Disclaimer: This is a new barn for me. I have never been. (But it sure looks like fun!)
So into my e-mail yesterday popped news of a Black Friday Barn Sale. To me that sounds much more fun than the mall. I don’t do malls well and truthfully rarely go. I also don’t do doorbuster stand in line Black Friday store sales. To me, standing in line for hours to go into a chain store is just not fun.
But a Black Friday BARN SALE? That could have promise! That I would do! It is in Pottstown and here is the e-mail I received from the owners (whom I do not know and to the best of my knowledge have never met, so it is a mystery as to who added me to the list but thank you!):
Please come to our Thanksgiving BARN SALE
Friday, Nov. 23
8 am (or earlier)to 1 pm
786 Kulp Rd. Pottstown 19465
Need to get away from the in-laws at Thanksgiving?
Want to start your Christmas shopping without going to the mall?
Please come to our last barn sale of the year. Of course we have furniture, antiques, collectibles, books, vintage jewelry, china, glass, decorative items, vintage textiles, tools, and more.
Plus all the quirky, odd, rusty, and interesting things that make this a barn sale unlike any other. Please drop by and see us again!
We’re looking forward to seeing you!
Jack & Kristyn
Kristyn is also the magic behind Cream Valley Farm Cuisine & Cakes too.
Here is a write up of her husband Jack Zubrzycki and their picking business from this past summer’s Daily Local:
East Coventry man turns love of the hunt into business venture
By GRETCHEN METZ gmetz@dailylocal.com Thursday, June 28,2012
EAST COVENTRY — Jack Zubrzycki is one of the lucky few who turned his hobby into a business.
Like the cable TV show American Pickers, Zubrzycki travels the back roads from coast to coast scouring the country for hidden gems in junkyards, basements, garages and barns — lots of barns.
Before long, Zubrzycki’s hobby, which he shares with his wife Kristyn Marchus, produced quite of bit of inventory.
What to do? Why not hold a sale of the newly found treasures in his own barn at 786 Kulp Road in East Coventry? With that, Patina, Rust & Bling was born: a new business that serves as a second job for the couple.
Zubrzycki finds such items as anchors for sled dogs, vintage fly fishing lure making kits, vintage tripods from the 1940s or a 1920s Underwood typewriter….The sales draw people from as far away as New York City.
“We’re fortunate to have quite an extensive reach,” Zubrzycki said. …Zubrzycki, who works in the manufacturing industry, seeks out industrial and architectural salvage.
“I love old molds,” he acknowledged.
Meanwhile, his wife, owner of Cream Valley Farm Cuisine & Cakes, likes textiles and jewelry.
Together, “we find all sorts of things,” he said.
Now that the couple has been in business a while, people come to them with items from an elderly relative’s estate. Zubrzycki said while he may only buy a few items, he will look over everything and tell the seller what may have value so they will be better prepared if they decide to call in an auctioneer.
In addition to the barn sales, Zubrzycki also provides merchandise to antique stores in Manayunk, Kennett Square and Philadelphia.
Zubrzycki and his wife started Patina, Rust & Bling as a second business a few years ago.
I will remind people that the thing about these barn sales is sometimes you find treasures, and sometimes you don’t. But the experience is a whole lot of fun, and you learn something every time.
This barn may be set up differently from the picking barns I normally visit (I don’t know because I haven’t walked it yet myself) , they deal with a lot of dealers, and I do not know their pricing. But if you see something you like and the name of the game is move the contents out for sale, make an offer. You never know where the best price will land on an item!
Many thanks to the owners of the barn and this business for the use of their photos for this post!