourful spring and summer at Oleander for Home. I can't wait!

Store News

Yesterday morning, Monday the fourth of January, I came in to find a bit of a mess. The store has taken a bit of water damage from what our insurance company is calling an "unexpected plumbing failure" from the condo unit above us. The damage is limited to one part of the store, and while we lost some inventory and will have to do some restoration or replacement of the floor in the area, we are still open for business as usual. Even though we're a little disheveled, you're more than welcome to come in and shop, browse or even just pop in to say hi.

On a more pleasant note, it's nearing show season, so I'm getting ready to do a bit of traveling. This month I'm going to be heading to Dallas and Los Angeles to visit shows that are totally new to me. I'm hoping to find some smaller companies offering new and exciting collections that aren't currently available in Canada. Also, I'm planning on doing a little trend spotting in LA. (Trend spotting = shopping. Yay!) It will also be really nice to get out of the snow for a few days. Come February, I'm back to the shows I always go to, Toronto and New York. At those ones I'll be looking at the new lines from companies I already work with as well as looking for some new hidden gems.

At the shows, I'm expecting to see a lot of purples, greys and dove colours. I would like to see some rich reds as lots of clients are asking for them, but I'm not really optimistic about it. Is there anything you are really hoping to see in store for spring/summer?