Weekend Shopping - Turkeyville & Marshall, Michigan

For the past week we had the joy of having two of our granddaughters with us. Yesterday, I took them home to Michigan, meeting their Mom partway.  I knew there would be time to shop, so checked around for events in the area. When I found a listing for an "Antique Show & Flea Market" at Turkeyville, it sounded like fun.  Turns out that the only turkey in Turkeyville was ME, for driving 90 minutes out of my way to get there.

Has this ever happened to you? This was pretty much "it".

Fortunately, the town of Marshall was nearby.  There were 4 antique shops and two of them were especially fun.  Amazing Grace Antiques was loaded with treasures on four levels.

I knew I was going to love this shop.

Vintage prom dresses were hung near the ceiling...

 

 ...there were fun vignettes at every turn...

...colors of the sea...

...and girly delights.

Down the street was Grannie's Attic, another large shop loaded with treasures.

There was a huge variety for home & garden.

I saw chippy delights...

 ...cabinets overflowing with china & Ironstone

...all reasonably priced...

 ...and this faboo fireplace mantel.

I'd love to return to these two shops one day, but I definitely won't be stopping at Turkeyville next time!  Next post...recent finds.

 

A Tiny Little Junk Bonanza Teaser.... Numbers

Less than 2 months until Junk Bonanza....yippeeee!  It's time to start pulling out some of the 'schnibbles and bits' that I promised to take.  We'll start with these; a collection of bus passes from the 1930's to the 1970's.  The graphics are great and I love them cause each one has a number on it!  Perfect for your projects.

 P.S.   Don't forget to follow the Junk Bonanza blog!

Been Busy....Having Fun

There's not much that I love

more than my work...

but putting it on hold

for a week

to spend time with these two

is pure pleasure!

All American Finds - Meet My New Man "GW"

This was a fun day as I love being surrounded by patriotic displays all year long.  Off I went to purchase one special item and ended up with a whole lot more.  First, allow me to introduce you to the animatronic George Washington.  At 4 feet tall with a composition head, arms & legs, velvet coat and cotton wig, he's utterly charming.  He's missing a hand and one arm is broken but present.  His head nods up and down when you plug in the cord.

I'll be giving him a little TLC to minimize his injuries and spiff him up a bit.

Once the deal was made on George, I learned that his owner is downsizing and willing to sell more items from her collection.  Her home was filled with great bits of Americana and I was happy to bring some of them home. 

 - a group of smalls -                                                             

 

- a cute "chicks" sign -

- "God Bless America..." -

- "Housekeeping Rooms" -

- Early 1900s sand toys -

- saleman's sample saddle -

- Soap crate converted to shelf -

- Framed bunting from 1932 -

- early 1900s trim on bolts -

- 1899 Betsy Ross Assoc. Certificate -

....in the next post I'll show you the early 1900s classroom charts...they're fantastic!

Mount Vernon Show - Can't Wait to Do It Again!

Mount Vernon, Iowa is the storybook all-American small town.

The downtown streets feature charming historic buildings filled with a great mix of quaint and trendy shops. This was just the second year for the July 4th show on the streets of downtown and I think this one has the potential to "go big".  Kim from Wolfe's Antiques and her team obviously put a great amount of effort into putting together a successful and fun show for both dealers and buyers.  Here's a shot taken at the end of set-up on Saturday.

It was hot & humid during set-up and I never did feel that I had my

(ducks in a row)

for my displays.  Everything eventually found a place and I got to the hotel in time to watch the dismal weather forecast. ("There WILL be storms tomorrow, off & on all day...").  Thankfully, they were wrong. (Surprise!)

The weather was fine, (with the occasional tent-lifting gust), attendance was good, and sales, though not fantabulous, were good. By the way, that's a "changing area" sign in the photo below, not a"hanging area"!

I've been enjoying Barb's Simply Iowa blog for awhile.  We were set up back to back and it was great to meet her.  Barb is high-energy fun!  She has loads of wonderful foundlings. Here's a small portion of her display.  Check out that quartet of shabby chairs....love them!

Soon after arriving, new blogger friend Ginger, (virginiarose) & her hubby Garth appeared.  These two are the kindest, sweetest and most fun couple...obviously made for each other!  Left-side-tight-spot-parallel-parking is not my strong point...Ginger called Garth over and together they landed my van just perfectly.  All during the show they were there to help at every turn. When I was ready to leave, the van wouldn't start and Garth dropped everything to jump it. I know that these two were late getting packed and home because they were helping me...big hugs to both of you!  Here's a shot of their booth - check out all of the great stuff that they brought.  That little bentwood chair was sweeeeet.

This was a fun show and I hope to be back there next year.

Here are a couple of random snapshots of some of the other booths.

and lastly...what I didn't buy and have been regretting ever since.

What was I thinking - leaving this little beauty there?

Mount Vernon Show July 4th and Junk Bonanza

LINCOLN HIGHWAY ANTIQUES EXTRAVAGANZA

It didn't take this to get me excited about heading to Mt Vernon, Iowa for the Lincoln Highway Antiques Extravaganza, but now I'm extra-glad to be leaving in the morning.  This, my friends, is a "hardwood rescue system".

Yes, we had a little incident resulting in water cascading down the stairs into the family room and through the hardwood floor, turning the recessed lights below into a sprinkler system.  Those yellow hoses are attached to a machine that's sitting in the kitchen.  The sound it makes is akin to that of a jet engine just before takeoff.  That 'special' machine will be running non-stop until Monday.

Adding to the 'ambiance' are six giant fans and a dehumidifier the size of a refrigerator running in the family room, baseboards pulled off, and carpet lifted to remove padding.  Still, we're very thankful that CG was home when it happened to keep a bad thing from getting 'badder', that the washer repairman took ownership of his goof and  has good insurance, that none of our belongings were damaged, that we live in America....in the grand scheme of things it's a minor inconvenience.

I'll be arriving in Mt. Vernon tomorrow with an eclectic group of goodies, not as well prepared as I'd planned to be, but with plenty to sell.  Here's a little peek starting with lots of baby shoes...

- Great ephemera including 

these 1930s German die cuts -

- 1890s -1920s fashion illustrations 

and magazines from Germany and Paris -

- vintage locker baskets -

- folding rulers that make great stars -

and much, much more!

JUNK BONANZA

Can it be that it's only 76 days away?  Yikes!  Kathy & I would like to thank Jill for the nice feature on the Junk Bonanza blog today. 

400 Miles for Two Items

Driving all day for two items is not usually my idea of a good time, but I think yesterday's trip was worth it. First, I picked up this little beauty in Oregon, Wisconsin.  It measures 11" x 97".

....and presto/chango turns into this table which 

measures 22" x 97" x 33":

I think it's great!  It's an old wallpaper table, the type a contractor would have carried from location to location.  He'd unroll the paper on it, paste it, book it and hang it up.  A conversation with an Elkhorn customer reminded me that I had found this awhile back and never followed up on it.  I went back through my e-mail and found that the seller still had it, and the price had dropped since our last contact.  

 My sunroom is a tiny 8' x 11' . It's my favorite room and where I prefer to work on my laptop. It's currently furnished with two white wicker chairs, a lamp table and a small wicker desk.  I find that I don't sit & read here as much as I used to.  My aim now is to redecorate and turn the room into a studio/office.  When time permits I'm going to see how the table will work along one wall with a stool next to it.  It's the perfect height for crafting or photographing small items.

After leaving Oregon, I zig-zagged across the state up to Little Chute, Wisconsin where this beauty was waiting for me:

It was found in an attic and the paint is in great condition, although the wood is splitting in some areas.  I'm sure that decades in the attic contributed to the shrinkage of the wood.

It's a wonderful example of black Americana, folk art & advertising.  I just spoke with a staff member at the New London museum and she's going to send me the dates when Freiburger & Archibald were in business. 

 *Update: (With thanks to Alice, the Assistant Director of 

the New London Public Museum.) 

Freiburger & Archibald were in business from 1897 - 1903.

 Off to get ready for the show in Iowa this weekend.

Happy hunting!