Thursday, May 21, 2015

Brimfield Love...

Antique wooden holder, 21st Century washi tape

I first read about "Brimfield" in magazines such as Country Home and Country Living.  When I was able to go to Brimfield ten years ago with Stephanie, it was everything and more than I expected.

Brimfield is a small town in Massachusetts which becomes a destination point three times a year (May, July, and September) when the famous antique show/flea market is set up on either side of U.S. 20.  One of the vendors (sellers in a tent) I talked to this time is from Brimfield and she said they have a population of approx. 3,000 but there are 5,000 licensed vendors for the May event.  That is just the people who are selling items!

Stephanie's mother-in-law told me about friends (or was it family?) who spent an entire week attending it and never saw everything.  Steph and I lasted one morning ten years ago and only a few hours this time.  But we still came away with some treasures.  There is, of course, very high priced collectible antiques for sale but the most fun we have is walking through the tents and finding items for just a few dollars.  Because we only had a small budget.

Oh, and yes... I did read about Amanda Soule being there on her blog here and here!  She was there a couple days before we went.  She has lovely photos from Brimfield on the first link and shows us items she purchased on the second.

Not to mention Steph and I were there when they were filming an episode of Flea Market Flip!  I've never seen it before but I've heard of it.  One group was filming near a tent where they had had just purchased an item from the vendor I was talking to.  Then we ran into another group filming as they walked near us... Stephanie and I quickly popped into a nearby vendor's tent and hid from the cameras!

Below are photos I took the morning we were there.  They are pretty much self explanatory and (thinking of sharing them with you), I tried to catch a variety of objects.


We had such fun as we both love vintage items.  I must admit both Stephanie and I fell in love with some large pieces of chippy vintage/antique furniture.  But we had to leave them for someone with some more pocket change (so to speak) since they were mostly in the $500 dollar range and more.  Much more...  ;)

14 comments:

Sherry said...

oh.my.gracious. that bowl of green handled kitchen implements is swOon worthy. brimfield is officially on my bucket list. what a wonderful experience!

Anonymous said...

Speaking of sales--I just got back from the annual Library Book Sale in my little town. Scored five books for $3.50! Love it! And one of the books was one of your favorites "Frugal Luxuries" by Tracey McBride. I was go thrilled to get it since you have mentioned it so many times.
Love the pictures you posted. Love to go to flea markets and thrift shops. Blessings, Sharon D.

LauraC said...

My sister and I had that dollhouse. I just went and looked in the photo album. We were pictured with it on our family's Christmas card 1962. Funny how that's possible since I only just turned 29 last week!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Very fun! I have the green handled knife sharpener in one of your photos. It was my mother's and is still excellent. I know they say this sort of sharpener will remove metal from the knives, but it is still working well after well over a half a century and my knives seems to be ok, too...........

Heather LeFebvre said...

I know I would have LOVED it!!!

Rebecca said...

Back in the day I might have spent a day or two there....but now content to see your photos :)

I DO have a doll house similar to the one in your photo. Wonder what I could get for it?????

Vee said...

Your darting into a tent to hide cracks me up...exactly what I'd do. Looking forward to seeing your treasures, but I can't understand how you could leave that forlorn gardener behind. Wouldn't he be wonderful in a garden? It's how I feel about my gardening efforts quite often.

My Cottage Diary said...

Looks like a fun time, Brenda! So nice you were able to take a quick trip to pretty New England to be with your daughter and family. Will eagerly await your future posts! Blessings, Bess

Anonymous said...

W-O-W!! 5,000 venders?? I can't imagine!! That's incredible!! I wouldn't know where to start or where to stop! LOL! Thanks for sharing the photos as well as the link to the blog with even more photos! So fun to see! Glad you found some treasures to bring home.
Blessings,
Laura C.(WA)

Anonymous said...

Now that IS a walk down memory lane! 😛 I want the cute little church. So glad you could go; so glad you are back safe and sound and blogging again. Can't wait to see the rest of your photos. Pam (SD)

Judy said...

Welcome back!

What a lovely thing to do with your daughter. I'm glad you were feeling up to doing the trip to visit with family.

Cheryl said...

Drooling a little on my computer screen here. ;)

Oh my. Thanks for sharing these glimpses of Brimfield with us! I think it's fun to look at all of the higher priced items, but it's fun to walk away with a treasure no matter how small or inexpensive. The thrill of the hunt, so to speak.

(5000 vendors??? Crazy!!)

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Ah Brimfield. I've never been, but like you I've read about it. When I was younger my Mom had a subscription to Country Living, and I used to read about it in that magazine. We have some decent antique markets around here and I have finally decided I must go check them out. Now to figure out when!

Deanna

Lee Ann said...

That's a lot of Washi tape! LOL