Wild Wonderful Elkhorn Antique Flea Market

By Friday night we were packed to the gills in the Old Green Bomb and by Saturday early am we were on the road on the way to Elkhorn Antique Flea Market.  Forecasters said the weather both Saturday and Sunday would be awful and they proved right.

We set up in a new space for us--in the North Hall.  We loaded a variety of great quirky garden and home things--and actually bought well on our way up to Elkhorn (I love it when we can do that!) 

It was windy and rainy and windy and rainy again for all of set up.  Hearty outside dealers were setting up tents and canopies with extra guy wires.  We did our usual inventory "drop" and I left Dear Husbola to set up the booth and I headed out shopping.  Outside dealers were reporting strong sales and I found some treasures.  Husbola called  to ask me to come back to the booth as he was having many sales and needed help.  Now THAT is what I like to hear. And the only reason I would stop shopping!

I am no judge of numbers--but maybe 10 percent of outside dealers had set up by the time we left for dinner at 5pm-ish.  It is MIGHTY rough for those folks to have collected good stuff all winter and be eager as all get out to sell--and then not want it to be ruined in cold wet or blown over and broken.  Heck--there were WHITECAPS on the retention pond outside our motel window!!

Sunday weather was no better.  Sideways rain and wind. The grounds had filled in with more and more outside stands.   The usual story is that outside dealers sell better than inside dealers at a flea market.  There is frequently a perception that all the deals are outside rather than inside.  Not so.  The dreadful weather and lower number of outside dealers drove the people in the buildings by the droves.  We sold like gangbusters.  By 9am our booth was struggling to be attractive anymore--but we did not care.  The shoppers have been chomping at the bit to get to the first Elkhorn--and by the looks of the exit lines and stuffed wagons--treasures were found all over the fairgrounds.

Oh--what all we antiquing crazy people put up with.  We LOVE this stuff--and realize that you can put on extra clothes and have wet feet and numb hands--and still keep selling or hunting for a treasure.  The Elkhorn dealers and shopping crowds are a friendly, interested  and eager group. They smile, shop and EAT.  I saw people in parkas scarfing down roasted corn on the cob and pulled pork sandwiches.  (I had a bad hot dog--but that is another story!) 

May, 2011 Elkhorn is in the books.  It is going to be a great selling spring and summer!!!

Next Up: Elkhorn Flea Market

I have written before about the event/cult following of the Elkhorn Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairgrounds in southern Wisconsin.  This year, it is May 15--always a Sunday--from 7am-3pm.  It is well worth your time for a visit.

Some of you may remember the glory days of the Sandwich Antiques Market in Sandwich Illinois at the fairgrounds there.   This is the closest we have come to that kind of experience.  You are not gong to find tube socks and jujubes in big plastic tubs at Elkhorn.  But you might find some fresh asparagus and even a few morel mushrooms (check $25 a pound and they go fast) as well.  Two vendors have large displays of annuals and one vendor has great perennials at easy on the pocketbook prices.  But that is all just gilding on the antiques lily.

I am not sure how many dealers they expect--hundreds and hundreds and hundreds.  This is vintage and antiques and vintage junk too.  This will not be Betty Making Do-Dads from Widgets.  This is where YOU buy the widget and you can take it home and make the do-dad.  This is not a craft show.

The market has inside dealers in many buildings and outside dealers.  Several times we have done the show in the past and there have been driving rain showers.  We have been very happy to be inside.  This year--you will find us in the very nice North Hall.  Outside dealers have more room to spread out--and you will find a wide range of goods--including the "just pulled it out of a shed" kind of things.  Don't assume that the only bargains are from the outside dealers.  We have found our greatest treasures hiding inside a building.

I like the fact there are paved paths throughout the fairgrounds.  This allows for easy patron walking, People can bring physically challenged guests, and you do not get that  "I found a treasure but I have mud up to my knees" experience that I think is overrated.  Very overrated.

It is the experience as a dealer that I enjoy.  Fresh air.  New antique hunting season is open.  It is the potstickers and egg rolls at Moy's Chinese restaurant in Elkhorn the night before that Dear Husbola likes best I think.

It's been a very long grueling winter.  A long day of sifting through a crisp fairgrounds, finding a widget for your home or garden, eating a Future Farmer's of America hamburger--ahhhhhhhhh It's time for antiquing, Wisconsin style!!!

http://www.nlpromotionsllc.com/shows.html

Blumen Gardens Sycamore Illinois Antique Show

As I am packing the car to do this antique show, I am wearing a coat and wish I had a pair of gloves on.  Yes--it is a month into spring and April 29-30 is the 6th Annual Garden Gate To Spring Antique Show to be held at the Blumen Gardens in Sycamore Illinois.

We are looking foward to being part of this little gem of a show.  Blumen Gardens is a fabulous sprawling garden shop-and the show is held in their 19th century factory building that used to be a barbed wire factory.  The show is made up of a variety of delaers who bring all things garden--vintage garden treasure in all price ranges--and in the beautiful setting of the gardens. 

What are we taking?  Vintage treasures including floral oil paintings, english garden tools, fresh to market french tolewear, berry carriers and berry gathering tools.  I have an awesome set of wrought iron planters, a wire fernery, and an incredible 3/4 height cupid bird bath from an estate in Riverside.  Just to name a few things.

Sycamore is a short drive from my house--and I am looking forward to being surround with great garden items--and a goodt group of dealers.  This group takes care with their displays--and should put us all in a good spring mood.

The show opens Friday and Saturday at 9am.  Blumen Gardens is located at 403 Edward St.  815-355-1746.

What is this French Macaroon Craze?

Before Dear Husbola and I left for Paris this spring--I did a great deal of reading of what was "on" and "happening" in Paris in anticipation for the trip.  Macaroons macaroons macaroons.  Recipes for macaroons.  Decorating with macaroons.  Best colors-best flavors --all things macaroons.

Now--I remember some dreadful soggy things sort of cocoanut spongie things from my childhood.  In my adventurous youth, I got terribly seasick on a boat in the North Sea and I had eaten some "scottish macaroons" just previously.  I wanted no part of the 2011 version of macaroons.

Our vacation started in London, and walking by the beautiful Burlington Arcade in Picadilly one day--I noticed that a high end scottish cashmere shop had disappeared and a garishly decorated top of a wedding cake looking shop had replaced it--Laduree french pastry shop.  French macaroons in London--what next!

Coincidentally, our touring group ate at the flagship Laduree in Paris.  I report a beautiful belle epoque over the top decor in this restaurant. ( I also report an excellent starter and dessert.  Main course--not so much.  But I digress.)  Yes--with coffee we got to taste several kinds of mini macaroons.  Think pastel colored Whoopie Pie.  The two biscuits are almond flavored--and filled with a stiff filling in multitudes of flavors--pistachio-coffee-chocolate-hazelnut--and some much more unusual ones like rose, violet and geranium.  If I were making a guess--and I am no "foodie"-- I think probably that France has passed the cupcake craze and moved on to macaroons.  Get ready American bakeries!

So what do macaroons have to do with antiques?  After we got home, my email contained an announcement for a Shop the Shed event in East Dundee last weekend.  Dealers Joy Frey-Waltmire and Angela Joy Reed had a wonderful antique and vintage event.  The weather did not coorperate--but never mind as these women had tents and canopies and stuffed a smallish yard and shed with gorgeously displayed vintage treasure.  AND MACAROONS!  Yes--boxes of beautiful little pastries.  I arrived at Shop the Shed about 15 minutes after opening--and there was a huge line at check out--a great crowd and treasures being snapped up right and left.  You can bet Shop the Shed will be on my calendar next year.

So--you see that antiquing can satisfy many cravings--including your sweet tooth!

Antique Dealers are the Same Abroad--But the Shops are Not

Dear Husbola and I just returned from a two week trip to London and Paris.  The trip celebrated our 25 year marriage and gave us a jump start after a weird medical few months.  Nothing pops you out of the doldrums like full throttle blooming cherry trees in Paris and smiling daffodils and primroses in London.

For us antiquers--a little antique hunting in spring time can fight away the winter blues pretty well too.  In a previous post--I mentioned that shipping and cost has made Europe antique buying a tough occupation these days.  While in London, Husbola and I did plan a few days out of London to visit old antique haunts--and had reserved a bit of room in the suitcases--as well as had our tape ready if we would find a treasure to send back via a shipper.  But--this was a vacation trip--not like the non stop antique hunts of previous years.

Stop Number One--We go to a "fall off the train into the shop town" with four large shops and have always come away with bags and bags.  This trip--the best part was a great strong coffee from a new coffee house nearby.  We combed the shops--where are the great paintings-sporting items-victorian decoratives that we have bought in the past?  Not there.  We did buy a large collection of great old brass sprinkling can nozzles--the buyers at our next show at Blumen Gardens in Sycamore will love them--but that was it.  That was it.

Stop Number Two--Brocante Fair in small town.  The day was sunny, crisp and anticipation was high.  Best to say we bought some french enamelware from one dealer and spent 15 minutes at the fair.  Maybe 16 minutes.  Bad lunch.  Nice view of the sea.   Better move on to Stop Number Three.

Stop Number Three-We saved the best for last.  Our favourite Sussex town.  We were to start the day with a small auction, move on to pub lunch and then hit four or five true blue shops.   This auction house is filled with gritty dealers from London and afar--the smell of bacon rolls and coffee hits the nose as you peruse the inventory.  Auction report?--everything was broken, chipped, dirty, incomplete or reproduction. WHAT???  You could have found silver bits and bobs--but we don't "do" silver.  We left before the auction started.  We went to a true blue shop--and FINALLY-- did find some things.  We were met by the smiling faces of the owner Simon and dealer Stephen who remembered us from years past.  We came away with quite a few french decoratives--you will see those at our spring shows too.

I can report the pub lunch was great.  Husbola had his once a year glass of  bitter so he did not grumble the rest of the day.  The rest of the shops proved unfruitful.  One was filled with second hand and repro.  We did find a couple of small tables and  other larger pieces--but we were not shipping this time.  We returned to London with a single carrier bag of loot.

It was good to catch up with Simon and Stephen--they report that they still get American dealers--but I sensed they were quite subdued in their reports.  I did notice several empty cabinets--waiting for new dealers to move in.  Nothing different from the US--being an antique dealer today means you have to negotiate rough waters.

More soon on our Paris part of the adventure...

Antiquing in England

Dear Husbola and I are eagerly anticipating a trip "across the pond" this early spring.  We will spend a week-ish in London before we head to Paris with a petite group of new and old friends.  The purpose of the trip is to celebrate 25 years of marriage and celebrate current good health and the ability to travel.  The purpose of the trip is NOT  business and not antiquing.

For nearly 24 years--each March we made the trek to England to spend several weeks in the exciting and mad hunt for treasures to sell in our antique shop and show venues.  We would rent a flat in London, purchase Britrail tickets--and pack not clothes for the theatre or dining out--but collapsible carts, huge canvas bags, bungee cords, rolls upon rolls of packing tape (UK cello tape just is not great!) and inventory stickers and take on the antiques trade by storm.


Each day we would head out by train, visit a fair or a town with shops and buy items, load them up and carry them back to our rented flat.  Our flat turned into a packing warehouse--with large cartons and bubble wrap rolls the size of truck wheels.  We would pack all the items--and then our trusty Shipper Eric would come by a couple of times during the visit to haul the boxes away and prepare them for shipping.  I know Husbola remembers fondly all the items I purchased over the years that would not fit into a standard shipping box--and he would have to make "a special box".  This task was not all that easy as he was working with a Swiss army knife. 

Nope--not this time--our trip is NOT for antiquing.  No--NOT this time.  Really.  Shipping costs have skyrocketed. There is no economical way to get stuff from there over here. We do not do huge containers of brown furniture.  Brown furniture is cheap over there--and no one wants it over here.  Towns that used to be stuffed with great little shops have dwindled--and great towns like Arundel, Hungerford, Long Melford and Honiton barely have shops anymore.  At least not shops with interesting decorative smalls with room for us to make a profit.

Antique fairs in England are still bustling.  But let's face it--dealers used to deal more.  UK dealers had it right for many years--their turnover was great.  They would buy something in the morning from another dealer--take it to a fair that weekend and sell it and turn it over -make a few quid and constantly keep their inventory moving.  No more.  Their discounts are not great anymore.  Auction house have gotten as greedy at USA ones.  20% commissions are the killer for a dealer buying for resale.

Nope--we are NOT going to antique this trip.  We are staying in a hotel--not a flat.  A nice hotel where we cannot be lugging a cart through the lobby to our room.  Husbola has to pack a jacket and tie--not blue jeans and packing tape.  We are going to some art exhibits and do lots of walking around the beautiful parks stuffed with primroses and daffodils.  We are going to bookshops and have tea at Fortum and Mason.

Well--there is that little auction house in Sussex we like--and they have a Monday auction.  And then there is that fall off the train and into a shop that we like up north.  It has been a few years since we scoped out Portobello Road--if just for the atmosphere.

Shhhhh.  Don't tell Husbola.  I just swapped a pair or trousers for a couple of rolls of packing tape in my suitcase...

Where Have All the Clotheslines Gone?

Husbola and I live in a part of the world that does not have clotheslines.  When have you last seen one?  I mean the real outdoor kind--with two large metal posts and several lines strung between them.  I don't see the lines in our area--let alone lines filled with freshly washed sheets towels and "unmentionables".  They seem to have disappeared from the suburban Chicago landscape.

Well I know where to find some--Husbola and I found them last weekend while attending a couple of antiques shows  in central Illinois Amish country near Arcola.  Each spring we attend two shows in the tiny town of Arthur--which prides itself on being the largest Amish settlement in Illinois.

It was a dismal blustery gray weekend--but we enjoy going to this part of the state because it is so different from where we come from.  I promise I will not be patronizing and use the "quaint" word when describing the settlement.  The Amish in Arthur run a  great antique store, rent out their large community center for one of the antique shows and have a fabulous grocery store lit by gas lamps.  We loaded up on a fabulous cinnamon friendship bread, organic soup mixes and Husbola sneaked in some homemade nut candy.  Did I mention the locally made mustards and brown eggs?  Oh my!  You find this store off the beaten path--way down a road that is not much larger than a driveway.

And the clotheslines!!  Yup--it is gray and dark and dismal day--but house after house had a large line out back and on  Friday most of the lines were covered in laundry.  Nothing too brightly colored--but it was terrific to see the wash flapping in the stiff wind.  Can't you just smell that fresh air on the sheets when they were brought in the house?  Friday must be the traditional washday in this settlement.  What discipline in housework.  Heck-at our house--sometimes there is no washday until we run out of clean underwear!

Another highlight was finding a fabulous hole in the wall BBQ rib joint for supper one night.  We knew it had promise as there was a HUGE smoking smoker outback.  Dry rub ribs at Pauly's--with a variety of sauces to put on them--and one with a great "kick".

I am still thinking about those clotheslines.  I grew up in houses with them.  I love the smell of sheets and towels after flapping in the breeze.  Our house actually has a big umbrella like thing in the garage.  There is a sunken pipe in the yard and the thing can be set up--with great effort--actually a two person job.  But it puts it right in the front yard.  I wonder what the neighbors would think?  Do I care?  Naahhh.

Drive by sometime this spring--and check out our "unmentionables.