Brimfield or bust and we have a winner!

Hi there! Hope you are off to having a happy weekend. I am thrilled to announce the winner of my monogrammed soap giveaway. Here's the lucky winner (please email me to provide your choice of monogram, scent and shipping address). 

Result:

78  MAUREEEN 

Before I move onto Brimfield..I feel I need to clarify something. That picture of Teddy sprawled out on my really old but really good TRS sofa? You giving me credit for being so nice? So kind? So carefree and easy going to allow him to do that? Hogwash! Mr. Teddy is so not allowed on the sofa or any furniture for that matter but lately he has been "sneaking" a nap on it when he thinks we aren't looking! I had to take a picture because I hate to admit it but he looked too cute, so relaxed and like he was the king of the hill. But shortly after the shot was taken, he was kindly reminded the sofa is for us and our guests (who prefer to not go home with a souvenir of a fresh coat of dog hair) Had to clarify!

Brimfield....ahh, the one and only, the unique,  that seemingly never ending "biggest antiques fair" in the country ( I believe).  I am  happy to report I am back safe and sound from Brimfield. My, my what an experience, it was my first time and definitely not my last. I was laughing thinking of how I would describe it and this is what I came up with.....

• If I had a pie chart, it would show 65-70% is semi-junk to serious junk, and 30-35% were various things that  warranted looking at, considering buying or at least admiring.
• If you are a hoarder you will be in absolute heaven.....definitely saw my share of things where we both scratched our head saying "who would buy that"?
• If you want to feel like a supermodel....by all means go to Brimfield. Even in our scrubby clothes, its was an ego boost...lol.
• Everyones really nice and friendly, a real mix from your dealers and serious collectors to designers and decorators to shop owners sprinkled with  plenty of  those who looked like they  never left Woodstock and maybe haven't bathed since then either and decided to just stick around until the next great thing comes along, in this case....Brimfield :)
• That I would definitely return and possibly as soon as May '13
• That I am really happy we decided to make it a super looooong day trip (got home very late) The "accommodations" are limited at best and the one or two 'good" hotels gets booked way early
• To say coming home to my own shower and cozy comfy bed was like heaven is a serious understatement, there are no words.
• If you are like me, and pretty particular about what to eat, you might not be very pleased with the pickings, my suggestion bring your own sandwich or snacks. I was not "feeling" the food choices, which were things like pulled pork,, to a greasy looking BBQ to clams strips and lobster rolls (huh? so not buying a lobster roll from a food truck in 90 degree heat). I might sound picky or too particular but I take my food seriously :)
• You should not be at all concerned with what to wear. I mean I normally like to look nice and smart, but we dressed down. Way down. And were still two of the best dressed there.
• If you are looking for weird things like heaps of used clothes, broken records, a giant rusty iron anchor painted hot pink with lime green polka dots, a 6 foot tall Dennis the Menace,  bird houses made from recycled mailboxes, piles of worn to the max tires, plastic spare body parts, a champagne glass that is 5 feet tall or any other oddball thing you can dream up....trust me its at Brimfield!

But aside from all the oddball things and there are many, there are also some really wonderful things too. I came home with a little stash, paintings, a litlte silver, two tole pieces and a really fabuous discovery.  Naturally the very first thing I fell in love with and made a beeline for as if we were magnets was a magnificent heavy sterling pitcher by that little company, Tiffany and Co. It was $5200 and needless to say it did not come home with me, but I did take a picture home as a souvenir!

Lots of no parking signs for the endless number of parking lots. We got lucky though

Imagine this aisle x 1000 or more...its an endless number of rows and rows of set up shops

It was fun seeing the dough bowls but I must say my own resource in my humble opinion beat any that I saw both in quality and price, these were on average 250-295 and were really beaten up, but still fun to look at!

I have no use for these but they were awfully pretty.........

I was definitely drawn to any booth that had blue and white!

Some interesting old lanterns

I love old books....these were really pretty just wish they werent' so heavy!

The Tiffany pitcher I had to leave behind......boo hoo

Love old filing cabinets, the woods and hardware are so beautiful

Ditto old signs...

You know I loved this, she featured some really gorgeous European linens

How pretty is this, and check out the monogram headboard! 

I ordered a few of these items (monogram pillow shams) for my shop..they are too special to not have!

More monogrammed lovlieness

Love all the soft painted Swedish antiques

Really love these urns too!

A very pretty sconce but it wasn't big enough...surprisingly not much lighting there.

Just love the colors and patina here......

More light painted furniture.....so sweet.

A touch of whimsy with the pink bicycle

Lots of beautiful silver to be found...there was no shortage!

And I do love old crystal decanters....

Just giving you an idea of what the main drag looks like.......

Would have loved this trunk to your left for my sons room but I literally have no place to put it..so pretty though!

Beautiful silverware...you had to have patience to go through it but she had beautiful things!

One of the painting vendors, he had some nice art

You know I love these!

And these! Always drawn to beautiful old urns....

What is it about old stacked boxes? The colors, the textures? I just know I like it!

This picture does not do this justice but thisi s so awesome, measures about 5 x 5 and the colors are so brilliant, the blue is a rreally rich royal blue..thinking of this for my sons room. I love crests!

And love beach scenes too......

But this freaked me out! Anyone else out there freaked out by possessed looking dolls? I was captivated and kind of horrified at the same time:)

This one was lurking around the corner......she looks a little possessed too, don't you think? I SWEAR her eyes were following us as we walked away.......

People starting to make their way home at the end of a long but adventurous day.....

Lots of relics from the past......

Love the big round tole tray do not like the "Carrie" lookalike next to it!

 Now onto the "discovery" I told you about....met a really nice and super talented man, Chip who makes these magnificent pewter napkin rings. I mean seriously I fell in love. I ordered some and am going to start carrying his things. They are all designed, molded and hand made by Chip and his wife. All pewter and just stunning, like conversation pieces at any table, made to last and cherish forever. They are magnificent and special collectibles. He will customize anything. Just check out the details and imagine them on your table......

Three hares "talking'

Some of the various designs

Got six of these.....the wheels move...can you believe how gorgeous!

And this oriental man figure? LOVE!

Got the equestrian too.....stunning!

Another chinoiserie one......

The bee hive....

The fox and a pair of birds...

The detailing is exquisite

The ducks walking in a row..too cute

The animals playing on a slide......

Adore this one too....the animal "congo line" hysterical!

Check out the hare and tortoise up front.....

A few of my goodies......I think they fit in qtuie well with William Secords magnficent dog painting collection.......

Really like the colors........

I LOVE dog paitingings

Love the colors and the frame.....

Love the pair of pugs

Very dusty needs a good cleaning

So...what do you think? About Brimfield? About my discovery? Scary dolls? My finds? It was a lot of fun and I would absolutely recommend a visit. I would also recommend taking my "pointers" into consideration. Overall it was a really fun day!! Thanks for stopping in, have a fabulous weekend!