Bet Allegan will be a great show!

Wouldn't this gaming table make a great computer workstation?


BET you'll like it -- and all the other goodies we'll be bringing to the Allegan Antique Show this weekend! Come and see us -- details are on the sidebar. xo

Marvelous Midland: Summer Best

With no show on the holiday weekend, Joe and I headed to the Midland Gallery in Indianapolis to redo our space.
We found the elegant old gal all decked out for a garden party.

Midland is an easy drive from just about anywhere, right off of 70, and well worth the trip!

Hope these photos will convince you to check it out for yourself sometime soon!

Click the link on our sidebar for details, www.midlandathome.com.

Have a wonderful holiday! xo -- Sandy and Joe

On a personal note, Memorial Day is special to me, as it is my spiritual birthday -- 18 years ago today I became a believer and will always be indebted to Asa and Elizabeth App for sharing their story with me. Also wanted to thank the veterans on both sides of our family, as well as our many friends, for their service to our country. As Americans, we may not always agree on the politics, but you can't help but admire the commitment.

Look what came in the mail!

Look what just came in the mail!! Could it be any cuter?


A sweet little banner, all made from vintage ephemera by our Michigan friend and customer Susan Lubanski!!

And it came in this great old paint box, complete with quill flower. Definitely a girl after my own heart!! I will add Susan's blog address to our roll this week, but I couldn't wait to get the photos up. Thanks so much, Susan! You made my day. xo

Buying and Selling

It's no secret that antique dealers are in the business of buying to re-sell. So why is it that when someone wants to buy something I just bought, I don't really want to sell it? Case in point, I was wheeling this load of newly acquired "treasures" back to my booth at the Extravaganza Saturday, when a customer who'd been buying from us all day came up and wanted to buy two metal boxes. My reaction should have been, "Wow! You want to give me money for this right now, and I haven't had to clean it up or anything? You're just paying me for moving it a few rows down?!" Instead, all I could think of was "poop." Does this ever happen to you? Why is that?

Maybe it's because I haven't had a chance yet to play with my new find and image all its possibilities. Just look at this yummy 1890s chemistry notebook. The script is beautiful. Think of all you could do with it.... Those kinds of possibilities. I sold her the boxes, but it was with a little internal sigh. Of course, next weekend, I'd have been thrilled to sell them. And if three weeks had gone by and I still had them, I'd have been sad I ever bought them to begin with! Such is the nature of buying to re-sell.

The show ended up being terrific. We had great weather two of the three days and sales were brisk. Plus we got to see many of our favorite customers from Ohio, Chicago, Michigan, Texas and Atlanta.

Heather Kramb from Maddie Lisee (www.maddielisee.com) joined us with her jewelry on Friday and Sunday. We're excited that she'll be coming up to Chicago at some point to try setting up with us there. This week, we'll get our new purchases ready for Midland -- where we will be happy to sell them WHENEVER anyone asks -- and prepare to actually take TWO days off for Memorial Day. Whew. Thanks to one and all for supporting the shows. xo

Springfield Extravaganza

Our theme for this year's Springfield Extravaganza (www.springfieldantiqueshow.com) is "Industrial Garden" -- lots of primitives, industrial antiques and fun stuff for the out of doors, plus some cottage-style furniture and a special guest -- Heather Kramb, from Maddie Lisee, with her fabulous jewelry! Come and see us -- Friday and Saturday until noon, outside space 31. Saturday afternoon, we head to the Burlington, Kentucky, just outside Cincinnati, for the Burlington Antique Market, where we will be on Sunday from 6 am to 3 pm (www.burlingtonantiqueshow.com), outside space 25A.

The tricky thing for us is having to leave a day early. What a difference that makes! We could not attend our usual auction, so Joe went to a sale Monday, and I scouted out a bunch of the little stores around town. We found some great stuff, including these fabulous chairs and this adorable English dress form. I'm going to add these shops to my weekly rounds! Come see what else we scored!! xo

Red

Red is my favorite color. I'm told it's an Aries thing, but who knows. However, we really don't do much red at rhubarb reign, except around the holidays. But, for this month's Graylake, we decided to try an experiment -- red was our accent color, as opposed to the usual green or blue. The idea was inspired by two of our favorite long-time customers, Shelly Guldberg and Denise Hendricks, who own Weathered Elements, in Clear Lake, Iowa. They had mentioned that all things red and all things nautical are consistent sellers in their resort community. Hmmm....

All we can say is "thanks, ladies!" All things red went to new homes -- what a great tip!! And thanks to all our customers for their support of the Mother's Day show -- it was our best of the year so far, and we really appreciate you!

Just a mini-post today -- off to the Extravaganza Thursday. See the sidebar for show details. Come and see us!! xo

Come see us at Grayslake this weekend!

Back at HQ, we are getting ready for Grayslake! Plan to bring Mom and come and see us. Details are on the sidebar. Can't wait. xo

Ephemera...

"Ephemera" has to be one of the most beautiful words in the English language.

It has a mystical, magical quality to it.

I actually like to say it over and over in my head. Go on, try it..."ephemera, ephemera, ephemera." Sounds soothing, yet intriguing, don't you think?

For several years, ephemera -- game pieces, clock parts, handwriting, photos and more -- has been an excellent seller. This weekend at Kane was no exception.

What other types of ephemera would you like to see us carry? Post a comment and let me know. What do you do with your treasures -- collections, collage? Let us know that, too.

Ah, ephemera, stuff with the "taint of life" on it, to quote Rebecca Purcell. In the vintage world, that's what it's all about. Next we're off to Grayslake. Don't forget to get your mom a card this week! And come and see us. xo