Facebook me!

Greetings everyone.  I am delighted to announce that I have finally launched a facebook page for showcasing my antique business - I Need This, Antiques.  I've been trying to get a website launched for years, but like the cobbler who never has shoes for his own kids, I design and build them for others but never quite finish a site for myself.  I decided to go the shortcut route and utilize Facebook as the platform for now.  More and more business' are using the Facebook platform with success and selling directly from their page and I hope to be part of their growing numbers.

It's only 24 hours old so not a lot to look at...YET!  But I do hope that you will visit and "like me"...I want you to really like me. LOL

Blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

Flowery Branch Antiques Market

Finally made a trip to the Flowery Branch Antiques Market in Flowery Branch, Georgia.  They hold a monthly show the first weekend of every month and since a blog friend, Sassy Trash, now has a booth there, perhaps we can finally meet.  We have been exchanging comments for years now and keep missing each other as our paths seemingly crossed. 

 

The main entrance to the market.  The building doesn't look like much from the state highway, but it is filled with booths inside.

 

The booths that you first see as you walk into the building.  So much to see and lots of variety of beautiful antiques, vintage and retro, unique repurposed decorative items and then smatterings of junk.  Truly something for everyone.

 

 This was a lovely booth display by R & S Antiques and Collectibles.  A marvelous display of the old and not so old.  Prices were excellent.

 

R & S offered lovely reupholstered pieces at great prices for the buyer.

 

This huge booth had lots and lots and lots of architectural items.   Big and small and lots of items to select from, I purchased antique bottles to use in my Halloween displays.

 

Another booth filled with unique pieces.

 

How sweet is this baby scale with original basket?  

 

I'd recognize this booth anywhere...yes, it's Sassytrash and I hope Miss Sassy is hiding in here somewhere.

 

I see a tiny, beautiful woman in the corner of her booth.  I lean in and ask, "Sassy?"  and she smiles with her eyes and says, "yes."  Well Sassy girl...this is the Sea Witch!  We both are grinning and share a warm hug.  So nice to finally meet this delightful picker and purveyor of such amazing repurposed items. 

We finally had to stop chatting each other up as I had other treasure to seek out and she had customers to attend to.  You could look all over her booth and find surprises everywhere.  It was wonderful to finally meet this talented artist and blogger friend. This is why I have enjoyed blogging so much. I have met such creative, talented and joyful people who have filled my life with so much color.

Nice set of four Goofus Glass bowls.  Poor man's art glass, I love to decorate with it over the Christmas holidays. Filled with vintage/antique Christmas ornaments, they look marvelous nestled in these bowls.

How cool is this? I love using an old rake as a wine cup rack.  It's this type of "cleverness" that you find throughout these types of shows.

 

If you need prisms, there are a few booths that sell every size and shape imaginable.  

My name is Adrian and I watch over my daddy's booth.  He sells lots of mantiques.  But enough about that, aren't I sweet?

 

I love vintage American quilts and there were some beauties available.  Love this "Drunkards Path" red and white quilt.

 

My new source for antique findings.  I am always on the hunt for an unusual handle, a replacement something and "for Keeps" is a treasure trove of these kinds of items.  Prices are not overpriced so I will be back again and again.

Beautiful antique basket filled with vintage baskets.

 

Another pretty booth filled with American General Store and Country. Plain and Fancy arts and antiques had so much to see and well priced.

Plain and Fancy had pretty little decorative vignettes around her booth.  I really liked her ode to the American school house. She even had an old report card thumb tacked to the desk.

 

Kudzu Hardware was another booth filled with findings and such.

 

More cowbell!  How fun to have a bunch of these hanging in an outside foyer teasing the visitor to rattle a cowbell or two.

 

And finally, this is a perfect example of creative minds taking an industrial item, a huge and heavy commercial dough beater, and converting it into a hanging lamp. I can see this in a restaurant or a huge, family kitchen.  It really was a beauty and so much more fun than a run of the mill lighting.

If you are in the Flowery Branch area, the FB Antiques Market is a must stop.  The dealers are friendly and there is a wide variety of vintage items and antiques to choose from.  I came home with a pretty little antique miniature oil lamp, an assortment of antique medicine bottles, a terrific quadruple plate serving tray, a pretty antique silver plated gravy/sauce ladle and a few black, textile spools.  I'll share those photos in another post.  

Speaking of other posts, you may have noticed that this group of photos all have my blog name and a copyright date.  I will be posting about image use infringement in my next post and share a story of a blogger who was sued for using images that were not public domain items.   It does not matter that she gave the artist credit and a link back to his site.  I have to say that I thought that as long as you gave credit to the image creator/owner and did not receive money for the post, you were not in violation of copyright infringement.  I was wrong. With that said, any photos that I have taken, you-dear blogger, are welcome to copy and save to use in your blogs.

So until my next post, wishing blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch.

Booth fluff up.

Halloween items are moving briskly so I had to bring in more to fill in the holes from items that were sold. 

Acquired this slightly ovoid shaped, antique stoneware jug last weekend.  Jug still has an old cork in it.

All of the gourds have sold so I brought in this marvelous 1900s antique beer tray.  Pretty lady dressed in a kimono. Brewery unknown.

Pretty shabby cottage decorative cabinet shelf is perfect for holding favorite items.  Pair of spooky, faux headstone markers molded from 18th century headstones. Picked these up at the Crabtree Festival last Saturday.

I love the look of these.  I have already sold half of them.

A better photo of the pretty shelf.  This is one of those items that I like better each time I see it.

Nice soft and oh so warm fur Fox hat from the 1960s.

The fox hat looks great next to the Orvis knitted wool sportsmans sweater.  This sweater is a rich pine green. 

Lots of things to do this coming weekend. I hope I can get most of them accomplished.  Blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

Time for a Booth Fill In

Time for another booth fill in...especially now that Easter is just around the corner, collectors are out on the prowl looking for something to add to their personal collections or even start a new one.  I usually bring out my linens in the spring and I was busy starching and ironing over the weekend.  As mentioned in a previous post, I like to iron linens.  There is something wonderful about seeing wrinkled textiles and watching them become smooth and crisp with the passing of a hot iron and a little steam. 

So I brought in linens, bisque eggs and a pair of greenware infant heads.  I know, I know their heads...but they are kinda cool too.

Found more of my green depression glass so brought more in.

Lots of deviled egg trays and pretty little pottery drawers for storing favorite recipes, found objects or treats.

Sweet child's Edwardian slip.  Soft, fine cotton batiste and pretty Irish filet crochet lace edging. 

Wonderful pairs of late Edwardian deadstock ladies shoes.  Size 6 and 6.5, these have never been worn and are in wearable condition.  Circa 1910.

How about this smashing, soft rabbit fur ladies wrap or stole?  Perfect condition, this is the wrap that every teen angel wanted to wear to that last dance of the school season.

A selection of fantastic ladies envelope clutch bags in sequins and beads.  All from the 1950s.

Those fabulous Armetale mugs have already gotten lots of interest. 

Pretty doilies, crosses and painting. 

Had good sales last week and in speaking with other colleagues, everyone appears to be having sales so this is good for all of us.  With the economy as unstable as it is, it is really nice to know that the antique and art community is seeing sales. Wishing all of us who are involved in any retail endeavor a very prosperous spring season.  Sea Witch

Jars, Armetell and a Gypsy

I like vintage, lidded glass containers.  I know this stems from my childhood as my mother always had pretty glass candy jars filled with a variety of candies inside.  From flashy metallic foils to pastel pinks, she would fill her huge, soft pine hutch with lots of these candy filled jars.  It was always like walking into a sweet shop in the city.  So I come by the need to fill pretty jars with candy honestly.  These always sell well for me no matter the season and I believe it is because of the pretty treats contained inside.  Suddenly, an empty vessel, although pretty on its own, takes on a different visual appeal.  When I bring them into the store filled with pretty candies, the jars seem to fly out of my booth. 

Came across this set of five different Wilton,  Armetale Ware steins from the 1970s at my local goodwill.  These are massive and the photo does not really show that.  (especially the big stein in the back of the photo, this piece is almost nine inches high and about 6 inches in diameter and has quite a bit of weight to it)  Big and heavy, these have the look and feel of pewter but are actually an aluminum alloy product with the ability to mold into any shape imaginable.  Easy to clean, they never tarnish, are safe for beverages and the keep hot things hot and cold things cold.  Armetell items are often mistaken for pewter as they can mimic old pieces easily.  These steins are from the Wilton Armetell colonial tavern series and will be a nice addition to anyone's collection.

And last, but not least, this adorable old photograph of a young girl in a gypsy costume.  Photo is also hand colored to enhance the burgundy and gold ribbons and costume she wears.  Photo is approximately 6 inches by 8 inches and is in wonderful condition in its original matt.  I think she is the "cat's meow" with her satin headband and matching ribbons.  (all photos enlarge when you click on them - so don't be shy to take a peak at this gypsy baby)

Have a satin hairband, gypsy ribbon kind of day!  Sea Witch

...and she blogs

I'm here. I offer my first blog. I ask myself, what brought me to this venue as I have visited blogs on and off for years with never a desire to offer my own. I blame "one vintage hag," although blame is not the proper word, I thank, yes I thank "one vintage hag" for introducing me to a cyber world of friends, new and old, quirky personalities hidden behind interesting headers, joyful photographs, heartfelt words, laugh out loud snippets of their daily activities and a few tears that we all share in common. These unique men and women who have a common (or perhaps, uncommon) need to share pieces of themselves through their blogs.

These bloggers, that I have come to know through "one vintage hag," show their heart, open and honest, unafraid to share their joys; their families, their friends and their pets; their interests in vintage things, antiques and how they live with them; and their eyes and how they see all of these things around them. Oh those eyes, how I love visiting and seeing what you have created from found objects, bits of vintage laces and jewelry, stones, shells and other found treasures picked up along their travels and repurposed into lovely or quirky or amusing or flat out weird with a joy of their own.

So I begin my own blog this evening with this dedication to three incredible women that I am truly grateful for. First, my mom, who watches me from heaven and is laughing as she elbows my dad in the ribs and says, "Look Paul, your eldest daughter is now blogging." My mom, who I first introduced to the Internet in the early 90's, and who saw, even then, the endless possibilities of the world's information at her beautiful fingertips. If she were here with me today, she would be blogging. I love you mom and not a day goes by that I do not think of you. Kiss dad for me too. Second, "one vintage hag" who asked me a few months ago how to build a blog. I knew when she shared those words with me her blog would be wonderful...what I did not count on was her drawing me into all of these amazing places in blog land. I have followed each and every blog posting she has made and from there entered into a world of new friends, artists, personalities, and all of their pets. But more than that, through her blog she has willingly shared her vulnerability as well as her creativity, generosity, and her heart. I thought I knew her pretty well, but her blog shared more of her soul with her writings. What a gift she shares. Finally, to a friend in Flagstaff and writer of children's books, a woman who loves to hike the beauty of Arizona, a journalist who advocates the craft and my friend, Linda Kranz. I can use her name because she is a published author and well known in the journaling industry. Linda, you would be proud to know that I am blogging, my form of journaling and so I also dedicate my first blog to you. Three phenomenal women, my mom, one vintage hag and a writer. How blessed I truly am.

So I blog. I hope you will visit from time to time.