54th Shenandoah Antique Expo, Part I

Hope you got to do something extra fun this past Mother’s Day weekend! This past Mother’s Day was extra special for me…not only was I celebrating my first Mother’s Day with little Sunny baby (well sort of…I’ve been a step-mom for 8 years now, so I feel that counts for something too!), but I was able to sneak away from work and hit the road to the 54th Shenandoah Antique Expo in Fishersville, VA! For those of you that might need a little reminder as to why I love this particular event so much, read my first entry about Fishersville.

The view early in the morning…cars lined as far as you could see…

I’ve been to this event several times before, but have never gone on the first day, as the gates were opening! Whoa! My folks and I parked and headed over to the parking lot area where hundreds of dealers were lined up, ready to wheel and deal with their treasures. It was a pickers paradise! One thing about going that early though…I felt as though I was in an episode of Nickelodeon’s Super Toy Run!! Remember that? Kids were given 5 minutes, a shopping cart and the opportunity to run rapid through Toys R Us, grabbing whatever toys they could. Seriously…people were definitely in a hurry to be the first to grab whatever collectible that was hot on their list.

Grab your coffee! The morning rush begins!

It took my parents and I, 3.5 hours to make our way through the parking lot, two barns and expo center, to view everything that there was to see! That came out to 2.5 miles of walking!! What a great way to burn off that leftover baby weight! There was sooooo much to see…that you almost couldn’t see it all in one day (now I understand why they allow the early bird shoppers to have a 2-day pass!). I took so many photos, that I thought I’d break this post into two parts…here is just a taste of some of the things we saw…

Do you love English ironstone? These fine examples did not come cheap, but were in pristine condition.

Look at all of the layers of paint on this old cabinet. I loved the round feet and the layers and layers of paint almost seemed to tell a story. This was one of my favorite pieces from the show.

How about a sweet primitive chippy white hanging cabinet? This would be cute in a laundry room!

I saw more pie safes at this show than any show that I’ve attended in the past 10 years. Making a comeback? Did they ever go away?

How fun are these tramp art boxes? The dealer said these were from his personal collection.

Need some wheels? How about this cutie?

Or some retro pedal cars? I liked them in a group…

Is architectural salvage more of your thing? At first, I was admiring this Coca Cola button, but then I noticed these awesome antique shutters.

I’m a sucker for Mission furniture…and this solid oak mission lamp table was a STEAL at only $150.

Crocks, crocks and more crocks. If you collect crocks, then you need to come to this show. This beautiful cabinet had it’s original paint on it and sported a “sold” sign.

This dealer drove in from West Virginia and had some of the prettiest primitives I’ve seen a long time.

I love the original blue paint on this cupboard. Too bad that the top half is gone…I’m sure this piece was a base to something.

This beautiful white pie safe looks almost identical to the one I have in my kitchen. I love the delicate work on the metal tin screens.

So at the end of the day, what did I walk away with? I was on the hunt for some antique advertising to hang in my family room…and boy was there a lot to choose from. Advertising is soooo hot right now and almost every dealer had at least one or two pieces in their booths. Prices ranged from $150 up to $500 for most. I fell in love with the patina on this early 1900’s sign from a mill worker, located in Richmond, VA. I was able to negotiate with the dealer and walked away with a price I could live with (and not have buyers remorse!). My amazing father carried this giant sign for most of the time that we were walking around. I bet he was glad when we finally reached the car!!!

It’s a family affair…picking antique treasures that is!

Stay tuned next week for more eye candy from this awesome event!

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