freshvintage

Antiques at Kimberton Recap

We had a theme of "General Store" at the Antiques at Kimberton show, inspired by my obsession with vintage price tags. You may have noticed that I like to buy cool stuff in bulk (like the lamp parts). So, we piled the bulk junk into planters, enamel bowls and wooden cheese boxes. I made tags for each group and sold them for one or two dollars each, with a discount if you bought in multiples. We were joking around with other dealers that we were the dollar store of antiques. 

We didn't have walls around our 9' by 13' space, so it is difficult to distinguish our stuff from our neighbors' in these photos. We're going to re-think the wall situation next time.

 

We had a dealer on one side who only sold glass and flow blue dishes. Erin and I pretty much neglected that side of our booth because we were afraid of knocking something over and causing a domino-effect throughout our neighbor's booth.

 

I decorated a little Christmas tree with all of the "dollar store" items that we were selling, like vintage price tags, stencils, chandelier crystals, tin christmas tree light reflectors and silver Shiny Brite balls.

 

Erin was really annoyed that I brought my homeless-lady dressform to the show. I dressed her up with various items throughout the show, including a religious sign and a fancy rhinestone pin. No one was able to appreciate her beauty, so she came home with me. Maybe if I tell people that she isn't for sale, then everyone will want to buy her.

 

I made bunting out of pages from a decrepit 1890 dictionary and black rick-rack. It took about 20 minutes to make, just using a hole punch and pinking shears. Try it! It was so easy. We used chenille bedspreads as the tablecloths.

 

I didn't even sell one of these cool old receipt books. I think they made great notepads. And they were only two bucks! Oh, well. Maybe next time I'll make a sign that says "They make great notepads!". Duh.

Here are some highlights of what sold well and what didn't.

What Sold Well

• Chandelier crystals ($2 each)

• Lamp parts ($2 each)

• Vintage price sign bundles (25 little signs for $3)

• Books (between $1 and $10)
  We sold all of our very old books with fancy covers (like the kind on Bricolage yesterday).

• Postcards ($2 each or 6 for $10)

• Green-lidded cracker jars ($12-$14 each)

• Ice cream scoops ($6-$10 each)
  I had four of these, and they all sold.

• Floral frogs ($4-$6 each)
  Especially the green ones.
   

What Didn't Sell

• Green shabby table/server ($165)
  I know - what the hell? How could that not sell?

• Country cupboard ($425)
  Erin is happy. She is going to keep it for herself.

• Suitcases ($18)

• Picnic Baskets ($18 - probably better for the spring show in March)

• Linens (also better for the spring show in March)

• Christmas balls ($2 each/6 for $10)
  This was a surprise - I thought everyone would be down with the balls at this time of year, but maybe they didn't like our selection of balls. The dealer across the aisle, Cathy, loved our balls and told us that she loved our balls. Loudly.

• Erin's primitive dovetailed toolboxes ($45-$50)
  I thought these would have been the first to go, especially since this show is known for country primitives. And everyone else was selling them for $100+.

Do you see a trend here? People were looking for small, inexpensive things. We're okay with that. As I've said in the past, we are all about volume. Mostly because it gives us an excuse to buy lots and lots of stuff.

Autographs & Boxed Wine

We're having a great time at the Antiques at Kimberton Show!

 

   

 

 

This is my new bestest friend in the whole wide world, Debbie. She brought the Country Home magazine that had my letter to the editor, and asked me to autograph it! After a little coercing (just a little), I signed it. And then she asked Erin to sign it. Does she know something I don't know? Is someone giving us that book deal that I've been longing for? Maybe a TV show? What a great lady. Totally love her.

 

In addition to all of the new friends we made, we caught up with some old junking friends that we hadn't seen in a while. Everyone is so friendly. Some of the dealers have been selling at this show for over 20 years! And the customers really like our vintage finds - even though they are a little different from the typical antiques at this show.

And then 4:30 struck, and we were told by our neighbor-dealer that there was cheese and boxed wine in the back room. Just when I thought my day couldn't possibly get any better, someone mentioned wine!

 

One more day to go. Maybe tomorrow afternoon, they'll have ice cream sundaes.

Preparations Are Underway!

I've been putting some thought into how to display our vintage finds for the upcoming Antiques at Kimberton Show. When we sold at Renninger's in 2007, we had such an unbelievable amount of stuff that we didn't take the time to plan our displays. Or, maybe I should just lie and say that we purposefully went for the wind-blown yard sale chic look at Renninger's.

I've been wracking my brain, trying to come up with a way to display this huge lot of glass lamp parts that I bought at an estate sale last week.

Then, I spotted a silver ice bucket and piled them all in:

 

It looks like ice, doesn't it?! (kind of)

 

I'm using some of the manila tags that I tea-dyed as signs for the items that I will display in vintage containers. I stamped the tags with my logo, using the custom rubber stamp that I bought last year, and then added the prices using a set of vintage pricing stamps. The set is missing the number 3, so anything that I was planning to sell for $3 will be drastically reduced to $2.

 

Maeve helped me fill some jars with buttons.

 

You would have thought that I was letting her play with millions of dollars worth of precious jewels. She would pick up each fancy button and say, "Ooooooo. This one is FAB-U-LOUS",  à la Sharpay from Highsicle Musical (as she pronounces it).

I'm looking forward to displaying our country primitive antiques on this stepback cupboard that Erin found. (Go Erin!) 

 

She also found these primitive dovetailed boxes at an antiques store that was going out of business:

   

And here are a few other finds that I forgot to show you...

Don't you just love that green depression glass mixer? I think I paid way too much for it, which means I will have to sell if for a bit higher than my typical low, low prices. Or, just keep it for myself. I also found another big cookie/cracker jar, which blends in nicely with the three that I found at Renninger's.  I think I'll fill it with Shiny Brite ornaments.

 

Introducing the world's smallest ladle:

Here's my fourth Last Supper print in the past year. The more Jesus stuff you buy, the more likely you are to go to heaven. Everyone knows that. Why do you think Sue from Vintage Rescue Squad buys so much religious stuff? 'Cause she's a sinner. Duh.

 

P.S. Do you have any crafty ideas for using the vintage glass lamp parts? They have a hole through the middle that would fit a candle, so they would be great for that. But I'm trying to think of some other ideas.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It was one of those jackpot weekends. I haven't had too many lately, but it came just in time for the Antiques at Kimberton show next weekend. Everything pictured will be for sale at the show. I really want to keep it all for myself, but we are going to Portland, OR and Yakima, WA in a few weeks to visit my in-laws and I need to earn some vacation money. I'm hoping that some of those super-duper Pacific Northwest wineries will be open during the Thanksgiving break (that's why I need all that spending money). Aside from antiquing, wine-tasting is one of my favorite hobbies. Did you notice that I refer to my love of wine as a "hobby" rather than an "addiction". Wine-hobbyist sounds so much better than alcoholic.

 

Isn't this hand-painted tole tray beautiful? The woman who sold it to me told me that it was painted by her mother's friend, who was from Nutley, NJ. You know who grew up there, right?

 

At the same yard sale where I bought the green chippy server/hall table and tole tray, I also bought a box of old paper stuff. I didn't have a chance to look through all of it while I was at the sale - but I saw some cool old photos and postcards on the top of the pile, and that was all I needed to see. I found this in the box as well: a tiny water-color painting on cardboard...

 

Postcards from all over Europe: Monte Carlo, The Netherlands, Milan, Pompeii, Venice, Paris...

 

Sunday School Bible cards:

 

This is my favorite find from the box: a large photo of a school play or pageant:

 

I found this silver frame at the bottom of the box.

 

And here's a close-up of the server. It might be a little too rustic for some people (my father-in-law), but I love it.

 

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Thanks to Vicki from Turkey Feathers for asking me to "share the love" and write six things that I am loving right now. Vicki makes such beautiful things. Her blog was one of a few that inspired me to start my own. She just published her own book called Blanket Statement: One thrifted wool blanket repurposed into 40+ projects. It's like the crafty version of the loaves and fishes story.

So, on to my current favorite things:

1. Trueblood on HBO. I never thought I'd ever have a reason to type these words, but here I go: that  vampire named Bill is so hot. Also - the first episode of Summer Heights High aired last night. Absolutely hysterical. Reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Waiting for Guffman.

2. Playing Word Challenge on Facebook. My mom also plays, but she has the unfair advantage of playing Boggle while she sits on the toilet everyday for the past 20 years of her life. Therefore, it is humanly impossible to beat her at any word game ever. But I will keep trying.

3. Rachel "Shabby Chic" Ashwell's new-ish blog. It is obvious that she puts a lot of time into each post that she writes. I especially enjoyed the post about her visits to England and Texas.

4. Everything in the Papier Valise boutique.

5. Wine Library TV with Gary Vaynerchuk. His site has over 500 videos of him doing the most passionate wine-tastings known to man. For a quick taste of his style, watch the national appearances on the right side of his blog, or this video.

6. The costumes that Chris and I wore to our neighbor's Halloween party:

Antiques at Kimberton Show

Hey, all of you Delaware Valley vintage-seekers! You can find freshvintage at the 2008 Antiques at Kimberton Show on November 15th & 16th!

We are very excited to be a part of this 30-year-old show. It has over 70 dealers in two buildings at the Kimberton Firehouse in Chester County, PA. They don't allow new stuff or reproductions, so you know that it is a good show. Guaranteed to be free of tube socks and fake Louis Vuittons.

Here are the details:

Where:
Kimberton Fire Co.
61 Firehouse Lane
Kimberton, PA
Map it on Google Maps

When:
Saturday, November 15th, 2008 9am - 5pm
Sunday, November 16th, 2008 11am - 4pm


Kimberton is about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia and two miles south of Phoenixville, which has a lots of cute shops and restaurants. You should make a day of it! Phoenixville is also home of the Colonial Theater, which was the theater that was featured in the 1958 movie, The Blob. (The one that everyone runs out of screaming. Please tell me you've seen The Blob. My mom made us watch it when we were way too young.)

You'll also find Suzanne & Michael from Royal Port Antiques at the show. Remember them? They're the folks that I bullied into starting a blog. They've done the Kimberton show many times before, and have great things to say about it.

We can't wait to meet you! Should we have another code word, like we did at Renninger's last year?  How about Pumpkin Boobies?

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P.S. Did you know that the subscribers of my mailing list and the fans of the freshvintage page on Facebook found out about this first?  If you want to be the first to hear about news from freshvintage, subscribe to the mailing list using the form on freshvintagestyle.com or become a fan of freshvintage on Facebook.