Monday, September 26, 2016

My Vintage Market Days Experience-Part One

Wow!  What a week...there was so much anticipation and excitement leading up to the big Vintage Market Days event.  When set-up day finally arrived, vendors flew in like a tornado...and created a wonderland of vintage and antiques treasures.  On opening day, the shoppers crowded into The Grounds of Mobile in huge droves and shopped.  After three days, just as quickly as it all came together, it was over, and all of us in our sweaty glory tore it all apart and went home... already planning the next one.  I now know how it must have felt for the carnies and circus performers who traveled around from city to city in days gone by. (I would have been the Gypsy Fortune Teller!) It was a good kind of tired.

So, I've already given you a hint at what my little shop looked like.  Did you catch it?  If you know me or have followed me much at all, you know I'm fascinated with all things "gypsy" and that's just naturally the theme that I pull together...It started with my banners that would show my logo and business name, but with markets that are away from home, it becomes "The Traveling Show."  The large banner that was on the back wall right in the center featured a gypsy lady setting up housekeeping under a tree.  She was putting out her washtubs and a bird in a cage.  I design my signs to go with what I'm selling, and in this case it was a pair of ninety-year-old chairs with their original berry colored fabric.  To pull it all together and tell a story, I bordered the banner with that same berry color.  To complete the vignette, I added the bird cage on a stand, wash bucket, basket, and a broom, among some other things...greenery was then draped over the top to give the appearance of the tree under which the vardo was parked. 



To continue the gypsy theme, the front table centerpiece was another banner with a dancing gypsy girl, playing a tambourine.  I had a tambourine that I had purchased years ago on Beale Street in Memphis, and it had developed a hole and was pretty tattered.  I remembered a song about a hole in a tambourine, so I used a line from that on the banner with the girl to tell that story.  Although the table of merchandise did get picked apart and purchased, the star of the day was the actual banner.  I couldn't believe that people wanted the banner!  So, I sold it, along with the tambourine....then I took orders for more.  Funny thing though is that everyone wanted me to find them a tambourine with a hole in it to go with their banners!  You just never know what's going to sell at these events.  Oh, the large one on the back wall sold, too!  And that buyer is wanting me to make more....so, maybe that'll be my "thing"...those banners.  I think I'll make more (three, or four....or five!) for the next event.






As I said, the table of "gypsy goodies" was picked over the first day, so I had to pull together another vignette early Saturday morning so that it would be fresh and pretty for the second day shoppers. This next pic is what the same table looked like the next morning.  It's still filled with things that gypsies would have had in the vardo, but these items could have just as well been found in any farmhouse.



The other side of my little store had more treasures set up in a little vignette on a buggy seat...


Directly behind this vignette was the youth bed which got lots of attention, but no buyer.  It's a great piece with lots of details and folds up to travel or store away when not in use.  I filled it with hay (because it was the first day of fall!) and then added an assortment of pumpkins and treasures...



At the foot of the little bed, I had a turquoise blue chest with original chippy paint. On top of that, I added two tiny chairs-a white chippy one and a stained wood rocker.  Oh, and I had to put some candy down at kid level!

Of course, there was more-ironstone, t-shirts, and some other pretty gypsy style things...






Well, that's a look inside my Down in the Delta-The Traveling Show space at the very first Vintage Market Days of Mobile.  I'm happy to report that I had GREAT shoppers who took home many of my finds to enjoy in their own homes.  I did still have lots of fun things to pack up for the next event, so if you like anything pictured here, just ask me...I might still have it.

That's part one of the two-part VMD recap.  Tomorrow I'll share with you the bigger picture, more about the entire experience.  Hope you'll check back for that.

Thanks for dropping by!

Friday, September 2, 2016

A Welcoming Entrance

I'm happy to report that the pretty entrance to the venue, Pimperl Place, is being built!  It looks like a small project, but in reality, it takes a lot of coordination between contractors and time to actually make it happen.  Just to refresh your memory...here's a picture of what I wanted the gate to look like.  I used a picture of a gate that I found online to get the basic shape and then I overlaid that picture with my Down in the Delta logo, minus the words.  This is very similar to what we will actually have.


The first contractor would be the concrete man, followed by the stone mason.  In our case, I luckily found one man who does both, which is unusual!  That saved us a little time and headache, plus he turned out to be really good at both.  If you live in Baldwin or Mobile County and need concrete or stone work, Kenneth Gaines is the man to call.

What slowed the project start was the rain.  We've had so much rain over the last couple of months, that it threw Kenney behind on his jobs that were scheduled before ours.  The rain finally let up a week or so ago and he got caught up, so he was ready to work our job.


Up above, you can see how we took the palette of stone apart so that we could lay it out to easily see the shapes of each piece.  My husband put them out on a long goose-neck trailer. Kenny and his son are hard at work in the next picture.


This picture was taken from the driver's seat of my car as I came into the driveway. You can see the existing old gate in front of my car, and the two newly finished columns set back from that.  We are going to reposition the road a bit, which is why it looks off center with the columns.  Also,  you are probably wondering why the new gate is so far back from the old one.  We own the property all the way up to the existing gate, but the power company has an easement that extends twenty-five feet back, so we just decided to move the location of the entrance back to that line so that they don't have to come and get us every time they want to come down the easement to trim trees.  

This weekend, hubby and I will be ditch-digging and running the electrical service needed to operate the gate, lights, etc.  Then the gate contractor is supposed to come out on Tuesday to get "field measurements" so that the gate is built to fit perfectly.  While that's going on, the tree removal experts will show up to take out some trees that are on the new fence line. Hubby normally cuts down our trees, but these are so close to the power lines out on the highway that we decided it would be better to hire someone who has a bucket truck to do it. Once the trees are down, the fence contractor can then come in and put up the fence that will run parallel to the highway.  

It seems like we've been waiting months to get this project started, so you can only imagine how happy I am to see it finally coming together.  

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Friday, February 19, 2016

Harper Lee is Gone

The leading news story this morning was about the death of Harper Lee.  Even though she wasn't big on the celeb thing and doing interviews, it was special just knowing she was there in Monroeville, right up the road a bit...it's going to be different now.  What she did for humanity, the lessons she taught us, in that one little book was---is---so BIG.  May she rest in peace.

I thought I would share my experience with an event that was spun off from the existence of the book, or "Mockingbird" as everyone calls it-The Alabama Writers Symposium, a celebration of writers from our great state. This was a blog post from several years ago...

Alabama Writers Symposium in Monroeville

It's almost April, and I was reminded of a wonderful event that we have
each year, in April, right here in my own back yard...so I wanted to share
it with you.  We are so very fortunate to live just a short distance from
Monroeville, Alabama, home of writers Harper Lee and Truman Capote.
Each year, Alabama Southern Community College hosts The Alabama
Writers Symposium (the lack of an apostrophe in "writers"is intentional...it's about the writers, not owned by them), an event that brings together many Alabama writers and readers for a weekend of lectures,
readings, discussions, art and a portrayal of the famous and still popular
book, To Kill a Mockingbird.   It's unlike any event I've ever attended. 
As you read this, the tickets are most probably just about sold out, if not
already...if you want to go, try to get tickets today; if they are gone, put it
on your calendar for a "must see" next year.  The brochure, outlining the
schedule of events and ticket options can be found and downloaded here 
on the college website. Dates are Thursday, April 24-Saturday, April 26.

The play is a highlight of the weekend...Local individuals are the actors,
some of whom have portrayed several different characters as they've
grown up.  The stage is a collection of stick-built backdrops, miniature
buildings such as homes with porches, that were constructed outside,
behind the old courthouse.  The play begins there...


...then moves inside to the courtroom where it continues.  It is so "real"
that you will get goosebumps, and that's a promise. I encourage anyone
who can make the trip to go, and plan to stay the entire weekend.  It is
even worth a drive across the country!  Just go see...You will be glad
you did.


Now, let me tell you a little bit about my experience there a few years
ago.  

I once co-owned an art gallery, Best Friends Gallery (Same story
with the "missing" apostrophe...it was meant to be a gathering place
for new best friends, and about friendship, not about ownership at all...),
located in Bay Minette.   Anyway, the art director of the college, 
Susan Brown, visited our gallery one Saturday, and asked if we would
like to be the featured gallery at the art show that was a part of
the Writers Symposium each year.  Well, of course we did!  It was an
experience that I will never forget, and I loved every minute of it.  I met
some well known writers, such as Winston Groom, Watt Key, Tom Franklin,
Mark Childress, and William Cobb (even had breakfast at the table with Mr.
Cobb in our motel lobby!), and purchased autographed books...We attended
many wonderful events during the weekend, were treated like royalty during
our entire stay...and, we gained a new friend in Susan!  We absolutely
loved showing the work of our artists, and were so proud of the collection
of work that we were able to bring.

Here are some pictures of the art show.








I actually purchased the cows above...


I hope you enjoyed that quick little tour of the show...for me, a trip down
memory lane.  I think looking back on it, I'm even more proud of it now than
I was then.  We have some extremely talented artists and writers, right
here in Alabama!  

And, here are more pictures of the inside of the courthouse, which is
now a museum dedicated to the book, To Kill a Mockingbird.





Well, that's it for my Monroeville memories. 

And, here's the painting that I was inspired to paint shortly after this event.
It hangs in my house as a reminder of "Mockingbird" and Monroeville.  



Saturday, January 16, 2016

Some Storied Jewelry

Today I'm sharing some very special jewelry, created by a very special lady, Debi. Why is her jewelry so special?  Well, besides the fact that it is simply fabulous looking, each piece has a story, and she loves to tell you about each piece of wearable art and how it came to be.

Debi, like most people who lived in Coastal Alabama and Mississippi, lost most of her belongings to Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.  She had been a collector of vintage costume jewelry, and most of it was ruined. But being a visionary, Debi saw that there was still value in the little jewels...she just needed to give them new life.  She began to deconstruct the pieces and started putting new forms together as she saw them in her mind's eye.  Beautiful new jewelry began to take shape, and before she knew it, she had made many new special pieces.  

I remember admiring Debi's gorgeous one-of-a-kind pieces as she wore them to a popular monthly estate sale that we both attend.  I never walked up to her to talk to her about her adornments until a couple of months ago.  I'm so glad I finally did.  

I can not wait for Debi to show her jewelry as a vendor in the market on April 1-2. You will be blown away by their beauty and stories.  Here are some pics of several pieces.






If you like what you see here, you need to attend the market.  She is bringing along quite a show for us.

More information on the market can be found at the website, DownInTheDelta.net. Tickets may be purchased by clicking on the tab "Tickets" at the top of the homepage.

Thanks for visiting today!