Fall 2009

here's what Fall typically looks like around our house - one word: LEAVES! we are surrounded by 40 foot oak trees in front, on each side and in the back yard. we have piles and piles of leaves and then there are leaves on those piles! right now they are all wet and many leaves came down after our last storm (but trust me, there are many more yet to come down!) my neighbors tend to blow their leaves everyday where as jeff likes to wait til they are almost all down and do them in one day. they get blown to the street, where the township comes by and sucks them up and then turns them into mulch.

it's a beautiful fall day, let's go to the flea market!

I get so much feedback on my blog when i go to the flea market. i hear from you that your flea markets are non existent, sparse, lame, too expensive or plundered. so i think vicariously, it is fun to see what i find at my flea markets. not being a Jersey native, i often complain about living in this state, but i have to secretly confess, that if i were to move out of NJ, i would miss my flea markets! so come along with me today as we go to my favorite junky flea market, Collingswood. to visually get a picture of Collingswood, I like to quote my friend, Steve, a vendor, who told me that he only likes to sell at Collingswood in complete desperation or (you'll love this), when he needs to "flush the toilet". it's kind of gritty, dirty and has some seriously interesting characters. it took me awhile to get comfortable coming here. i made my husband go with me for the longest time as the men tended to creep me out. Now that i am getting to know some of them and am a more recognizable face, i will go alone and not have a thought about it. sit back and enjoy as i decided to post individual pictures in stead of the collage format.
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here's some of the things i look at every time i drive to the flea market.



this lovely row of trees. it has been fun to watch them grow and change with the seasons.
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one of many corn fields in my area. they are drying up now, their summer jobs of supplying delicious "jersey corn" to us has come to an end. for now they will feed the birds until the first frost comes.

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our local fresh farmer's market; a dying breed.
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the Canadian geese flying around. they are noisy and annoying; yet when you see them flying like this in their vast numbers, honking away, it takes my breath away. i wonder if they are psyched to be heading to a warmer climate or what?

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the infamous sign for Collingswood. this is the new and improved sign. not sure the image of the gentleman got any better. he looks like a cross between farmer john an an alien with a potatoe face.

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let's talk about "flea market attire" during winter hours. it is COLD and WINDY at Collingswood! got your checklist?



here's my stay warm uniform: sensible shoes, warm socks and leg warmers, check!
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cute shopping cart to hold wares, check! got this one at Marshall's for $19.99. (give up the notion that you can carry it all, because you never know what you will find and it helps prevent constants trips back and forth to the car. (record set this summer of making my husband cart stuff to the car - 6 times!)
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warm pair of gloves, check! the hands don't work well doling out cash when they are frozen!

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cool hat, very long scarf to wrap around neck and face, over sized sunglasses, chapstick and cute coat (from Daffy's, NYC!) under coat, yet another lightweight zippered nylon jacket, check! (attitude byob!) also, carry a purse that you can wear across your chest -easier access to the $ and keeps your hand free.
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CAST OF CHARACTERS:



get to know your vendors, check! this is Phillip - he knows i like working with costume jewelry, so he'll bring out stuff for me to see. he also plays Irish music and tells really bad jokes, but we love him. there is a hierarchy to these guys selling at the flea market. Phillip is on the higher end of the spectrum and i love going through his stuff. other characters a bit lower on the chain include: Dependable Don, Vinnie & John, Vic and a few of the other junk guys that i haven't quite wanted to ask their names yet (but jeff and i have nicknames for)!

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Collingswood wares

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LOVE these!
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Oh, look who i spy? it's Joanna (Summerhouse girls from Country Living Fair and one of her sons). Naively i think maybe her mom, Kathe, isn't there and i ask, "where is your mom?"
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Oh there she is! she immediately pulls out a cool find, which she knows i will appreciate (we are kindred souls) - old doll body parts!
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down what i call, "Junk Alley" - Dependable Don's terrority..... this is a "digger's delight". be prepared to scrounge through disgusting boxes which are sometimes really wet from sitting out in the rain. (gross). sometimes he has a helper named "Mikey" who jeff and i have nicknamed, "Kid Rock" (strong resemblance!). recently i found that Kid and i both collect Fedora hats. who knew we'd have so much in common. sadly, Kid was off today because a pic of it him would have been cool with his rockin 80's glasses and stringy, long, blonde hair!
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as seen around Collingswood - an oversized Gumby doll - i got that "look" from the vendor when i asked her if i could take this picture.... 'nuf said about her!

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remember my empty shopping cart when i began? well, i scored big in Dependable Don's section with a bunch of vintage Christmas stuff (and some vintage Easter) i love that stuff and am buying it all up. what for? not sure yet! wait tell i tell you what he charged me for all that stuff.
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this was what i got from Phillip
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loot of vintage Christmas, Easter and super cool vintage, NEVER USED cosmetic case - wait for it, wait for it, wait for it - $5! (and i didn't even post all the pictures!)
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and how about these? are they absolutely the bomb? vintage dance/costume attire for a little girl -so sweet. the detail and materials used are unbelievable. how much were these beauties? now don't be mad, but i took them from the FREE table.

Fall is upon us

leaves are starting fall, birds are molting. the days are getting shorter and the weather turning chilly. i did some much needed tending to my garden today and saw that my flowers (what few are left) are starting to wither and change color. My shasta daisies have finally bloomed as my hydrangeas are slowly drying up. i love Fall but hate to see my garden leave me! we are always so excited to see our garden again in the spring, but it seems so far away right now. maybe i am just not looking forward to winter (jan, feb. march!) luckily i have some teaching gigs then, so it will make the winter fly by.

My van is packed and i am ready to leave tomorrow morning for Art-is-you. i am going a day early so that i can just relax before teaching on thursday.

day two

we are back at the hotel freshing up after another awesome day at the Country Living Fair. big crowds again today, but the buying was different. i think the big buyers were in yesterday. today was a lot of what i call "lookie lous" out for some fresh air and kettle corn! i still had a good day, so i 'm not complaining. a pretty lady stopped by my booth and ended up spending a nice sum on some of my higher end pieces. she bought "Silver Bella", the piece that was in the current issue of Belle Amoire Jewelery. she also bought my best piece, "the lost purse". i'm worried i won't have anything to sell at "Art -is-you" for vendor night when i teach there in a few weeks! (and there won't be any time to make much more after i get home).

got to see my online friend, Vivian, who came with her 2 friends, so that was fun. Vivian was kind enough to booth sit for me a few times so that i could run to the potty and also get some food - thanks!

We are heading out in a few for dinner in a few minutes to celebrate my birthday. tomorrow i've heard mention of the "weather word we shall not name", so please think good weather thoughts for our final day tomorrow! and i promised, plenty of photos to share with you when i get home.

it's crunch time

Well, i leave next Wednesday for Ohio. it's about a 7-8 hour drive. we will set up on Thursday and then the show is Fri, Sat and Sun. I am in tent #4. i think i am done with projects and now need to finish booth decisions, start pricing and then pack up. i want to take photos of my jewelry, but we've been having a few rainy days, so i'll try to wait until the sun is out. also, my booth preparation got stalled when i discovered a foul odor coming out of the chimney. i suspected a nest in the chimney, so a chimney sweeper was called, but of course it was the weekend and holiday weekend at that, so we had to wait until yesterday for him to get here. so he cleaned the chimney, removed squirrel's nest with deceased squirrel, disinfected it and viola! so now i can get back in there and get to work!