Vintage Flair on the Farm

Weekends around here are typically saved for yard work, house cleaning, reno projects and getting together with family and friends. Weekends are also earmarked for yard and estate sale-ing, trash to treasure hunting and attending an occasional country fair or arts festival. This past Saturday and Sunday, The Vintage Bazaar hosted ‘The Summer Bazaar and Music Festival” at Pettengill Farm in Salisbury, MA. Featuring local live musicians, food and over 125 vendors from 11 states, this fair was billed as “an inspiring experience for all the senses”, and it delivered on all points. Although we did not partake of the amazing variety of foods, the music was folksy and fun, but the star of the show was the variety of vintage vendors. Wandering through the gardens with rows of tents filled with antiques, collectibles, and loads of salvaged and upcycled furniture and household items, it was clear that everything old is absolutely new again.

Searching for unique and unusual, here are a few of my personal favorites:

Jwrobel, where we discovered these pillows created from old, threadbare wool carpets. To that end, the artist “sources her materials to be organic, fair trade, recycled, vintage, and/or re-purposed”. Where most would have seen junk, Jess, the studio artisan, saw art and stitched these timeless pillows, the perfect complement to any country home decor.

From Garden Guardians came these whimsical characters, born of concrete, created by Valerie McCaffrey of Ballard Street Studios in Portland Maine. These mysterious stone faces are fashioned to add grace and charm to your natural landscape.

“If I Only Had a Heart” sang the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. He would have found his in this amazing shop, “Tin Hearts”, where metal artist Carol Mataruso creates these fanciful dolls from “anything and everything”. “Reborn, with lost objects and a new heart”.  Extraordinary.  

There were loads of booths with all sorts of salvaged, re-purposed, re-painted furniture. The best of the bunch, in my humble opinion, were at the “Vintage Chic Boutique”. Painstakingly hand-painted, distressed and waxed by Kimberley Wilson and Sheila Bussone, using Annie Sloan Chalk Products, these recycled pieces were eye-catchingly colorful and sooo “country pretty”.

Reminiscent of a 30’s flapper dress, this “A Dress Book” was created by artisan Susan Perrine with “fringe” made from hundreds of pieces of childrens books stitched on to silk! I haven’t quite figured out the logistics of wearing this outfit and actually sitting down, but it sure would turn some heads-as it did mine while I was attempting to read the mini pages!

These epic pieces of rusted iron sculpture would be at home guardingany fortress or castle. Larger than life, striking in appearance, handcrafted by Gordon Frost of Rusty Iron Art.

A few vintage vignettes at Eccentrique…

And finally…be still my heart…This perfect little vintage turquoise VW Beetle, re-purposed and morphed into a bug with a rump, this inventive traveling design studio by Holly Gagne Interior Design caught my eye.

Stuffed with pillows that created a vintage vibe, with a sheepskin driver’s seat, and a little pop-up window to sell your wares.

Recycling and re-purposing at its best….and so perfectly country cute!!!

So next time you see a sign pointing the way to an arts fair or bazaar, make it a “Hobbit” to check it out. You never know what you might find!  Susan

PS: Does anyone know where I can find an old VW Beetle, circa 1968?