Tag Archives: American Pickers

barn moments

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So yesterday I was out at the Smithfield Barn poking around (they are open this weekend including today), and I put my purse down to look at a small gate leg table. (I love gate leg tables).  As I put my bag down, I noticed the other people milling about.

There was this amusing pair of babes from South Jersey with matching blonde hair and “country-style” attire who cracked me up.  I am guessing this was a big outing in the “country” for them. They were obviously wearing their “picking” clothes and matching boots. Kind of the types of women I would jack the prices by 30% on if I had to deal with them. (No I am not a curmudgeon, just somewhat intolerant of phonies.)

Anyway,  I had put my  bag down next to me as I examined the table(did not want it to swing off my shoulder and break something)  and one woman says to the other woman “look she even has a Coach bag here for sale” and picks it up! She seriously started to walk away with my purse in her hand. So I said to her “Excuse me? That’s my pocketbook”  The woman just sort of looked at me. Blankly.

I guess I missed the memo where a pickers’ barn also contains designer handbags of the twenty-first century…

Other things of note about yesterday’s barn experience?  The people who bring children who behave like wild indians inside and outside.

I mean, wow, really?  If I had acted like that when I was a kid, my parents would have locked me up for decades.  The barn is loaded with all sorts of things, including toys, yes, but it doesn’t mean they are running a baby-sitting or child entertainment service.  This barn is full of someone else’s property that is for sale, and the prices are good because for the most part people try to respect the barn.

But I will tell you what, if people with kids don’t try to respect the barn a little more and control their kids from just tearing through stuff more things are going to get broken or damaged and then the prices won’t be so picker friendly.

Maybe it isn’t my place to comment on the children of other people, but sometimes you just have to shake your head in wonderment at the little savages of it all.

So yes, the people watching and picking is fine indeed this weekend at the Smithfield Barn.

 

 

spreading the barn love of it all

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Ok, now onto something I really love: The Smithfield Barn.

My barn of barns is having a sale!!!  Kris sent a message:

Happy Fall Everyone!
The barn will be open this FRI SAT AND SUN 10am to 4pm…..RAIN OR SHINE!!! Come out between raindrops and check out the treasures in the barn!   We have some great new stuff and the word of the week is vintage!  We are filled to the brim with lots of great new stuff. Some new items include metal wardrobes, wood boxes and trunks, great new lamps, wicker, dishes, toys, jewelry, and lots of great vintage finds from the 1940’s and 50’s.  As always come out, say hi, find a treasure or two and help us empty out the barn!
Smithfield Barn  425 Little Conestoga Road
P.S. For those who want a sneak peak come stop by Wed. or Thurs. the doors will be open all day (9-2 and after 4)while I finish unpacking boxes!!

Want to be on the barn’s mailing list?  smithfieldbarn  <at>  yahoo <dot> in

Tell them you read about them on chestercountyramblings!

barn sale this weekend!

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My favorite barn is open this weekend.  Who is going? 

See:

Hi Everyone!!
     Just a little note to say that the barn will be open this FRI SAT AND SUN from 10-4.  As always we have tons (yes tons!!!) of new items.  Everything from great new furniture and antique pieces, vintage handbags, some new tools, new toys, to boxes and boxes of new jewelry!   So come, stop by say Hi, and find a new treasure or two to take home!  Hope to see you this weekend!!  Smithfield Barn – 425 Little Conestoga Road
                                       
 I actually saw the jewelry last weekend – colorful, retro-funky, and fun. Ditto on the purses.  She also had some fun Depression Glass.

sunday swapping

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S is for Sunday.

S is for Swapping.

I went swapping today.  I had this vintage country quilt and a vintage quilt topper I scored on Ebay a while back.  I decided I wasn’t digging the quilts and rather let them collect dust, I contacted Kris at Smithfield Barn to see if she might be interested in them. She and some of the ladies in her family are quilters.

She was.  So I mosied out today for a swap.

Love that barn, and I had fun!  Scored a vintage blue box purse (I have always had a vintage purse disease), a small tole tray, a couple more antique wooden spoons, and a Heisey jug.

Heisey is a depression glass that is a particular favorite of mine.  This jug I *think* is from the Colonial line, pattern named “Puritan” or “Wide Panel” or something.

A.H. Heisey & Co. closed in 1957. Heisey was a German immigrant who settled first in Pennsylvania, but the Heisey factory was actually in Ohio.

Heisey is to many the king of depression glass.  I always liked it for the clean lines. And the fact that a lot of it is clear like crystal.  I actually met an older gentleman and his wife years ago who were actual Heiseys.  I thought it was pretty cool and they thought it was cool what they termed a “young person” appreciated Heisey glass.

I am not suggesting to go to the Smithfield Barn to swap.  I just happened to know something that Kris likes …actually after speaking to her today I discovered she and I like a lot of similar vintage things. (Sigh,  I see years of trouble ahead….)

I think she said the barn is open next weekend.  If it is, I will post.

The Smithfield Barn is definitely the find of 2012.  I stalked it without going in during 2011, and discovered it in 2012.

And remember, if you love chestercountyramblings, please consider nominating this blog for a Blue Ribbon Blogger Award with Country Living Magazine.

treasures found in my travels on memorial day weekend at smithfield barn

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So, I told you all about the Smithfield Barn on 425 Little Conestoga, right? How many of you took my advice and checked them out this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday?  If you didn’t, you’ll have to wait until the end of June to do so.

We went yesterday.  I love the Smithfield Barn because the folks who run it are real pickers.  There is a little bit of everything, but you have to be willing to dig.  I circled through the barn a couple of times yesterday before I saw my treasures:

  • a leather box of unknown origin, just pretty;
  • some terrific vintage wooden spoons;
  • and a fabulous hand-made quilt

I got great deals, and no, I am not telling you what I paid – if you go to the barn, you can negotiate on your own.  I will tell you what, with places like this, if you don’t go in guns a blazing with attitude there is often some wiggle room on select items.  But if you insultingly low ball them, you deserve what you get.

I love the quilt.  I am a vintage textile queen as you can see from the 1950’s table topper that provided the background to the spoons and the box.  That was probably all of $5 at St. David’s Church Fair a couple of years ago.

Some people can only handle new, I know people who have to re-do the furniture every few years like Barbie’s Dream House.  That is their style, certainly not mine.  I like objects that tell a story, or might tell a story.

And as much as I love to photograph barns, I love even more to root around in them.  My friend Barb can tell you about a trip to Vermont where we made a side pilgrimage to New Hampshire and I had a swell time rooting around in a giant barm owned by a New England farmer who picked antiques and collectibles on the side.  I negotiated some fabulous pink tea cups for her that day that she still has.  But heck, I used to go to Adamstown, PA with my parents before it was Trendy Wendy to do so.

The barn had some cool stuff yesterday including a Hoosier cabinet and a pair of dressers  that were first half of the 20th century – rounded and kind of cool.  Not sure how old the cabinet was and you have to be careful when looking at them, because there are kits out there to make them again.  The cabinet looked newly painted and it was bright white, so not for me.  But it was fun to look at.  There were some terrific chairs there yesterday and some fun lamps worth re-wiring, and if you like slot cars and matchbox cars?  This would have been your barn!

Anyway, I am glad I decided to ditch the garage sale tour and go to the barn instead.

And remember, if you like this blog, you can nominate it for a Blue Ribbon Blogger Award with Country Living Magazine.

Winners will be featured in their December/January 2013 issue and will also  attend a luncheon in their honor in New York City on November 13, 2012. Nominations are open from May 15, 2012 until July 29, 2012. Please only nominate  once.

Read more: Blue Ribbon Blogger Awards – 2012 Blog Awards – Country Living.

The Gladwyne PA Memorial Day Parade – if you like traditional, old-fashioned Memorial Day Parades complete with antique fire trucks and horses, this is your parade!

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your long weekend.  I got up and got my watering done early, it’s going to be a hot one today.  In part I feel like Farmer MacGregor because some Peter Rabbit ate my baby lettuce this weekend. And I don’t know about you, but this crazy weather and no winter has many plants of mine ahead of schedule.

See ya!  And Happy Memorial Day!