Antiques on the Bluff, St Joseph, MI
I'm not an antique collector. I don't know much about antiques at all. But I do know I need some furniture pieces for my condo and I like the concept of "reduce, reuse, recycle". So with that in mind, D and I went to the "Antiques on the Bluff" (AOTB) antique dealers show on Sunday, June 7th in St. Joseph.
AOTB is held the first Sunday of every month from May till October in Lake Bluff Park. The hours are 10am to 3pm. There is no admission fee.
After seeing so few vendors at the Farmer's Market the day before, I didn't know what to expect when we pulled into town for the antique show. I was mildly surprised to find just the opposite in this case. Lake Bluff Park was packed from one end to the other with antique dealers!
D and I and K strolled from one end to the other and had a wonderful time browsing. Prices were all over the place. Some seemed like good deals, others not so much. But that's the essence of the game of shopping these sorts of sales, isn't it?
The one thing that was consistent among the vendors was their friendliness, their willingness to make conversation about the weather (which wasn't so nice, cool and drizzly), the lovely view of Lake Michigan, and of course the goods they were selling. It makes for so much nicer a shopping experience when people are friendly!
I saw a trunk I really liked ($100) but someone had already bought it :-(
I was tempted by some nested Busia dolls for $8 and $5 but the lady selling them said they were made in Russia. I have nothing against Russian made goods (except nuclear war heads ;-) but I collect Polish made folk art.
I did find a nice piece I could use in our bedroom. It used to be the hutch part of a desk or dresser and once had doors. But I liked the color and don't care about the doors so we bought it ($25).
And from the same dealer, I found a cute little table I could use in my dining room. The pale shade of green paint is a bit lighter than the color on my walls (not the accent wall seen here but the other walls in the dining room). I'm undecided if I will paint it our not. In any event, I like it and it works for now ($40).
I also bought a lined rain slicker type jacket that I liked but I forgot to take a photo of it ($29).
It was definitely a fun and worthwhile shopping trip for us and I'm sure we'll go back again next month. But this time we'll try to get there a bit earlier... just in case there's another one of those trunks to be had. Don't you always regret the one that got away? ;-)
AOTB is held the first Sunday of every month from May till October in Lake Bluff Park. The hours are 10am to 3pm. There is no admission fee.
After seeing so few vendors at the Farmer's Market the day before, I didn't know what to expect when we pulled into town for the antique show. I was mildly surprised to find just the opposite in this case. Lake Bluff Park was packed from one end to the other with antique dealers!
D and I and K strolled from one end to the other and had a wonderful time browsing. Prices were all over the place. Some seemed like good deals, others not so much. But that's the essence of the game of shopping these sorts of sales, isn't it?
The one thing that was consistent among the vendors was their friendliness, their willingness to make conversation about the weather (which wasn't so nice, cool and drizzly), the lovely view of Lake Michigan, and of course the goods they were selling. It makes for so much nicer a shopping experience when people are friendly!
I saw a trunk I really liked ($100) but someone had already bought it :-(
I was tempted by some nested Busia dolls for $8 and $5 but the lady selling them said they were made in Russia. I have nothing against Russian made goods (except nuclear war heads ;-) but I collect Polish made folk art.
I did find a nice piece I could use in our bedroom. It used to be the hutch part of a desk or dresser and once had doors. But I liked the color and don't care about the doors so we bought it ($25).
And from the same dealer, I found a cute little table I could use in my dining room. The pale shade of green paint is a bit lighter than the color on my walls (not the accent wall seen here but the other walls in the dining room). I'm undecided if I will paint it our not. In any event, I like it and it works for now ($40).
I also bought a lined rain slicker type jacket that I liked but I forgot to take a photo of it ($29).
It was definitely a fun and worthwhile shopping trip for us and I'm sure we'll go back again next month. But this time we'll try to get there a bit earlier... just in case there's another one of those trunks to be had. Don't you always regret the one that got away? ;-)
The Antiques on the Bluff is a fairly new occurrence each year; my neighbor has a display and her pieces (furniture mostly) are snatched up quickly. I'll ask her if she has any trunks. There are many, many dealers. BUT, if you want to see a huge amount of displays, don't forget the annual Krasl Art Fair in July - along the bluff. You will be amazed at the number of artists and the wide assortment of items to buy. It is just magnificent.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, Cheryl! I've already got the Krasl Art Fair on my calendar. I didn't know what sorts of things they'd be selling there but I love art and I love to shop! I look forward to it :-)
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