Summer Show at BRIMFIELD

OH MY GOODNESS!  IT'S BEEN 2 MONTHS SINCE MY LAST POST!  I can't believe it's been that long!  Oh wait....it's me I'm talking about...the GREATEST procrastinator this side of the setting sun!  I warned you in my very 1st post that I'm full of the best intentions...just a little short on the follow through sometimes. 

Well, the summer just got away from me and.... (just watch all the excuses start flying out of my mouth!) .... and.... oh well .... no sense trying to blame anyone but myself!  So sorry about that!

Our last show was in Brimfield Mass.  For a July show, it went pretty well.  We were happy.  A lot of our usual buyers didn't come to the show, but we had a decent retail crowd to take up the slack.  Our field was a little on the empty side...I'm so glad that Jackie & Steve from Bliss Farm were there...we kept each other company!  They are such nice people, and their booth looked amazing!  I'm still kicking myself for not asking if I could take any pics for the blog.  Of course we were both missing our friends from Time Worn Interiors (pleeease come back T&C!!!)  Pat, Bonnie, myself,  & our dog, Abby really missed our good friends & kiddie corner neighbors at New England Motel, Kerry & Carole of Painted Pretty Furniture.  Those girls are so much fun & we were so glad when they stopped by for a visit! 

Here are some pics of our booth at New England Motel in Brimfield.

We bought this sort of broken down painted oak cupboard at an estate sale for $10, added some fencing for the back, and cleaned it up some.  It ended up looking kind of cool, and sure displayed a lot of stuff!

Check out the large, crusty, neon clock in the upper left.  Pat found this piece near the lake.  He loved it, but for some reason, I just couldn't love it.  It ended up being one of the 1st things we sold!  I love it better now!

Some times when I really love a piece (case in point this old anthracite sculpture that I got at auction), I will put a sky high price on it.  With crossed fingers, I will hope that it doesn't sell, so that I can keep it a little while longer.  Well, I got my wish, she didn't sell!  Maybe she'll come to Marburger with me, and maybe she'll just ease herself into my cupboard at home! 

 

We always try to have a long harvest table at Brimfiled.  This time I set the table with fine Limoges china, and had a 36" stainless steel fish steamer center piece filled with nautical items.  I loved the painted blue aluminum oars!

The place mats we used were large glossary pages from an old atlas.

That fish steamer sold fast, so I had to replace it with this super huge chicken feeder base.  This time I mixed in some silverplate with the nautical items.

I love old fishing nets; they're so fun to work with!

We went to a street sale earlier this summer, and weren't having much luck.  Pat & I were having a nice conversation about something or other, and then all of the sudden he was GONE, running full steam ahead of me towards this toy boat!  What a find!!!!  Isn't it a cutie???

We bought a little bitty metal cabinet just before heading to Brimfield.  It was small and a little crummy, but FILLED with these cute tiny drawers - 225 in all!   Our retail crowd just gobbled them up!

I bought this cool fold-up industrial shelf when we got to Brimfield from a guy right in our own field.  It worked great for displaying some bigger items.

Well, that's all for now.  We're getting ready for 3 big shows - Brimfield again the 1st of September, Country Living/Columbus OH, and then right after those shows, the BIG ONE........Marburger................can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't promise, but I hope to blog again before we leave!  Love, Karen

Tea Party

Everyone had a nice time at the Ladies Bible Study tea party at our church last week.  I just love decorating for these little get togethers!  The theme for this spring's tea party was, "All Things Beautiful in His Time", so naturally we used a lot of old clock faces as well as loads of ladyfare sundries, including parasols, ribbons, talc & perfume bottles, ladies gloves, old photos & vintage magazine fashions, handbags, and pretty much anything that I could find!  Here are a few pics.

The next event at church that I'll be decorating is a wedding at the end of June.  I've already got loads of ideas, and can't wait to get started!  See you then!

Pics from BRIMMY

I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to post a few pics from Brimfield!  The minute we got back home we decided to have a yard sale, so I was busy getting ready for that (it's always great cleaning things out of the house, basement & out buildings!)  The yard sale turned out to be a mini antique show!  We had a 10x20 "booth space", plus an 8x8, and the whole driveway was covered with cool barn finds (didn't even know we had some of this stuff!  We kept shopping at our own sale!!)  During the yard sale I heard about a little show coming up on Memorial Day, so we're packing up for that now.  Ahhh the life! 

Anyhoo, here are some pics from our booth space at Brimfield.  We have a 60x20 space at the New England Motel, so we have plenty of space to "play"!  The show was really good for us.  We sold a ton of stuff, but missed our dear friends Tot & CS...it just wasn't the same without them!  Glad to hear they had a good show in Springy!  Okay, picture time.

And there you have it!  Yesterday I helped decorate for a ladies tea party at my church.  I took some pics of it after I was done.  I'll try to get those posted to you in a day or two.  C-ya!

Greetings from COUNTRY LIVING AUSTIN!

Hi all!  Well, we're back home from our 2 shows in Texas.  Both were amazing!  I posted some pictures of Marburger earlier, and now before we head to Brimfield Mass, I'm going to add a few pics from our show at the Country Living Fair in Austin.  



We ended up getting 2 booth spaces.  This side of the booth has more neutrals...



...and on this side we had mostly primitives with American Flags.



We were able to hang tons of signs on the outer walls of our neutral booth.

I actually bought the dress form when we 1st arrived at the
Country Living Show.  Loved it!  The "School" sign is heavy
cast iron.  Very cool.  Sold fast!  Pat made the chalkboard
door.  Also sold fast!

Vintage luggage with some of my folded books.

Pat made this door with a metal panel for my magnets.





I love this display shelf...it holds so many goodies!

I bought this dress form, too, from the same dealer.
It was just what I needed for my vintage flag pins.

Here's a close up pic of the flag side of our booth.

Another pic from the flag side.  We hung a cool metal awning above the
vintage signs.  It was the very last thing that we sold!

That's all for now.  We'll be leaving for Brimfield the day after tomorrow, so I better get busy!

When we get back, I'll post some pics for you.   Over and out!

more pics from MARBURGER!

Hi again!  Thought I'd get the rest of these pics posted this morning before I got busy with something else.  What a fabulous show, the Lord really blessed us, and pretty much everyone I talked to had a great show as well.  I love Marburger because there are so many amazingly talented people there.  The displays are incredible!  We are always so inspired when we're there!  We've learned so much since we started setting up at this show, and can't wait to head back down in the fall!  Here are a few more pics of our booth space. 

This is our booth space right of center.  The wooden folding table in front is 12 feet long!

  

We had 2 massive books opened up on both ends of our long table with antique wooden dumbbells displayed on top.



In this corner we had a primitive cupboard with a set of vintage Amelia Earhart suitcases stacked on top.



One of our favorite pieces was this large 1860's oil on canvas.  The story behind it goes that it was painted by Abraham Lincoln's niece while he was in office.  Who knows, right?  It's still available for sale, so if it's something you're interested in, let me know!  (Thanks again to K.R.T. for your help!)

You can see the top of the gazebo Patrick made in the oval mirror. 

It looked like a crown - loved it!

  

Small Bibles stacked in front of a cast iron church candle holder.

 The lovely Rachel Ashwell bought this 3 drawer dresser with old blue paint.

Another piece that I loved at home for a while until the show was this sweet statue.  Pat made the base out of an old cast iron burner & the dome fit perfectly on it.

 Check out this super cool counter & tractor seat stool set that Pat made from more repurposed materials.  Can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

Well, that's all for now.  Our next show is the Country Living Fair in Austin TX at the end of this month - Friday April 27th through Sunday April 29th.   It should be a lot of fun.  We've done the Country Living Shows in both Ohio & Atlanta Ga, and they're fantastic!  I'll take lots of pics for you there, but  if you can, try to come - you'll really enjoy yourself!  You'll get to meet the editor of Country Living Magazine, Sarah Grey Miller (she's so nice!), and I know Cari Cucksey (from HGTV Cash & Cari) has a booth full of cool stuff & she will be a guest  speaker.  There's tons of fabulous demonstrations, and amazing food!  Of course there will be loads of antiques for sale (come see us at South Porch Antiques!), artisans & craft booths.  It's an event!  Can you tell I'm excited???  Can't wait!