Hats Off to The Vintage Bazaar!

I had the opportunity to visit this past weekend’s Vintage Bazaar with the adorable Lisa from RitaJosVintage. The owners of the gorgeous Pettengill Farm

in Salisbury, Ma and the organizer of this event, the amazing Devon Allen of My Bazaar Life deserve kudos for once again staging such a fun, inspiring experience for shoppers, crafters and vintage vendors. This year’s Bazaar was bigger than ever, featuring some old-oh, hello, Fish in the Garden

and many new faces. Like this gorgeous black Chevy truck-NFS but oh, so dreamy…

We arrived late due to a previous engagement (Happy 30th Birthday Lindsey!), so we moved through the rows of tents with some urgency, stopping to snap some pics (have you ever seen such a funky fabulous chicken?!)

chat with fellow vintage fanatics and purchase unique items (well, not me, but Lisa kept disappearing and re-appearing with bags : ) She found these super cool croquet ball candle holders

at The Flea Circus…a whimsical design shop. And that it was. The bright primary colors caught my eye, as did the retro childhood school furniture.

Since there is no way to list every vendor (there were 125+!), here are a few favorites we found (sort of going row by row, but we made a couple of detours so…)like these adorable Junkyard Dogs from ArtHead Studio.

I love when artisans take something of no apparent worth and re-imagine it into something fanciful and functional. How many days do I feel like this?!?

Too many to mention!! Next up was Laceypots, from Portland, Maine with a collection of original, hand-painted, yummy colored pots and dishware.

Around the corner was Backroads to Oz-“home decor from the past for the present”

featuring hand crafted furniture and accessories fashioned from old wood and metals. Pretty colors, pretty awesome stuff! The bazaar is split into two fields, so we headed down the path to the Strawberry Fields Forever, only to find Cari Cucksey from HGTV’s Cash and Cari

in the middle of her RePurpose Shop!

Despite the blazingly hot temps and the fact that she had been there all day, she was so gracious, chatting and answering our many questions about her show, how she got started in the re-purposing business and what she was doing way out here in Massachusetts, which is far from her Michigan home! Loving this pink trunk in her shop, and I am fairly certain I actually had that little Mexican painted chair as a kid (hmm, wonder where she got that…)

Could have stayed there for hours to pick her brain about pickin’ and junkin’, but time was awastin’, so we headed on over to see Bettie B., this awesome vintage trailer featuring goods from Log Cabin Antiques and

Lynn Kells Antiques and Vintage Treasures… How perfectly styled is this interior space?

Bettie’s already sold, but Lyn and Lynn are working on a second trailer they just acquired-might need to take a ride to New Hampshire to check it out! This stunning floorcloth by Addie Peet from AP Floorcloth Design in Winterport Maine is “functional-practical-durable” and expertly hand-crafted by the artist.

Lisa made another purchase- this time some upcycled vintage jewelry, from the combined tent of juNxtaposition, who fashions vintage pendants from old typewriter keys

and bel monili, featuring these lovely collage necklaces.

Whenever I am blogging about markets and fairs, I am always on the lookout for unusual or unique items that I haven’t seen before.  These personalized signs by ginger blue too were created with sliced license plates-genius!

Imagine the fun you could have creating your own. Of course, you can’t actually use it as a license plate…or could you?

One of the new shops I featured in my before-fair post was Heja Home, whose owners Heather and Jason Rosfeld were super excited to share information about their fledgling company whose name means “to cheer”. And that we did when we spotted this fabulous American Eagle bench. Coach, if you are reading this I will say that

 I would have snapped it up in a heartbeat, if only I had sold my own bench at the Vintage Thymes Market : ( And finally, our last stop at the row of retro furnished trailers by Vintage Maine Vacations. If you are looking for an amazing Maine getaway at an affordable price, you need to check this out!

You book the trailer of your dreams and the owner, Patrice Leary-Forrey will drive it to you-as long as you’re no more than 125 miles from Portland, Maine! You spend the week under the red striped canopy, just resting and relaxing or exploring the sights of Maine,

then she returns to pick it up. Can’t imagine an easier way to book your summer rental!  So once the day was done, and the tents were buttoned up for the evening, we were invited to the after-hours vendor reception featuring a gourmet food spread, icy cold beer and wine and a vintage hat contest!

The winner was to receive free rental for their fall booth in September. Now, I am not sure who actually won, but my money was on this lovely lady’s stunning vintage rocking chair hat. So hat’s off to all that made this bazaar such a special event. And if you didn’t make it to the fair this time, we’ll see you in September! Susan