Welcome to freshvintage! You've arrived somewhere between Antiques Roadshow and The Soup. I hope you aren't disappointed.
The freshvintage blog is where I share the vintage finds that I score at yard sales, flea markets and thrift stores. I try to add a little humor to the traditionally boring topic of antiques. At the same time, I attempt to educate readers (and myself) about the junk that I find: the history, value and selling potential. I also have an active Facebook Fan Page, where I post my yard sale finds and ask my readers important questions like, "What are your plans for the rapture?"
Sometimes I keep the things I find, and sometimes I sell them. My personal collections are quirky, pretty and occasionally a bit mind-numbing. I love vintage globes, white matte pottery, anything green, letters & numbers, apple crate labels, sex education books from the early 20th century, and crocheted genital warmers. That's totally normal, right?
I was born in Philly, raised in Southern New Jersey and married a nice boy named Chris from Washington state. We live in Avondale, PA (Mushroom Capital of the World) with our two kids, Finn & Maeve. Chris puts up with my obsessive yard-saling and rarely complains that our cars will never see the inside of our two-car garage. In fact, he loves me sooo very much that he recently became an almost-full-time picker for freshvintage. He is a chip off the old block, since both of his parents are antique dealers in Yakima, WA.
In 2001, I began selling antiques when my sisters and I realized that our obsession with yard sales and auctions was taking over our garages, basements and spare bedrooms. Today, you can find my finds (and my sister, Erin's) in a little corner of a room on the second floor of Brandywine View Antiques in Chadds Ford, PA.
In March 2012, Chris and I opened our own brick and mortar shop in West Chester, PA. The freshvintage shop is located at Highland Orchards, a pick-your-own farm, bakery and farmers market.
I occasionally sell my finds on eBay and at a few Philadelphia-area antique markets. And, when my neighbors are annoyed with all of the crap on my front porch, they buy stuff from me in a weak attempt to clean up the neighborhood. Here are a few of the fabulous places where we've sold in the past:
- Clover Market, Ardmore, PA
- Renninger's in Kutztown, PA
- Cedar's Antiques & Collectibles Flea Market near Skippack, PA
- Antiques at Kimberton in Kimberton, PA
- Vintage Home Annex in Paoli, PA
Sign up for the freshvintage mailing list to find out where we will be selling our vintage finds next. AND, an even better idea would be to LIKE our Facebook page. You'll always get the latest news there. If you want to get an email every time I write a new blog post, you can sign up here. You'll get an annoying email after you sign up. Make sure you click the link in the email to verify that you really, truly want updates.
Do you want to let me know about a great vintage find? Or complain that I curse too much? Feel free to email me at colleen (at) freshvintagestyle (dot) com.
Thanks for visiting!
Colleen Allison
P.S. If you see something on my blog, and you can't live without it, shoot me an email. I'll let you know the price + shipping.
P.S.S. I have another blog called fresh blog tips, where I share my advice on blogging and social media. I know, I know...I don't update it often enough, but the older articles should still be helpful for you.
