Last week we had the privilege of taking over Ashevillefolk's instagram account. The takeover consists of giving people an idea of our day to day routine and to introduce locals (or soon to be) to our favorite artists/businesses in town. Enjoy :)
"We are so excited to have Megan and Todd of @atomic_furnishing taking over the account this week! These two are the creative geniuses behind Atomic Furnishing and Design here in Asheville. They sell mid century, rustic and modern furniture out of their shop on Patton Ave. Throughout the week they are on the road looking for furniture, refinishing or upholstering in their shop, photographing and staging their items or spending time fixing up their new home. They love being a part of this local based community and are happy to support and encourage others to pursue their dreams. Photo by @sarajanecase" -Ashevillefolk
This is one of our favorite photos of our shop on Patton Ave. It's hard to believe that we started our mid century furniture business out of our small cabin in Hendersonville and now we have this beautiful space to sell and create. We owe our success to our faith that it will all work out, limitless persistence, and for living in a place like Asheville that cultivates and encourages small businesses. (All of these items have sold but we will be posting photos our current inventory soon)
One of the best parts of owning a small business is being able to act as a platform for catalyzing other creative and inspiring people. Felipe Santander, is a very talented architect and permaculture designer from Chile but he also loves to paint. We first collaborated on a design project where I needed several custom pieces. We were so impressed by his work that we now sell them out of our shop (and have several pieces in our own home) :)
@the_modern_artist
Oh Homegrown! How we love you. From your amazing staff that greet you the second you walk in the door, to your locally sourced comfort food that always pleases the palate. We don’t have a lot of time to cook and it’s nice to know that we are fueling our bodies well when we dine here. Thank you homegrown, we are so grateful for businesses like you! @homegrownavl
Project days are something we look forward to after spending hours upon hours on the road buying new inventory. We are able to stretch our legs and put to motion all the ideas we discussed during our most recent road trip. We gain a lot of satisfaction from starting and completing projects. This purple heart wrought iron dining set is one of those projects we are particularly proud of as it turned out even better than we had imagined :)
Mornings are the most sacred part of our day. I tend to wake up before Todd so I tip toe around while I put on the tea kettle, greet each of our 3 dogs and cat with a kiss and water our extensive amount of indoor and outdoor plants. It’s this time that everything feels possible. I believe that everyone is creative in someway. I also know from personal experience that it can be challenging to harness it and make it come to fruition. Creating a home environment where you feel inspired when you wake up really helps, as that good feeling continues throughout the day.
Asheville is home to many people that are choosing to do what they love to do regardless of the sacrifice. Evan Chender from The Culinary Garden, solely tends an 8,000 sq ft garden, 5 days a week, rain or shine. He gave us the full tour today where we weaved back and forth through the trails while tasting all of the vegetables that had ripened. If I had to choose a favorite plant during our walk through it would be the fennel flower for it’s beauty and aroma. Follow him on instagram to see how his garden changes from season to season. @theculinarygardener
It’s important for you all to know that even though we are living our dream it’s been quite the challenge to be where we are today. I left a well paying service industry job for a dream that was only a notion in our heads. We were completely broke living out past Hendersonville in a rustic cabin because we couldn’t afford to live in Asheville at the time. We sold all of the furniture you see in this photo to start atomic. We would pay a bill, take what was left of any money and invest it into a piece of furniture. I never considered myself a risk taker in the past and I had to overcome a lot of fear. The reason I am telling you this is because I want to encourage all of you to ask yourself, what is your passion? If you really want to make your passion a career then it’s time to put all of the excuses aside and start living it. Todd always says “Where you put your labor is where you get your fruit”. Life still isn’t easy for us but it is incredibly rewarding and satisfying.
Since we moved the shop to West Asheville we dine at King Daddy’s quite often. We love their mid century, rustic and industrial vibe. The reclaimed barn wood accent wall is the first thing my eye goes towards then it floats down to see the metal bar and lastly to the mid century inspired chairs. As for the food, we tend to eat here late at night (they are open until 10 and 11). Most people know them for their chicken and waffles but I always get the salad with a beet burger patty on top because it is SO delicious and Todd orders the wings! But really, you can’t go wrong at King Daddy’s :) @kingdaddys
After a year of working 12 + hour days 7 days a week, Todd and I decided it was time to reward ourselves with a little fun. I also know our families were becoming seriously concerned about our sanity because we didn’t have time for any other outlet besides atomic. We both love being on the water so we purchased these paddle boards in the hopes that we would make a little more time for us. The moment I stepped on my board I teared up with joy and laughed uncontrollably. I felt free from all of the heavy burdens of owning a business. I glanced over at Todd, while trying to gain my balance and thought about how life doesn’t get much sweeter than rewarding yourself with something that gives you space to breathe. Wherever you are in your life don’t forget to disconnect from this busy world every now to do something for YOU.
My favorite nearby places to paddle board are Lake Lure and Beaver Lake (oh and these trailers are not for sale nor are they mine ;) )
We are so honored to have been asked to takeover Ashevillefolk this past week. Asheville embraces a healthy sense of living in the present moment while still reflecting and being thankful for your many blessings. We are so grateful for every person that has given us guidance on our journey, for the strength we found to pull ourselves back up from every hard lesson learned and for living in this amazing community that supports local creativity. We drive the surrounding states weekly and we have yet to find a place we like better than Asheville.
For those of you visiting here we welcome you to our little slice of heaven! We hope you leave with a nourished belly, a pep in your step from one of the many superb coffee shops and a lighter feeling in your heart from a conversation with one of our friendly locals.
If you love mid century furniture as much as we do, continue to follow us over at @atomic_furnishing -Megan & Todd