Sunday, August 15, 2010

maine antiques festival

The Maine Antiques Festival is going on in Union, Maine this weekend and yesterday I stopped by to check it out.  I secretly hoped that it would be similar to the famed Brimfield Antiques Show in Massachusetts, but knew that realistically this could not be the case.  My low expectations and high hopes proved to be a good combination.  There were hundreds of dealers selling all sorts of beautiful things and while most of the prices could have been considered astronomical, there were a few deals that were hard to pass up.

First, many stalls fueled my obsession with birds and owls:





There were also many cool vignettes.  I was really impressed by how well the dealers displayed their antiques.  I mean, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by this as a good display obviously helps the sale, but I was surprised nonetheless.  











How cool would it be to have that old boat wheel fitted with a piece of glass and use it as a kitchen table? I was shocked by how expensive those old round (hat?) boxes were.  I figured maybe $20, but even the smallest ones were around $100.  Needless to say, none of them made it home with me.  I also found myself really drawn to cowboy inspired stuff.  Does that mean I'm yearning to go back to Colorado?

Of course I had to take pictures of dolls:





And signs:





Wouldn't the yellow and green one be perfect for our bed and breakfast?? Too bad it was so expensive that I didn't even take note of the price.  Also, could I make that? Hmm...I think I should start taking art classes.  I also love the antique chinese checkers board to the right.  And I love how on the vegetables sign "tomatoes" is written in red.  So cheeky of them.

I also found some interesting old kitchenware:





I love, love, love jadeite and don't own any pieces...yet.  I also love how colorful vintage kitchenware is. The bowls in the bottom picture I actually already own! Which is good, because I didn't want to pay $50 for them, but may have been tempted.  Isn't it fun to have a different color for every size? 

Up next are my favorite pieces from the festival:



I love the ledge under the table.



This I would revamp somehow, although not too much.  I wouldn't want to hurt the integrity of the piece.  But at the same time, this could be a very funky piece of furniture or at least more eye-catching.  A fun fabric? Paint the wood detailing....ah if only...



At only $145 I felt this dresser was a pretty good deal.  I liked the green color too.

And finally....drumroll please...my absolute favorite thing from the whole festival...the piece de resistance:



A light pink spindle bed! I seriously almost bought this.  They were asking $225 on the tag, but the dealer said he'd give it to me for $175.  I really, really, really wanted it.  Luckily (or unluckily) my mom has some 6th sense about when I'm about to spend money and she happened to call me just as I was about to ask if they'd accept credit cards.  She told me that I do not, in fact, need a double sized pink spindle bed frame.  Unfortunately, she was right.  But that doesn't stop me from wanting it oh, so badly! 

What do you think of the frame?  The dealer said she loves it too, but said that many people walk up and say it's such as hame that the frame has been painted in a horrible shade of pink.  I, on the other hand, happen to l-o-v-e the pink.  I think it's so fun! And it plays up the whimsical nature of the spindles.  Also, if you really hated the pink, you could obviously paint it again. 

While I'm still mourning my lack of a pink spindle bed, I did buy one thing....well actually it's four things that I bought as a set:





It's an opalescent blue Fenton hobnail glass creamer and sugar cup.  As well as too blue hobnail glass salt dishes.  They'll be perfect for the Maldon sea salt flakes that Dan's mom bought us. 

That, in a nutshell, was the Maine Antiques Festival.   I wish I could have taken more pictures to share with you, but I was a little nervous that some of the dealers would get angry with me; there were many signs with pictures of cameras with a big "x" through them.  It was a great way for me to spend an afternoon.  

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