freshvintage

Antique Factory Cart Makeover

I've been begging customers to send photos of freshvintage purchases in their homes. I get a little sad when we sell something and it - poof! - disappears, never to be seen again. Well, one of our customers finally listened to my plea!

Chris bought this old Nutting Company factory cart last month from an Amish gentleman who used it in his barn. We chose not to restore the cart - we prefer to let customers decide what to do. (HAHAHA. That's funny. You know by now that we are just lazy).

We lugged the cart to Clover Market in September, where a customer named Marc bought it. He wanted to use it as a coffee table, but planned to make a few improvements.

 Here's the cart in its new home!

Pretty cool, huh? I've seen them used as coffee tables, but it never seemed practical to me - unless your sofa was six inches off the ground. Marc added legs to give it height, but still kept that rustic, industrial feel of the original cart.

I asked Marc to give us a run-down on his improvements:

"I removed the metal brackets that held the handle and flipped them all over – this way the pipe would not slide through. I purchased new black pipe, 14 inches long, and threaded on one side. I added the couplers on the bottom to give it a little beef to the bottom also to use as a leveler. 

I then lightly sanded the entire piece with a 120 grit sandpaper, cleaned it well, and shellacked the entire piece – including the metal to give it that shine. No welding on this piece as I was able to do with just old bolts I had laying around!"

Here's another shot: (I love that rug, too.)

Thanks for sharing, Marc!

Seven Tricks to Convince Your Kids that Antiques are Awesome

Since opening the brick and mortar freshvintage shop in March, our family life has changed quite a bit. Chris works at the shop when it is open (Thursday through Sunday) and typically spends Monday through Wednesday hunting for new inventory. I work full time at a software company during the week, and spend at least one day a weekend at yard sales, flea markets or estate sales.

Our shop is doing better than we expected, which means that we need to keep buying. Sometimes, our two kids have to spend a few hours at the shop with Chris on the weekends while I shop for fresh inventory. And occasionally, we drag them to flea markets. Which is akin to taking them along with me to the gynecologist. No one ends up having fun.

Hence, the coolness factor of having parents who own a shop has been gradually wearing off for the kids. We want to pump it back up, so that the antiques business doesn't become something that they dread. These are some of the tricks we are using to keep them interested. Most involve some type of small bribe - but all good parents know that bribes are sometimes our only hope for sanity.

1. Give them seed money

When we go to flea markets, we give each of the kids five dollars to find an item or two to sell in the shop. In the beginning, we would steer them towards certain items that we knew were cheap, but would still get them a small return when sold. After a few visits to the flea market, they quickly learned what sells in the shop, and they keep their eyes peeled for the moneymakers.

Maeve found a cute plaid tin picnic basket for $3 and a metal floral frog for $2. And both kids FREAKED OUT when they found a pile of vintage tennis rackets for a dollar each. They've since sold for $10-$12 a piece.

During the summer, we stopped at a flea market on the way to a camping trip. Maeve bought this Czech strawberry creamer for $5. We're selling it in the shop for $12, so she'll get to keep that profit. Although, it took a lot of explaining for her to realize that she'll only get $7 and not the whole $12. 

 

Finn found three 1930's issues of Popular Science for $5. We already sold them in the shop for $4 each. 

My next goal is to convince them to reinvest their profits in new inventory. But they'd rather spend it on apps for their iPods. I guess I can't blame them.

2. Pay them to do your dirty work

When I found over a thousand flashcards at a yard sale, I knew that I needed to sort them to get an idea of what I had. And I had to figure out the best way to sell them. So, I paid the kids a few bucks for each stack of 50-ish cards that they sorted in alphabetical order. Everyone was happy, and it ended up being relatively fun for all of us. Well, maybe not that fun.

 

 

3. Let them play 

We try not to be overly stressed out about letting them run around the store and play with our (mostly not breakable) inventory. It keeps them occupied, and out of our hair for short spurts of time.

You can usually find them sitting at the kiddie table, playing Button Checkers.

   

Or, they are running around the store with cheerleading megaphones over their heads, bumping into things. Or modeling aprons and playing "Vanna White"...

 

4. Teach them how to research the value of items

My ten-year-old, Finn, has known for a while that I've sold Legos on eBay. In more recent years, I've been giving him the sets that I find at yard sales instead of selling them. He has amassed quite a collection, and plays with them almost every day.

But he's no dummy - he knows that some of his minifigs (Lego people) are worth more than others. I taught him how to search for Completed Auctions on eBay (under my supervision).  He spent a whole weekend figuring out which minifigs sell the best. We decided to get a group of 30-40 of them together, and put the whole lot up for auction.

I took pictures, and he wrote out each of their names, and which sets they were from. 

 

We sold the lot for $82! He's obviously itching to try it again. And, as a side benefit, he's being a little more respectful of his toys, since he thinks they will make him rich eventually.

5. Play guessing games

I love to show my kids a strange old tool or utensil and let them guess what it is. Like this one:

Do you know what it is?  (Here's the answer.)

And this?

If you follow me on facebook (or have severe nasal congestion), you already know. Finn though it was a tiny urinal, since he had seen these before:

6. Encourage them to start a collection

This is a work in progress for our kids. Finn used to collect Pez dispensers, but he says he is too old for that now. (Try telling that to the grown men going nuts over them at flea markets.) Maeve doesn't have any real collections.

I want them to enjoy looking for specific items when we go to a flea market. And find a category of vintage finds that speaks to them. Unfortunately, because of my "Give them seed money" trick, the only things that are speaking to them are the ones saying, "Sell me in the shop and make money! Don't put me on a shelf in your bedroom. That's dumb!"

And, so, I am still working on perfecting this trick.

7. Trick them into helping

I gave Chris the day off one Sunday, and brought the kids into the shop with me. By the end of the day, the kids were bored out of their minds (even after way-too-many apple cider donuts from the farmers market next door and hours of playing on the playground and petting the goats).

When I let them know that we were 20 minutes from closing the shop for the day, they frantically started dragging our outdoor stuff back into the store. They're smart enough to know that the quicker they get the stuff inside, the quicker we can leave. I didn't have to lift a finger, and we were able to close the shop on time.

I had to grab my camera because I had never seen such a spectacle.

I've also tricked Maeve into thinking it's fun to stamp hundreds of tags at a time.

She does it free of charge, so I don't strive for perfection.

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So, do you have kids that you are trying to assimilate into your antiquing world? I would be happy to hear any advice that you can share!

Madison Bouckville Antique Week Recap & Tips for Newbies

Photo from Madison-Bouckville.com

A few weeks ago, Chris and I made our maiden voyage to Madison Bouckville Antique Week. We went during the first half of the week and I was a little concerned that we were going to miss the biggest show, which started on Thursday. But most people we talked to said that the best deals were found earlier in the week. I'd like to think that they were right.

In order to help other newbies, I pulled together five Madison Bouckville shopping tips that we learned after making a few rookie mistakes:

1. Ignore the official start dates of each field

We arrived on Sunday afternoon and drove straight to the fields so that we could get a better idea of how we were going to tackle them on Monday morning. We didn't realize that you were allowed to shop while people were setting up - so we ended up buying a few things on Sunday. After talking to a few people, we learned that some dealers had been setup since Friday and were selling like crazy over the weekend. 

2. Dealers don't like to wake up early

Chris and I arrived at the fields at 6am, which is a late start in Pennsylvania. It looked like the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse - NO ONE was around, except for a few weirdos who had just recently crawled out of their vans. Things didn't start jumping until 9am.

3. Re-visit fields that you saw the previous day

After we felt like we had seen everything, we went back and to the fields we already shopped and found lots of new dealers that had just arrived.

4. Look no further if you need vintage camp & cabin goods

Adirondack pack baskets, snow shoes, skis and fishing gear were everywhere. We don't have an abundance of those items in my area (or they are super expensive). But you really had to shop around - we saw cool old snow shoes for $40 on the first day, and didn't buy them. We realized by the following day that $40 was really cheap - most of the snow shoes we saw were in the $65-125 range. We did find a couple of old pack baskets for a relatively low price.

5. If you can't book a hotel nearby, stay at one of the casinos

Our trip was planned too late to find a room really close to the flea markets, so we extended our search a bit north. We ended up staying at the Turning Stone Casino, and loved it. They have four different properties: The Inn, Hotel, Tower and Lodge, each with varying price ranges. We stayed at the Hotel. You also get ten dollars in free slot dollars, if you're into that sort of thing, which we are. 

The 25-minute drive from the casino to Bouckville was so pretty that we actually took pictures from the car. We ended up deleting them because they were terrible, but we just didn't want to forget those green rolling hills and old barns.

Vernon Downs Casino & Hotel is just a few minutes past Turning Stone - we heard good things about that hotel, too.

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So, was the five hour trip worth it? Definitely, yes. We bought lots of good stuff that we wouldn't have been able to easily find around here. I would say that the prices were comparable to Adamstown, PA flea markets: some dealers are super expensive, but most are reasonable enough for resale. Everyone was open to a little negotiating, too.

We had a great time hanging out with Gina & Paul from Vintage Junk in my Trunk (here's one of her many recaps of their trip). I'm still trying to remember what I ate for dinner, since I had too many glasses of chardonnay. We arrived a little late to meet them at Ye Olde Landmark Tavern, because Chris and I had just finished taking everything out of our van to squeeze in a vintage 60-drawer card catalog.

Chris promptly put it on Craigslist when we returned, and it sold within two days.

If you follow me on Facebook, you also saw the Fanny Farmer Candies sign. Chris doesn't look very excited in that photo - he was just annoyed that I took ten photos of him holding this heavy sign with the hot sun beating down on him. It didn't help that he had never heard of Fanny Farmer, and didn't believe me when I said that people on the East Coast would recognize the name.

The dealer who sold us the card catalog saw the sign in the back of our van. Her first job was as a line worker at the Fanny Farmer candy factory in Rochester, NY. She said that her job was just like the I Love Lucy episode - she and her co-workers spent most of their time eating candy and trying to catch up with the conveyor belt. It was such a sweet, sentimental story from a lovely lady. Until I caught her trying to steal the sign from the back of the van and I had to punch her square in the fanny.

Okay - that part's not true. But I think her candy factory story was true.

Anyway, I'm writing up another post with more photos of our finds, but here's a little taste...

A vintage fencing mask, pack basket #2, anatomical wall chart of the heart, metal "S", racetrack sign, old new stock of girly barrettes, antlers mounted on lime green velvet (a hipster just died and went to heaven), and a white beadboard cupboard on casters.

And here's one of the nine Stanley Safety Charts that I acquired (more to come):

Guns don't kill people. Screwdrivers kill people.

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For those of you in the Philadelphia area, freshvintage will be selling at two fabulous sales in September (in addition to our regular store hours). Come see me!

Brandywine View Antiques Fall Fest
9am to 4pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012 
Our vintage camper will be making an appearance!
(Maeve recently named it "DJ Lemon Lime" for its yellow & green paint)

Clover Market
10am to 5pm on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Follow the Clover Facebook page for features on all of the new vendors

Join Us at the Vintage Garage Sale on Friday, May 4th!

Join us this Friday night, May 4th, from 4pm to 9pm in West Chester, PA for the very first Vintage Garage Sale! Yes, it's actually in a parking garage. We'll be there with some great local vintage vendors, a cupcake truck, a jazz duo and fresh finds from my recent buying trip to Lancaster County, PA. 

The event takes place during West Chester's First Friday, so shops will be open late. Get a bite to eat at one of the many great restaurants in West Chester, and then come and see us in the Chestnut Street parking garage.

Visit the Vintage Garage Sale Facebook page for up-to-the-minute info. The event is rain or shine. The freshvintage shop will close at 2pm on May 4th in order to prepare for the event.

Here are a few items that we'll be hauling to the sale. (And be sure to check out some of the industrial finds that Vidalia's Vintage will be bringing.)

An nice-sized antique shoe rack and shallow woven basket with a hand-painted peacock:

 

A Corona "Personal Writing Machine", dating from the 1920s. It starts like this...

And folds out to this...

My porch is once again packed with last week's finds:

This antique aqua demijohn (wicker wine bottle) will be difficult to part with. It even has an "S" stenciled on the front. Sauvignon Blanc? Sangria? Sherry?

I prefer "SUPERWINE"...to the rescue!

Join me on Friday night, and maybe I'll share some.

Springtime at Clover Market

Yes, it's that time of year again...we are selling at Clover Market on Sunday, April 15th from 10am to 4pm. Our shop at Highland Orchards will be closed that day because we can only keep one ball juggling in the air at a time. Don't hold it against us, please.

There are ONE HUNDRED vendors signed up for this opening day! That's pure insanity! Definitely worth a drive, even if it takes you a few hours to get there. This is the only spring sale at Clover that we'll be participating in. So catch us while you can! 

 

And for those of you who are too far to drive to Pennsylvania, here are a few pics from the freshvintage shop to keep you satisfied...

 

And, of course...

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We will also be participating in the Vintage Garage Sale in West Chester, PA and it's actually IN a parking garage. It coincides with First Friday in West Chester and runs from 4pm to 9pm. The first one is on Friday, May 4th. They are still taking vendor applications, so apply as soon as you can! It will be a fun evening, filled with vintage, food, music and revelry! More info to come...

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In case you missed it on Facebook, I was the Featured Blogger last week on the new Philly Social Media Mom's website. Find out how different my life would have turned out if I ended up doing what Second-Grade-Colleen-Burke wanted to do when she grew up.

Clover Market and Reminders of THE DEER

I swear - I won't talk about the camper in every blog post. I am just mentioning it here because this was our first time bringing it to Clover Market in Ardmore, PA. And it was an enormous hit, if I do say so myself.  We even met one shopper who had the same exact Scotsman as a child! Chris and my sister, Erin, manned the camper for the majority of the day, answering questions from onlookers. The most oft-asked..."Is it for sale?"

 

After a while, Chris started telling people it was for sale for $20,000. Shockingly, no one bit. But, really, it was nice to have so many enthusiastic people tell us know much they loved it. I think I might have even convinced a few people to buy one of their own.

Since you last saw the camper, I covered up my interior cushions with light yellow popcorn chenille bedspreads. I had to cut one in half to cover the two cushions in the "dining room".

I bought an adorable chalk cloth bunting on etsy - that's what I used as the "freshvintage" sign across the top of the tent.

The back of the pennants are made of oilcloth:

A fellow vendor, Rachel from Charms City Company, walked across the aisle to my space, and bought lots of cool stuff from me...

...including a bunch of these little tags that I had just bought the previous day at a flea market. I figured that some artsy person would transform them into something cool.

Rachel and her business partner, Katie, did just that. Within an hour or two, they had created several bracelets and necklaces for sale in their tent.

I love selling the supplies to artists, but I rarely get to see the finished work. And after talking to them for a bit, I learned that Katie & Rachel were headed to the Country Living Fair in Atlanta last weekend for the Pitch Your Product event. I hope they did well!

While I was at their booth, I saw this stag necklace (which is available for sale in their Etsy shop):

Katie & Rachel looked at me a little funny when I said that it reminded me of the deer that we hit with our minivan around this time last year. The way it gracefully lept in front of our windshield. And those antlers. Those damn antlers! I think they ended up including my little anecdote in their "Pitch Your Product" speech in Atlanta: "We make jewelry that reminds people of killing large animals with their vehicles." 

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If you are in the Philadelphia area, be sure to stop by Brandywine View Antiques this weekend - it is our Holiday Open House Weekend. I'll be bringing lots of fun Christmas ornaments, tablecloths, books and decorations to the shop this week in preparation.  Also, a new vendor moved into the shop a few months ago, and I bet that many of you who are photography buffs have heard of them: Four Corner Store. Nic & Kristen's online shop has been around for a while, but they are finally selling their photography-related goods in a real shop. You can touch all of their neat-o cameras, try on their jewelry and test out their camera bags. Check out the Brandywine View website for photos of their space. Nic & Kristen are also very talented photographers & designers - visit Hudson Nichols for a look at their work.

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P.S. The last Clover Market of the year is this Sunady, November 6, 2011. We won't be there, but that certainly shouldn't stop you from going. There are lots of new vendors and artists this time around. We'll be back to the market in the spring!

P.S.S. You know I am totally kidding about the Charms City jewelry. I love their jewelry and I wish them the best of luck. Even though I kind of think that the ghost of the deer came to Rachel in her dreams and told her to bring that stag necklace to Clover on that very day so that I would be reminded of him.

 

Some cool things we are hauling to Clover Market

Here are some of the totally groovy vintage finds that Chris and I will be bringing to Clover Market on Sunday.

This is a Rem Line tool chest, that would make an excellent drink cart. (Is it wrong that I am using a child's chalk board to announce the drink of the day? Oh, well. Hopefully, the kids at Clover Market can't read.)

There are even divided drawers for your napkins and wine openers.

And another cart - this one is gray-painted wood on wheels. Along with a chippy First Aid box, wire shopping basket, step ladder and a "Kiss Me" orange crate from Kissimmee, Florida. It is a little creepy. I have a feeling that the kids on the label are brother and sister.

Continuing the "on wheels" trend, here is a huge grocery store display cart with wire baskets. Use it for kids toys. Or craft supplies. Or yarn. Or shoes. I don't care what the hell you use it for. Buy it because it is cool.

Each basket is adjustable:

For those of you (SueLa) who thought my enamelware turkey platter should be relegated to the kiddie table, here is a photo of said kiddie table. It is a tween-sized folding metal table, with a set of four school chairs. AND A TOTALLY AWESOME TURKEY PLATTER.

My favorites...two farmstand painted signs. A two-sided Peaches sign, and a Cider sign. They are huge...way taller than me. But I'm only 5' 4", so that's not saying much.

These are never-used paper signs from a grocery store, circa 1948. I think they would look so cute in a kitchen. 

I might hang the Sani-Flush one in my bathroom as a gentle reminder to my family to flush the damn toilet.

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Ignore the next paragraph if you live thousands of miles away.

If you are local...are you coming to Clover?  Is there something that you saw on my blog that you want me to bring? Shoot me an email. We would love to bring everything in our garage, but that ain't happening. If you have an undying need for something specific, let me know and I will stuff it into the back of the camper. Along with an unholy amount of other stuff. Just don't drive behind us - the bumper of our camper will probably be making sparks along Route 1.

freshvintage at Clover Market

Join us at Clover Market on Sunday, October 16, 2011!

10 am - 4 pm rain or shine
12 E. Lancaster Ave.
Ardmore PA 19003

This is the biggest Clover EVER! Over 70 vendors selling jewelry, art, crafts, good and lots of VINTAGE & ANTIQUES! Lisa from Brandywine View will be selling there, along with Meg (Hooten Nanny), a fellow dealer from the shop. And Allison from Nannygoat Antiques. And Gloria & Alison from Cottage Home. All of my buds.

I'm bringing my camper, if you'd like a tour. Don't worry - you'll have time to shop. The tour will only take about 1.5 seconds.

 

 

Back to School in Vintage Style

Chris, the kids and I drove into Lancaster County, PA this morning for the Landisville Annual Labor Day Flea Market and town-wide yard sales. It was our first time there, and we will definitely go again next year. The sky was overcast, so it kept many of the regular vendors away. I imagine that it would have been twice as big if the weather was better.

I spent $35 for everything in this post. That ledger (circa 1901) was only three bucks and the aluminum clamp-on work light was two bucks...which is why I wish this sale was every weekend, and not once a year.

This is my favorite find: the green utensil box with the white painted diamond decoration.

The two sets of flashcards in the first photo were from a big box of 1950s and 60s learning aids that came from an old school. These were all in that big box:

There are cardboard letters, wooden letters and felt letters...

...even flocked letters.  And shapes and animals:

They are made of cardboard. One side is orange, and the other side is white with green flocking. I wonder if these would stick to my fabric corkboards?

I love the simple design and colors on these rulers. They were made in England and are called 'Apex Learner's Measure".

I was excited to open one of the little boxes and find this set of seven magnifying glasses with navy blue grosgrain ribbons.

Rhyming pictures:

GIANT SIZE Alphabet Poster Flash Cards (11" by 14"):

These would look so cute hanging up around a vintage-style nursery.

Here's a box of Ideal Dial-A-Face flashcards and wheels with different facial expressions. I guess the students had to match the appropriate expression with the blank faces on each card.

This card freaked me out a little.  Is he planning to strangle that sweet girl?

And then I was even more freaked out when I found this face on the wheel!

I had to re-read the box to make sure it wasn't some kind of learning aid for kids in juvy. Maybe they should have called it Dial-A-Mugshot.

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I will be selling these vintage finds and much more at the Brandywine View Fall Fling Tent Sale next weekend (Sept 10 & 11th). If you are in the area, please stop by and say hi. There are lots of fun events going on that weekend, like the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival and Chadds Ford Days. It will be worth the drive!

And if you are still debating whether or not you should come, did you see that Brandywine View was included in the Flea Market Style Magazine's list of Best Antiques Malls in PA?! You don't want to miss this sale!

Chris' Totally Awesome Auction Finds

Here is one week's worth of Chris' auction wins. Well, the good stuff, anyway. He seriously bought all of this without my help. I know - crazy! I am a little embarrassed because it is way better than most of the stuff that I've scored lately.

He paid $114 for everything in this photo.  Except for the green & white rug - that is ours and it is from Walmart.

 

He bought a pair of these Vulcan Horse Nails boxes, but already sold one last week at Perkiomenville Auction & Flea Market. That was his first attempt at selling by himself, and he did a great job. He said that he seemed to sell more than any of the other vendors. Which probably means that his prices were too low. All of the other dealers swept in and bought some new inventory for their tables. Whatevs. We got rid of a lot of stuff that we didn't want anymore, or wouldn't sell at the store. Including this super cool, but extremely smelly red trunk that Chris bought for five dollars at an auction.

He knows I have a thing for metal office card catalogs...

But this one is extra-special because it has a huge stack of index cards used by for clothing sales. See the dates along the top (1940, 1941, 1942, etc.)? There is also an S and F for each year, which specifies whether the purchase was for the Spring or Fall.

This tattered & taped-up little book about Paris was purchased in 1918.

How do I know that? A family member put this label inside the back cover:

It is filled with colorized photos of French landmarks.

 

And a few other travel books...

Chris bought a box full of James Keiller & Son's Dundee Marmalade jars and Wm O. Hartley's Marmalade crocks. Most of the labels on the Hartley crocks are completely or partially missing, but there are a few that have the label intact. I'm not sure what those are worth, since there aren't many to be found online. Have you ever seen the Hartley crocks before?

He also bought two industrial work stools made by Lyon.

This Calf-teria bucket makes me want to buy a cow so I can milk it into this bucket.

 

A pair of wooden folding chairs:

I love the red-orange-black patina on these.

Turn-of-the-century lidded box from J.S. Ivins' Son Steam Bakery in Philadelphia. I wonder what steamed goodies filled that box back in the day.

Chris knows that I like to buy feed sacks or grain sacks or any kind of sack when I see them. We bought a lot of 24 five-pound sugar sacks at an estate sale a few weeks ago. I'll show you those in a future post.

But when he texted me a photo from the auction of a huge galvanized tub filled with these grass seed sacks, I almost peed my pants. Most are green, and some are white. They aren't all in good shape, but they are really cool, even with a few stains and fading. There's around 30 of them.

Speaking of sacks, when Chris was in college, he and his friends played a drinking game that involved a box of wine. Before I even continue, I bet you have the same question - why the hell would college-age men even buy a box of wine? My theory is that they stole it from someone's mother. Anyway, they would take the inner bag out of the box. And then they would just pass the bag of wine around to each other and each person would drink from the spigot. They called it Lick the Sack. With a name like that, I guess it could have been much worse.