Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds – Country Design Home

Aug 2, 2013

Flea Market Finds

This past weekend, Coach and I took a trip to the south shore on a flea market discovery mission. Gotta add more pins to my map.

We visited the Raynham Flea Market and the Cranberry Flea Market in Wareham, stopping at a few tag sales along the way. So saddle up, you’re in for a ride!

First stop, the Raynham Flea Market at 480 South St West in Raynham.

This huge market is primarily an indoor flea, with thousands of square feet of space lined with vendors booths, although there are a few “junk”tique sellers,

both indoors and out.

If you are looking to furnish your man cave, this is one stop shopping for you! Wayne’s World Records awaits,

as well as the $1 VHS tapes booth,

baseball mementos

beer signs

vintage liquor bottles

and even some cool liquor bottle lamps.

For the ladies, we have vacuum cleaner repairs,

faux wooden roses

Pretty straw hats

beads, lots of beads,

and a huge selection of cheap curtains and drapes!

For the spiritual among you, I present this paranormal booth

and even a few psychic readers. (I wonder if they could have told me how much money I was going to spend?)

For the outdoorsman, there are fishing poles,

and rain slickers (could have used those at the ballpark the other night…)

Wrapping up in Raynham, on to the Cranberry Indoor Flea in Wareham on 3065 Cranberry Highway, Wareham, about 20 min south.

This was more our style, with upper and lower floors filled with rows of glassware,

interesting antiques (could someone make a lamp out of this?!?)

vintage jewelry

and bric-a-brac (for those of you not familiar with this term, from Wikipedia: “refers to lesser objets d’art forming collections of curios, such as elaborately decorated teacups and small vases, compositions of feathers or wax flowers under glass domes, decorated eggshells, porcelain figurines, painted miniatures or photographs in stand-up frames, and so on.”) Like this little statue of the dancing dude and lady.

Flags for the Fourth…

There were more than a few $1 tables, which I always enjoy, and loads of vintage furniture, art and accessories to choose from.

So, between the tag sales and the flea markets, we came away with quite an array of fabulous finds. Here is my “loot shoot” of the day!

Some of these items will be making their way down to the Vintage Thymes Market, some of them are staying home with me ” ) Speaking of the Vintage Thymes, next Friday, August 9, there will be a one day clearance sale!! So if you were looking for something at the market but were hesitant about the price, now’s the time to go back and grab it!! My booth will be 50% off to clear the way for the fall merchandise. TGIF everyone!! Susan

Jul 28, 2013

Cleaning Copper Caper

By countrydesignhome · 2 Comments

This past weekend, I scored this beautiful copper coffee pot at an estate sale.

It even had the cute little card inside, but that did not have any cleaning instructions inside.

So once I brought it into the house, I decided to give it a quick wash just to remove the surface dust. Then I thought I might try to polish it up just a bit. Then I decided I liked the polished finish, so I kept cleaning. So first, I tried my trusty Cape Cod Metal Polish, which typically does the job with little effort, and a pleasant scent too.

It was working, but that required a lot of elbow grease. So, I pulled out my Mr. Clean Dry Eraser Sponge.

That also worked, but I was still using a lot of elbow grease. And I am all about getting stuff done quickly and not using up all of my energy so that I can’t go tile the front hall or build a table top. So now I had dull coffee pot with shiny spots. My mom suggested salt and lemon juice-nope. So I went online to see if anyone else had come up with a non-elbow-grease solution to clean tarnished copper. Some guy on You Tube had created a magical formula from everyday kitchen items: salt, flour and white vinegar. So because everything you see on the internet is true, and I liked the idea of not using chemicals anyway, I decided to try it. Here is the recipe: Place 1 tsp salt and 3 tsp flour in a small bowl, then slowly add enough white vinegar to make a creamy paste. Looks good enough to eat, right?

At first I added too much vinegar and it was watery, so I added another dose of the flour and salt. Bingo! Nice smooth paste, ready to make my copper pot shiny and new. The video said to pat it on the item with a rag-I used a moist sponge, but you get the idea, you want to coat the surface.

Then allow it to sit for thirty minutes.

Then rinse. No rubbing or buffing required!

In the video, his copper-clad saucepan came alive with pretty copper color-away old tarnish! In my kitchen sink, this technique was a big FAIL. No difference after I had rinsed, then rubbed, then rinsed again. Hmmm. So now I have a beautiful copper coffee pot that is shiny and bright in the middle of each side, but tarnished all around the bottom and tops.

So, thus far, this is the collection of stuff I have tried.

Anyone else have any bright ideas? Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Cape Cod Metal Polish, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, polishing copper, polishing copper coffee pot, polishing copper home remedy

Jun 25, 2013

Hats Off to The Vintage Bazaar!

By countrydesignhome · 16 Comments

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

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds · Tagged: a, AP Floorcloth Design, Backroads to Oz, Cari Cucksey, Ginger Blue Too, HGTV, Log Cabin Antiques, Pettengill Farm, Repurpose, The Vintage Bazaar, The Vintage Bazaar at Pettengill Farm

Jun 21, 2013

Weekend Fun at the Fair

By countrydesignhome · 5 Comments

Those of you who have followed my blog from the start know that I am a huge fan of this weekend’s Vintage Bazaar at Pettengill Farm. Held bi-annually in an historic setting in the rural town of Salisbury, Mass, the folks at Pettengill Farm transform the vast fields from farmland to fun! Rows of colorful tents are filled with vintage wares offered by over 125 talented artisans and artists from 10+ different states.

Strolling through the multiple fields with names like Strawberry Fields Forever and Back Field in Motion, you just know you’re in for a good time! Under the tents you will find distinctive and unusual goods for sale, like these repurposed fanciful dolls,

gorgeous glass flowers pots from Creative Glass Works

vintage jewelry and lots of re-furbished furniture and home decor- loving this vignette from Heja Home!

So many fabulous finds await you! Some of my old favorites are back again, like Yellow Chair Market

and some new favorites- loving this vintage trailer from L Kells Antiques & Log Cabin Antiques–

cannot wait to see what’s inside!! This year’s crowds are expected to be bigger than ever, especially with the exciting addition of Cari Cucksey from HGTV’s Cash and Cari. She will be manning her own shop, RePurpose, and meeting and greeting her many fans.

Watch for the camera crews roaming around-you may end up on TV! Along with the great shopping, the Bazaar also features live blue-grass and country music and a vast array of yummy food trucks for your dining pleasure.

As you can see by the map here, there’s loads to do for shoppers and kiddies alike, with the Vintage Carnival Children’s Tent, where there will be face-painting, games and photo-ops! So head on up the turnpike, over the big green bridge and follow the signs for fun at the fair. The dates are this Saturday and Sunday, June 22 & 23, and the hours are 10am-5pm. The address: Pettengill Farm, 45 Ferry Road, Salisbury, Mass. Have a great, sunny shopping weekend everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds · Tagged: Cari Cucksey, Cash & Cari, Heja Home, HGTV, Mass, Pettengill Farm, The Vintage Bazaar, The Vintage Bazaar at Pettengill Farm, vintage fair in Massachusetts, vintage fair in Salisbury, Yellow Chair Market

Jun 19, 2013

Flipping Over The Elephant’s Trunk-Part 2

By countrydesignhome · 7 Comments

As promised, here is the second half of the Connecticut adventure to The Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market-this is the good stuff! So we arrived around 8am to a sea of parked cars

in a large open field surrounded by rolling hills and trees. This place is huge-not Brimfield huge, but there are 55 acres with hundreds of tents and tables. Lined up in orderly rows and flanked by food trucks, it made for quite an excursion for the thousands of shoppers already rummaging and haggling for goods and wares.

As we keep attending more flea markets, antique shows and auctions, I am noting that this year’s trends are still holding strong: industrial, schoolhouse, old tools and of course, animals. Taxidermy,

metal work roosters,

deer old lawn ornaments (aren’t these two so sweet?)

and mounted deer heads

were all right at home in what once was vast alfalfa farmland. At this flea, there was not a lot of repurposing or repainting, everything was pretty much “as is”. With a few notable exceptions. One booth had many painted and distressed tables and cupboards. Nice work.

This amazing metal-work coffee table was created by Jepsen’s Restoration. He uses everyday items like signs and horseshoes and boxes and pipes and creates custom industrial works of art.

This hand-painted flag trunk

and this vintage decorated suitcase using old census listings were re-designed by Don S. Wing. Very well-crafted and vintage pretty.

So as we were strolling, Coach taps me and says “look, there are cameras!”.

Sure enough, a camera crew was running after a couple of contestants from the HGTV show Flea Market Flip! If you haven’t seen the show, Lara Spencer (the Lifestyle anchor for Good Morning America-an avid flea marketer herself and author of NY Times Bestseller I Brake for Yard Sales) hosts a televised flea market competition- two teams get $500 each to spend in 1 hour. Here, she was chatting with the vendor who had just sold a table to a team for the show.

Then, they repurpose their items to resell at the Brooklyn Flea Market. The team that earns the highest net profit wins $5000! We watched for a couple of minutes, then moved on, only to encounter Lara and her entourage chatting and laughing.

Back to shopping and not stalking the game show host. As I continue to work on styling my own shop at the Vintage Thymes Monthly Market, I notice that my eye is always drawn to groupings (must be my touch of OCD at work?). Trays of jewels sparkling in the morning sun,

Vintage brass pipes and faucets make an industrial statement

colorful license plates all in a row.

This collection of colorful circles-gears and wheels-is art in itself.

Anyone got a welding torch? I always wanted to look like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance with my own personalized welder’s mask.

Well, actually, I always wanted to look like Jennifer Beals. I did have me some rad leg warmers…

OK, back to the flea. This collection of broken statue heads was intriguing and I stood there thinking “what could I do with these?”, but nothing came to mind.

As was this collection of metal junk pieces. Tiny Monopoly tokens, vintage jewelry pieces, broken barrettes, metal tokens, little bits of everything and nothings. Looked like a miniature Armageddon in a bowl.

But I am really kicking myself for not grabbing some of these. I had seen a mirror once where they had glued all sorts of miniature items around the frame and then sprayed the entire thing white. That would have made a great conversation piece! This vignette caught my eye- not sure if it was the pretty umbrellas or the fake furs or the antiqued frames, but the pastel palette was pleasing to look at!

I always enjoy hearing the stories of where people acquired their offered items. We came upon this truck with piles of these beautiful art prints on heavy parchment paper.

The sellers said that they were cleaning out a shop in Nantucket and hundreds of these prints were hidden away in a back storage room. They had been there for years, yet the colors were so vivid and brilliant! Of course, a couple right before us grabbed the whaling print we really loved. Moving along, we bumped into the Flea Market Flip entourage again. This time with different contestants, and Lara had changed her outfit. It appears that they shoot more than one episode per shopping day? Surrounded by cameras-both the crew’s and onlookers’-they seemed to be having quite a bit of fun.

And then we found The Duke…John Wayne.

We never did get a chance to chat with the owner of this booth, but he appeared to have props-from an amusement park, perhaps? Menacing Jaws (he could definitely use some floss…),

pint-sized choo-choo trains

20 foot signs and larger-than-life-sized statues (this one looks a bit like Coach, don’t you think?)

He also had these amazing rusted wheels that came from a vintage coffee grinder from the Enterprise Manufacturing Company. Each wheel weighs about 20#-they must have been some giant coffee beans! Coach and I looked at them, discussed what we would do with them, and then walked away.

Word of advice-if you really want something at a flea market, buy it right away, because someone may come along behind you and scoop it up! In this case, we doubled back and a potential buyer was standing there negotiating with the owner for them! Coach swooped in and grabbed them-our prize for the day, along with this antiqued brass National Cash Register drawer faceplate. What are we going to do with them? You’ll have to tune it to a later blog post to find out. But for now, rest assured, we will be heading out again to the next big market in our own home state. No more Bates Motels for me!! Have a bargain of a day everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Outdoor Adventures, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Brimfield Flea Market, flea market finds, Flea Market Flip, GMA, HGTV, Lara Spencer, The Elephant's Trunk Flea Market

Jun 17, 2013

Flipping Over The Elephant’s Trunk- Part 1

By countrydesignhome · 1 Comment

This past weekend Coach and I took a spur-of-the-moment, leisurely, sunny weekend drive to Connecticut to check out the Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market. Recently featured on several episodes of HGTV’s Flea Market Flip, this Sunday-only outdoor market appears to be good competition for our local Todd’s Farm Antiques Market, so we were anxious to check it out. Along the way, we made several stops in some pretty little rural towns for arts-in-the-park, yard and tag sales and picker shops. Despite a few mishaps (if you stopped at a yard sale, and there was a woman giving a back massage to a large, hairy, shirtless man in the middle of all of the stuff- what do you think they were really selling?!)

we made it in just over three hours. Since we had decided to stay overnight, rather than drive, shop and drive all in one day, I had reserved a room at what I thought-according to TripAdvisor-was a nice inn-4 stars!! Ranked #1 of the hotels in the town nearest the flea market (granted, there are only three in the town, and one of the others is right next to the railroad tracks…) And these were some of the comments about the place.

So, I thought it would be fine for a one night stay, or would it?!

And, the rate was only $89! Unless we used the Jacuzzi, in which case it was $125. Hmmmm. We arrived to a completely deserted, graveled and weedy parking lot, facing a long line of doors, many wide open so we could see in. Well, it wasn’t quite this bad…

We entered what appeared to be the main office building, through the sliding glass doors to a small lobby- nicely decorated- that reeked of stale curry. Now, I don’t have much of a sense of smell due to an unfortunate incident involving the plug end of a retractable vacuum cleaner cord (unlike poor Marcia Brady here, at least I wasn’t going to the big dance with a new date : )

but there are two distinct cooking smells that send me running-one is liver and onions

and the other is curry. Blecchhh.

The woman at the front desk was very nice, and we did check out the available room, which appeared to be clean and would have been fine- had it not been for that completely empty lot and that horrible curry smell. I just couldn’t get it out of my mind, or my nose! So we explained that we would not be staying, and she was very pleasant and wished us well. No problem there, but now we needed to find another place to stay. Other than the aforementioned inn on the railroad tracks, the only other place in town was booked solid. So we drove to nearby Danbury, and had our choice of chain hotels. Crowne Plaza, 10th floor please : )

Sounds great being up so high, at least no one could be looking into your room from their car, but just a word of caution. When you are riding up to the 10th floor, make sure you have your bag closed and ready to go. Otherwise, while you are attempting to get your bag together, your husband will leave and the elevator door will shut before you can depart, and you will be returned to the lobby. Then people with small children getting on the elevator may think it’s strange that you are standing there alone, holding your bag, convulsed in laughter. After the check-in, we found a local nearby joint called Rosy Tomorrow’s– huge burgers, cold draft beer and great fries in the caboose of an old train. But sadly, no mud pie : (

Back to the hotel, hoping to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for our early arrival at the flea! Great, except for a few late-night (is 3:49 am still considered late night or is that early morning?) revelers returning to their rooms from the weddings being held on the premises. Coach and I still managed to arise early and we headed off to the fantastic flea market. Here’s a sneak peak,

but the rest of the story is for another day. Hope y’all caught a glimpse of the spectacular rainbow tonight.

Go Bruins!!! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Elephant's Trunk Flea Market, Flea Market Flip, flea market in Connecticut, Rosy Tomorrows, Todd Farm Antiques Market

Jun 4, 2013

RitaJos Vintage & Me

By countrydesignhome · 2 Comments

True story. Loved this hilarious account by Lisa of RitaJosVintage of the Saturday we just spent wheeling and dealing (NOT) at the Mill 77 Flea Market. The only thing she forgot was the part about all the crap falling from the trees that had both of us sneezing and coughing and popping Benedryls. Apparently nature and flea markets just don’t mix-lol!

http://ritajosvintage.com/2013/06/04/the-fing-egg-plate/

Thanks, Lisa, for giving me a hearty laugh after more than a couple of days of sadness. Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Outdoor Adventures · Tagged: Amesbury flea market, flea market, MIll 77, RitaJos Vintage

May 31, 2013

Mill 77 Outdoor Bazaar

By countrydesignhome · Leave a Comment

This week’s High Five for Friday goes to Mill 77 Trading Company in Amesbury!

As you may recall, yours truly recently entered and won a staging contest at the Mill-yay team Mother Knows Best! Well, this weekend, for one day only (Saturday, June 1), the Mill is hosting their Macy Street Bazaar from 8-noon.

This is a monthly outdoor marketplace event featuring many of the inside vendors, as well as outsiders, like myself. I am teaming up with Lisa from RitaJosVintage

to offer a variety of vintage and “junk-tique” wares. By the way, if you haven’t started reading Lisa’s new blog, check it out! You are in for one hilarious ride : ) We will have refurbished furniture (the finished bench, perhaps?), china, glassware, linens and so much more! Please stop by for a visit-we will be there from 8-noon only! Which means we have to be up at the crack of dawn…I take my coffee iced and black, thanks! Here’s a map:

It’s a straight shot up 95 north, or just a quick ride from 495 (unless you are using your car’s compass, yes, COMPASS, in which case you may find yourself driving through cow pastures and hayfields…just saying) Have a sunny weekend everyone, hope to see you at the Mill! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Outdoor Adventures, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: antiques, flea market, Macy Street Bazaar, Mill 77 Trading Company, refurbished furniture, RitaJosVintage, Saturday Market, weekend market

May 19, 2013

Brimming With Fresh Ideas

By countrydesignhome · 4 Comments

Whew! Another epic road trip adventure to Brimfield, via Framingham for a flea market stop and Palmer for an old church fair before we even reached the big show! This was the car after those stops, not much room left…

But once we had arrived, it was a go! Hours of walking, shopping, chatting and checking out what was hot and what was not. The hot

of the year, if I was judging Brimfield trends? Fresh minty green

and pastel blues (ah, my dream truck- if only I had won the mega millions last night!)

and not an orange anything in sight. This time it was all about more natural, muted colors

and pastel hues.

Worn, distressed, milk-painted and Annie Sloan’d furniture as far as the eye could see!

Even an old junky ladder takes on a new life with a coat of distressed blue paint : )

And architectural panels become dear hearts with some tin snips, satin ribbon and a few crystal baubles.

This year, the trend seemed to move away from industrial chic, and more into schoolhouse rock. Loads of old desks, chairs, science lab tables and beakers and lockers, lots of lockers.

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind

Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign? “

by the Five Man Electrical Band

Just wondering, where are people getting these signs? They all seemed to be in mint condition- are they climbing up poles under the cloak of darkness and taking them to sell at flea markets? These street signs were everywhere-and so not cheap either!

Along our five mile journey on foot, we came across this booth by Cari Cucksey from Cash & Cari. Loving her re-purposed sign.

Her booth had all sorts of cute, remade, recycled products like these old license plate bags.

And piles of plastic letters and numbers- one can only imagine where these originated!

This year, Nancy & Robin from Vintage Thymes Monthly Market had a fantastic booth representing the Norwood shops- they both look pretty great considering they had been working in a tent for a the past week!

As decorating trending goes, so does lighting. While last year’s lamps leaned more towards turbines and propellers, this year’s standouts were Steampunk-meets-Back-To-The-Future-inspired style.

Fanciful, intricate designs from fabulous, creative minds.

Not to be unnoticed, these mid-century crystal beauties from Collection by Kelly McDonnell caught my eye as well.

What’s a market in farm country without some animals? Horses were big this year (well, they are big as a rule, so popular would be a more appropriate descriptive term)

but taxidermy appears to be making a comeback as well. What an angelic face- didn’t even know what hit it!

And who wouldn’t need a gigantic yellow polka dot bear?!? Is the circus in town?

Do you think this cage would be big enough?

These two displays are a study in contrasts: the female mannequins accompanied by an ironing board,

while the male guy (why wasn’t he wearing those jeans, I wonder) was wearing a hard hat. Some things never change…

Finally, we scored a couple of items: coach discovered this pile of old (well, I think they are old, but after reading Killer Stuff and Tons of Money, you never know what’s been artfully disguised) burlap potato sacks.

They’re pretty stinky, but have great style and color. I discovered this campy violin shaped coffee table.

The dealer was asking $20, so coach started to walk away. This was the hard sell to me:

Seller Guy: “What do I need to do to make this deal work?”

Me: “You need to make it be shaped like a whale”

Seller Guy (looking befuddled): Why’d you ask me the price if you wanted a whale table and not a violin table?”

Me: “I was thinking I could make it into a whale.”

Seller Guy: “OK, you can have it for $10” Sometimes it works when you act like you don’t have a clue…

At the end of five hours of traipsing through endless rows of tents, filled with anything and everything, I kind of felt like this guy.

Dusty and exhausted. Destined for a crash landing. Which I did, in the car on the way home…but I can’t wait for July!! Have a sunny Sunday everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Inspiration, Outdoor Adventures, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: antiques, Brimfield, Brimfield Antiques, Brimfield Flea, Cari Cucksey, Cash and Cari, Show, Vintage Thymes Monthly Market

May 9, 2013

It’s High Time to Shop!

By countrydesignhome · 4 Comments

In an early High Five for Friday!, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at all things country being offered in my shop at the Vintage Thymes Monthly Market. After what seems like a year (actually its only been 6 weeks since I agreed to join the market- but boy my arms are tired!) of sanding, staining, waxing, painting, cleaning and hauling loads of great vintage stuff in my poor car-soooo many dings and bumps : (

I am finally ready to debut my collection!

Country Design Home: A Carefully Curated Collection of Simply Casual Country Style Furnishings & Accessories.

This was the before:

And this was during (I really thought I was going to need a bigger booth!)

And this is now:

In my shop, you will find hand-crafted items, like these very cute shutter chalkboard signs,

refurbished beauties like this pink and gray Victorian commode that was featured in a previous blog post: Coming Unhinged

and of course, my newly created wrought iron shutter top patio set! If you get there early, you might find this amazing aqua blue vintage hinged and locking steel box presumably from the back of my dream pickup truck

(but I have a feeling that one’s not going to be there long, judging from the oohs and ahs of anyone who saw it…), loads of creamy white stoneware and crocks, mason jars by the barrel, vintage tin milking pails, luscious yellow enamel bowls and these cute tin daisy canisters with cut glass knobs. If you follow my blog, you know I am all about color. This month is pretty pastels, reflected in the paints and accessories I chose to highlight. I love muted grays and blues as much as the next girl, but for me, color brightens my world and makes me happy : ) The cupboard shown here was in my dining room for years. Moved around a bit, but finally landed back in the barn. What was once an old, tired dark brown stained wood was transformed with Annie Sloan French Linen Paint and Soft Wax Finish and Benjamin Moore Chalkboard Paint on the buffet top. Or, if you have a hankering for some home-made ice cream, how about this vintage ice cream maker? If you are getting ready to plant, I suggest this 9 clay pot vintage iron rack. The pots are chalkboard painted, so you can erase my numbers and label them with the various plants and herbs you are nursing along. I had a blast putting my shop together, with special thanks to Coach, who is my fabulous picker, Lisa Mokaba, my right hand girl and lover of all things vintage, Nancy Granese, who added her amazing artwork for my space and the fabulous ladies from Vintage Thymes Monthly Market-Robin and Nancy-who have helped me immeasurably with great staging and pricing advice : ) The entire market is stacked to the rafters with great vintage finds, and ready for opening day-tomorrow! So much to see, so much to buy! I hope you have a truck : ) The hours of operation are Friday, May 10 from 9-6, Saturday May 11 from 9-6 and Sunday May 12 from 12-5. The address: WinSmith Mill Market at the Norwood Commerce Center, 61 Endicott Street, Norwood, MA. Google Map Here. Hope to see you all there! Now I’m going to take a breath and have a cup of coffee before I start getting ready for June. Happy Shopping, and a very Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Susan