The post that starts out odd and just keeps going

Today was one of those days where I stopped what I was doing just long enough to notice how weird it was.

There was an endless line of little vintage folks waiting to get their picture taken for my etsy shop.

I felt like the school photographer.

Here comes Mrs. Peep's class.

Followed by Mr. Gurley's group for their class portrait.

I can only imagine what the yearbook might look like.

In unrelated and hopefully less odd news, I brought home this little piece of furniture that was tagged a 'barber's cabinet.'

Er - maybe it's from back when barbers performed surgery because there are all kinds of unidentified 'stuff' splashed on the outside of it.

Yeah, I know.

Ew.

Thankfully, it's coming clean without too much effort. I heart rubber gloves.

Just wondering what this drawer might have been used for? I have several terrible ideas but I'm going to call it the 'barber's hair bin' for now so I can sleep at night.

Sweet dreams.

Vintage Summer Vacation

Thank you for all of your tips on my post about selling at a vintage market!

I jumped in and signed up for my first vintage market, A Vintage Gathering, in Battle Ground, WA on July 30th.

Of course, I was thinking of you when I chose a vintage market that’s several months from now because I want you to have plenty of time to purchase plane tickets or save up for a tank of gas (only kind of funny, isn’t it?) or do whatever needs to get done so you can come out and shop!

 And here’s a little gas-saving bonus – the boys of Barn House are also holding their sale on July 30th and they’re just four miles from A Vintage Gathering! (with lots of yard sales inbetween)

I’ll wait while you write this down on your calendar.

Of course, I immediately went to one of my favorite antique malls for some research and development.

{ click to enlarge }

If you look closely at the photo below, you’ll see me in a moment of deep concentration.  

And here’s a little inspiration from A Thing For Roses’s space at Monticello Antique Marketplace. 

Thanks Lisa!

 

Lisa will be a vendor at Barn House on July 30th as well as Farm Chicks the first weekend of June.

 

Now I’m just crossing my fingers some great vintage stuff will come my way.

P.S. If you’re interested in selling at one of A Vintage Gathering’s events, send me an email and I’ll provide contact info for you. Have a great week!

Sometimes I still sew

From where I sit at my computer in the doily factory, I look straight into the lonely eye of the vintage fabric cabinet.

 And those neglected, folded heaps of vintage fabric remind me that my sewing lately has been, um, not so much. 

I’ll blame it on tax time, or as I like to call it, The Oppression of All Creative Urges.

Not to mention this dismal, cold & rainy ‘Spring’ weather in my neck of the woods. 

Not inspiring. At all.

But this inspires me!

 At last! The first pillow of Spring appears

 Fabric flowers will have to do for now until it’s warm enough for the real deal.

And thank you for your helpful comments on my last post about selling at a vintage show – I appreciate it so much! I’ll have an update to share soon.  

Show me

I had a feeling this might happen.

While researching upcoming vintage markets & shows for my other blog, Vintage Market Guide, I come across information about so many amazing vintage sales & beautiful dealer spaces that now …

I think I want to sell at some vintage shows this year. 

I think.

I know I have the inventory. It’s hanging out in The Garage Where Cars Can’t Park.

And with yard sale season starting up, I suspect I’m going to see/bring home even more things and, well, we know how that’s going to go.

Or rather, where it’s going to go.

The Garage Where Cars Can’t Park is one chippy chair away from becoming The Garage Where Amy Was Last Seen Before She Disappeared Under a Pile of Vintage Everything.

So I think I’d like to (some people who have to park outside might even say I need to) sell at a vintage market.

I’d love to know more about your experiences with this (as a buyer or a seller) and any advice would be greatly appreciated.  

P.S. If anyone is looking for a hitchhiker or sherpa to take to Farm Chicks for some research & development, you know where to find me. :-)

The right place at the wrong time

Note to self: Today is Saturday. 

 

 Despite the fact I drove 30 miles in order to accidentally show up at an estate sale on the wrong day, the Nicest Woman Ever who was organizing the sale (which, for buyers who pay attention to the world around them, not to mention the fine print in the classified ads, was to start the following day)

invited me in to shop.

I know!  

Proof that the early bird does indeed get the vintage bird books.

 She was selling her parents' belongings and we got to chatting about how difficult that process can be and before I knew it, I had accumulated a small mountain of things to buy.

 The mountain of things all had 25 cent price tags with two exceptions: The 6’ vintage aluminum Christmas tree and the cardboard box filled with an entire farmer’s market of vintage chalkware fruit & vegetables.

The Christmas tree and box of fruit were $3 each.

There’s more I haven’t brought in from the car yet – some vintage suitcases, canning jars, polka dot Pyrex … I'd like to interpret this turn of events as a sign from the universe about the thrifting potential in 2011.

Thank you, Nicest Woman Ever.  Hope your estate sale went really well!

Junkin' road trip pros and cons

Sadly, this is not a photo of the World's Best Salvation Army store. 

This sign was hanging in the Coburg Antique Mall in Coburg, OR

+ On the plus side +

+ Shopped the Sacramento Antique Faire and really liked it. Not too big, not too small. Great mix of antiques, vintage, mid century, shabby, mantiques and junk.

+ Met a dealer whose shop is also called Vintage Home.
(I know!)
 

  My favorite kind of junkin' jumble. Saw this at Antique Cottage & Garden in Shasta Lake, CA

+ Stopped at some antique shops along the highway that I’ve always wondered about.

+ The weather, at times.

---------------------------------------------

- On the minus side -

—  Didn’t go to the Candlestick Park Antiques Faire.
 (last minute change of plans) 

— Didn’t buy nearly as much as I would have thought.

— Should have taken a lot more photos*. A lot. 

— The weather, at times. 

— *New camera. We took a time-out around Day 4.
We made up on Day 6.

I had a lot of fun browsing even though I didn’t bring home as many things (to resell later) as I had hoped I might – plenty of little things but no *major* score/s.

I was fully prepared (hoping!) to drive home Beverly-Hillbillies-style with rusty, chippy stuff strapped to the roof of my car or better yet, pulling a packed U-haul, but it didn’t work out that way.

However, being the optimist that I am, I would do it all again and hope I can. Next time…

Back in the Doily Factory

 Home at last.

The past two weeks on the road flew by for me. In addition to thrifting, antiquing & junking, I spent a lot of time visiting much-missed family, friends and their adorable offspring. I stayed in two hotels and five different homes. I slept in a guest room, an office and a cabana.

Ashland Springs Hotel in Ashland, OR

I ate a lot of ice cream. (Vacation = Validation)

The weather went from sunny and warm to rainy and cold. I wish I had a vintage tablecloth for every Californian who learned I was from Oregon and then asked me if I brought the weather with me.  

Would you like some tires with your dirt bike?

I shopped in over thirty antique and thrift stores. I went to one terrific estate sale, one disappointing barn sale and one ‘indoor yard sale.’ Actually, I never made it inside the indoor yard sale – my internal personal safety barometer started sounding the alarm and I decided to skip it.

And along the way I met many others who are also into vintage.

{ click to enlarge }

I managed to return with a modest amount of treasures mixed with an abundance of experiences.  

It’s good to be home.