A few more details about a few vintage items

I got a few questions about some items that showed up in yesterday's post regarding my purchases at the Brimfield Antiques Show.

Carrie of Buzzings of a Queen Bee wanted to know more about the Memory Lane plates I bought. She wrote: "I am in love with that Memory Lane pattern (from a distance). Can you show us a close up? I have been hunting for a pretty cranberry and white pattern for Christmas for years and can never find it, but maybe I don't know what to look for?"

They're actually a little more on the red/pink side in person but I do think they would be pretty at Christmastime.

It's transfer ware stamped Royal Ironstone. It was made in the 1950s and 1960s.

The pattern is pretty easy to find, although I think the prices tend to vary. I hope that helps, Carrie.

Cher from The Texas Woman was wondering about the printing tray on my mantel. "Please show us a close-up of the collectibles in the case on the mantel. Looks interesting."

I'm glad you like it, Cher. It's holds a little shell collection, as you can see in this closeup. I bought this one, but I've made them as well.

I really like this one because all the shells are different, with no repeats. It feels like someone was collecting specimens. Thanks for your interest, Cher.

Brimfield stole my heart, but not a lot of my cash (this time)

It's been crazy busy here at At Home Redesigns... lots of projects under way. But I thought I'd take a little breather and show you (finally) what I bought (for my personal consumption anyway) at the Brimfield Antiques Show earlier this month.

It was definitely one of the less expensive trips for me. No big purchases. I did get:

• Three Santa ornaments. I'm not clear if they are vintage, but they have the look. Just $2 each.
  
• The animal skin (faux) covered cocktail shaker ($10) as a little gift for my sister Kat. Unless she is reading this, then it cost a LOT more than that.
  
• Three plates in the Memory Lane pattern. I picked up a huge set at an auction a few years ago for a song. So I add plates whenever I see them at a good price. These were $2 each.
  
• The wooden box ($5) will go in my bathroom to hold toiletries on the counter.
  
• A vintage Star Wars lunchbox for my son ($20). It's not in the photo cause he was already playing with it, storing his Star Wars action figures in this much-loved, a-little-dented and a-little-rusty lunch box.
  
• And the vintage wooden pins (juggling? a game?) are now on my fireplace mantel.

They were $40 for the three, which I thought was a good deal.

I know, a shockingly small pile, huh? But I had a great time checking stuff out, seeing what's popular and getting a feel for prices. Not again until May...sigh...

Painting antiques? Sure... most of the time

How cute is this dresser? My friend Marianne picked it up for her shop a few weeks ago when we were shopping at the Brimfield Antiques Show. It's hand painted.

I had a ton of fun redesigning Marianne's store recently using this and her other Brimfield finds, like these painted table and chairs.

We were definitely drawn to painted furniture during this trip. I know some people don't like to paint antiques. But here's my take: I would never paint an antique that is valuable or unique. But there are a lot of pieces out there that are rather ordinary... until someone paints them and then, wham, super cute.

And painted pieces can be so much more versatile. Today, white. Tomorrow, black. And then one day, who knows, pink with polka dots...

Brimfield brought to you

I spent Thursday and Friday at the Brimfield Antiques Show in Massachusetts, so I thought I'd give you a look at that instead of running my usual I Love These Ideas! Sunday column.

The show features field after field of antique and vintage items. There's so much stuff that even after spending eight hours each day, we left a whole lot unseen. (I think the super hot weather slowed us down a bit, but we got in and out before the rain and winds from Hurricane Hanna arrived.)

We (meaning me, my friend Marianne who owns Consignments Ltd. in Wakefield, RI, and shops Brimfield for that, and her mother, antiquer extraordinaire) bought quite a bit from the White Home Collections booth.

The shabby chic and cottage booth featured lots of great painted furniture and fabrics. The six chairs that Marianne bought with the pedestal table had new blue toile fabric. Pretty.

Here's another booth that caught our eye. Roomers & Bloomers used beautiful fabric, too. She sells out of Virginia.

This handsome telescope had cherry wood and brass fixtures. It was $200 and I was wishing I could use it somewhere...

We noted more stuff from the '70s this time around. These PEACE chairs would be awesome in the right house (minus the oddly paired floral fabric). The dealer was asking $600 for the six of them.

We saw lots of oak card catalogues and pharmacy cabinets. I love these for family rooms for holding CDs or DVDs. This one was priced at $975.

You could put this cabinet to the same use. It was $595. If you were shopping for new furniture, you couldn't get anything that solid and that cute at that price.

Here's Marianne. I know what you're wondering.... didn't her knuckles get sore with all that walking? Oh, I mean, you probably want to know the price of the gorilla: It was $499. No idea where it was before it was at Brimfield.

Get your running shoes ready: It's almost time for Brimfield!

I'm off this week for some R & R (and that don't mean Redesign and Renovation, folks...).

But! Before you run off... I'll be posting some reruns this week in case you missed them on the first go-around.

Now, I know I haven't been around long enough for reruns... but I figured if Lost can do it mid-season, so can I.

First up: Posts on Brimfield, the largest antique show in all of the world. (I don't know if that's true, but it's big.) AND it's coming up again Sept. 8 through Sept. 13.

• Antiques: They're not just getting older...
  
• Can't wait to use the Port-o-Potty!
  
• NY Post headline: Naked people overrun Brimfield Antiques Show
  
• First the rain, now the cold

A Snapshot: This would scare people away

I saw this guy at the Brimfield Antiques Show in May. Wish I had the kind of house where he would make sense. Don't remember how much he was. But no price would be too high. Don't you agree?

I sale; you sale; we all sale

Do you yard sale? I think that can be a verb, especially if you do it a lot.

Since we were talking yesterday about my upcoming yard sale, I thought I'd pass along a tip for those of you who like to keep an eye out for bargains, or want to save the environment by re-using items, or appreciate the quality of older furniture...

Just about any piece of furniture will look good painted black (I like Benjamin Moore's semi-gloss).

I bought this armoire at a yard sale for $50 a few years ago. It was solid and clean, but its finish was, um, finished. A quart of paint and a few new knobs, and it makes for a great armoire for my office.

I added a few wire shelves inside for even more storage space.

Just one more tip when you are refurbishing a piece: Don't put it in your garage to tackle later...when you've got your painting clothes on...and after you've taken the "before" photo...but instead start to sand it just to see how that will go...and then decide to test the paint color...and, oh heck, might as well finish the whole thing and then ruin your favorite jeans by getting paint on them and order pizza for dinner cause you haven't done anything else all day. Don't do that.

A Snapshot: How much you bench? $105

Another Brimfield find: An older restaurant bench that someone painted red. I was thinking for the end of my bed, but it could also work in the kitchen, or maybe the family room… I’m sure I could make my money back in my friend Marianne’s consignment shop. Eventually everything winds up there to make room for something new…

A Snapshot: Spring in my step

I picked up this handbag at Brimfield. It's a vintage Margaret Smith bag. Paid $25, which I think was a great deal. Margaret Smith, of Gardiner, Maine, started making beach bags and totes in the '40s and the company continues today. (I love to look stuff up and pretend I knew that all along...)

First the rain, now the cold

There's always an emphasis on the garden and on spring at the May Brimfield Antiques Show. Thought I'd share with you some photos I took while I was there last week - before the rain made picture-taking, though not shopping, impossible.

Now, I'm off to bed to recuperate from something else I picked up at Brimfield: a lousy cold.

A Snapshot: Pays to think outside the box

Got this little red box at Brimfield for $20. Found it in a booth that sold mostly linens. Antiques shopping hint: Don’t discount a booth because it mostly carries items you are not particularly interested in. Sometimes a little gem awaits.

NY Post headline: Naked people overrun Brimfield Antiques Show

I'm back from the Brimfield Antiques Show (the largest antiques show in New England with 5,000 dealers from all over the country). I had to keep my visit to one day this time, and it poured from lunchtime on, but it was, as usual, wonderful.

Also, as usual, I had good company: My closest friend for 30 years, Marianne, there in the pink boots standing next to me, and her Mom, who knows pretty much everything you need to know about antiques cause she's been buying and selling for years. How many years, I'm not going to say, but I will tell you one thing about Marianne's Mom: No matter how young you are, I dare you to try to keep up with her at Brimfield.

Things to love about Marianne and Brimfield: She's a speed shopper, and I don't like to dawdle either; she's got a great sense of direction, which means she remembers where we bought stuff and that comes in handy when it's time to pick it all up; she's not scared of a strong martini (which has nothing to do with Brimfield, but I do like that about her); and she's not afraid to wear pink boots.

Plus she knows what I mean when I say: "Where's that guy's booth, the one who had those things?" And she generally keeps me pointed in the right direction and wipes the drool off my chin...

We got a boat-load of stuff, which is to say two vans full. Full, as in we had to tie our little cart to the roof of one to get it all home. Marianne found a lot of fun stuff for her shop, a home furnishings consignment store in Wakefield, RI, called Consignments Ltd.

I didn't set any records for purchases, being there only one day, but I did what I could to stimulate the economy. I'll give you specifics later.

As you roam the many fields of Brimfield, you catch snippets of information from the dealers and you notice themes.

This year, topics of conversation included:

• The number of European buyers (up) thanks to the value of the dollar (down).
• The price of gas (up). Dealers come from all over the country, carrying heavy loads, so gas prices hurt.
• The price of gold and silver (up), which was good or bad, depending on whether you were buying or selling.

Another Brimfield phenomenon: Every year we notice an influx of a particular item. For instance, after the war started, a lot of dealers were selling vintage war posters, or reproductions of them.

In recent years, for whatever reason, lots of monkeys...statues, paintings, old stuffed ones. (How many times can you say: "Marianne, look, isn't this your aunt? I see the family resemblance" before she decides to let you try to find your way back to the van by yourself.)

This year, the theme was nudes. Paintings, sculptures, little ivory doo-dads, glass etchings...

Was going to take photos to show you what I mean. But I found myself standing there staring at the various nudes, trying to decide whether to take a photo, wondering how odd I would look doing that, and then realizing by then I was really standing there too long, and would definitely get noticed as the woman with drool on her chin who stares at nudes...and then takes photos of them. So I decided to pass.

Next time you get out of the shower, take a look in the mirror. You'll get the idea.

Take a seat; leave the table

Before I set off for Brimfield, I thought I'd show you one more example of something I love that I found there.

At least 6 or so years ago, I got this table. The lines are terrific and so is the hardware. It's an altar table or an incense table, only a lot simpler than you usually see. It's got some age to it (which is what people say when they have no idea how old something is.)

It was a great deal. I paid about $225 for it, just as a dealer was about to load it on his truck at the end of the day. (The wicker chairs were a wonderful find, too...but that's another story.) I've had the table in my family room, in the dining room and now in my kitchen. (I like to shake things up...hence the redesign business.)

One of the best things about this table is this: My sister Kat wants it bad. Been looking for one like it for her for years, and haven't come close. So, it's kind of my insurance policy. Someday I'll need something from her... like a cornea or for her to pay Jude's college education...and I'll be all set...

I'm headed to Brimfield! I'll report back this weekend.

Can't wait to use the Port-o-Potty!

If you read my blog yesterday, you'll already know this, but the Brimfield Antiques Show started today. It's the largest outdoor antiques show in New England and it lasts six days. Think the arrival of the Great Pumpkin, the start of baseball season (if you're my husband, not me), the receipt of your Economic Stimulus Payment (if it was a lot bigger and hadn't already been spent).

I can't get there until Friday. But, in case you beat me to it, I'm passing along 5 Tips for Shopping Brimfield:

Wear comfortable shoes. Not shoes that are comfortable at home or at the beach. Shoes that are comfortable at a construction site (read: ugly).

Bring cash. You’ll get a better deal because it’s more convenient for dealers (read: no need to get the IRS involved). Most dealers do not accept credit cards.

Negotiate: You know how you tell kids the TV goes off in 2 minutes, and they say 10 more minutes, and you say, 5, and they say 8 and you say forget it, the whole deal’s off, and you start to Google: Selling my child on black market, and then they say 3 and you are both happy (read: worn down). Same at Brimfield, just insert dollars for minutes.

Pack it: If you’ve done your job well, you’ll have lots of loot to take home. Plan to bring a backpack or a cart to lug smaller items around the fields. Bring blankets and rope to secure the bigger items. If you’ve got any room in your vehicle at the end of the day, come back the next day (read: the cost of the motel, dinner and drinks in no way counts toward total spending at Brimfield).

Prepare for it: Bring rain boots, umbrellas, gloves, hats, sunblock, water bottles, snacks, cell phone (for emergency measurement phone calls home), hand sanitizer, toilet paper (read: ever used a Port-o-Potty?)

A Snapshot: And now it's mine

Since the Brimfield Antiques Show is this week (signal the confetti!), I thought I’d share one of my favorite finds from last year. It’s an oil painting signed (can’t quite read the name) and dated 1927. I love the subject matter: the ocean (someone has written “The Gathering Storm” on the back); the size (it’s only 12 inches by 10 inches, and there’s something endearing about that); and the frame (I like the way the black contrasts against the apple green wall I have it hanging on). And I love the price: $30.

A Snapshot: One hard worker

This is the commode I picked up at Brimfield a few years ago. Since I’ve had it, it’s held toys in the family room, and now does duty as a nightstand. Like a lot of furniture made back in the day, it’s solid and will likely see a lot more service before it retires.

Antiques: They're not just getting older...

What a great way to start the week: Mother's Day presents (a tile with a flower formed by my son's paint-covered finger tips being my favorite), cake and sunshine, at least here in Rhode Island.

And it's only going to get better. For one, my mother's birthday is this week. And so is the Brimfield Antiques Show (and frankly, not necessarily in that order). Brimfield, in case you are not familiar, is a town in Massachusetts, and is the location of the largest outdoor antique show in New England (perhaps beyond) and features 5,000 dealers from all over the country, who for six days display their furniture, glassware, artwork, garden accessories, and every collectible item you can imagine.

The show runs three times a year - May, July and September - and I do my utmost to spend two opening-to-closing days there in May and September.

You walk miles through dusty fields in the heat, in the cold, in the rain - as the case may be - to find the perfect something, or the strange something, or just to learn something. You pull a heavy cart to carry the stuff that will fit in it and then later battle pedestrians and traffic to pick up the stuff that won't.

You get filthy, exhausted, sore. It's heaven.

My oddest Brimfield purchase: An iron turtle that I had to have to act as greeter to the patio I had just designed for our back yard (see him in the photo above, lower left corner). I'm too embarrassed to tell you what I paid for him, but he cost a couple of bucks a pound, and it took two men to carry him to the yard.

Brimfield has yielded all sorts of great finds - a cowboy costume from the '40s that my son loved for as long as it fit; a gorgeous oak barrister's bookcase that I sold for more than I paid for it when I decided to switch it out a few years later (when's the last time that happened with new furniture?), the commode next to my bed that once held a chamber pot and now holds decorating magazines. I've bought more trinkets, prints and collectible Christmas and Halloween decorations than I can remember.

I even stole something once, although I swear I didn't mean to. I was shopping a hardware booth when I found a drawer knob that I needed. I asked the dealer how much and he said "free." I thought he meant: Free as in, it's so small and I don't want it, just take it. Actually he meant free as in one-two-free. We worked it out, but I've avoided that particular row in that particular field for years.

If you get the chance, drop by Brimfield or another antiques fair in your town. As a general rule, antique or vintage items are a better value than new ones and they give you the chance to add a little personality - or a really big turtle - to your home.