Thrift store stand-out

This 100 year old beauty is currently docked at the Habitat Re-Store in Athens. Quite a surprise to come across -- she hails from the south Georgia coast, and has a killer aqua patina that the photos don't do justice. Maybe not so seaworthy anymore, but deserving of a place in someone's mansion, store, or restaurant -- she's much larger than it looks here. (with glass across the top, this would make a fabulous dining room table base....or hang with large ropes from overhead beams for an amazingly cool bed -- perfect for floating away into dreamland)

Current pickin' musings

As a dealer, long gone are the days of buying what might sell. Now, purchases have to meet a stricter criteria (mostly to do with price, condition, functionality and overall appeal) to even get considered, which eliminates most of the stuff I view in my travels (people still have the idea that their very average stuff is worth a fortune -- around here, anyway).

This meager group is an example of one day of hard ( but fun) work pickin' some thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and antiques stores (a really long day). Is this the coolest stuff I saw? No. (except for the little case of plastic containers with chains) Is this the only stuff priced reasonable enough to make a profit on? Yup. (Since I  mainly sell on-line nowadays, I don't buy furniture or large items anymore)

One amazing observation was seeing several identical vintage items in both thrift stores and antique stores, and the thrift store prices were DOUBLE the prices of the same item in the antique stores! Really?

 I almost always pick antique stores more efficiently (picks per time invested) than thrifts, fleas and yard sales! (Of course you can't beat these for kids toys, household goods etc, and I love my Habitat Re-Sale shop for hardware!)

Anyway, pickin' times are tough, and the thrift stores have caught on and seem to be taking full advantage of it! 

A little wander

finally squeezed in a long-overdue Georgia backroads wander -- it's been too long (thanks to exorbitant gas prices my trips have been greatly curtailed)

today's wander eventually led to downtown Conyers, a place i have never visited before

and the adorable little antique shop "Sadie's Antiques and Uniques"

which is filled with exceptionally cool vignettes

and also filled with true 'uniques' like this upcycled gas pump nozzle lamp

and....this "alien life form detector"!!   (really?)

the biggest surprise was stepping into this pretty booth and seeing one of my own creations!!  i made (and sold) this chicken wire dress form several years ago

of course it can't be a backroads wander without a little southern architectural dereliction (complete with chipmunk on the front step)

 this faded beauty sits quite near town

in all her shrouded elegance

favorite pick of the day? this wonderful old fiberglass speedboat! love it!

desperately seeking

but the greatest of these is

Booth Evolution

25 x 10 feet is a big space - I feel like a contestant in a design challenge

 wondering how to make this stuff work together

getting the old swing to hang from the post/tree branch arbor took  for-ev-er

 focal point in the back of the booth

I painted this large wall pale gray - perfect for my wallflower lights

such a cool sink

one of my lamp base wire flower ephemera holders

 new wall hatstand

the brass stencil letter lampshade made a good focal point in the front

by far the hardest part was climbing a shaky ladder to hang chains from the 12' ceiling to hold my rusty chandelier collection

Best little pickin' place in Metro Atlanta



Located between Gainesville and Buford, and easily accessible from I-985, is the charming little town of Flowery Branch, home to a great antiques market (and auction) of which dealers generally keep mum about (myself formerly among them) since the awesome merchandise and deals found here are just too good to share!



This unique antiques market (details here) is held the first full weekend monthly (July 6, 7, 8 this month), has approx 100 dealer spaces, and offers something for everyone -- from $1.00 items -- to cool pieces that trendy designers drool over (and drive far to acquire). Operating about 30 years, with the last 13 years in the current building, it has always been one of my very favorite pickin' spots



 Here's just a few pics of a few of the many quality dealers at FB:

The extremely talented Tim Cash draws the big designers and dealers with his totally unique offerings

Keren Jackson has a keen designer's eye and decorator's talent....and I want to take home everything in her booth

I always find something I can't live without in multi-talented Mary Cyphers booth (Blogger randomly  deleted the other photos of her cool stuff, darn it) 



Lovely and talented Shirley Wilson is located just inside the main door, and always has the most remarkable variety of merchandise that she effortlessly blends together to make a spectacular booth every time!

Ok here's the dish on amazing Dena Johnson.....she literally has every single piece of vintage hardware imaginable in her booth! And tonage of unique architectural artifacts and (my personal favorite) cool rusty stuff



Lourdes Green occupies the first booth inside the main door to the left, and has an amazing eye for those architectural and industrial treasures we all crave

Don't miss Debra Satterly's wonderful array of creations....she makes everything from cool license plate flowers and signs, to trendy purses and unique burlap wall art using vintage items in a clever new way.

Jimmy Vo has outside and inside booths filled with those hard-to-find project supplies like vintage bead board and barn wood -- just to name a few -- at very reasonable prices. And Jim totally understands our lust for rust, as proved here with this awesome iron patio table

(**Be sure not to miss dealers Debbie Tanner-vintage jewelry, and Lowell-antique lighting and furniture --not pictured here)



There is even a yummy BBQ cafe on site (and across the street) to provide a lunch break.
(and there are several other antique shops next door and across the street)

Owner Tom Schulte runs both the antiques market and weekly auction, and just happens to be one of the nicest guys around!!

It's so refreshing to still be able to find unique and affordable merchandise, and this is the place for it!
 I've always wanted to post about this cool place, but dealer friends would say "don't do it!" 
 So, at the risk of having my 'dealer card' revoked, I just have to share!