The Fleeting Flea

  

  

Coming this Friday and Saturday in Overland Park, Kansas is the !st annual Fleeting Flea - Antiques and More Vintage Market.  My friends Dale and Steven from Redeux and Angie from Junie C's are putting on this wonderful show at the Round Hill Bath and Tennis Club around 91st & Nall Avenue.  I hope you enjoyed the sneak peeks!

Jennifer Bertrand, the season 3 winner of HGTV's Design Star, will be conducting workshops Friday morning.  This will be a wonderful show.  I'll update with pics this week as we prepare. 

The Plight of the Antique Dealer

With the purchase of this fountain, I had a reality check.  It is way too heavy to haul around.  My smart husband suggests I sell it on craigslist.  I think he's right. 

I didn't pay a lot for it;  my zeal got the best of me! 

I've been absent from blogland, scarcely checking my bloglist, let alone posting.  This is the start of the busy season for me.  Because I live in the Midwest, we have warm weather from only spring through fall.  As a result, garage sales are only spring through fall. 

While some antique dealers around here buy year round from auctions and estate sales, only a few of us will admit the truth:  we buy our inventory from garage sales.

That being said, I've been busy with junking.  And now that I'm in 3 locations for selling my wares, I feel scattered.  Plus, next week is the Fleeting Flea in Overland Park, Kansas.  It's a 2-day show and I will blog about this on Monday.  If you live here, and even if you don't, this will be an awesome event.  My friend Antonia Roper from The Beehive, a soul sister, will be sharing a space with me. 

 In this business, there's got to be a way to "pay" myself on a semi-regular basis.  I haven't figured out how to actually make a living with this.  There's a balance and I have yet to find it.  I would appreciate comments.  I do take my business seriously, as does Uncle Sam.  I become slightly irritated when people say, "well, Diane, it's a nice hobby for you...as long as you break even..."

I don't expect Target or Walmart or the dentist to break even.  Why should I when I spend a lot of time each month buying, fixing, painting, tagging, researching, and hauling?!  Thus the plight of the antique dealer...

Good Company - the new digs

Two of my dear girlfriends and I have embarked on a new space in Good Company, a vintage boutique open the 1st and 3rd weekends of the month.  It also boasts a reservation-only dinner party on the 3rd Friday of every month.  And...the owner, Kelley Jones, also hosts private events there - 3 this week alone!

Enjoy the pictures!

My Newest Quest...

Enid Collins is my latest obsession!  Her bags are wonderful and unique.  I purchased one today, but the straps are missing.  It is retro, called Brite Owl.  All the beads are present and when I fasten new handles, I will show the pics.  Now I'm on a quest for other vintage Enid bags!

Trying to Find the Right Fit

Always trying to find the right fit for selling wares, my girlfriend Antonia and I are going to become vendors at Good Company in Merriam, Kansas. 

Good Company is a darling boutique which is open for selling the 1st and 3rd weekends of every month.  It is beautiful and girly and not-as-rough-looking as the venues in the West Bottoms, which I love also.  What's fun is the atmosphere.  Old records are playing on the record player!  It's only been open 6 months and I feel lucky that we are getting the chance to sell there!

Unique to this shop is that they host a dinner party the 3rd Friday night of each month.  It looks like a smashing success. 

Put these weekends on your calender!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Kansas City has an enormous St. Patrick's Day parade starting soon.  Even though I haven't been in years, I'm still proud of my city for hosting such a large parade.

Pictured above is my favorite linen tea towel, made in Ireland.  It hangs in my kitchen every year leading up to March 17th.  I love the images and color.

Saint Patrick took the message of Jesus Christ to Ireland.  With all the hoopla, I still remind myself what this means to us. 

Love and peace...Diane

Paintings...

I bought this painting from a dealer at Bottoms Up last weekend.  He is on the east side of the 2nd floor in the middle and I think it was a steal at $29 frame and all.  It's an original oil and I don't see me ever parting with it.  I love pastoral scenes with a building, and of course, original paintings.  The artist is Lena Lloyd.  I suppose an amateur artist but possibly more.

This painting gets tons of compliments.  Everyone loves it.  I got it for $45 at an auction a few years ago.  I love the aging of the canvas.  There is no visible signature. 

These paintings, each with other paintings by H.E. Broome, hang in my hallway. 

Many things that I buy, I will part with by selling them in my booths, wherever I may be renting space.   I am quite unattached to any "thing" except these paintings. 

Speaking of being an antique dealer, I am re-thinking my business.  The reality of it is that there is no predictablility in regards to income.  This is a slow time of year, I know that, and will remain slow until April 15th, tax day.  I am thinking of becoming a picker - buying for a select number of dealers - and not selling in a retail fashion.  I see it as an either-or proposition.  Can't be both.  Perhaps I'm wrong...

A Cabinet Makeover

Several years ago, I bought this cabinet on the town square in Liberty, Missouri. I can't remember the name of the shop - it's no longer there, destroyed by a tornado a few years ago.  With the idea in mind of holding all my dolls and such from my childhood, it sat, doors closed, in a corner of my kitchen. 

At Christmas, I took out all my dolls and toys and put the Snow Village in it.  It looked great!

Now that spring is arriving, I decided to leave the doors open and put all of my odds-and-ends of white dishes, along with this beautiful set of Victoria Bone China dishes.  I was told the large pot/bowl is a chocolate pot.  I don't know anything about it.  I just know I love the dainty flowers on it. 

I hope to add more odds-and-ends of white dishes this garage-sale-season. 

Shake off Winter with Redecorating

Everything about this room is beautiful.  The bursts of color balance the gray-blue.  (House Beautiful)

Once again, neutral color palettes are so much better with  the bright burst of color.  I love everything about this room. 

Love this fabulous pendant light fixture with turquoise beads.  How could I make this?  Hmm...Let's think...a light kit with chain, 3 metal rings - 2 small and 1 large, then tons of turquoise beads on strings.  I will be going to the hardware store soon and Hobby Lobby for the beads.  I'm  probably crazy, but I've got to try it.  I'll keep you posted.

Craigslist Postings

After returning from a cruise yesterday, I am hitting the ground running today.  Liberty Belle is happening this weekend and I'm going to go there and shop shop shop! 

Perusing craigslist this morning, I found a few things that I'd like to share.  The ad that caught my eye is a trade for a house about 90 minutes from where I live - an old fixer - they would trade for house a close-by or a good truck!  The intriguing part is that the antiques come with the house!  My dream - getting a house full of old junk! 

Here are some other craigslist ads that I like, getting me in the mood for yard-sale-season. 

This antique Hotpoint Stove is $350. 

This chest is $250, more than I would pay, but I think it's pretty.

This antique wardrobe is $500, not a bad price but not a wonderful deal. 

This antique hutch is $275.  A decent price and quite nice. 

Next Friday, I will leave the house bright-and-early, cash in my grubby little hand and look for yard sales.  I can't express how excited I am! 

March at Liberty Belle

This coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the March sale at Liberty Belle in the West Bottoms.  Stop by! 
I've started putting out the gardening items.  Look closely and you'll see 6 garden gnomes!

The more it snows...

Everyone is grumbling in my city because we have another round of snow here.  Just a week ago today, we had sunshine and 70 degrees!  Whew! 

So, I consulted the "House at Pooh Corner".  In the first chapter, Pooh writes a song:

Pooh added "tiddely pom" to make it sound more hummy.  So fitting for the weather.

Besides the wonderful writing, I love this vintage edition of this book!  It was reprinted in 1961 and has wonderful black-and-white illustrations throughout.