Thursday, November 3, 2011

Ruffles & Rust Weekend

A couple weekends ago I closed the boutique for a much needed weekend away. My idea of fun...hitting the road state side for a major vintage market!! My side kick... only the most talented artist I know Roberta from Inky & Boots. After a few wrong turns in the suburbs, and fantastic trapes in the field looking for treasures (and found them but that' a story for another day) we finally made it to Monroe Wa. Thank goodness we arrived when we did, the line grew to hundreds in a matter of minutes and this was just the presale day!


The market - Ruffles & Rust a Vintage Market to Inspire certainly lived up to its name!! Timmi and her team really know what they are doing and they do it really well! The vendors came from all over the Western States to offer the most amazing treasures!

They call it Ruffles & Rust for a reason! Photo by Roberta

Both Roberta and I were inspired by the visual delights of the day. Texture, layering, whimsical touches, amazing wares and an abundance of beauty! The first time I came to Timmi's market was last year and I have to admit once I walked through the doors my eyes welled up with tears from a visual overload. Being a vintage junkie through and through these markets are my absolute favorite!!

Just one of many amazing booths. Photo by Roberta

As with any major market, sore feet and lots of shoulda coulda woulda come into play. My shoulda... 2 gorgeous 8 foot tall historic columns. My woulda... rented a much larger truck! And the coulda... spent more time oogling. For me markets are a fast paced game of first come first served and in a vintage world full of one of a kind items you have to act fast. I power through scanning each booth for my wish list of items and in many cases am stopped dead in my tracks when something unique catches my eyes. This time around it seemed the rental inventory won and the market lost. I had hoped to come away with more 'smalls' to share with you at the boutique but there wasn't an abundance of them and the price points didn't suite my fancy. I did manage to grab a set of beautiful antique corbels and 2 lovely gold frames though.

Gold frames now available in the market

As for the rental inventory gains... a 3 foot tall iron birdcage that will definitely be a show stopper on any guest or gift table, a large white iron bird cage complete with it's own stand, an ornate screen/room divider, a 3 tier mini shelf that makes the perfect cupcake stand and finally my prized possession an antique double sided school chalkboard that was featured last week on our facebook page.

The 3 foot tall black iron bird cage. Love it!

Once the move it or loose it ended, Roberta and I spent the rest of the first night meandering our way back and forth through all the isles taking in the scenery at a much slower pace. They say to really see it all you have to walk up and down the isles in both directions and I concur because what was missed in one pass was found in another. We stayed until closing, loaded up the van and headed to our Hotel for the night.

The huge white iron birdcage...so many possibilities!

The next day we traveled to Snohomish to check out the many antique stores, had a great lunch and headed back to the market for one last look. Day two brought replenished booths and a new focus. I was on the hunt for all of your requested items! While I wasn't able to fill everyone's wish list I did accomplish a few. My friend Angela of LaLa's Land had been searching for a vintage shopping cart and now has one of her very own. To me the market trip was an adventure, a pleasure and a success!

Angela's new vintage shopping cart!

The next day (Sunday) I spent my time unloading the rental van and zipping around Vancouver to pick up a few other new pieces. Some request I had received recently was for an old school picnic basket, more vintage hats and some vintage slips. I'm happy to say those items are now in stock. Speaking of old school, my favorite new find is a set of  vintage UBC lockers... in turquoise of course!!

The perfect patina of turquoise & rust!

Have an amazing weekend y'all!
xoxo
Dawna
Creative Curator



1 comment:

  1. Your finds are fantastic Dawna!! And I loved hearing about your adventure. Take me with you next time!! :-)
    Victoria

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