(no subject)
May. 10th, 2007 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gerisullivanJack and I returned to the antiques flea market in Brimfield today. On our way to meet Jane and Corinne, I passed a woman whose T-shirt proclaimed, "I survived Brimfield."
It's now 11 hours, one lovely soak in the tub, and wild salmon for dinner later. I'm still not sure I qualify to wear that shirt myself.
The Brimfield Antiques Flea Market is held three times each year. Several thousand dealers fill 20-23 fields stretching for a mile or more along Hwy 20, straight through town. Some sources claim 6,000 dealers, others are more conservative at 4,000-5,000. I'm not providing a link -- all of the websites I've found suck rather a lot. Brimfield is a phenomenon. The $35,000 ship's masthead sits mere feet away from junk someone's hoping to pick up a buck for. Knowledgeable collectors regularly find items marked two and three times their value, but there are some remarkable bargains to be found, too. All you need is the eye, the sensibility, the luck, and, most of all, the sheer stamina to endure the experience. It was hot; the breeze elusive. Vendors selling water probably made far more than hundreds or even thousands of dealers with booths full of stuff that offered a more-lasting pleasure to at least some of the shoppers there.
I had successful shopping day. The credit for the cabinet to go in my mud room entrance goes to Jane and Corinne -- they pointed out numerous possibilities I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I''ve started clearing the stuff-filled brick'n'oak stair tread shelves and should have the new cabinet in place within the next day or two. After looking at a dozen or more dealers with wrought-iron trellises, fences, and other garden decorations, I found the contemporary, hand-crafted trellises I was looking for. Soon, the roses will be climbing up the frog, lizard, and hummingbird-adorned sections. That's the plan, anyway.
My other purchases included a signed (script) Northwood vaseline opalescent Nautilus whimsey made from the creamer/sugar mold, a couple of small, blue bowls, and a wad of what appears to be replica, Confederate currency, most likely a souvenir from the 1960s or so, based on the feel of the paper. Hey, even fake or play money can find a home in the International Money Dish here at Toad Woods. Especially if it's interesting.
Speaking of interesting, I have two pottery olive oil containers, reported to be from Turkey. They're reported to be at least 100 years old, and I have reason to believe that's true. They may be a great deal older. It's probable I'll never know for sure, but I enjoy the possibility, and like them regardless. Which is what the whole flea market thing is all about, anyway, isn't it?
I meant to buy a work bench from a cutlery factory, but was so tired by the time we were picking up the cabinet, I completely spaced that I meant to walk down three booths and buy one of the taller ones. Oh, well, maybe Sunday.
Yes, we're going back for a third visit. (Today was our second.) Presuming I can walk again by then.
Brimfield is great conditioning for BaggieCon (SF fans at the Winnipeg Folk Festival). That's what I keep telling myself. I wish I had an in-house massage therapist, and a whirlpool tub, too.
It's now 11 hours, one lovely soak in the tub, and wild salmon for dinner later. I'm still not sure I qualify to wear that shirt myself.
The Brimfield Antiques Flea Market is held three times each year. Several thousand dealers fill 20-23 fields stretching for a mile or more along Hwy 20, straight through town. Some sources claim 6,000 dealers, others are more conservative at 4,000-5,000. I'm not providing a link -- all of the websites I've found suck rather a lot. Brimfield is a phenomenon. The $35,000 ship's masthead sits mere feet away from junk someone's hoping to pick up a buck for. Knowledgeable collectors regularly find items marked two and three times their value, but there are some remarkable bargains to be found, too. All you need is the eye, the sensibility, the luck, and, most of all, the sheer stamina to endure the experience. It was hot; the breeze elusive. Vendors selling water probably made far more than hundreds or even thousands of dealers with booths full of stuff that offered a more-lasting pleasure to at least some of the shoppers there.
I had successful shopping day. The credit for the cabinet to go in my mud room entrance goes to Jane and Corinne -- they pointed out numerous possibilities I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I''ve started clearing the stuff-filled brick'n'oak stair tread shelves and should have the new cabinet in place within the next day or two. After looking at a dozen or more dealers with wrought-iron trellises, fences, and other garden decorations, I found the contemporary, hand-crafted trellises I was looking for. Soon, the roses will be climbing up the frog, lizard, and hummingbird-adorned sections. That's the plan, anyway.
My other purchases included a signed (script) Northwood vaseline opalescent Nautilus whimsey made from the creamer/sugar mold, a couple of small, blue bowls, and a wad of what appears to be replica, Confederate currency, most likely a souvenir from the 1960s or so, based on the feel of the paper. Hey, even fake or play money can find a home in the International Money Dish here at Toad Woods. Especially if it's interesting.
Speaking of interesting, I have two pottery olive oil containers, reported to be from Turkey. They're reported to be at least 100 years old, and I have reason to believe that's true. They may be a great deal older. It's probable I'll never know for sure, but I enjoy the possibility, and like them regardless. Which is what the whole flea market thing is all about, anyway, isn't it?
I meant to buy a work bench from a cutlery factory, but was so tired by the time we were picking up the cabinet, I completely spaced that I meant to walk down three booths and buy one of the taller ones. Oh, well, maybe Sunday.
Yes, we're going back for a third visit. (Today was our second.) Presuming I can walk again by then.
Brimfield is great conditioning for BaggieCon (SF fans at the Winnipeg Folk Festival). That's what I keep telling myself. I wish I had an in-house massage therapist, and a whirlpool tub, too.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 04:17 pm (UTC)You'd like the people-watching, the overheard conversations, and the sheer visual cacaphony of the place when it's in full swing.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 04:22 pm (UTC)