garbage can be pretty!

look at this way cool ice bucket ... now sure, you could go ahead and use it for ice and why not? its adorable.

but we also think it would be totally fun to put it in a powder room for your wastebasket ... and the cover would be practical too! this is what we mean by reimagining everyday items with a twist.

Design Consultation

We've told you about our furniture refurbishing services and how much we love custom projects. We've set up affordable options for our customers, like layaway, to help make your vision reality.

Did you know we also offer décor consultation? Ever feel like you have all the right pieces but just can't get your décor "puzzle" to come together? Well, you'd be surprised how much you can learn with just an hour or two of advice from Johnelle, our design specialist (and proprietaire!).

For a reasonable hourly fee, Johnelle will make a personal visit to your home to review the space you're seeking help with. She can advise on a range of subjects ... including color, room layout, lighting, what to do about that 'questionable' chair ... :-)

She'll leave you with a list of actionable ideas. Steps you can take yourself and ideas that we are available to help with, if you choose to have our support. Our ongoing design services include refurbishing existing furniture, painting, selecting fabric and arranging reupholstery with our talented partners, rearranging room pieces, identifying missing or new furniture pieces to complete/augment your room and scouting them out for your review and purchase.

We have a number of satisfied clients and would love to add you to that list! Call or email us to find our more ... or to pose your design question.

Spring Merchandising Interns!

Mignonne has extended our commitment to local artists to include creating opportunities for young aspiring artists to demonstrate their creativity and gain experience in décor merchandising. We have a rotating, 3-month internship program for design and art students in our local community.

For spring, we have two interns joining our team.

We'd like to introduce the first participant, Laura Evans. Laura is 26 years old and graduated from Oakland's Mills College with a BA in Music. A bay area native who lives in Oakland, she has a knack for design and wanted an experience to expand her portfolio. We are delighted to have her on board and she has already been an immense help to the shop.

Laura recently completed the latest display window design and interior merchandising displays, pictured here. The design incorporates colors and elements that are fresh trends in this year's spring décor.

If you know of a local artist or student in the area that would be interestested in our program, have them contact us at Mignonne (contact details in our blog header).

Check back soon to meet our second participant!

Tonight ~ Art Opening and Sale at Mignonne!

Join us tonight from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for a wine reception celebrating NEW work by this month's featured artist. Tonight's reception is in conjunction with Oakland's Art Murmur ... so plan for a great evening in one of Oakland's hottest neighborhoods.

Take advantage of our Huge Store Sale while you're here. See you there!

23 Months: Stories of the Street

Valerie J. Cochran

yourwaitress.com

Mignonne Featured Artist ~ Valerie J. Cochran

Mignonne is pleased to introduce our latest featured local artist! Valerie J. Cochran grew up in Missouri and arrived in the Bay Area on January 1, 2001. She currently lives and works in Oakland. Valerie has been shooting photography since she was a young girl and began with Polaroids of her family. She took her first photography class at the age of 15 and studied for a few years at the Savannah College of Art and Design although she did not obtain a formal degree.

In 2004, Valerie began her photoblog, YourWaitress.com. Her return to photography was documented in the early days of the website which has become a home to her now usual suspects of street photography and portraiture. Valerie's images today explore the relationship between people and places in the urban landscape. She shoots only film photography with various 35mm, disposable, and toy cameras.

Valerie's photographs have appeared in print publications such as JPG magazine and PhotoJournal Southwest. Her work has been featured in numerous other publications online including the BBC, Photoblogs Magazine, FILE magazine, Flak Photo, Filmwasters.com, and SFist. In February of 2007, she self-published her first photography book collection, your waitress | 2004-2005.

Valerie's work will be featured in our next Oakland Art Murmur late night reception.

Open Late Friday night in conjunction with Oakland's Art Murmur

Mignonne extends our hours until 9:00 p.m. Friday, September 5th, in conjunction with Oakland's Art Murmur.

The murmur is a group of galleries in Oakland which have openings the first Friday of every month, offering a tour, and because Mignonne shows work by local artists on a rotating basis we are a part of the "scene".

This month's late night reception will feature our two local artists, Diana Blackwell and Paige Camerino. We are excited to host these two powerful women artists.

Stop by for a glass of wine and peruse their work.  

Oakland's Art Murmur makes for a great Friday night, follow the tour and end up in Old Oakland's gourmet ghetto where you can enjoy a great meal, cocktails, and even the later evening party scene!

See you there!

Mignonne's New Featured Artists

For our next round of featured artwork, we wanted to offer affordable original work by strong female artists. We are lucky to host two local artists that fit the description. We'd like to introduce them to you now:

Diana Blackwell

Dahling

Diana Blackwell makes monoprints and monoprint collages with bright colors and a whimsical flavor, often depicting ladies and flowers. In addition, Blackwell does drawings, acrylic paintings, woodcuts and linocuts, collage, paper mache, and digital photography (see www.flickr.com/diana_blackwell/).

Blackwell's work has no typical style and expresses no particular vision. Her work ranges from obscene underground cartoons to devotional Christian paintings, and from non-representational formalism to traditional realism. About the only thing her works all share is an avoidance of impasto.

Blackwell has had a little formal art instruction but is mostly self-taught. She works as a figurative art model and publicist with the Bay Area Models Guild. She lives in Berkeley with her husband and two cats.

We find Diana's work evokes a sense of the strong female spirit with an ethereal aesthetic.

Paige Camerino

Coco Chanel

Paige Camerino is an emerging local bay area artist. Note her artist's statement below:

"I am a self-taught artist aspiring to be a linguist. Born in the South Bay, and raised in the Easy Bay, people watching, jazz, and the extremities of life have greatly inspired my work long since the days of my tender infancy. I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. I would sit cross-legged before a stack of scrap-pieces of paper on top of this tiny-haggard coffee table, and I would literally draw for hours at a time. Like Mignonne and its two owners, I have submitted myself completely to the francophile community. I am studying French in school, and I plan to one day live there. I am however open to more than just France, and as as an absolute linguaphile, I plan to one day expand my horizons and exercise the modest albeit growing knowledge I have of other languages. My goal is the learn as many languages as I possibly can and utilizing them in all of the world's 195 countries, leaving behind meaningful traces in my name. Watch out for my flags on mountaintops, world!"

We loved the youthful exuberance of Paige's art and were excited to share it with the Mignonne community!

Both artists will be featured in a Friday night late hours reception during the upcoming Oakland Art Murmur. As a gentle reminder, the Oakland Art Murmur event features a group of galleries and boutiques in Oakland that have openings every first Friday of the month.

We are proud to feature the original works of these artists at affordable prices that make owning an original piece attainable for our customers. Feel free to stop by the shop, or use our blog contact feature to get more information.

Mignonne Reception during Art Murmur

Mignonne now stays open late the first Friday of each month in recognition of Oakland's art event, the "Art Murmur".  A group of galleries in Oakland have openings, and because Mignonne shows work by local artists on a rotating basis we felt it appropriate to become a part of the "scene".

The first Friday of the month is a perfect time to plan a night out in Oakland ... Stroll over to Mignonne, have a glass of wine and check out the collections by this month's local artists.  Take the art walk tour and end up with a delicious dinner at one of the great Old Oakland restaurants. 

Appreciating art is a great outlet for keeping us sane, inspired and motivated in today's frenzied world.  Oakland is overflowing with creative and inspiring individuals.  

Nicole Hanshaw and Gary Comoglio, our featured artists, are two of these individuals ... finding time and passion in their lives to create beauty for us to enjoy!

Mignonne will offer wine from 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm, along with some beautiful original works of art, on Friday June 6th.  See you there!